#1 done

[Tim R]

Hello all,

I've about finished my first kit, an 000 12-fret, rosewood and Engelmann from John Hall. The main things left are to compensate the saddle and do some fret dressing. It’s not perfect but I’m very happy with it for a first try. You will notice, among other things, that it is actually an 11.8 fret to body. I took too much material off at the neck joint, but think I finally got it right.

I think it sounds great, though perhaps I am biased ☺. Compared to my Taylor GC4, it has much more volume and I can get lots of dynamic range. The Taylor has a really sweet sound when played gently, but for most of what I like to play the 000 sound is better suited, and its just so much fun to play.

The neck is a bit more chunky than the Taylor and string spacing is slightly closer, which seems to suit me, probably because for years I played a similar neck Yamaha FG-355 and just got used to it. I may have to sell the Taylor to pay for my next guitar project!

I want to thank John Hall and this group for their help and support. These and other web resources are really critical for someone like me, with minimal woodworking background, to get into this hobby and be successful!

Tim

[tippie53]

good job , bet your proud of that.

[David L]

That is a beauty!

David L

[darren]

yes that is a beauty.., and a lefty? - did you reverse the tone bars or leave-em?

[Darryl Young]

It looks great Tim!!! What kind of pore filler and finish did you use?

[johnnparchem]

Congratulations Tim, the guitar looks great!

[Tim R]

Thanks guys.

Oh darn, you mean I built it lefty!

Yes the tone bars are lefty. My understanding, though, is that it really doesn't matter since the whole soundboard carries each frequency with no left-right asymmetry.

I used Tru-Oil and I like it. Non-toxic and enjoyable to apply. I will use it again for back, sides, and neck. As a pore filler I used the Tru-Oil and 180 grit sand paper. I did this more heavily on the sides than the back and I actually like how the back came out better. It would seem that, since the filler paste that builds up dong this has a color that is the average of the rosewood variations, filling this way must, to some extent, muddy to natural look of the wood. I might not fill at all if I were to do it over, or maybe use an alternative approach to filling...

For the top, I might consider a finish that is a bit tougher as there are lots of little scratches that occurred after the finish that you can't see in the photos. Or, I'll just learn to be more careful.

Tim

[Ken Hundley]

Very nice Tim! I think you will notice after a coupe of months the finish will be MUCH harder than it is now. You could probably polish it one more time then, and be in pretty good shape.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Looks really nice from where I'm sitting.....good job.

Kevin

[Tim R]

thanks again guys. Ken, thanks for the tip abut hardening.

Looking again after buffing, there really is not much difference between the back and side finish and I really like how both turned out. My comment about some degree of filler "muddying" is just speculation.

Tim