NOW Finished!! Patrick Morrissey Guitars...Yummy Koa!!
 

Recently Tom (TomB'sox) introduced a builder to AGF that he met at the Woodstock Guitar Show. Upon researching some of Patricks work, I realized that he is not only a great craftsman, but also super creative given his background as a Graphic Designer. Not to mention, presumably from some of Tom's "clean" pics Patrick is somewhat of a "neat freak". He tells me he has vacuum systems everywhere in his shop to keep it immaculately clean given the type of work he does. Now I'm not all that neat, nor do i think it is an essential quality, but seeing how attentive Patrick is to detail combined with his neat approach, I became really interested in how that might follow into his builds. Hearing some of Tom's sound clips caused me to take further notice. Apparently over 15 years of building guitars he has learned how to sprinkle the essential magic dust into the tonal aspects of his builds. Then I talked with Patrick at length and we discussed the idea of a build with some more of Patrick's really cool Koa. Next thing I know I'm signed up for a build which will start very soon :up:.

I anticipate a great experience with this build. Patrick is a great guy to talk to and knows his stuff. You should check him out.

Here's a bit of info about Patrick from his website:

"After completing my first guitar, I was hooked…I knew this is where I wanted to focus my talents. I found my passion as a luthier – 15 years later I continue to do what I love every day.

My love of woodworking goes back to my childhood. My father was a craftsman and working along side him as a young boy I learned the skills necessary for fine woodworking. Of course, at the time I was unaware I would return to woodworking many years later and how these skills would serve me so well.

In school I earned my degree in Graphic Design. I had a successful 20 year career as a graphic designer, but the calling for fine woodworking was always there. On the side I built many pieces of fine furniture – but it never completely satisfied my woodworking desire. So, in 1999 I became a student of Thomas Knatt at the Luthier’s workshop in Concord Massachusetts. My passion was found."

So, this guitar will be a Grand Auditorium Cutaway in German Spruce and some pretty sweet Hawaiian Koa.

Here's quick peek at the Koa:

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...sdrsnylwa.jpeg

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...pslcregno8.jpg

Yes, your Woodiness, I plead guilty to all of the above as well as to loving that Koa. Those dark streaks just work so well with the golden color of the Koa.

I really think you are going to love this guitar, at least I hope you do as I am sort of responsible. I will be following closely as you might expect with my hopes high and my dreams big haha!

And, it is true about how neat and organized he is, even his dog was clean! :D

Wowza! That is some fine Koa.
Watching the build is going to be fun!

Sweet Koa
 

That sure is some fine koa. I can't wait to see this build progress. Learning about new (to me) luthiers is one of the great benefits of this forum.

Thanks for posting.

Oooohhh I'm following this one!

That’s a great way to address you ... your Woodiness! Thanks Tom! I think that might stick.

Really nice set of Koa. And paired with German should be awesome. I’ll be watchin’.

Thanks to all for the encouraging comments. Yes that Koa is pretty darned special. Deep color...yum...when the real finish goes on, oh boy, i like my chances :up:

And Tom, you crack me up :lol:. Your "woodiness" ha!! Not many things make me laugh out loud this early in the morning, but THAT certainly did. Thank you!

Looks like a special build.....wonderful wood......where in W. Mass is he located? (I spent many years out there before returning to R.I.). Will enjoy following this build!

Thx! I hope that wood is at least in the ballpark with the stuff you told me about right there in your home state! Also, gorgeous playing on the Soundcloud link.

Thanks so much Mike! Glad you enjoyed!
Fred

Oops I blew it. I have a friend names James in Hawaii that, due to the handle "islandguitar" I thought had made the comment. He recently was telling me about all of the GREAT Koa he can get his hands on in his State of Hawaii. Sorry, I don't know his AGF "handle" and I thought, mistakenly that Fred was James.

So, Fred, Thanks anyway for the kind comments! :up:

Thanks Mike.....PM'd you !!

Hi Fred,

I’m just outside Worchester in Charlton - Central Mass. I grew up in West Springfield, which is Westrn Mass. Thanks for following this build. I’ll try to provide Mike with some great photos to keep the fun going.

I’m an easy drive from R.I. Come up for a Shop visit sometime.

Patrick

Off to a good start!
 

Patrick sent me some pics of this new start. He shared that he uses a CNC machine in the interest of creating guitars with the highest level of accuracy. Pretty cool stuff!

Here's what he sent:

New Top Bracing and body shape template created from the CNC.

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...psj1yky91q.jpg

Amazing accuracy of the CNC - the template fits perfectly into the CNC’s created mold. Friction fit.

