Klepper - SSD curly Oregon Claro - new sound clips added

[redir]

I love that back strip and look forward to seeing the binding as well. The walnut will look spectacular under finish.

The first string? That's the E string right?

Here's the bridge plate glued in place. The bridge plate is 1/8" wider than the bridge, and beveled at along the front and rear to help avoid a stress riser.




The neck blank sawn out and awaiting the next step.




Three carbon fiber reinforcements glued in the neck blank.

Moving along....

The tone bars and A-frame braces are glued on.



The neck is coming together too - carbon fiber reinforcement, dovetail, and tortoise face plate.

[BrunoBlack]

Looks great Todd and Howard!

Paul, thanks for the kind words. It's quite an enjoyable process.

One note on the headstock material....

The assumption from the beginning was that Howard would use his own material for the pick guard. When I made the choice of tortoise for the headstock, that changed things a bit. Howard pointed out that it would be best if the face plate and pick guard matched, which created a challenge considering they would be two separate pours. The faceplate also requires a more consistent thickness that might be achieved with a pour, but Howard always has ideas. He told me he had some nice celluloid that he'd purchased in the 1970's. It's decades old and stable, so there's little reason to worry about it breaking down later. Plus it has the right look and it's just about 0.020" thick, perfect for both applications.

[murrmac123]

It's looking great, Todd, and will look sensational when finished. That celluloid headstock faceplate is a stroke of genius.

Just to clarify, is the bridgeplate wider than the bridge by 1/8" on either side. ie 1/4" wider in toto, or is it wider by 1/16" on either side?

[Howard Klepper]

1/8" on each side.

Howard has the braces carved. Final carving and sanding to follow.

The back braces are on, but not carved.




The fretboard is glued to neck and the gold MOP inlay is complete. We went with the Style 28 long pattern.




And here is some additional explanation from Howard regarding the top bracing pattern.

"I've been using those braces around the bridge for years now to reduce the top's tendencies to belly up behind the bridge and dip in front of it. They enable me to lighten up a bit on other top braces, by distributing stress, and if anything have been beneficial to sound IMO. My first use of it was a bit of serendipity. I had braced a top for light gauge strings when the client told me he had switched to mediums. I was worried about too much bellying and came up with that brace below the bridge. The guitar sounded particularly good, and the top has been stable. I've never seen the Proulx PMTE brace, but from what Bryan has written about it, I think the effect may be similar. My conjecture is that a tighter central area of the top, combined with compliance near the rims, yields a bass that is strong, yet focused.

The A frame is intended to reduce stress in the upper bout by transferring compression load from the neck block down toward the X where it is countered by compression from the bridge, and to stiffen the sound hole which often gets wavy or sunken over time with the flat Martin style soundhole braces. They also are placed to back up the edges of the fretboard extension. And they don't cover nearly as much of the upper bout as the popsicle stick, so it is not damped as much. (BTW, Dick Boak says, that the flat soundhole braces are what Martin called "popsicle sticks.")

The CF cap layer on the UTB achieves greater stiffness with less weight than a larger all-spruce UTB.

You may also notice that the lower diagonals ("tone bars") are spread a bit rather than parallel. Again, the idea is better stress distribution. But if I'm doing a Martin reproduction I stick to the Martin pattern."

[oliverkollar]

Killer guitar Todd.

Howard is incredibly talented!

Can't wait to see it when it's done.
You HAVE to get a sound clip up when you get it.

Again, congrats!

Originally Posted by oliverkollar

Can't wait to see it when it's done.

You think it's hard for you to wait!

[jessupe]

May I ask what the width at the nut and the 12th fret are?

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by jessupe

May I ask what the width at the nut and the 12th fret are?

Originally Posted by Todd Yates

Here's where we are right now. Howard is selecting top wood now and the build should begin soon. Most of the decisions have been made. Anything blank has been discussed, but final decisions have not yet been made.

The neck shape and size will be similar to my late 40's Martin necks. I know some will question going with the narrower neck/bridge spacing, and I struggled with the decision too. While I tend to prefer wider necks on newer Martins, I love playing these two guitars and the necks feel perfect in my hand. After careful consideration I think most of the narrower necks on modern Martins are also shallow, and the wider necks are deeper. So, that's where I landed and I've sent Howard detailed measurements of those two necks.

body style.....SSD
finish.....nitrocellulose lacquer
frets clear.....14 fret
scale length.....25.4" nominal
headstock shape.....Martin
head plate tortoise.....celluloid
headstock binding.....none
Klepper logo.....Martin-style decal
tuners.....Waverly? Other?
neck diamond.....yes
neck wood.....mahogany, dark stain
neck reinforcement.....carbon fiber
fretboard wood.....ebony
fretboard inlay.....Style 28, long pattern
body length.....20"
body depth at neck.....3 3/4"
body depth at tail.....4 3/4"
body width at lower bout.....15"
body width at waist.....9 7/8"
body width at upper bout.....10 7/8"
neck width at nut.....1 11/16"
neck shape.....rounded "C" Klepper
neck depth at 1st.....
neck depth at 5th.....
neck depth at 10th.....
neck width at 12th.....2 1/8"
neck binding.....none
body wood.....curly claro walnut
top wood.....red spruce
top brace wood.....red spruce
top brace style.....Klepper traditional
top binding.....ivoroid
back binding.....ivoroid
end wedge.....ivoroid
heel cap.....ivoroid
top pufling.....herringbone
side purfling.....none
back purfling.....Style 28
rossette style.....Style 28
back strip.....
nut material.....bone
bridge type.....pyramid
bridge material.....ebony
saddle style.....drop-in
saddle material.....bone
spacing at bridge.....2 1/8"
pick guard.....Martin D-size tortoise
end pin.....StewMac ivoroid abalone
bridge pins.....StewMac ivoroid abalone
frets.....EVO 80x43
action at nut.....fret height
action at 12th (low E).....0.094" (nominal)
action at 12th (high E).....0.078" (nominal)
relief.....0.005" (nominal)

Do try to keep up, Jessupe ... you're not on Maestronet now ...

[murrmac123]

love the fretboard inlay ...classic ... personally, I hate "bare" fretboards ...



just out of curiosity, Howard, did you turn the handle of that awl yourself?

Thanks for linking that Murray. It's post#34 for future reference. I've updated a couple of things just recently.

I thought long and hard about the choice of neck and bridge configuration, and I realize my final choice is not currently the most popular choice. However, it is the setup of most of my vintage Martins and I play those guitars frequently. I think I play them best, but "best" is a relative term.

Oh, I did send Howard some measurements of favorite 1940's Martin necks as a guide in planning and shaping the neck of this one. The shape of the neck is going to be a C-shape, again, much like my 40's Martins.