My first custom build; Edwinson Lutherie

[theEdwinson]

Hi, everyone, Steve checking in- finally. I've had so many pots on the stove lately (figurativerly speaking) that I was unaware of Redcrow's thread having spread out to three pages long! I'm a little abashed by all the kind comments from the community here... I mean, how am I ever going to live up to all that friendly praise? Well, I'll do my best to earn it; and thank you, everyone, for being such excellent human beings!

I am heading off to the endodontist's office in a little while to get some long delayed work done on my grille. I'm trying to psych myself into thinking of it as a pleasant period of rest in the middle of the day. When I come out on the other side of the procedure, I will be diving in the deep end with Bert's quilted Maple/German spruce EPC-DF Performance guitar build. The sides are prepared and ready to bend, and the blocks are ready for assembling the sides once that's done. We have decided on using Ziricote for the front headstock, fingerboard, bridge, binds, trim, and some inlay elements. I think luxuriously figured Ziri will look splendid with the quilted Maple and German Spruce.

Bert and I will be having a conversation tomorrow to set down all the definitive specs of this guitar, and then it's off to the races. I'm pretty excited to get this project rolling, and Bert is too! In fact, his enthusiasm level is off the charts! So you can bet, I'll be bringing my A-game to it. We are both visualizing a very elegant, modern, fantastic sounding guitar. So be it!

After I get the sides bent, blocked, and radiused, and the side sound ports installed, the previous guitars I've been working on will be ready for wet-sanding, buffing, and final assembly; so I will be folding those into my docket as well. I have some rather unusual specimens coming out soon. When I get them across the finish line, I will probably post a few pics of them on this thread, if Bert doesn't mind. Might as well get this new year off to a productive start!

Meanwhile, while I'm lying back in the endodontist's chair a little later today, I hope to be distracting myself from the grinding noises by contemplating what to do with the rosette and other inlay items. It should be a fun day, of sorts!

Stay tuned, this one's gonna be a great ride!

[SaintClarence27]

Good luck with the endodontist, but even I'm excited to see how this turns out!

[redcrow]

]Glad Steve chimed in here. Needless to say, I hope his visit to the endodontalist goes well. I had a root canal done years ago, and it was no fun, and he's having 3 done today. Yowser!! I think that calls for a day of rest, although knowing Steve, he'll probably carry on as though it's business as usual. He did sent me some pictures yesterday that I'd like to share,

First, here's the headstock front plate I picked 0ut of several options he offered me.


Next, here's the cut out back joined with it's Ziri center strip
[IMG][/IMG]

Then there are the fret board choices
[IMG][/IMG]

I think the "B" and "C" boards could be split and book matched, but Steve will have to weigh in on that idea.

As these pieces come together, we'll be posting updates. Things will be moving along for the next few days, so stay tuned.

[SaintClarence27]

Great choices. And even if they can't be bookmatched, if you don't choose B or C, I don't know what we're even doing here! Those are amazing figures!

[redcrow]

Originally Posted by SaintClarence27

Great choices. And even if they can't be bookmatched, if you don't choose B or C, I don't know what we're even doing here! Those are amazing figures!

Agreed, B or C would be fines choices. But what I suggest would product these 2 fret board blanks;

[IMG][/IMG]

Now this picture is a crude cut and paste job done in GIMP, but you get the idea. So if they could be cut up and rearranged like that, you have two stunning choices.

Obviously there's a big "IF" here that only Steve can answer. I dare say that decision can wait until he's recuperated from his endodontal visit. Hopefully his dentist's name isn't Christian Szell.

[SaintClarence27]

Originally Posted by redcrow

Agreed, B or C would be fines choices. But what I suggest would product these 2 fret board blanks;

[IMG][/IMG]

Now this picture is a crude cut and paste job done in GIMP, but you get the idea. So if they could be cut up and rearranged like that, you have two stunning choices.

Obviously there's a big "IF" here that only Steve can answer. I dare say that decision can wait until he's recuperated from his endodontal visit. Hopefully his dentist's name isn't Christian Szell.

Bookmatched would be preferable, for sure. But definitely b or c.

[theEdwinson]

Heh heh... My dental work today was really no big deal. I don't understand why these things cause so much stress and anxiety for some people! The endodontist and his assistant are absolute PROS, and they made it EASY.

Bert sent his bookmatched fingerboard idea via email right about when I was leaving for my appointment. So I had time to ruminate on it while the all the grinding, gouging, and drilling were at hand- er, at mouth.

First, I want to share a little secret about me and fingerboards. I often make a laminated fingerboard for a couple of reasons. One, a laminated FB will add a lot of stiffness to the neck, which means more stability, provided the fret slots are not cut all the way through the top laminate. Second, if I find a really spectacular fingerboard blank, and it's thick enough, I can re-saw it down the center, laminate it onto a substrate board, and turn one spectacular fingerboard into TWO spectacular fingerboards! Twice the mileage from one piece of wood!

I use a straight-grain, quartersawn hardwood for the bottom lamination; usually Indian Rosewood. No one would ever know it's a laminated board unless it was entirely de-constructed. Since my fingerboards are always bound, the lamination does not show on the edges of the FB. It's basically buried inside. So I use this method as a double- advantage very often.

I will have to check the thickness of these fingerboard blanks tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure they are 5/16" thick; maybe a little more. Which means I can take one of these fingerboards and carefully re-saw it, so that I can join the two halves in a perfect symmetric bookmatch, precisely as Bert suggested. Then, I can make up the extra required thickness of the fingerboard by laminating the show side to a less spectacular, quarter-sawn Indian Rosewood fingerboard underneath.

