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-   -   New 00 Woodsman model Hatcher Guitars (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=526844)

jaymarsch 11-14-2018 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher (Post 5890059)
I've been on the hunt for more 100 yr old+ woods to expand my selection for the Woodsman model. I just came across a number of 150 yr old+ salvaged Mahogany back and side sets that originated in the Central American country of Belize:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4901/...c5cda6a2_b.jpg

They are very hard sets with nice character and ring. I'm looking forward to making guitars with these!

We'll look forward to that thread. That set looks great and good to know that you ear agrees.

Best,
Jayne

Ovation1 11-14-2018 02:10 PM

This thread is looking better and better, can’t wait to see the finished instrument :)

rockabilly69 11-14-2018 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher (Post 5885070)

Oh my, that pair sure will make a fine looking guitar!

Mark Hatcher 11-14-2018 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaymarsch (Post 5890078)
We'll look forward to that thread. That set looks great and good to know that you ear agrees.

Best,
Jayne

Thanks Jayne! Hopefully, you won’t need to wait too long, I really am enjoying making this guitar!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ovation1 (Post 5890133)
This thread is looking better and better, can’t wait to see the finished instrument :)

It won’t be long. I’m away on vacation next week but, it will finish up pretty quickly after that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockabilly69 (Post 5890185)
Oh my, that pair sure will make a fine looking guitar!

I really think this is a great combination too. On several levels: looks, sound, and age.

Thanks for commenting!
Mark

Mark Hatcher 11-15-2018 10:41 AM

Setting up the back
 
Here I am shaping and cleaning up the back ladder braces:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4822/...57e46403_c.jpg

The back is being glued on:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4899/...0f5b0b9c_c.jpg

Tomorrow I'll do the top and close up the box.

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

Zandit75 11-15-2018 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher (Post 5890793)
Here I am shaping and cleaning up the back ladder braces:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4822/...57e46403_c.jpg

This has got to be the messiest photo I ever seen you present!!!:D:D;)

Mark Hatcher 11-15-2018 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zandit75 (Post 5891012)
This has got to be the messiest photo I ever seen you present!!!:D:D;)

:) I normally rail against this whole idea of the dusty old man working in his dusty old shop. However, if I’m going to get in to this whole vintage influenced guitar project I feel it’s only right that I embrace my inner Geppetto! :D

Zandit75 11-15-2018 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher (Post 5891029)
:) I normally rail against this whole idea of the dusty old man working in his dusty old shop. However, if I’m going to get in to this whole vintage influenced guitar project I feel it’s only right that I embrace my inner Geppetto! :D

Honestly, it's good to see you're not this mythical god-like person who doesn't make a mess!!

Mark Hatcher 11-16-2018 05:23 AM

So I had this thought
 
When I was putting my plans together for this guitar one thing I didn’t mention was how I am pricing this model. Part of the idea of building this minimalistic vintage style guitar is that I am making a great sounding, well built instrument with mostly over 100 yr old select woods and will be selling it finished at my base price.
I am having a lot of fun reasearching and putting this guitar together and I have a lot yet to come. My original intentions were to go through this build thread and then have kind of a reveal and say, “and you get all this at my base price!”
I was thinking this morning if I was following this build thread with somebody going through all the stuff they we’re doing with their new model and in the end they announced, “all this at my base price” I’m afraid my reaction might be,
“Well, I guess that didn’t come out so well!” :)
So before I finish this guitar I’m telling you now this is a high character, vintage style guitar, with woods you’d normally pay a premium for, at my base price.
Oh, and it’s coming out great!

SJ VanSandt 11-16-2018 06:26 AM

I was wondering if that wasn't your original intent, but thought maybe you were leaving yourself some wiggle room in case you couldn't resist the urge to beautify. :) This is already a whole lot of added value for the price, and a whole lot of beauty!

As far as your inner Geppetto goes, I doubt that messy old man would have such beautiful, pristine tools, or would take such artistic photos of the process. I love that about your work, Mark - you take time and care, so nothing looks generic: everything is art. Bravo!

mikealpine 11-16-2018 07:39 AM

Mark, this is shaping up beautifully! I'm kind of surprised it isn't presold at this point. You've got plenty of fans, and your excitement about this build is so evident. I can only imagine how nice this guitar is going to feel, look and sound.

