The Acoustic Guitar Forum

The Acoustic Guitar Forum (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/index.php)
-   Custom Shop (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=38)
-   -   Hatcher's Studio 2021 (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=601295)

Mark Hatcher 12-17-2020 10:36 AM

Hatcher's Studio 2021
 
I'm starting this 2021 thread a little early but, I'm thinking everyone is ready for 2020 to be over anyway!

I have some very nice guitars to build this coming year! I also have a number of guitars already in the works so I'll do some updates on those first.

"The Tree" Josie small Jumbo is coming along nicely. I'm working on the neck and fretboard now. We decided to do fret markers with Amboyna burl with Maple purfling. The first order of business is to get in touch with my inner wood whisperer and teach the Maple purling to take very tight turns.

Here's the first mock-up:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0cff4bf4_c.jpg

I cut out the pockets and went to work bending the purfling.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e76ebf6b_b.jpg

The twelfth fret markers have a 5/64" inside diameter. Didn't think I'd pull that off!

After cutting and shaping the Amboyna inlays I glued them into the fretboard.
Here I am cutting the excess off with a pull saw and chisel:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...596e3e5f_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5a45e2eb_c.jpg

Then clean it all up:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8a37bf0f_c.jpg

I think it works together nicely!

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a25acf14_c.jpg

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

Nemoman 12-17-2020 10:39 AM

Beautiful, Mark--they tie in perfectly!

Looking forward to what 2021 brings to your workshop.

Happy Holidays!

Lonzo 12-17-2020 10:50 AM

Oh yes
 
..that looks very promising for 2021 :D
If the year continues like it starts here, I will be very happy.
Cool stuff, thanks Mark.

CarolD 12-17-2020 10:51 AM

Oh, wow! Gorgeous work!

TomB'sox 12-17-2020 11:18 AM

Looks fantastic, I have always wondered in this kind of fret markers if having the end grain "exposed" will cause any issues?

BrianM99 12-17-2020 11:34 AM

I love the looks of the fingerboard and those inlays (I liked those inlays when I saw them on an earlier build). Nice work.

cigarfan 12-18-2020 05:38 AM

Inlays look stupendous and really provide accent to the theme. As always, such a pleasure to watch you work. Here's to a fantastic 2021 in the Hatcher shop! :)

Carpinteria 12-18-2020 07:37 AM

Beautiful work, as always, Mark. Thanks for sharing your process on the inlays. I sometimes feel like this forum is a master class on creative lutherie. Great stuff. Thanks!

Mark Hatcher 12-18-2020 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemoman (Post 6578260)
Beautiful, Mark--they tie in perfectly!

Looking forward to what 2021 brings to your workshop.

Happy Holidays!

Thanks Nemoman, Me too! I’ve had the good fortune to acquire some wonderful wood sets. I have some new and more rare woods like the Sheoak and some unusual variations of standard woods like the Red,White, and Blue Sitka. I’m itching to get cutting!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonzo (Post 6578267)
..that looks very promising for 2021 :D
If the year continues like it starts here, I will be very happy.
Cool stuff, thanks Mark.

Thanks Lonzo, This “Tree” small jumbo is really turning out to be something. It’s taking awhile to build but, when we inventory the features going into to this one it’s no wonder.


Quote:

Originally Posted by CarolD (Post 6578270)
Oh, wow! Gorgeous work!

Thanks Carol!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomB'sox (Post 6578296)
Looks fantastic, I have always wondered in this kind of fret markers if having the end grain "exposed" will cause any issues?

Thanks! I don’t expect any issues with most woods because the width of the markers is so small. Plus the side of the neck is finished which helps seal the end grain. Now with burl, who’s to say where the end grain is?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianM99 (Post 6578321)
I love the looks of the fingerboard and those inlays (I liked those inlays when I saw them on an earlier build). Nice work.

Thanks BrianM99! I’ve done a number of this type of fret marker. Previously I’ve bordered them with a strip of metal partly because I knew metal would handle the tight radius. This time I manned up and gave it a shot. Fortunately it worked.

Mark Hatcher 12-18-2020 04:15 PM

New Wood Sets
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by cigarfan (Post 6579096)
Inlays look stupendous and really provide accent to the theme. As always, such a pleasure to watch you work. Here's to a fantastic 2021 in the Hatcher shop! :)

Thanks cigarfan, I look forward to it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carpinteria (Post 6579159)
Beautiful work, as always, Mark. Thanks for sharing your process on the inlays. I sometimes feel like this forum is a master class on creative lutherie. Great stuff. Thanks!