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...shadkvn8y.jpeg

Drilling indexing holes that are used for additional CNC functions and more importantly they align the back with the index holes in the mold for an accurate fit during assembly.

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...sul1zv0fs.jpeg

Routing the back channel.

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...sddkbg2sh.jpeg

Backstrip (Paua) set in and CNC’ing the oversize cutout of the body.

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...sydo5t5ru.jpeg

Oversize Back cleaned up. Ready for center graft and back bracing.

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...stxm1jrfe.jpeg

Looks like you are off to a great start. The Koa looks fantastic....

Wow, Mike--it's looking fabulous already.

Can't wait to see it come together and get the finish--it'll be spectacular!

Man that Koa is special! Looking good so far.

Fell in love with koa when I was stationed there in the early '70s, and own a simple D16-K I love dearly. That wood is stunningly gorgeous! Looking forward to following this build!

Thank you guys for the nice words regarding the wood. Like everyone else, I've always found Koa to be visually compelling but many guitars with Koa have left me less than enchanted tonally. It seems to me that much of this comes down more to the builder than the wood. One noted Guitar builder once told me that Koa is like a pretty girl with a bad heart lol. Oh well, enough chatter...on with the progress pics...

Here are a couple pictures Patrick sent me of some of the early stage stuff. Most fairly self explanatory, but he gave me some commentary on his neck and tail blocks that I found interesting.

Neck and tail blocks.

Neck block receives a top paddle that will support the FB and more importantly distribute the string tension and ties in with the upper transverse brace thus creating a very locked and stable neck joint. Notice the slight taper of the paddle. The purpose is to distribute any strain across several grain lines of the top. Simple but effective.

Maple inlay in the tailback to add stability and prevent splitting if the guitar were to be dropped.

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...snpjz3fs0.jpeg

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...srl6bxtzv.jpeg

http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/x...se4pna7yu.jpeg

A great way to start is with some great wood... looks like this is gong to be a beautiful guitar!

That's some very nice koa. I hope that guitar turns out to be the stuff dreams are made of.

Thanks Louie! Hope so!

Thanks Jim, I'm dreaming for sure.

Here's a couple more pics that Patrick sent. One shows his vacuum clamping fixture.

Starting to move this baby forward!

Attachment 4389

Attachment 4390

Attachment 4391

That is some nice clean work going on there. Love all the little planes!

Thanks Tom!! We're moving along slowly, but methodically. Here is the completed rosette. The inside is Koa cut from the wood remaining from the back and as so a perfect match. A little shell to create a little pop.

Here's the CNC machine cutting out the body shape - slightly oversized.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Morrissey...tled-264-M.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Morrissey...tled-248-M.jpg

Close-up

https://photos.smugmug.com/Morrissey....01%20PM-L.png

That rosette is a beauty...

Rosette is looking good! You had so many going at once, I almost forgot about this one.

Very nice selection of the koa, beautiful grain in that piece and the abalone sets it off so well!

Louie, thank you for your kind words. This design isn't really unique but certainly the wood and the shell look great together.

Thanks Dennis! Yep this one is coming along slower than some, but just about the right pace. Patrick is showing off some of his stuff with the aid of the CNC machine.

Thank you Tom. Patrick has been showing me some things that he is doing with his CNC machine. This stuff is pretty darned cool because the accuracy of the device allows him to make things that are unique to him and his builds.

The pics below show how the machine cuts out the shape of the bridge with precision, and the diamonds he made are beyond stunning with MOP and Paua combined into very unique two-tone shapes that will give the fretboard some pretty sweet bling factor !!

The bridge is yet to be finished out by hand, but this bridge has a nice shapely figure ;)

https://photos.smugmug.com/Morrissey...tled-261-M.jpg

Check these out...pretty special!

https://photos.smugmug.com/Morrissey...299-Edit-S.jpg

Here's the headstock veneer. I think this piece of Brazilian will look pretty sweet on the end of this guitar ;)

https://photos.smugmug.com/Morrissey...tled-305-M.jpg

At least one person asked me when this guitar is going to be completed. All I know is Patrick originally said 4 months from the start date was his target. That means we're more than 50% of the way to completion if my math is correct. I know Patrick has three other guitars on his bench at the moment so hopefully we'll be able to stay within the time frame for mine.

Not a lot to show this week, but one thing I can say is the work is very very clean. Using one of those fancy CNC machines really allows for precision and accuracy.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Morrissey...tled-333-M.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Morrissey...331-Edit-M.jpg

No argument there - definitely has been some slow progress. Guitars all over the shop.

I know it's been a boring show lately but I foresee some significant progress in the next couple weeks. Sort of like I've been warming up and stretching - now it's time for the sprint.