It's a great look and I've never seen it before.

Having made furniture for a living for 30 years, when I first saw that center strip with the grain running at 90 deg to the neck, I was shocked. In my experience, there'd be a structural problem if it were solid but not how you've done it.

Beautiful work.

Thanks runamuck, I offer a variety of headstock and bridge designs which are typically branding designs with builders. I consider this feature one of my signature designs.

Mark

Ready for finish
 

All ready for finish! I shot all these picture dry. I wanted a nice set of the before finish to compare to the huge change we'll see in the after finish pics!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7829/...d285f926_c.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7909/...6237cd03_c.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7884/...f33bdfab_c.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7829/...86c4af00_c.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7836/...c4dec7a4_b.jpg

Thanks for following along!

Mark

That looks beautiful, yes, I predict a huge difference with finish!

Thanks Tom, that “Fiddleback Tree” really is special. I’m looking forward to finishing this one up!

Mark

I, almost always, prefer the look of raw wood and have wished there was some way to finish that didn't change it.

I agree that well worked unfinished wood has a great look and feel. Some resinous woods like Rosewood can be buffed on a dry cotton wheel and the heat will draw up enough resin to give if a gloss but essentially raw finish.
I also like the look of well handled wood that is worn with use like you’ll see on tool handles.

I'm not going to look at any more Hatcher builds,
I'm not going to look at any more Hatcher builds,
I'm not going to look at any more Hatcher builds...

...and then I do. I think of myself as a humble man, but I'm having a hard time keeping covetous thoughts away; I want that guitar!

Next time I visit Hatcher's Studio build thread, "I want THAT guitar!"


:rolleyes:
Your work is so very nice, Mark.

Thanks Naboz,

Guitar building is an adventure for me. I find inspiration in so many different ways and directions. Often it comes as a complete surprise from completely unexpected sources. I've been at it for almost 20 years now and I still feel I'm just scratching the surface. How lucky am I?

It is most unfortunate that my money supply runs out before the number of wood combinations I want to own, especially when combined under your expert and elegant designs. That's simply beautiful!

+1 to this and well said--expert and elegant designs!

I'm not normally a hog fan, but this build is definitely making me rethink my opinions. Really looking forward to some videos of this one!

Well done once again, Mark...

Thanks Mike, There are some great combinations of woods out there! Thanks for commenting.

Thanks Nemoman, wait till you see this one under finish. We’ll make you a Mahogany lover!

Thanks for the comments!
Mark

This is the House that Jack Built
 

While the Fiddleback Tree guitar is away for finish I thought I'd catch you up on another build I have going. This one started a couple years ago when I came across this old billet of Koa that a retiring luthier had:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8344/...1ceea527_c.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8097/...d1e42bcc_c.jpg

Nicely figured and well quartered:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8686/...9e0ab282_c.jpg

I was afraid to re-saw it and so there is sat along with a 100lb log of Black Ebony waiting for me to get enough confidence up to dig in. So I got a much better saw for re-sawing:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4289/...a002518d_c.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4287/...8b39278a_c.jpg

After months of tuning up the saw and my skills I was ready to bite into some expensive woods:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4770/...f0007c75_c.jpg

I was able to get about 6 guitars worth of wood from this billet. A custom order came through for a Koa Penelope and its start date finally came up on the build list. We picked out this set:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1925/...9714f724_b.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1938/...4dd80c3e_b.jpg

We matched it up with a super lightweight Western Red Cedar top and Amboyna burl is going to be in there:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1934/...17c4437f_b.jpg

We're going to use a dark trim wood for the binding etc. and there's going to be bacon figures African Padauk cross grained purfling in there too:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1939/...b30acfdd_c.jpg

So that's how it started and there is more to come!

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

Always enjoy your builds Mark, Looking forward to seeing the finish on the Fiddleback. Nice band saw! I own a Grizzly 14" such a great value. I assume the blade hanging on your peg board is the one that came with the saw... I changed to a Timber Wolf first thing myself.

Thanks amohr, I like to use the Timber Wolf blades too and I did, in fact, change that blade out first thing. I have a 14" Grizzly also. So I now have a bandsaw set up for straight cuts and one for curves. That's convenient.

Onto the guitar at hand. Here is a close up of the back halves and them being glued up:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4892/...5c8c6521_c.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4844/...75e89ae9_c.jpg

The center graft being glued up and shaped:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4910/...f9be6556_c.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4830/...b230f022_c.jpg

And the Amboyna burl logo:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7887/...9ed0e4ac_c.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7831/...102be6db_c.jpg

On the Fiddleback guitar I used a special piece of Cocobolo for the trim and let its unusual grain carry a subtle theme in the overall look of the guitar. I am doing something similar with this cedar topped Koa guitar using this chunk of Amboyna burl to draw from:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4669/...62af85c1_c.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4754/...2bbd5e35_c.jpg

