Martin Kit with Extras

[naccoachbob]

A few of years ago, a couple who were both school teachers had bought a Martin Kit but decided they didn't have the time to work on building it. They ended up selling it here on the forum and I got it. I had wanted to try a dovetail neck, plus it was less than half the price from Martin.
Tony Costa sold me a Sitka bearclaw top that looked pretty unique to me. It kinda has an ugliness that grows on your and looks good. At least it did to me.
Also, a luthier at the Acoustic Guitar Forum had made a rosette that I thought was really nice. Like most luthiers, when I asked if he minded my borrowing the idea, he said "Of course not".
Finally, not liking the white bindings Martin provided, I bought some curly Koa for the strips, and Tony sent me some leftover pieces from which I made the head stock.
The last "big" idea I had was to have the purfling go around the sides as well as the top and bottom. Little did I know that b/w/b purfling does not like to bend along the depth side. I finally got 1/2 of one side done, using CA glue, and the tension and aggravation that came with that led me to put this guitar away for well over a year.
But this winter, I got it back out and began completing the task. It's for my son, and I owe him a big apology for letting it lag so long.
I used Watco aerosol nitro for the finish. My 2nd attempt with aerosols. The first ended up ok, but this one I think will be much better. About a month ago, I started the finishing effort, and when I got to the top, I had gone thru the finish in the middle of the lower bout. My intention was to make a thin coat on top, and I evidently succeeded!! So 2 cans of spray later, I let it set and cure, then started sanding yesterday. I used 600 grit wet/dry paper to start. Then today I started with 800, 1200, 1500, and 2000 grit. Then I went to 6000, 8000, and 12000 micro mesh. I really love that stuff. It makes bone nuts and bridges look fantastic.
Right now it's sitting, letting it air dry, so to speak, until I feel the energy to go in and start the final 2 steps of polishing it out.
Here are some pictures from 2 stages. One after 600 grit, and the next after 12000 micro mesh. I forgot to take a picture of the top after 600 grit, but Sitka tops don't show a lot until they're done with the whole polishing job.

The Back after 600 grit.



Thru the Mesh.



Side thru 600 grit.



Thru mesh.



Tail wedge area thru 600.



Tail wedge thru mesh.



And the top thru the 12000 mesh.



I'll put up the finished body pics and the neck pics when done this evening.
Thanks for looking,
Bob

[tippie53]

I like the personal touch of the rosette.

[Ben-Had]

I remember that rosette. I was wondering whatever happened to it. Looking good.

[Darryl Young]

Looking good!

[Kevin Sjostrand]

man the Koa on that beauiful indian rosewood looks fantastic.
Nice Bob.

Kevin

[naccoachbob]

Thanks, Guys. Sorry I didn't get time to put up the final pictures. I'll get them in soon.

[johnnparchem]

Looks great, when do you string it up?

[naccoachbob]

I had been so happy after having sanded the guitar so level, but when I put on the two liquid finish products, I was not happy at all. I thought I'd done it up right. The back and sides did not show good reflections. My face, when I looked at it thru the back, was blurry. Lights were blurry. I got extremely depressed.
Also, I was seeing a lot of scratches, and not sure where they came from. So, I went back to 600 grit, worked up thru 2000, then micromeshed 4000 and 6000. I went to the automotive store and bought a random orbital buffer. Then I put the polishing compounds on and WOW! what a difference that made. Now my face (not that any of you would want to see it necessarily) looks very distinct. Lots of detail. Lights reflected thru nicely as did windows and other things. Very much happier.

Here are 3 pics of the body, and one of the headstock.









I'll try and put things together this weekend and string it up.
Thanks for looking,
Bob

[Kevin Sjostrand]

You got a good shine going on there Bob. I read your whoas about no being impressed with your hand rubbed finish and I was going to suggest you get a buffer of some kind. It makes a huge difference.....as you can now see.
Real nice.

Kevin

[naccoachbob]

I finally finished this thing and am really happy with how it sounds. It's so much more responsive than my first and has a much better bottom end to it. I've already told my son that it might take a while to have it all set up and such. And he bought it!!!
I'll have to part with it soon, but am starting another dreadnought now with some nice Honduran mahogany I bought a year or two ago.
Pics:









Thanks for looking,
Bob