Mark Hatcher 11-16-2018 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SJ VanSandt (Post 5891553)
I was wondering if that wasn't your original intent, but thought maybe you were leaving yourself some wiggle room in case you couldn't resist the urge to beautify. :) This is already a whole lot of added value for the price, and a whole lot of beauty!

As far as your inner Geppetto goes, I doubt that messy old man would have such beautiful, pristine tools, or would take such artistic photos of the process. I love that about your work, Mark - you take time and care, so nothing looks generic: everything is art. Bravo!

Thank you SJ VanSandt. You would laugh at me if you saw how long I spent trying to lay those tools out in a “casual” manner for that messy picture!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikealpine (Post 5891593)
Mark, this is shaping up beautifully! I'm kind of surprised it isn't presold at this point. You've got plenty of fans, and your excitement about this build is so evident. I can only imagine how nice this guitar is going to feel, look and sound.

Thanks Mike, I suppose the being a new model folks want to see it finished first but, certainly if someone wants to buy it right off I wouldn’t say no!

Mark Hatcher 11-16-2018 11:05 AM

The back is on
 
Here is a picture showing the joined back and sides. I hit it with a wipe of Naptha to show the color on this old Eastern Black Walnut:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4822/...bf7c340b_c.jpg

NewPicker 11-16-2018 01:50 PM

Wow, Mark. When you say it should just "shake in your hands" you are speaking my language!

I'm just getting ready to celebrate one year with the amazing Lullaby Guitar, and it keeps getting better. Now this 00 has me thinking about what's next and, of course, how both of my daughters need their own special heirloom guitar. I couldn't have them fighting over just the one...

Mark Hatcher 11-16-2018 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewPicker (Post 5891955)
Wow, Mark. When you say it should just "shake in your hands" you are speaking my language!

I'm just getting ready to celebrate one year with the amazing Lullaby Guitar, and it keeps getting better. Now this 00 has me thinking about what's next and, of course, how both of my daughters need their own special heirloom guitar. I couldn't have them fighting over just the one...

Glad you're following along on this one and thanks for commenting. You're right, it's not right that those poor girls need to fight over just one. If I can help in anyway just let me know! :)

Guitars44me 11-16-2018 09:56 PM

Fab pic!
 
I love the pic of the back and tools! Very VERY old school! Makes perfect sense here!


Cheers

Paul

Mark Hatcher 11-17-2018 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitars44me (Post 5892387)
I love the pic of the back and tools! Very VERY old school! Makes perfect sense here

Cheers
Paul

Thanks Paul, I thought it was a good picture too.

Mark

Mark Hatcher 11-17-2018 12:34 PM

Closing the box
 
The top has been voiced and is now being glued up to close the box. The guitar body will soon emerge from it's clampcoon:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4814/...4dd58bcc_c.jpg

Mark Hatcher 11-19-2018 11:01 AM

No Vacation
 
The plan was to fly out to San Francisco last Saturday for Thanksgiving with my son's family and we were also going to be together for my granddaughter's 5th birthday. There is so much smoke in the Bay area due to the not-so-close fires we all decided to postpone our visit. So I'm back in the shop

The clamps are off and the guitar body is all closed up. First thing is to bend the binding and glue on the end graft:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4822/...7bfbc601_c.jpg

A very simple Black Ebony wedge seems most appropriate. While that glue sets up I've radiused the Black Ebony fretboard and have been working on the back side of that bird mouth joint which is a volute on the back of the headstock:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4907/...6c459b2c_c.jpg

So much of the design work on the vintage style guitar is different from what I usually do, yet I love the simplicity and design to purpose aspect of it all. I told my wife that I think I'm an old guitar letch. I'm like Benny Hill at a Miss America Pageant!

Mark Hatcher 11-20-2018 10:20 AM

Binding and Headstock
 
I've got the binding on today. It is Black Ebony and purfling on the top and back is five very fine lines of black and Maple:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4855/...52acc2be_c.jpg

I also selected out the head plate which is a craggy and figured piece of Walnut. Here is a picture of it with a seal cote of shellac. I'll be doing a lot of prep on this before it's done. It will also have a very detailed stag head cut out up top:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4871/...8c5af019_b.jpg

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

Nemoman 11-20-2018 10:23 AM

Wow, mark--this one keeps getting better and better!

Beautiful look thus far...

Mark Hatcher 11-20-2018 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemoman (Post 5895591)
Wow, mark--this one keeps getting better and better!

Beautiful look thus far...

