~ OM-40 DB & 000-28H ~ Finished

[RnB]

I finally put the finishing touches on a couple of acoustics that have been on the bench far too long. I'm extremely pleased on how both turned out...!

The OM Deep-Body is everything I could hope for in an acoustic. The added depth made quite a difference in an OM's bass response while retaining sharp highs. Not sure why it took my so long to wrap up? It's just fabulous sounding. :>) It orig started out as a 1st build, but being it was one of Tippies 'high end' kits, I got cold feet & decided to build a couple other guitars to gain a foothold on construction techniques.

The 000 was inspired by an EC 000-28H but w/ a few changes. I had bought an EC type V-neck from John that was short-scale w/ an MT neck union. The back was matched-up by Tippie to a rimset I already had. I paired that w/ a John Arnold Adi top & Adi bracing. I might have gotten a little carried away on carving the braces (1/4" scalloped - esp the upper X-brace) much to John Parchems digress, but so far it's holding & I'm surprised how strong sounding this short-scale is. It's still a somewhat tight, so we'll give it more time to show me what it's made of. The torch inlay took me all day to do w/ a slight boo-boo (unlike Tippies' 1-hour YT tutorial), but I was able to recover from my mistake. Thx John for all your help...!!!













OM-40 DB specs:
b&s - IRW
top - Engelmann Spr
neck -figured mahogany w/ volute (1 3/4")
bridge & board - ebony
inlay- abalone
neck/body binding - flame maple
purfling - 5-ply (b/w/b/w/b)
bracing - 5/16" scalloped sitka (IIRC ?)
nut & saddle - bone
pins - snakewood
tuners - 18:1 sta-tites
pkgd - tor-tis 30's
finish- nitro

000-28H specs:
b&s - IRW
top - AA adirondack
bracing - adirondack (1/4" scalloped)
neck - mahogany V-shape (1 3/4" width)
binding - ivoroid
purfling - herringbone w/ maple & fiber
rosette - herringbone w/ maple & fiber
bridge - pyramid (ebony) 2 1/4" spacing
board - ebony w/ long pattern D&S inlay
hdstk - madagascar rwd w/ torch inlay
nut/saddle/pins - vint bone
tuners - grover 18:1 sta-tites (nkl)
inlay - pau abalone
pkgd - tor-tis 50's
fretwire - jescar .095w X .047h
finish - nitro

side note on Tor-tis pickquards: I had enough blank material for two 000 size pkgds. After cutting and shaping it, I was beveling the edges & it snapped. So, I cut another & was just about done & it also snapped...grrr! Immediately, I called LMI and ordered a pre-made one. After settling down, I went out to my shop & went about trying to mend the broken ones. Gluing the backs together w/ CA on the backside, I was able to salvage both guards after rigorous sanding & elbow grease. You can barely see where the crack line is, it only looks like a mere scratch now. Measuring the thicknesses, I had sanded one down to 1/64". Just a thought foe those who think Tor-tis pkgds are too thick at 1/32".

[Guitar Jones]

Beautiful, just beautiful.

[kelley71]

Very very nice..... (Borat voice)

[Phil]

2 very beautiful guitars, excellent work!

[tippie53]

killer guitars for sure. Nice work indeed

[johnnparchem]

They both look great. Congratulations!

[jbutler]

Both of these are very nice! Congratulations!
John Butler

[Jcolvin]

Oh my! Those guitars are stunning! Gorgeous work

[Diane Kauffmds]

Oh my goodness, both guitars are absolutely beautiful! If there is a mistake on the torch inlay, I don't see it. The snakewood bridge pins are really nice and something I'm going to look into. You did a great job!

[RnB]

Thx everyone...! Definitely a labor of love for me & I glad they're finally all done. :>)

I struggled w/ the Deep-Body OM build for years only because, when I 1st got it, I really messed-up the dovetail joint by chiseling away at places I shouldn't have...among other things. Regardless of that, when I finally got a decent fit, I was never 100% confident w/ it's strength. So, after having talked to Frank Ford about it, he plainly said; "ya know, you can also bolt it together, or do both". In the end, that's what I did & it worked out great. A very powerful sounding OM that plays effortlessly all the way up the neck. I've also never had a guitar w/ an Engelmann top. I like it since I'm usually not a heavy-handed player, & so far, it's taken what I've thrown at it. I did have to re-space the high E & B strings to gain a little more room at the nut. OTT, it's good to go. I have it strung w/ Martin MSP-4150's for the most part...

If there is a mistake on the torch inlay, I don't see it.

I went off-center w/ one of the middle pieces & it looked silly. I had to rout it out & move it over, so all lined-up. I had to order another torch inlay since that 1 piece got destroyed removing it. Up close you can detect it, but a few feet away, you would not know. It is slightly lighter in color than the Madrose overlay.

I guess it's time to move on to the next build, but only after a glass cabinet door gets fixed (according to the wife). It's pretty old & holds our good glassware & memorable stuff from my wife's family ancestry. I tripped & fell through it and really busted it up good, including my hand. I've been putting it off for some time now & told her when I was done w/ these 2 acoustics', I'd try & tackle it. :-(