Yes, Niccolo can really put 'em together!
Looking forward to this!

Steve

Nicolo fa alcune belle meccaniche ...:up:

Thanks Tom. But I'm not sure I follow your question. The string pegs are brass. The button stems you see in the pic are metal alloy with brass sleeves and pips at either end. Not sure what the gear (either piece) is made of.

Thanks Dion. Appreciate you following this build! :)

Thanks boss man! Be safe on your trip. We need you back in one piece.

Thank you Dale! Now that things are gearing up, I'm getting less sleep ... funny how that works.

Bob, I couldn't agree more. And he is fun to communicate with! Thanks for following!

Picking a top ....
 

Ever since Steve and Ryan offered the incredible Madi back and sides set, I've had in my mind that we needed to find a master grade top to go along with it. Fact is, the top for this build has been on my mind since before the commission itself. How many times have we heard it ... the soundboard is the central element. So I told Steve master grade - AAAAA is the goal with excellent tap and no-runout plus whatever other key characteristics they wanted to look at.

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After receiving an order of Italian Spruce, Steve and Ryan have been diligently looking for the best Spruce top they have and we made our final selection last night. This fine creamy white Alpine Spruce top received top marks in the run off (not run out!). Ryan tells me there is one bit of visual distraction on the top. Can you see it?

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Here is a close up. Can you see it now?

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Plain and simple, hard to detect. There is a a small bit of bear claw (Ryan calls it a thumb print) on the lower bout just slightly bass side of center on the tail edge.

This is "the one". Ryan told me they thought it was similar to the Italian Spruce used on the TomB'sox SJ I had the opportunity to play last year. That cinched it for me!

Prepping the body ....
 

The work has begun to flow in earnest and Ryan has been a busy man.

Here Ryan starts bending the "away" (cutaway) side. Cutaways are labor intensive up front but boy are they pretty when they are done.

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And next the "players" side. Ryan tells me "the Madi has a sweet candy (cinnamony) kind of smell. Bending it on the heater, the oils gave off a floral scent that stayed with me that was reminiscent of Brazilian."

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Next is gluing both sides and the heel/end blocks in a form. Florentine cutaways by their nature are the most complicated rim. Man, that is a lot of clamps!

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A shot of the unsupported rims sitting in the mold.

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Adding some support with the top linings and arm bevel block. This helps the rim hold its correct form. The heel block is Mahogany with a Spanish Cedar cap. The linings are Spanish Cedar and the end block is Sitka Spruce. The arm bevel support is laminated Redwood. Basically a bunch of lightweight yet strong woods.

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Profiling the rims to their final shape for the back - something sphero-cylindrical.

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Bracing the back ....
 

First, gluing the center seam reinforcement ...

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And then the ladder braces. Carving is next up.

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Wow--this box is really coming along now!

That is really an amazing Italian top--that is a really small visual anomaly. I thought I had it located on the first larger pic and then discovered it was just a speck of something on my monitor screen!

Really cool to see this one coming together...

Dennis, this guitar is going to be SPECTACULAR!!!! The woods are OMG beautiful! The back and sides are so pretty now without any finish I can't even begin to imagine. If the Italian top is like mine, you will be verra happy!!!!!

I think this has the potential to be the most beautiful guitar that I have seen come out of the oldest town in Texas and that SAYS A LOT!!!!!! So glad for you.

Looking fantastic!

Dennis,
I don't what to say that hasn't already been said.
So again, because you surely aren't sick of hearing it yet, let me say what a stunning guitar you commissioned!

Congrats and I'm thrilled to be along for the virtual ride!



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

This has the makings of a really special guitar. Beautiful wood choices. Looking forward to watching her come together! :)

More quality progress ....
 

Well thank you sir. Ryan did mention how they have streamlined their process some. It really shows in the rapid pace things are happening.

I am really psyched about the top (not to mention some other choice pieces here). I am going to be calling it Alpine Spruce since it does come from the Italian Alps.

Thank you very much Tom! :) We are two verra lucky guys to have such wonderful instruments under construction. BTW, I think your inlays are some kinda schweet!

Thanks Paul! I think so too!

Thanks Amy! Welcome to our incredible journey. Glad to have you!

Thanks Doug! Glad to have you follow along.

And now ....

A shot of the bottom linings being glued in.

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Carving the back braces.

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All the braces are sanded along with the inside of the back and now we have a completed back plate. The back linings were profiled and now the rims are ready to fit to the back. Next up, installation of the side braces.

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Things may slow a bit over the next couple weeks as the "boss" is taking a little trip (well deserved). When he gets back we will be going over rosette design and how we are going to work the Lignum Vitae into the mix (hopefully some cool herringbone purfling).

Thanks again everyone for following along!

Imagine my surprise when I got this. Ryan says they changed their OM shape to cloverleaf.

