The Acoustic Guitar Forum - Sexauer/‘21 (chapter 2)

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I have the second coat on tonight, and it is surprisingly level. Won't get back to the bench till Boxing Day as we're off to spend the holiday with Laurelyn and Josh. My best to you all on the occasion.

https://sexauerluthier.com/LP21/317/2ndcoatback.jpg

https://sexauerluthier.com/LP21/317/2ndcoatgraft.jpg

Mirror, mirror on the wall….

Your photos look like they were taken with a phone. It takes quite a photographer (ahem, ahem) to be able to recognize this.

Back to being serious - I have always been impressed by how quickly yours seem to go together.

A couple of years ago I bought a Sony a6300 and some lens. I used it for this "work" for at least a year. I had heard that the iPhone 11 had an amazingly good camera, and realized I had one in my pocket. So I tried it. I am a point and shoot guy, basically a bit afraid of the fully manual camera and all it entails. The iPhone 11's results are so comparatively good for my purposes that the Sony's batteries have been flat for longer than I remember.

Also, I have been using Photoshop in a rudimentary way for perhaps 15 years, and when I shifted to the iPhone I started learning how to work "Photos" in my MacBook and find it works nearly well enough for my purpose as well. I still don't have a better way than Photoshop for compressing JPGs down to a suitable file size for AGF. All ears here.

I appear quick because so many of the peers build in batches and I prefer to make one at a time, not stocking anything between guitar sets and bridge pins, and instead relying on a knowledge of my wood pile and sharp tools. I am actually relatively inefficient, but am attached to getting the kind of results I do.

I do put in a lot of hours at the bench. 25 years ago I pretty much had to put in 60 hour weeks to pay the bills. That habit is hard to break, and while I like to say I've got it down to a regular 50 hours, I've gotten in more than one under 40 hour week in the last quarter.

I built 10 guitars and 2 violins in 2021. if you do the math, you will get a good idea of how quick I actually am.

That Brazilian is absolutely beautiful with the early finish. My oh my, what a wonderful color.

Bruce, thanks. Things are not always how they seem, which I knew - or suspected anyhow. Yet, from what i read here it seems like you continually make fast progress - but as you said, the math doesn't lie.

As I develop the finish on the current build, I am contemplating an all Catalpa build. I did one a few years ago and the sound is amazingly top drawer. It is certainly more "normal" sounding than any other all hardwood guitar I've made. The guy who owns it has a decent collection, including other samples of my work. While he may have changed his mind, he has several times told me that the all-Catalpa ("Blondie", to him) is his favorite player. If I do another one, I plan to stain all but the top with the Pernambuco juice. Here is a sample board I made today with 1, 2, 3, and 4 coats of stain under a single coat of varnish (so far).

https://sexauerluthier.com/LP21/PonCatalpa.jpg

The catalpa was quite an amazing sounding guitar - I think everyone who tried it agreed on that. But maybe it was the coloring of the wood that kept many people from considering it? The pernambuco stain certainly eliminates that possibility, especially since as a dye stain, it really lets the beauty of the grain and figure of the material shine through. I’m really looking forward to this - I’d even suggest you might consider staining the top equally, as that might make it look more like an exceptionally beautiful mahogany guitar, but with the tone and response of the catalpa. That would be a really incredible combo -

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks (Post 6888532)

. . . from what i read here it seems like you continually make fast progress - but as you said, the math doesn't lie.

If you've seen any of the video's of me working, you may share my opinion that I appear startlingly manic. It may be that I have overcome my inefficiency with sheer energy.

Today it is raining, and the wife is holed up, freeing me to do as I wish . . . which, as generally, is work on a guitar. So, I started an 11th 2021 guitar build today, an Adi/BRW mini-D for my good friend/customer Nick Stiritz. I'd take a picture or two for you, but I left my phone in the house, and did I tell you it is raining?

Here are the plates for the new Mini-D. I have run through my stock of "MasterGrade" BRW and am reduced to using this stunningly beautiful stock:

https://sexauerluthier.com/LP21/318/jinedtop.jpg

https://sexauerluthier.com/LP21/318/joinedback.jpg

Here's the 4th coat on the FT-15-es's Carpathian top. Check the medullary display!

https://sexauerluthier.com/LP21/317/4thcoattop.jpg

Bruce, to my eyes that is the most beautiful set of Brazilian I’ve ever seen. And I swear I can see the medullary shimmering by tilting my iPad. Too bad the client will have to settle for 2nd’s😉.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BradHall (Post 6889949)

I don't charge what I might for the "second rate" stuff, and in fact I am currently including it, an example of what I grade as AA, as a standard option at my new price point. No upcharge!

Looks like I'll close the Mini-D on Monday.

https://sexauerluthier.com/LP21/318/peone.jpg

https://sexauerluthier.com/LP21/318/Ribbons.jpg

And I am sneaking in an all Catalpa CN:

https://sexauerluthier.com/LP21/319/side1.jpg

I have a new customer coming for a visit next Saturday to look at wood and discuss the build. Not everyone is able to do this, but it is TheWayToGo.