Black Locust and Torrefied Red Spruce OM

[Airplanenuts]

Hi Folks! I hope this day finds you well and in good spirits.

After searching for existing, accurate pre-WWII (early '30's, more to the point) OM/000 plans with no joy, I gave up. I compiled as much information as possible over the course of the past 2+years, and used it to draw my own plans.

Simultaneously, I ordered the referenced wood, purfling, & red spruce brace wood, all inbound from Canada, as well as a dovetailed mahogany neck & block from Stew. At the suggestions of John Hall and his disciples, I ordered some Windex with Amonnia-D for bending the BL.

Plans printed, paper template cut & glued, I started cutting up some old post-formed laminate & MDF countertops for my form.

Got a tad too far in the line with the spindle sander on the first one, and mixed up some epoxy & micro balloons to fill the error for re-sanding. Good-to-go for #1.

Five more to go. Gotta love MDF, that nasty stuff.

Thank you for reading this. Your suggestions, comments, & criticisms are welcome & appreciated.

Best wishes!

-Rich
Go Army!

[Airplanenuts]

I couldn't get this picture to load in prior post.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

You drew those plans??
Nice.
I like the wood. You are on your way!!!

[Airplanenuts]

Hi Kevin,

Affirmative. I compared every online plan available to information I obtained from John Arnold, as well as bracing diagrams and photos of early 30's OM/000. Some were closer than others, but none were accurate. Mine aren't perfect, I'm sure, but they are closer (aside from the Stew neck). The brace profiles I borrowed for generality, adding my dimensions. I will carve mine by hand, based on what the top needs. My wood, trim, finish will be different, too.

Thank you for the encouragement.

Best wishes!

-Rich
Go Army!

[Airplanenuts]

Stewy sent my neck and blocks.

-Rich
Go Army!

[Airplanenuts]

Got my body jig built, and received my stain. I've never used water-soluble wood stain in a powder form, so it will be interesting to learn how it sprays & turns out on black locust.

I designed a few back center-seam inlay patterns in Autocad to coordinate with the brick-red herringbone purfling.
I'm part Cherokee (who isn't?) and tried to emulate some Cherokee sash and headband bead patterns I've seen.

Ordered some turquoise stone chips I'll grind into powder to use for inlay.

Ordered some 192g HHG. First-time user. Looking forward to that adventure.

Blowin' & goin'!

Best wishes!

-Rich
Go Army!

[Airplanenuts]

Spent part of the day trueing the seams on the back plates. Candled and ready for HHG Friday, if it's shipment arrives tomorrow as promised. First time working with HHG, and looking forward to it.

Also spent a chunk of the day trying to find Holly for binding & end graft. Rare as hens' s teeth in ~32" lengths in the U.S.. Not hard to find in the U.K. or Canada, but the $hipping! Oh my! Maple may be the compromise. It's plentiful here.

Best wishes!

-Rich
Go Army!

[Airplanenuts]

HHG arrived today. Mixed up and getting ready for heat & work tomorrow. That stuff really expands once water hits it!

Top plates jointed and candled. Ready for some glue. Need to pick up a few more squeeze bottles tomorrow at wally-world.

Got my chisels & planes sharpened today.

It's been a few months since I built my thickness sander - looking forward to seeing how well it works without (and with luck) the need for endless tweaking. Not all of my homemade tools are great - some are just middlin'.

Best wishes!

-Rich
Go Army!

[Airplanenuts]

Alan Caruth, on UMGF, mentioned fuming black locust with ammonia. I tried his suggestion, and to say the least, I'm astonished! The sample I used (pictured) came from the back plates I'm using.

The color is chocolate, and I'm *very* pleased with how it looks.

The smell of it reminds me of sitting in my old office with a blueprint developer running behind me. Strong & unpleasant!
Hopefully, that will dissipate. We'll see.

Profiled the sides this morning, ready for thicknessing.

Ordered some platinum blonde shellac to seal the top before routing.

Found some Holly stateside. Here is a great source, if anyone reading needs some, or other nice wood. Jason Martin. All his stock isn't listed. I emailed him to find the billet I wanted. He said he may get hold of some Osage Orange and black locust:

https://coffeetreehardwoods.com/?orderb ... pe=product

Best wishes!

-Rich
Go Army!

[Airplanenuts]

Top plates glued with HHG. After reading up on it, and applying the knowledge, no issues here using HHG. I like it. I hope it likes me back.

Best wishes!

-Rich
Go Army!