Hatcher Penelope Model in the "Tree"

[BBWW]

[Mark Hatcher]

Here are a couple more shots of my progress. Setting the kerf;



We're going with a side sound port. This is bound in Cocobolo to go with the rest of the binding and has a black, maple, black purfling.



Gluing on the back;



Thanks for following along!
Mark

[Tony_in_NYC]

Hey Mark,
I noticed that you have off set the gap in the rosette so it doesn't fall on the center joint of the sound board. Do you always do that? Do you do it as insurance against a center seam failure, or did it just happen?
Beautiful guitar and pics as always. Nice to see the new shop up and running too.
Tony

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Tony_in_NYC

Hey Mark,
I noticed that you have off set the gap in the rosette so it doesn't fall on the center joint of the sound board. Do you always do that? Do you do it as insurance against a center seam failure, or did it just happen?
Beautiful guitar and pics as always. Nice to see the new shop up and running too.
Tony

Hey Tony!

Good to hear from you and thanks.
I usually only offset the rosette gap on the Penelope model or whenever I use the fret board with the "S" turn on the bottom. I worry that the gap might not get covered so I move it over a nudge;

[Mark Hatcher]

Back is on and today I glue on the top. I wet the back down for these pics to show the figure;







Thanks!
Mark

[VT_strummer]

Another kissin' cousin….

I recognize that back set from the same billet of wood my custom Jayson Bowerman built guitar was made from. Another was used for Harvey Leach's 40th anniversary build. I believe Jayson has another set, and another found it's way to Wayne Henderson. Good company indeed. Very pretty work.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by VT_strummer

Another kissin' cousin….

I recognize that back set from the same billet of wood my custom Jayson Bowerman built guitar was made from. Another was used for Harvey Leach's 40th anniversary build. I believe Jayson has another set, and another found it's way to Wayne Henderson. Good company indeed. Very pretty work.

Thanks VT strummer,
.
This has been a nice set of wood to work with. It's very hard for mahogany.
One look at it and it's easy to understand why a builder would want to work with it. When building my first "Tree" guitar Harvey Leach was generous with very helpful advise on how to bend that very hard, highly figured wood into a guitar!

Thanks Again,
Mark

[ukejon]

Mark, this set seems quilted differently from the last. Were both equally hard to bend?

The guitar looks absolutely fantastic (mind your, not as nice as a straight grained EIR version but that is ok......)

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by ukejon

Mark, this set seems quilted differently from the last. Were both equally hard to bend?

Hi Jon,
It seems there are two different types of figure in the "Tree", the tortious shell and this sausage type. I've heard that the difference is whether it was quarter sawn or not. In either case the grain is so wild that I don't think quarter sawn makes any difference in other ways and I suppose you need to look at the term "quarter sawn" only in relation to the log, not the grain.

This set seems a bit harder. I can't say which one would be harder to bend as I had taken so many precautions and didn't have any issues with either.

Here is a picture with the top on and trimmed;



Thanks!
Mark

[Billy Boy]

Lovely, Mark...really quite lovely...

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Billy Boy

Lovely, Mark...really quite lovely...

Thank-you Bill Boy!

Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

I haven't posted on this build for a little bit so I thought I'd show how it looks with the Cocobolo binding:











This Cocobolo has just been worked and the yellow cast will turn more red in the next couple days. Fresh cut Cocobolo really shows!

Thanks for viewing,
Mark

[gstring]

Hello Mark

Each of your builds seems to take it up a notch ( or three ). As well as the effect of the different wood choices, are you trying different ideas to reach the next level of sound purity ?

As a side note Something happened to my Greta last week. It just started playing richer, warmer, and with a noticeable increase in volume, clarity and sustain. That was a nice surprise to say the least. Just a fabulous instrument....... thanks again.

daniel

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by gstring

Hello Mark

Each of your builds seems to take it up a notch ( or three ). As well as the effect of the different wood choices, are you trying different ideas to reach the next level of sound purity ?

As a side note Something happened to my Greta last week. It just started playing richer, warmer, and with a noticeable increase in volume, clarity and sustain. That was a nice surprise to say the least. Just a fabulous instrument....... thanks again.

daniel

Thanks Daniel,

I appreciate your comments. I have been tweaking my builds all along to adjust for tone and response. I am satisfied with my bracing patterns and lately have been concentrating on the qualities of the woods I use in bracing.

I'm glad your Greta is breaking in well for you! I am surprised to hear there is such a change because the Sitka top we used was already a very well aged float wood set.

Thanks Again,
Mark

[Nemoman]

This guitar really shows off the beauty of the woods in such elegant detail. All the woods utilized are so spectacular, and they come together in such simple harmony. Really great stuff, Mark--thanks for taking us along...