Build Thread: Tahoe Guitars 12-Fret Dread (Palo Escrito/Adi)

[OddManOut]

***The pics which populated this build thread have disappeared because they were attached to a defunct hosting account. ***

Here is a build thread for my Tahoe Guitars 12-fret dread in Palo Escrito/Adi. Luthier Larry Nair and I just did the final selection of materials.

I will keep this thread updated as pics roll in.

Back/Sides: Palo Escrito
Top: Adirondack Spruce
Binding: EIR
Neck: Figured Mahogany/Maple/Curly Koa five-piece

Ebony Bridge/Fingerboard/Head Plate
Slothead w/ Gold Gotoh Tuners
Herringbone Top Purfle
Gold EVO Frets
25.4" Scale
1 3/4" Nut
2 1/4" Saddle

The Palo Escrito Back


The sides.



Two possible layouts. I preferred the second, although there is an abrupt color change toward the edges of the lower bout. Sorry about the sideways pic.



But the color change is far less significant when wet.


The Adi top. I tried to catch come of the subtle bear claw. This top is very light, very stiff and rings like a marimba.




To be continued...

[fitness1]

Cool.....I've always been very fond of almost every PE guitar I've owned or played. Good looking set there....

[OddManOut]

More pics of the raw parts...

The figured mahogany neck blank. The neck will be a five-piece sandwich of this mahogany, maple and koa.





Indian rosewood binding. Some possibles and the final selection.





The fire stripe pick guard



All of these goodies (and a few more bits and pieces) will one day be a fine guitar.

[OddManOut]

Originally Posted by fitness1

Cool.....I've always been very fond of almost every PE guitar I've owned or played. Good looking set there....

Thanks, Todd. Yes, I feel the same way. The Palo Escrito guitars with which I've spent time-a Goodall CJ, a Fender Ensenada Series, and one of Larry's earlier guitars-all had a particular tonal characteristic I liked. They had the brighter clarity of mahogany or perhaps koa, but with more bottom end and a more bell-like tone (as opposed to woody tone). With a large D-12 body it should strike a nice balance between the world of rosewood and mahogany/koa.

That's all fine and dandy on paper, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We shall see a few months down the road what it reaps.

I am really excited about having a 12-fret dread. I passed up a few I really liked over the years due to timing, and I'm ready to have a nice one.

[OddManOut]

Here is an update on the progress of my Tahoe Guitar 12-fret D.

Here are various pics of the sides being bent and blocked. Larry uses a heat blanket.

The waist is prebent



The bending then starts at the waist


Once bent, they are allowed to cool in the bender



Then they are placed in a cooling jig



BLOCKING

The sides are cut to final length



The blocks are glued and clamped



Once dry the blocked rims are placed around the mold. Larry likes to use an interior mold.



The kurfing is prebent and glued to the sides

[OddManOut]

Now the rims need to be sanded to correct radii for the top and back.

The rims are marked for leveling



The rims are leveled



Then a sanding stick set up for the appropriate radius is used to "angle" the rims. This is a two-sided tool...one side for the top radius, the other for the back radius. "This is a stick. We use it to sand. We call it a sanding stick."



And the sanding commences...

[OddManOut]

The build on my Tahoe Guitars 12-fret D continues...

Here the top and back are being joined. Larry uses a nail press-a simple and elegant method-to get this done.

The center seam is checked against a light for gaps.



The nails are set at the proper width. A straight edge sits under the center seam. Once glued is applied, the straight edge is pulled out and the two plates are forced together.



Glue is applied to the center seam.



Excess glue is removed and clamps are placed.





Before and after glue-up with the back.





The top and back are set aside to dry.



The end result after being cut to rough profile.



The shop assistants take a power nap.

[OddManOut]

Larry Nair of Tahoe Guitars inlays the rosette in the top.


Checking a test cut before routing the top.



Before and after routing the top.





Perfecto!



The rosette materials: BWB fiber for accent lines and curved abalone strips.



The BWB strips are placed.



The shell strips are then placed and glue applied.



Weight is applied while the glue cures.

[Dru Edwards]

OddManOut - what fantastic pics! Great looking palo escrito too. Adding the "shop assistants" taking a power nap is a great touch. How much longer before it's in your hands?

[OddManOut]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

OddManOut - what fantastic pics! Great looking palo escrito too. Adding the "shop assistants" taking a power nap is a great touch. How much longer before it's in your hands?

Thanks, Dru. It will be a few months...April or May I would think. But I've learned to enjoy the build process from my looking-in perspective.

[OddManOut]

Here are some pics of the top bracing. The Martin-based template calls for 5/16" scalloped bracing. Larry is going with .28 scalloped. Note also the lack of the tongue brace, replaced with two small hardwood strips-offcuts from the back-between the neck block and the transverse brace. The bridge plate is Black Locust.

The template and the brace stock. The pattern of the brace to be cut is visible on each piece.



Cutting the raw braces. They are left with extra meat for the fine tuning of the top.



Layout of the X brace.



The entire top brace layout.



The go bar deck in action.

[OddManOut]

The build continues on my Tahoe Guitars 12-fret dread (Palo Escrito/Adi).

Here are some pics of the back braces and center strip being glued up and profiled.

The basic pieces. Note the Tahoe Guitars branded segment...a nice touch.



Go Bears!!! I mean...go bars! (Go 49ers! Larry likes The Seahawks.)





Checking the height.



Profiling the braces. That little Stanley plane gets a right good sharpening before is tastes any spruce. Don't try this straight out of the package.





Routing the end height.



Then bringing the ends into the desired profile.





Ain't that perty?

[OddManOut]

Larry likes to tune the top with the top attached to the rims, and with the rims ready for the back so the back can be taken on and off during the tuning process.

The top being attached to the rims.



Now to notch the kerfing to accept the back. The back is lightly clamped in the correct position.



The brace positions are then marked in the kerfing.



Then the kerfing is notched with a router.



Now the top is ready to be tuned.



The side strips are glued up.

[OddManOut]

Larry and I got together for top tuning (and football). It's a key step in the building of a guitar!

Initially the top had a tight ring to it. The tone bars and the upper x brace were fairly tall, and all the braces needed profiling. As the brace heights were reduced, the top developed a more open tone. The profiling of the braces further opened it up. She was quite a bit more ringy and musical when the process was complete.

The final touch will be the thinning of the edges of the lower bout once the binding and purfling is glued up.

A big thanks to Larry for having me over! Pity the 49ers.

Checking the height of the tone bars.



Larry profiles the x brace.



Yours Truly doing some supervised work on the braces.



Braces in progress.



The final product.

[OddManOut]

Here's the latest on my Tahoe Guitar 12-fret dread in Palo Escrito/Adi.

Here Larry is gluing up the neck and the laminate sandwich. The neck will be sliced lengthwise and the sandwich inserted in the center.

I really have to thank Larry here. I wanted some figured mahogany for the neck, but could only find a 30" x 1" blank. This meant that the neck would have to be stacked and scarfed. This is more work for the builder.

Larry did a nice comparison of the stacked-and-scarfed neck layout compared to one of his one-piece necks.





The neck being glued up.



The maple-koa-maple sandwich being glued up. Note the neck-shaped clamping cauls. That's more caul than sandwich.





Both neck and sandwich clamped up. On this episode of "As The Glue Cures"...



The two primary neck parts ready for slicing and dicing.