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I love the new shape, maybe a little hard to play, but innovative for sure...:), but wait, I thought Steve was Scottish, not Irish...hmmmm

^^^ Can you imagine trying to get your arm around that thing :eek: :eek: :eek:

For those who didn't realize ... that was a joke! Thankfully, they didn't change the shape!!!!

Now on to some more progress pics.

First up is fitting the back to the rims. Using these high tech stretchy things, Ryan holds the back in place while he uses a dental tool to mark the brace pockets.

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Then the notches are routed with a dremel tool.

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The notches help align the side braces over the back braces. This shot has the side brace stock glued in place.

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Next up is likely some soundport work.

Ryan LOVES the side braces...I have been assured that those are his favorite job!!!!

Dennis, this is amazing - a work of art taking shape before us. Thanks for letting us join you on this journey. Makes me want to stop in MD on summer travels just to behold it live...

An absolute stunner.....this build will be a joy to follow.

That is some beautiful Madagascar, Dennis! Gorgeous color, and very tasteful figuring without going over-the-top. Of all the rosewoods, I like good Madagascar the best, in every respect--even over Brazilian...

WOW, Dennis that is some GREAT eye-popping Madi!! I love the "thumbprint" in the top also...gorgeous!! This should be a stunning guitar to hold and play. I'm super envious!! Can't wait to see it done!

No 4-leaf?

Nice! St. Patrick's is just around the corner! :up:

And yet he does it with such grace and style! ;)

Thanks Andy! You are welcome anytime. Call ahead or just stop by, there is always a guitar stool waiting!

Talk about stunner ... someone should have told me I needed sunglasses when checking out your Josie back from the finisher. Wow!

Well, thanks Dale! I was won over by that set the first day they showed it to me. Could hardly think of anything else. Yes, I like me some Madi!

Glad you like it Mike and glad to have you watching. Enjoy!

It's that little bulbous thing at the bottom ... still growing. Give it time ... it will get there!

Yeah, the next thing you know they will be offering green paint. Wait ... green sunburst ... now there's an idea!

Darn that USPS !!!!!!!
 

Steve is back and work on my OM has geared back up. The unfortunate thing is some of the work is rework.

USPS lost our our initial tree-of-life fretboard and the neck/headstock Steve had finished so that Larry could accomplish the torch. Gasp!!! How disappointing! After exhaustive search, nada!

So the our artists extraordinaire have begun to recreate the fretboard TOL and Steve has begun work on the second neck and headstock. Just goes to show life happens. But these guys are good! They just pull up the bootstraps and move out again.

Laying out the new neck.

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All the laminate pieces are ready.

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Glued up and clamped.

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Ready for wings and head/back plate veneers.

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Side braces are in place and notches for back braces are cut.

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This coming week Ryan is back and next up, the soundport and the back gets attached to the sides. Depending on how Steve moves along on the neck we may see some designs for the rosette begin to flow. Exciting to watch!

This is really shaping up to be (another) stunning instrument. I agree with the ebony binding letting that gorgeous Madagascar do all the talking ... it'll look very very classy. I can't believe the neck was lost in the mail ... ugh!!!

Wow, that set back truly sucks Dennis (and Steve)...:( Hopefully, insurance will cover the value of both Steve and Larry's work.

Bummer!
 

Jeez, that is so disappointing! I find shipping really nerve wracking, even though I insure with Heritage and double box obsessively...

Do your best and insure up the wazoo and then pray!

I am sure we all send our condolences!

And good thoughts for the replacement to be even more beautiful. Though How that could be is unclear to me... haha

Cheers

Paul

Wow--total bummer, Dennis.

Glad the boys are back at it. Looking forward to seeing the neck (and the entire guitar) come to life and in your hands soon.

Thanks for checking in David! I am very excited about this guitar. I agree, that Madi is off the charts gorgeous. It is quite sad to see these folks work so hard only to have the USPS lose our neck and fingerboard. But Steve and Ryan are still pumped about our build and I am really happy for that.

Thanks for following Bob! Have to agree it sucks! But stuff happens. I'm sure time will make this all a distant memory. Steve assures me everything was covered but that doesn't make recreating any easier.

Congrats to you on your new 0 Sexauer! Has to be great to be playing that baby!

Thanks Paul for the kind comments. Let's hope it is soon behind us.

And congrats to you on your new Kinnaird. Looking good my friend!

Thanks Kevin. I'm beginning to get those butterflies again. It is so much fun to watch the masters at work.

And the second neck is nearing completion ...
 

Here the second neck has been trued to its angles (flat top/peghead angle). The truss rod and carbon fiber channels have been cut and the ears are on the peghead. Next up, the veneers front and back of the peghead and cutting the string slots.

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Steve tells me the second fingerboard with tree-of-life inlay is finished. The second neck/peghead will be off to Larry soon for the torch inlay (no, they are not using USPS). We are going to add the Kinnaird logo on the back of the headstock in the same green Maple as used in the TOL.