I was wondering if you night share the brand or source of the varnish you are using. I love the color of the mahogany under your varnish. I usually like the color of mahogany under dark shellac, but would like to try that varnish you are using. Mike

I get my varnish at my local Ace Hardware store. It is product A276. I am told some Ace stores say they cannot get it, but they are probably wrong as some others can.

Part of what you see IS the varnish, but much of it is that the mahogany is very nicely colored, and it is quarter sawn.

The 000 is inlaid and fretted, and I am on to the bridge.

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/frettedtop.jpg

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/frettedback.jpg

Thanks for the varnish tip. I am tired of the fumes of lacquer and would like to try something else. I used to use some varnish by the mccloskey company, but have not seen it in a long time. I will try the ace.

This it?

http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...254912.1305435

Looks like I have an Ace is two hours away. Nope, we don't have it up here.

That's the stuff. I buy it in quarts. 1 quart will spray finish 3 to 4 guitars, and possibly 5 if you brush! Seal with Zinnser SealCoat.

Bruce you may have missed my question before but do you thin or cut down the varnish to spray, and if so what are you using? Might go this route too, experimenting with different finishes right now...

Today I spent a couple of hours de-glossing the 2nd coat, and then put the third coat of varnish on the Pernambuco OM. Then I finished making the bridge for the 000 and glued it on.

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/bridgeclamping.jpg

Also, I spent 2 and half hours playing violin duets with my friend Louise. We worked on Bach's violin suite D minor #3, and then spent some time on Haydn's Opus 99 in Bb. Sadly, I didn't pick up the fiddle till I was 53 and that is way late to get as accomplished as one might hope to. But then Louise got a late start too, and we are having a great time.

Today Bob's Australian Blackwood SJ's finish has been curing for a week, which is 1/4 of the way. Time flies when you're working hard!

I put the 4th coat of varnish on Tom's Pernambuco OM today.

The local newspaper, the Argus-Courier, has a section called Viewpoint", and the reporter who writes it caught up with me at the local Coffee roasting shop, the Petaluma Coffee Company. They misquoted me, it's just 51 years.

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/ViewPoint.jpg

But the big news is that I put strings on Vic Manuel's Honduras Mahogany 000 this afternoon. Whether or not it is true that ALL of my guitars are each better than the one preceding, it often seems that way to me. Never more so than this simple 000, which sounds WAY beyond it's humble self. There is more finessing to be done before it's ready to deliver, but I took some pictures anyway.

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/strungfront.jpg

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/strungback.jpg

This week I got a shipment of GrandTune machines direct from Germany:

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/GrandTune.jpg

All looking good!!!

The viscosity of the varnish when spraying is very important, as is the amount of air pressure. Telling anyone how to balance these factors is a bit tricky in person, let alone typing in a public forum. This particular varnish as it come from a brand new can and with between a 5% to 10% cut with acetone works very well for me. When the can has been open for a while the varnish seem to thicken some and I use high quality turpentine to keep the viscosity in range. I do all this by feel, and vary air pressure and fluid flow a bit to keep things working right. More than 10% acetone can ruin the entire finish, only did that once. Less than 5% and you are liable to have to deal with witness lines. Sorry to bore the rest of you readers.

Sorry other readers... Stuff's actually fascinating to me. I suppose the turpentine allows a little slower dry allowing the finish to flow... I use an HVLP conversion gun so will have to play with it a little.... thanks!

I have put the last coat of oil varnish onto the Pernambuco OM and am left twiddling my thumbs, so to speak. Not really, as I have to clean up the Mahogany 000 to deliver on Saturday, and a dozen other ancillary tasks that must be handled, but I am picking the wood out for the next project.

I am recommending this set of Brazilian Rosewood for the L00 that is next in the queue, what do you think?

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/JM2/BRW1b.jpg

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/JM2/BRW2b.jpg

I reckon this set is high AAA. . . except that it has 3 tiny worm holes in each side that must be filled.

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/JM2/BRW3.jpg

Exceptional...

I would have been surprised if the customer had not liked this set, but you never know. He does, by the way. This will be an L00 MultiScale cutaway with a thinner than typical body AND a wedge.