That way, we'll have a fingerboard that substantially stiffens the neck construction, while simultaneously looking mind-bendingly awesome!
Pretty cool, huh? I mean, just look at those Ziricote boards! It never fails to completely awe me, how extravagantly beautiful Nature can be.

And thanks to Bert's stroke of inspiration, we'll have not only a beautiful mirror-image bookmatch on the front of the headstock, but on the fingerboard as well! Count me as ALL IN on this cool idea!

I'll be sure to take photos of the fingerboard building process. I think my luthier colleagues ought to try this out also.

[SaintClarence27]

Originally Posted by theEdwinson

Heh heh... My dental work today was really no big deal. I don't understand why these things cause so much stress and anxiety for some people! The endodontist and his assistant are absolute PROS, and they made it EASY.

Bert sent his bookmatched fingerboard idea via email right about when I was leaving for my appointment. So I had time to ruminate on it while the all the grinding, gouging, and drilling were at hand- er, at mouth.

First, I want to share a little secret about me and fingerboards. I often make a laminated fingerboard for a couple of reasons. One, a laminated FB will add a lot of stiffness to the neck, which means more stability, provided the fret slots are not cut all the way through the top laminate. Second, if I find a really spectacular fingerboard blank, and it's thick enough, I can re-saw it down the center, laminate it onto a substrate board, and turn one spectacular fingerboard into TWO spectacular fingerboards! Twice the mileage from one piece of wood!

I use a straight-grain, quartersawn hardwood for the bottom lamination; usually Indian Rosewood. No one would ever know it's a laminated board unless it was entirely de-constructed. Since my fingerboards are always bound, the lamination does not show on the edges of the FB. It's basically buried inside. So I use this method as a double- advantage very often.

I will have to check the thickness of these fingerboard blanks tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure they are 5/16" thick; maybe a little more. Which means I can take one of these fingerboards and carefully re-saw it, so that I can join the two halves in a perfect symmetric bookmatch, precisely as Bert suggested. Then, I can make up the extra required thickness of the fingerboard by laminating the show side to a less spectacular, quarter-sawn Indian Rosewood fingerboard underneath.

That way, we'll have a fingerboard that substantially stiffens the neck construction, while simultaneously looking mind-bendingly awesome!
Pretty cool, huh? I mean, just look at those Ziricote boards! It never fails to completely awe me, how extravagantly beautiful Nature can be.

And thanks to Bert's stroke of inspiration, we'll have not only a beautiful mirror-image bookmatch on the front of the headstock, but on the fingerboard as well! Count me as ALL IN on this cool idea!

I'll be sure to take photos of the fingerboard building process. I think my luthier colleagues ought to try this out also.

I think it's an fantastic idea, one that will showcase the beautiful figure and the expertise of the luthier. And there's nothing wrong with laminating as you described, and would actually improve the stiffness. I am really excited to see how this turns out. Thanks for updating us on your progress and glad your experience was pain free!

[redcrow]

I've had some dental procedures that left me unfit for human companionship for the major part of a day. So glad your dental work was nothing like that. Like many here, I'd be very interested in a photo log of the fingerboard construction. Thank you so much for making this whole process such an adventure. It's far more than a guitar being created here. This is an experience I'll treasure so long as I'm alive.

[redcrow]

Steve and I had a very productive phone conversation last night. He had a lengthy list of wood choices and feature selection that we went through item by item. By the end of our talk, we had a detailed plan for the completed guitar down to fret markings, fret wire, nut, saddle and strap button material, binding and purfling options, and sound port binding. We settled on the woods for the neck, it's scale, nut width and string spacing.

He mentioned that he's making the body of the guitar a bit deeper than his usual Performance model to take full advantage of our selected tone woods. I applauded the idea, but I didn't expect him to offer me the arm bevel he did because of it. That was a surprise I was thrilled to accept. This build is starting to take on a life of it's own.

We did encounter a slight set back while bending the sides. Seems the temperature control on his bending machine crapped out and scorched the sides too badly to be sanded out. Fortunately, Steve's got a set of nearly identical side boards waiting in the wings. We'll have to wait for the new controller to show up before bending can be completed. While we wait, he'll be working up the back and end graft inlays. I think he's got something special in mind for those. I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. We did decide on a choice of woods for the rosette, and I've given him complete artistic license for it's final design. Did I mention I like surprises.

Meantime, Steve made my crazy book matched fingerboard idea a reality, and I'm over the moon with what he accomplished. Combined with the head stock front plate, the result is spectacular. Take a look;



Of the 2 possibilities, I chose "C". To my eye, it is visually stunning.

Needless to say, by the time I got off the phone, I was just overwhelmed with joy. My wife commented that I was almost glowing. Bear with me folks. As mentioned at the start, this is my very first bespoke guitar. I was not prepared for a process not unlike giving birth, and I'm loving every minute of it.

[SaintClarence27]

Originally Posted by redcrow

...

Needless to say, by the time I got off the phone, I was just overwhelmed with joy. My wife commented that I was almost glowing. Bear with me folks. As mentioned at the start, this is my very first bespoke guitar. I was not prepared for a process not unlike giving birth, and I'm loving every minute of it.

Those both look great. I can't wait to see it all put together, and I'm not even going to be the one playing it!

[redcrow]

More pictures... Steve just sent these to me this afternoon. This is the inlay for the back and a close up of the same device.





The head stock, fingerboard, and this inlay together make a sort of theme.

[canuck7]

Beautiful back with the inlays....really love that maple!
The fretboard options look very cool indeed!

[SaintClarence27]

How much do you want for it?

[redcrow]

Originally Posted by SaintClarence27

How much do you want for it?

You're kidding, right?