3 Guitars for Elkins, WV Event

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Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

3 Guitars for Elkins, WV Event

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

I thought it would be easier to put the 3 guitars that I'm building for a gathering of West Virginia luthiers this month. I received an invitation to this event a couple of months ago.

The event is being held on Oct 19, during the Old-time Fiddlers Reunion, at the Madden Center on the Davis and Elkins College Campus. This yearly stringed instrument event, is a wonderful event, which includes a week-long workshop. The State of West Virginia is paying for my travel expenses.

The invitation surprised and humbled me. It's also got me plenty scared. I don't know that my work is good enough to be exhibited. There are scores of acoustic guitar players that attend this event. They're setting up an area and table for me. I'm very excited.

I've just gotten done french polishing and building up the shellac on the guitars that I'm making to take with me. I'm also taking "Delilah", the second guitar that I made, which is made entirely of woods from West Virginia, so I'm taking a total of 4 guitars.

1. Delilah is a 00 (sort of) Cherry/Appalachian red spruce
2. EIR/torrified adirondack Dreadnought, with the rose vine inlaid fretboard which I designed and inlaid
3. Honduran mahogany/Appalachian red spruce OM
4. Quilted Honduran mahogany/Appalachian red spruce OM, with hummingbird vine fretboard that I designed and inlaid.

As you can see, I've made the boxes and I've fitted the necks. I've glued the fretboards. I've glued the rose vine fretboard, which is the first design that I've designed and cut myself, on the dreadnought. I will be inlaying the hummingbird vine on the fretboard that will go to the quilted Honduran mahogany OM. I will inlay white mother of pearl dots into the plainer Honduran mahogany guitar.

I've adopted the name, "Country Roads Guitars" and I've worked on a logo. I will be inlaying a simple shape, with the name across the top of the headstock.

My progress has been slow. I'm disabled, so I build at the rate of a sloth. But everything is made, and fitted together and I've been french polishing. There is a 4th guitar that I'm being paid to french polish, so I'm doing a total of 4 guitars at a time right now, as well as working on the hummingbird vine so I can inlay it.
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Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Danl8
Posts: 733
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:50 am
Location: Chadds Ford, PA

Re: 3 Guitars for Elkins, WV Event

Post by Danl8 »

Beautiful guitars!! I really like the figured mahogany. You will probably have a hard time coming home with as many as you're bringing. ;-)
Last edited by Danl8 on Wed Oct 02, 2019 6:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
ruby@magpage.com
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Re: 3 Guitars for Elkins, WV Event

Post by ruby@magpage.com »

Diane

Your business seems to be doing well. It is great to see someone take the leap. Congratulations

Ed
Ed M
tippie53
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Re: 3 Guitars for Elkins, WV Event

Post by tippie53 »

nice humming bird
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
jread
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Re: 3 Guitars for Elkins, WV Event

Post by jread »

love all of these. Your shop and work is an inspiration. Thanks for sharing.
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: 3 Guitars for Elkins, WV Event

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

tippie53 wrote:nice humming bird
Thanks John. He started out looking like a flying porpoise.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: 3 Guitars for Elkins, WV Event

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Finished polishing all 3 guitars today. This one started humming while I polished it with my drill, a first for me. I hope it portends an extraordinary sounding guitar. It was bizarre
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Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
jread
Posts: 560
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:52 am
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Re: 3 Guitars for Elkins, WV Event

Post by jread »

That's great. My 12-fret Dred did a lot of harmonic vibrating to various things in my shop as I built it and I thought it was pretty cool. I have never heard a guitar sound so good in person so I I'm going with the idea that something right happened with the bracing and whatnot. I also "soaked" mine in a hours of Norman Blake recordings. :D

Your polish and builds are just amazing. Be sure to post pics of the event and good luck.
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