Thanks Carpinteria! I'm glad you are finding useful information here, I certainly do too!

I just received a couple back and side sets of Bavarian Plumwood. I say Bavarian Plumwood not because it's a particular species but because it came from Bavaria and Bavarian Plumwood just sounds so good!
There are a few different species of Plumwood in Europe these are from trees that produce prunes. They tends to be very colorful:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0315eddb_b.jpg

You don't see many Plumwood sets because the trees just aren't very big. It is even more rare to see a well quartered set like this next one:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...c74b93b3_b.jpg

Here is a close up to show off the color and how the medullary rays show when quartered:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...501c2a41_c.jpg

This tonewood comes in around the halfway point between Mahogany and Rosewood which makes for a very versatile guitar. It would pair wonderfully with a nice Sitka set, preferably a nice colorful one, say like this one:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8263b6f8_b.jpg

Imagine this guitar with a lot of blue Paua trim. She'd be the life of the party!

TomB'sox 12-18-2020 07:17 PM

Do you think that plum wood, Bavarian plum wood, would make a red white and blue guitar?

Jlhunt 12-18-2020 09:15 PM

I absolutley love the fret markers and the guitar is simply stunning. You mentioned you have some Sheoak sets. I recently acquired some beautiful figured Sheoak boards and am going to build with them. What has been your experience working with Sheoak?

Jim

The Bard Rocks 12-18-2020 10:00 PM

That plum will be nice looking.

mikealpine 12-18-2020 10:14 PM

That Plumwood is gorgeous! Might nice with a rich cedar top, an we all know I think everything goes well with Redwood!

ukejon 12-19-2020 09:25 AM

Love that style of fret marker. Great eye appeal.

Mark Hatcher 12-19-2020 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomB'sox (Post 6579817)
Do you think that plum wood, Bavarian plum wood, would make a red white and blue guitar?

I think it would make a fine Red, White, Blue and then some guitar!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jlhunt (Post 6579906)
I absolutley love the fret markers and the guitar is simply stunning. You mentioned you have some Sheoak sets. I recently acquired some beautiful figured Sheoak boards and am going to build with them. What has been your experience working with Sheoak?

Jim

Thanks Jim, I haven't made a guitar with it yet but it's reputation and my initial impression when cleaning it up is that it will tend more toward fundamentals but I also expect a good quick response with a little more overtones than Mahogany.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks (Post 6579933)
That plum will be nice looking.

Thanks! I was lucky to get these sets.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ukejon (Post 6580193)
Love that style of fret marker. Great eye appeal.

Thanks ukejon! I like it a lot too! I don't know who did it first. I think Kostal called it Baskin fret markers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikealpine (Post 6579938)
That Plumwood is gorgeous! Might nice with a rich cedar top, an we all know I think everything goes well with Redwood!

Cedar or Redwood would work very well with Plumwood. It strikes me that it will be versatile enough to handle a range of different tops.

As a matter of fact I just received a new billet of Western Red Cedar that might fit the bill quite well. It's old, perfectly quartered and sounds wonderful. This billet was hand cut and hand split so there isn't any run out.
Here it is:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a44bcfac_c.jpg

It's 9" wide, 25" long and 6 1/2" thick. I started cleaning it up a bit today to get a good look and plan my attack. I'm afraid I didn't get too far with the scrub plane today because I'm so sore from shoveling snow all day yesterday.

One advantage of cleaning up with a plane is you get a good clean look at the colors in the wood:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6c24d643_b.jpg

For comparison here is what I was getting from the tri-color Sitka:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b490aeb4_c.jpg

Mark Hatcher 12-20-2020 12:34 PM

Woodman Ready for Finish
 
I've pretty much finished the last steps and clean-up before finish starts on this 00 Woodsman:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e601090e_c.jpg

I installed the frets on the 5,000+ yr old Bog Oak fretboard:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...de15ef95_c.jpg

I love the subtle brown color when you look up close on the very old wood:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ca816588_c.jpg

It's a perfect match for a Woodsman!

