Greta ready for finish
 

I'm just wrapping up this Greta for finish. It's cedar over Black Walnut with a walnut neck and Venetian cut away. Trimmed with Black and Macassar ebony with abalone all around. The rosette and arm bevel inlays are spalted Tamarind. I made a very similar one for Cigarfan a couple years ago. I've got a little more clean up work to do and it will be ready to go Monday:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4695/...8a336cb3_b.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4749/...23ddfe15_c.jpg

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

That is a very stunning guitar, Mark!

Love the inlays in the arm bevel and the carry-through to the soundport.

Awesome! Hope you'll do a video of it when finished...

Do something bad for a change. ;)

10 out of 10 on this one!

That abalone looks great against the fingerboard, classy.

Indeed that guitar looks awesome!! Of course I am a bit biased.

There are some clips in this thread. Post #176

I bet that guitar looks familiar, huh, cigarfan :).

I'm getting very excited about my guitar and look forward to its completion. Mark has been awesome to work with.

Thanks Nemoman! Cigarfan put a link to the build thread from his similar guitar which includes some sound clips. Cedar on Black Walnuts is one of my favorite wood combinations. I wouldn’t hesitate putting it up against any other wood combo for a guitar made for all around use.

:) If you ever come visit my studio ask to see my “rack of shame”. I’ll guarantee you’ll never see it on AGF!

Thanks for commenting Tom. A guitar like this might look nice in that beautiful cabinet you’re having made!

Thanks Bill! I try to keep that abalone bordering black, it certainly sparkles.

Thanks for putting up the link cigarfan! This guitar is very close to the one we did.

We’re coming down toward the final stretch. It will be exciting seeing all the figure in the Black Walnut set come to life under finish! Thanks for your kind words.

Mark

[QUOTE=Mark Hatcher;5609074]


Thanks for commenting Tom. A guitar like this might look nice in that beautiful cabinet you’re having made!



Haha, yes, there is no doubt about that....Walnut in Walnut, red cedar with white cedar....hmmm, I might have to give that more thought!!!!!

That's nuts!
 

I've got this idea to do an all New Hampshire guitar. I have a number of local Red Spruce tops. Backs could be Black Walnut, Hard Maple, and I've got a bunch of wild Black Cherry. Cherry would make good internal parts like kerf, heel and tail blocks. Shagbark Hickory would make a decent fret board and bridge.
I just got what seems like a natural for the nut and saddle, Moose antler:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4740/...23802195_c.jpg

The trick is whether it is strong enough and has a nice ringing ping when I tap it on my granite block:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4701/...ef1e8e55_c.jpg

Well, this is going to be a bit. The inner core is just too porous and probably not strong enough. It pings nice. The outer layer seems great and it polished up very nicely. It's going to take a lot of antler to find outer layer material suitably large enough to get a nut and a saddle but, I don't need more than one of each to make a guitar.

Cool idea. :) Where will you find NH tuning keys and strings? :D

Hmm, JustStrings.com is in a little town just over the mountain. Does that count? I make my own tuner buttons but, tuners are going to be a trick. I have a friend who is a retired knife maker and I could have gotten his metal working machines which would allowed me to make tuners but, that didn’t occur to me then.

How much of a geek am I, when the first thing I think of when I look at the shot at the top of the page is, "cool truss rod cover"?

Gorgeous instrument Mark!

Thanks David,

Not really a geek, just an eye for detail! Can’t build great guitars without one. Doing a quick mental inventory of all the individual pieces I come up with roughly 150 parts that a builder uses to make a guitar. The vast majority of which are fashioned on all six sides and set into place to make a guitar. Lot’s of room for the devil in all those details, so you got to keep your eye on them!

Mark