Build Thread: Parlor size guitar, hybrid design....

[LouieAtienza]

I'm in progress on this build. This will be a short scale cutaway. Some build specs:

13.9" lower bout
24_5/8' scale
Cutaway
Curly maple back and sides
Sitka top
Curly maple bimding with walnut purfling
Macassar ebony bridge and fretboard
12 fret to body
Honduran mahogany neck with curly maple and rosewood stringers
Bound fretboard
Spalted alder rosette with walnut and maple purfling

Some features "unique" to this build...

Hybrid carved arched back with flat top
My hybrid laminated and pocketed bracing scheme
Removeable neck
Easy access to upper frets
Removable neck
Easy access to upper frets
My hybrid laminated and pocketed bracing

The finsh will be natural (I will use a natural oil stain to highlight the figuring.) I will seal a d finsh using ACME Finish1 2-part urethane.

This will be mine I hope... there is a split and pitch pocket on one half of the soundboard (which I already glued and cut) so i will splicr in a piece. Also the maple for the back is flatsawn with some daker heartwood that will show unevenly once carved.

Will get some pics up latrr this week...

[Murray Hunt]

Looking forward to seeing some pics and very curious about this removable neck things... Do tell!

[LouieAtienza]

Thanks Murray... I`ve been posting here.through my smart phone the last couple.weeks.because my laptop had been down for maintenance, or more accurately. A disk image restore gone bad. Nothing unique about the removable neck per se, but maybe the way it is implemented.

[LouieAtienza]

Sorry for the delay guys... I lost some pics during the wipe and reinstall, since I didn't move them to my data partition. Oh well, here are some pics in-progress.

Here is a pic of the box sans top. The bracing is a new concept for me. Actually it's more of a frame construction, made up of mainly high grade Baltic birch plywood, and Honduran mahogany dropoff for the tail block. Cedar is used for the side stretchers. The guitar is made a little bit in reverse, with the frame built first, and the sides bent and clamped to the frame. To "hide" the birch, I decided to paint it black. The back was then carved and glued to the side assembly.

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[LouieAtienza]

A view looking toward the neck block. The transverse braces are on top and back, and integral to the framing. This creates a box structure which I hope adds strength and stability to the neck area.

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A close up view of the top bracing. Here you can see the bracing pockets and laminations. Also in lieu of a brace patch to reinforce the joint, I tried configuring the saddle joint to eliminate hopefully the need for the patch.

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A view of the bracing, glued. My original belief of using fan bracing behind the bridge was that it may not be of benefit to a steel string guitar, but I have to find out for myself so I'm trying it. The bridge plate looks excessively massive, but it is pocketed on the inside to reduce weight, while still acting as a brace of sorts in conjunction with the bridge.

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An 'x-ray' view of the top. You can actually see the pockets on the bridge plate. Not seen is a narrow pitch pocket on the treble side that I just couldn't leave there, so I would splice in a piece... later...

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[LouieAtienza]

I have a box!

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Routed for the inner purfling on the soundhole

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Splicing a piece in where the pitch pocket was. Not as good a match as I wanted but the patch was clean.

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A view showing the recarve on the back. I left a small flat toward the edge. After I routed and installed binding I would complete the recarve toward the binding.

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Peek-a-boo from inside, a little dusty...

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[LouieAtienza]

Rosette and soundhole bound. I actually built up the area under the rosette, so I have enough to get the pilot on a rabbeting bit.

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A pretty unique, almost electric-like, neck pocket. The reason for this will become clear soon...

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End graft inlay. I was a little off on the top binding, but did not want to remove and redo it, as this is for me and a prototype...

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Here is a view with the neck started, and mini-heel cap. the idea is to allow full access to the highest frets (21 of them) while being a 12-fretter, and still look "normal' from the front. I realize it's not the typical guitar aesthetic but I think it looks pretty cool. I decided against carving the "heel" flush since I plan to use a matte finish for the neck, and also this allows some adjustability if needed.

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Another view...

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[LouieAtienza]

To protect the body I decided to apply my "sealer" coat:

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The top came out really nice...

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The fretboard is done... I actually fret and bevel and round the ends first, then bind the board. The tape I believe marks the 12th fret.

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Body all dry...

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[Jim.S]

The back came out really nice too Louie.

Jim

[Halcyon/Tinker]

Some cool ideas there...

[Luke_]

I like the neck, new ideas that I've never seen before. Keep up the great work

[LouieAtienza]

Thanks all! I have the neck carved and the headstock shaped, just need to drill and slot for the tuners.

The finish on the body is just my sealer coat, which I will cut down level before spraying my final coat. I start with 800 quickly and sand to 1500.

[LouieAtienza]

OK here is a pic of the neck carved. Believe it or not I use a 2" cabinet chisel, bevel down to pare the heel and volute area, and bevel up or down to hog the playing area. I then switch to a rasp, then file, then sanding blocks.

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Clamping figured walnut over the headstock on both sides. The wood you see is just Macassar dropoff used as a caul

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My headstock template, or half of it. Used it 5 years ago, nice to know I can still find things from then!

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Now for more butchery... I do not currently own a bandsaw so I rough the headstock with a cordless jigsaw.

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The volute, roughed out. Again I use the same chisel that I use to rough the neck, bevel down, in a paring action.

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Here's how it looks so far:

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[LouieAtienza]

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[KingCavalier]

Nice work Louie, love the way you attached the neck.
Seriously though, you need a new camera

SA