Lonzo 12-21-2020 07:25 AM

Hi Mark,
your woodsman looks like the essence of a guitar, just the fundamentals, old techniques, hardly any embelishments or bling, but old wood that looks like it’s old (in a good way of matured, ripe).. looking forward to seeing this one finished and to hear it hopefully.

BrianM99 12-21-2020 09:21 AM

Hi Lonzo - I echo your sentiments 100%, and that's why I ordered mine (which you see above). :wink: When I saw Mark's work on the earlier Woodsman builds, it just seemed to check all the boxes. I'm looking forward to playing my guitar in the near future and for many years to come.

Treenewt 12-21-2020 05:02 PM

Mark, I love seeing your posts of your work with handtools...those shots with the plane are wonderful! The character in that old wood...wow!

Also, that Woodsman is FIRE. I SOOO dig that design!

Mark Hatcher 12-23-2020 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonzo (Post 6581804)
Hi Mark,
your woodsman looks like the essence of a guitar, just the fundamentals, old techniques, hardly any embelishments or bling, but old wood that looks like it’s old (in a good way of matured, ripe).. looking forward to seeing this one finished and to hear it hopefully.

Thanks Lonzo, I love making this Woodsman guitar. It is a big contrast to my other work in design, building technique, and concept. It’s proven to be a good seller. It sounds great and what I’ve learned making this one is influencing my other work.

I’m considering adding on to expand my Woodsman line. I’d like to add to this 00 model. I could do an 0 and a 000. Then I’d offer a Wodsmam, Woodsman and Wooodsman. OK I know the names would be stupid.


Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianM99 (Post 6581880)
Hi Lonzo - I echo your sentiments 100%, and that's why I ordered mine (which you see above). :wink: When I saw Mark's work on the earlier Woodsman builds, it just seemed to check all the boxes. I'm looking forward to playing my guitar in the near future and for many years to come.

I’m glad to hear that! I started putting finish on today.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Treenewt (Post 6582276)
Mark, I love seeing your posts of your work with handtools...those shots with the plane are wonderful! The character in that old wood...wow!

Also, that Woodsman is FIRE. I SOOO dig that design!

Thanks Treenewt, I can tell you I love working with those hand tools!

Mark

Lonzo 12-25-2020 04:38 AM

..I know it is most probably a typo, but I like the idea of a “wodsmam” ;-)
seeing, that most all guitars are a “she” anyway, referred to as “her” ... in german the article is feminine... so why not a wodsmam?
Either way those are/will be cool.;)

Mark Hatcher 12-25-2020 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonzo (Post 6585179)
..I know it is most probably a typo, but I like the idea of a “wodsmam” ;-)
seeing, that most all guitars are a “she” anyway, referred to as “her” ... in german the article is feminine... so why not a wodsmam?
Either way those are/will be cool.;)

It's true that guitars seem to always be referred to as feminine. I always just accepted that guitars were feminine, my models were Penelope, Josie, Greta, Piña, and Bella. About five years ago I was making a custom Josie and it was the first guitar I've made that struck me as having more of a masculine affect:

https://live.staticflickr.com/403/18...533e5d4f_c.jpg

I think it's the dark and smooky look that does it as well as the sharper edges of the abalone inlays it had:

https://live.staticflickr.com/414/18...b29db12e_c.jpg

The masculine vs feminine thought stuck with me ever since. When I designed my Baritone I named the model Bacchus and you can see I carried the more masculine design aspects into this one:

https://live.staticflickr.com/2612/3...abc2c088_c.jpg

I even started sharpening up some of the edges of the bridge design for this purpose:

https://live.staticflickr.com/608/31...5a7781b1_c.jpg

When I started designing this retro 00 with the old woods and traditions and techniques I took the masculinity theme to the next level. Of course "The Woodsman" really was my way to confirm how my thinking worked around this model. Luckily, it connects with the folks that have been buying it!

Thanks,
Mark

Lonzo 12-25-2020 04:01 PM

Thanks for the elaborate answer !
I can see how different guitars, despite their feminine shape, also do have their own character and could well be seen as male either. That Josie being one of them for sure.
..and then I thought I knew your models Mark, but I hadn’t heard of a Bella so far... is that a discontinued one ?

Aah, just checked again.. Bella is a 4 string bass model on the base of the Bacchus... my oversight as I am not a bass player... sorry to cause confusion..