There is a lot of contrast and interesting figure to work with here. I'm also using bacon figured Padauk for most of the purfling. No problem matching up colors because Amboyna burl is actually Padauk burl. I have no idea why they have different names. You can easily see the colors of the Padauk on the back of this guitar:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4161/...4ecf76c3_c.jpg

More to come!
Mark

Koa and Cedar
 

Here is the lattice bracing going on the back:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7836/...d85a00c3_c.jpg

I showed these pictures of the rosette earlier on this thread but, for continuity, here they are again.
First it was the mock-up for approval:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7900/...5181cccc_c.jpg

Then piecing it together and trimming round:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7834/...7c6b540d_c.jpg

And in she goes:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7827/...b59ef9c4_b.jpg

The result with the rosette in bordered with bacon figured Padauk purfling:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7926/...0862d4c3_c.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7913/...14fe1ccf_c.jpg

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

Trim Wood
 

The guitar needs to have a nice contrasting trim wood to help show the overall look of the guitar:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1939/...b30acfdd_c.jpg


Selecting the right wood to use came down to Macassar Ebony:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7853/...b473aaa1_c.jpg

Or Brazilian Rosewood:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7868/...3bc7787e_c.jpg

We're going with BRW because it has a little more red in it and for this guitar I feel a BRW bridge has the tone edge on Macassar

With the woods settled it's on to bending the sides and BRW binding:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7892/...cc8f91b4_c.jpg

Joining the sides:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7900/...e3b0aeff_c.jpg

And gluing on the Spanish Cedar Kerfing:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7927/...f3a6303e_c.jpg

The Penelope is a little trickier to set up than the other models. It has an elevated fretboard which requires the geometry of the sides to be adjusted to accommodate an additional 2 degree rise out to the tail.

That is a beautiful piece of top wood & gorgeous rosette. I think that BRW is the right choice for the fretboard & bridge to pull some more red, although the Macassar was lovely too - just maybe not right for this particular guitar.

What a gorgeous rose Mark ... and bacon figured Padauk ... that's a first for me ... love it!

Thanks kkrell, I agree. In many cases Macassar Ebony is the preferred choice for trim especially when it comes to reducing hassles crossing borders. This time BRW wins the day.

Thanks David, I’m proud of this rosette. We’ll be seeing more along these lines.
Bacon Figured Padauk did seem to come out of left field. I’m glad I grabbed a couple sets when I saw them because I haven’t seen them since. The ones I got made nice sounding guitars. I’m keeping an eye out so if you see any you better scoop them up before I see them!

Thanks,
Mark

The Neck
 

I am using some recently acquired Honduran Mahogany for the neck of the guitar. I am going with this for several reasons: It has a light sandy color that matches up well with the color of the Koa. It is lightweight which works well with the very lightweight body for good balance and it is very stable being Mahogany and aged for over 200 years on the bottom of a river in Belize.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4870/...121e7678_c.jpg

There is a center laminate of cross grained Brazilian Rosewood bordered with Padauk. Here is the neck blank being glued up:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7822/...ca662538_c.jpg

Thanks for viewing.

Closing the body
 

Here is the back all glued on and trimmed:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7803/...bcb0114f_b.jpg

On goes the top:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7813/...3294bf69_c.jpg

And on goes the end graft:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7833/...328cff85_c.jpg

More to come!

WOW
 

Holy Smokes

JUST WOW!!! Beautiful

Drooling over here...

Paul

Thanks Paul, I’ve been catching up to where I currently am building this guitar.
Today I am planning to bind the back and work on the neck. I’m very happy how this guitar is coming along. Thanks for following along!

Mark

Looks fantastic even without finish.

Can't imagine how it's going to pop once the finish is on!

What's the binding on this one, Mark?

This thread has some amazing pictures. Thank you for posting.

Thanks Nemoman. We’re going with Brazilian Rosewood trim on this one. This will include the bridge, fretboard, and backstrap. The darker color will define the body shape and add a little contrast to the overall look. I just put the binding on the back today. I’d show you except it just looks like a lot of tape right now!

You’re welcome Ovation1. Thanks for commenting.

Mark

Today I am starting the binding on the top of the guitar. Here is a picture from yesterday when I was in the process of binding the back:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7846/...ab52c4ef_c.jpg

Thanks for following
Mark

Binding
 

Here is a picture of the front of the guitar unbound:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7860/...6b2d0cd1_c.jpg

I have routed the cut for the binding:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7884/...efcc030f_c.jpg

Checking the fit:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7894/...9c877700_c.jpg

Nice and tight:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4918/...bb81f581_c.jpg

Lay it out to cut the miter joints:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7909/...5cb9fe9d_c.jpg

I use a shinny backed chisel to get a true angle for the cut:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7893/...15886e06_c.jpg

Checking the cut:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7927/...0ebe22f9_c.jpg

On goes the tape:

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7811/...aff45380_c.jpg

The white strip is a Teflon spacer that will get pulled out and I will insert the cross grained bacon figured Padauk like I did on the rosette. While this all dries I cut out and shape all the little sticks:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4865/...2182371d_c.jpg

More to come!

Mark