Ensor Guitars- NG Ebony/Sinker Redwood Build

[Joel Stehr]

The guitar looks great,,, but that row of chisels really caught my eye! Haha!

[CaE]

Originally Posted by Joel Stehr

The guitar looks great,,, but that row of chisels really caught my eye! Haha!

Are you a chisel guy, Joel?



I actually use all of these decently regularly. But the ones I like the best are on the far end. They are my "specialty" chisels- a 1/8", 1/16" that I ground from a 1/2" I didn't use very much, and then three custom made ones- a 1/2" (left overs from the maker), a right & a left skew that I don't know how I would get by without. The skew chisels make heel carving and volute carving a breeze.

[Joel Stehr]

Originally Posted by Chris Ensor

Are you a chisel guy, Joel?



I actually use all of these decently regularly. But the ones I like the best are on the far end. They are my "specialty" chisels- a 1/8", 1/16" that I ground from a 1/2" I didn't use very much, and then three custom made ones- a 1/2" (left overs from the maker), a right & a left skew that I don't know how I would get by without. The skew chisels make heel carving and volute carving a breeze.

Nice!! Yep, I have my go-to chisels, though not quite the array that you have. I think I should go tool shopping now. :-)

[CaE]

The neck is carved! The guitars is now complete "in the white" and will be moving on to finish soon.

[JonBarclay]

Chris, that looks fantastic! The sinker redwood & ebony compliment each other so well... it's going to look beautiful under finish

Jon

[CaE]

Originally Posted by JonBarclay

Chris, that looks fantastic! The sinker redwood & ebony compliment each other so well... it's going to look beautiful under finish

Jon

Jon,
Thanks for the kind words. The combo of sinker & ebony is one of my favorite aesthetically.

[CaE]

I always love to see the change that finish makes. The filler/sealer that I use has a slight amber tint which helps to add warmth and depth to the wood.

[Oxwood_Handmade]

Nice looking build! I did some Z-Poxy pore filling today, too...

Brad

[CaE]

The finish has cured and I am now on to wet sanding. Finish is always one of those processes that are so rewarding as a luthier. This is where the wood comes to life- depth is added to the wood and true colors are revealed. This top has to be the most drastic change that I have ever seen of any wood. I was originally a little disappointed by the color change. But it has grown on me to the point that now I love it. But it isn't my guitar. So I put it up to my client. I told him that I would strip the top and try a different sealer that didn't have an amber tint to it if he didn't like it, but he was happy with the look. The burgundy like color that it changed to actually is a nice accent to the ebony. I was originally a bit worried that the sinker would carry too much contrast and be distracting. What a pleasant surprise.



In the mean time, I carved the bridge. Here is a shot of it in the rough carved state:



I love how ebony carves and the polish it takes.

[Hierophant]

Originally Posted by Chris Ensor

The finish has cured and I am now on to wet sanding. Finish is always one of those processes that are so rewarding as a luthier. This is where the wood comes to life- depth is added to the wood and true colors are revealed. [...]

And it is the process that can ruin the whole work that has been made so far. A flawless finish is (in my eyes) the most critical point in guitar building and I have great respect for all those who really can do that work by themselves.

[invguy921]

Pretty Guitar Chris!

[CaE]

Originally Posted by Hierophant

And it is the process that can ruin the whole work that has been made so far. A flawless finish is (in my eyes) the most critical point in guitar building and I have great respect for all those who really can do that work by themselves.

There is a reason that a lot of people ship their guitars to professional finishers- it can be just as hard as building the guitar itself.

Originally Posted by invguy921

Pretty Guitar Chris!

Thanks invguy921. That means a lot coming from a guy with such great taste in guitars.

[J-F C]

Originally Posted by Chris Ensor

We picked out a great set of New Guinea ebony instead of macassar.

Originally Posted by Chris Ensor

When I first got this set of ebony, I was curious to how it would compare to the macassar that I have worked with in the past. Curiously enough, it works, feels, and even smells identical to what I have encountered with macassar ebony.

Originally Posted by theEdwinson

I'm a big fan of all the SE Asian Ebonies, this New Guinea striped variety is among the most beautiful. I bought some of this wood recently from Gilmer Woods in Portland, and I'm going to give it a couple years of seasoning time before I use it. Gorgeous, exotic looking wood- and like you say, nearly indistinguishable from Macassar in many respects.

After reading your posts and the comments, about the Macassar compared to New Guinea ebonies, it reminded me that Gilmer Woods refers to it's New Guinea as Diospyros insularis which is the same botanical name RC Tonewoods refers to about it's Macassar Ebony.

Wich brings ( for me) the question : are these 2 ebonies, in fact, the same species, coming from a different location ?


Thank you for enlightening me

EDIT : BTW that Guitar is looking fantastic !

[Halcyon/Tinker]

Hey, is that a Padauk bridge plate? I've been thinking it's a suitable material, and as my RW stock is dwindling, it's been looking really appealing to me, especially as I have a pile of orphan sides just waiting to be used for something.

Is there a particular reason you went with Padauk (if it is) as opposed to the more standard maple or EIR? Just curious...

[Too Many Guitar]

Chris, that is a BEAUTIFUL guitar...just sorry it's a commissioned one...would love to see that in Memphis