Mark Hatcher 12-25-2020 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonzo (Post 6585636)
Thanks for the elaborate answer !
I can see how different guitars, despite their feminine shape, also do have their own character and could well be seen as male either. That Josie being one of them for sure.
..and then I thought I knew your models Mark, but I hadn’t heard of a Bella so far... is that a discontinued one ?

Aah, just checked again.. Bella is a 4 string bass model on the base of the Bacchus... my oversight as I am not a bass player... sorry to cause confusion..

That Bella was a fun build. I made it for Graham Maby who is the bass player for the Joe Jackson band and has toured and played with all kinds of bands from They Might Be Giants to Bon Jovi. It was ADI on Claro Walnut with a wedge, f holes, and great big planetary geared cello tuners:

https://live.staticflickr.com/3925/1...9af81615_c.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7070/1...e77888b5_b.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/7340/1...9afffb8c_c.jpg

It's not discontinued but, I'm glad I didn't try to make a living making acoustic bass guitars!

Mark Hatcher 12-27-2020 10:16 AM

Western Red Cedar Billets
 
I thought I'd write more about this Western Red Cedar billet:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a44bcfac_c.jpg

I sourced this from the islands off British Columbia. This is from logs that have fallen off commercial lumber booms or barges and become driftwood that would of otherwise rotted in the ocean or on a beach somewhere.
The fella I deal with is a one man operation working off the grid and he has an eye and love for salvaging master grade tonewood. Here is a fun little YouTube of him selecting and hand splitting Cedar billets:



Gerry Chicalo loves this work and takes pride in salvaging and hand processing this wood, carefully selecting out the best for musical instruments. Splitting out this incredibly straight grained cedar by hand ensures the sound boards will be absolutely quartered without any run out.

I've found as I further my commitment to hand building that there are wood suppliers that take this same pride and passion in their work. There are tool makers that raise their passion to art. My goal is to find these individuals and small businesses that align with my goals and passion as a luthier and partner with them.

Guitars44me 12-27-2020 10:47 AM

This guy works FAST!
 
Wow, Gerry works at TOP SPEED! :)

But seriously, this is cool indeed, and I am a believer in WRC!

"I've found as I further my commitment to hand building that there are wood suppliers that take this same pride and passion in their work. There are tool makers that raise their passion to art. My goal is to find these individuals and small businesses that align with my goals and passion as a luthier and partner with them."

These are the folks we want to support!

Salud

Paul

Mark Hatcher 12-28-2020 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitars44me (Post 6587029)
Wow, Gerry works at TOP SPEED! :)

But seriously, this is cool indeed, and I am a believer in WRC!

"I've found as I further my commitment to hand building that there are wood suppliers that take this same pride and passion in their work. There are tool makers that raise their passion to art. My goal is to find these individuals and small businesses that align with my goals and passion as a luthier and partner with them."

These are the folks we want to support!

Salud

Paul

Thanks for commenting Paul. Gerry does work really fast :)
Mark

Lonzo 12-28-2020 07:05 AM

Astounding
 
If you look at the log as it lies there on the beach it looks like many you have seen yourself. Then someone comes along not only knowing what kind of tree that is/was but also takes a little off here and there, in the right fashion of course and what you get to see is a surface that looks loke a really nice top even in the raw... is that trial and error or can you actually get clues as to which log to cut into and which one not ? Fascinating !

Mark Hatcher 12-31-2020 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonzo (Post 6587851)
If you look at the log as it lies there on the beach it looks like many you have seen yourself. Then someone comes along not only knowing what kind of tree that is/was but also takes a little off here and there, in the right fashion of course and what you get to see is a surface that looks loke a really nice top even in the raw... is that trial and error or can you actually get clues as to which log to cut into and which one not ? Fascinating !

I think he has a locals advantage of knowing the shipping lanes and what woods are being logged in the area. Western Red Cedar is an easy one to identify. If you just crack a piece open and smell it and start thinking school pencils you know it's probably WRC. You can even hear it's WRC by the noise it makes when he splits it.

Happy New Year everyone!

I haven't posted on the Josie "Tree" guitar recently. I'm just doing final clean up on it now and thought some pictures of this one would be nice to ring in the new year!

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4d01e8dd_b.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...96145389_b.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...b35a3125_b.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...afc7ea9e_b.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5d50845d_c.jpg

Thanks for viewing!
Mark


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:38 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum

vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=