Thanks Nemoman, It's been a fun build. I'm also learning a few things that will carry over to future builds. Certainly, it's making me think I could offer a "Woodsman" option on a few of my other models too.

Mark Hatcher 11-21-2018 08:13 AM

Clean up
 
Here I am cleaning up the binding with various hand scrapers. Because of the way I'm finishing this guitar I need to clean this up perfectly before starting the finish process. Time spent now will be a lot more time saved later:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4909/...12e7c8dd_c.jpg

jaymarsch 11-21-2018 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher (Post 5896459)
Here I am cleaning up the binding with various hand scrapers. Because of the way I'm finishing this guitar I need to clean this up perfectly before starting the finish process. Time spent now will be a lot more time saved later:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4909/...12e7c8dd_c.jpg

Looking good, Mark. You made a smart decision postponing your SF visit. It is finally raining now and we are getting our first real reprieve from the smoke-filled skies.

Best,
Jayne

Mark Hatcher 11-21-2018 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaymarsch (Post 5896707)
Looking good, Mark. You made a smart decision postponing your SF visit. It is finally raining now and we are getting our first real reprieve from the smoke-filled skies.

Best,
Jayne

Thank you Jayne, Glad the rain is coming in! We will be out in April. The snows are coming down here and for Thanksgiving it is supposed to drop down to 14 degrees. So we’re hunkering down by the woodstove and having friends over for dinner. It will be nice and cozy. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving too!

Zandit75 11-22-2018 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher (Post 5894673)

This is looking great as expected Mark!
Just curious about the thickness of the back for this body? The champher is probably over exaggerating the thickness, but it looks quite thick.

Mark Hatcher 11-22-2018 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zandit75 (Post 5897927)
This is looking great as expected Mark!
Just curious about the thickness of the back for this body? The champher is probably over exaggerating the thickness, but it looks quite thick.

Hi Zandit75, The back is quite thin and you are right about the champher making it appear thicker. I use a 1/4” roundover router bit when cutting the top and back plates flush which makes them appear thick. I like the roundover because it leaves less wood to remove when cutting the binding and purfling channels.

Mark

Mark Hatcher 11-23-2018 07:55 AM

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I'm in the shop this morning recovering from my turkey stupor so I thought it might be better to take a couple pictures. Here is a close top picture to show the fretboard, rosette, and purfling:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4896/...dbfc26d3_c.jpg

Here is more of a body shot:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4805/...ebba9769_c.jpg

Thanks for following along!
Mark

Mark Hatcher 11-24-2018 03:18 PM

More New Old Wood
 
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4870/...121e7678_b.jpg

I'm working on building up my stock of old woods. I just got this shipment of Honduran Mahogany. It is 150+ year old sinker wood from Belize. It is being brought up with ropes from old logging rivers and processed by the local population in small boats. This is all being done in a noninvasive manner and is making available some beautiful old growth Mahogany.

I am trying to source as much 100 yr+ woods as I can for my new Woodsman guitars. I'm carefully going through it and selecting out the best cuts for backs and sides and the smaller pieces will be for necks, as well as neck and heel blocks. The even smaller pieces will go to side braces. The really gnarly wood goes to headstock top and back plates.

Here is one of the first back and sides sets I cut today:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4805/...2dd17b24_b.jpg

ClaptonWannabe2 11-24-2018 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher (Post 5879389)
The top:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4588/...ba818d7c_c.jpg

The top for this guitar came from a train tunnel in Oregon that was built in 1835. It is old growth Redwood cut over 173 years ago. That would be the top left tunnel you see here on this old hand colored lithograph:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/816/3...e1c5c118_c.jpg

The tunnels were reinforced with concrete and when the old beams were removed they threw them off down into the ravine. My source is a local guitar builder/fireman who has been hiking down into the ravine, examining the beams and cutting off the prime pieces he is able to pack out.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4587/...f827b398_b.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4590/...2f349fe1_b.jpg

So if I were to say this is a prewar top I'd be talking about the Civil War.
These tops have been fabulous. They ring like a bell, well, like several bells because of all the different tones you can get tapping them.


Here is the top I selected for this build:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1973/...262068c3_b.jpg

And we're off!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4901/...e0d7ffbd_c.jpg


All right. Now I am just mad. I am sure you are probably a nice person, but the stories of wood like that just......

If I had a couple beers in me I'd take a swing at you.:D


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