Guitar #2 1/2 White Spruce/Cherry (Start Over)/FINISHED!!!

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Diane Kauffmds
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Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Guitar #2 1/2 White Spruce/Cherry (Start Over)/FINISHED!!!

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

I'm not one to give up, but I officially throw in the towel on the last build. It was one problem after another, and it's to the point that I've come to believe that it was possessed. I ran into problems with the sides and I believe that the build would have been unstable, so rather than waste a neck/block, not to mention the fingerboard that I spent a lot of time and energy inlaying, I call it quits.

On with new business. The cherry in this build is from a local lumber company. I found the wood laying up in the rafters and it's old (I mean OLD) and has been buried for a long long time; this wood was a solid 1" thick. I don't know how long it's been since 1" wood was actually 1" thick. Now they pass off 3/4" as 1". I've split the new back and sides and I'm in the process of sanding them down. The side wood has a lot of wormholes that I'll have to deal with, but it's also beautiful curly cherry.

I spent yesterday making a proper mold, so here is the new mold. As I said, I'll be using the fingerboard and the neck with the inlaid headplate that I've already done, so I'm adding those photos in this blog, as well.
mold.jpg
fretboard complete.jpg
2015-08-27 18.09.28.jpg
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Last edited by Diane Kauffmds on Thu Oct 08, 2015 10:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
mikewaz
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2015 5:48 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: Guitar #2 1/2 Engelmann/Cherry (Start Over)

Post by mikewaz »

There's wisdom in knowing when to put something aside and courage to start anew. Good for you Dianne!

That inlay work looks awesome! Good luck on this new build.
MaineGeezer
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Guitar #2 1/2 Engelmann/Cherry (Start Over)

Post by MaineGeezer »

Bummer. But it happens. Good call. Sometimes wood just doesn't want to be a guitar.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
tippie53
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Location: Hegins, Pa
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Re: Guitar #2 1/2 Engelmann/Cherry (Start Over)

Post by tippie53 »

sometimes you learn more from failures than you do from success but never give up. We will look forward to this remake.
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Danl8
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Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:50 am
Location: Chadds Ford, PA

Re: Guitar #2 1/2 Engelmann/Cherry (Start Over)

Post by Danl8 »

You're not alone; I can show you a top I invested 40 hours in carving in 1979 and it hangs on the wall of my shop today still. IMHO, part of being a good instrument maker is knowing when to start over.
kelley71
Posts: 80
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2015 6:38 pm
Location: Houston, TX USA

Re: Guitar #2 1/2 Engelmann/Cherry (Start Over)

Post by kelley71 »

I too threw in the towel on an already glued top when I ruined it on my current build. But it turned out good in the end. I had to tell my wife that I would not let a 60 dollar top ruin a 700.00 guitar.

Best of luck, can't wait to see more photos.....
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Guitar #2 1/2 Engelmann/Cherry (Start Over)

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Thanks for the encouragement, because I was definitely discouraged.

I've been working on cutting the new cherry back and sides into a bookmatched set. I'm using the hand planes and palm sander to thickness it. Since the boards were a full 1" thick before being split, it's taking a long time to get them ready.

This is the curly cherry for the sides. It has a lot of pitch pockets to deal with:
curly cherry.jpg
sides.jpg
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Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
tippie53
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Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:09 pm
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Re: Guitar #2 1/2 Engelmann/Cherry (Start Over)

Post by tippie53 »

anyone that has been doing this a while will have a story. My 2nd guitar was walnut I got at the local sawmill. I did so many things wrong that I finally just broke it and tossed into the wood burner and started over. That is when I learned that Good enough ain't good enough. If you don't take care of the details , de tails gets bit.
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Guitar #2 1/2 White Spruce/Cherry (Start Over)

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

I made a change to the build. I have a remaining engelmann spruce top, but I'm concerned that it may not be quite thick enough for a steel string guitar. I thinned it for use on a classical.

I've just ordered a white spruce bookmatched set from RC Tonewoods. It should have the acoustic properties of red spruce (adirondack), with a lighter color.

The back and sides are thinned and ready to go.
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Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Kevin Sjostrand
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Location: Visalia, CA

Re: Guitar #2 1/2 White Spruce/Cherry (Start Over)

Post by Kevin Sjostrand »

Diane, I'm sorry you had such trouble with that guitar, but glad you can now move one. A lot of us have been there.
I have a half done neck in the scrap pile, some sides, I have an orphaned cedar top all braced (it is still usable but wasn't on the guitar it was intended for), alls to say, we feel your pain and support your decision! :)
This cherry looks, well, looks CHERRY! (you can tell how old I must be)

Kevin
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