How cool is that! So super to see it go to a great home. Tim

So good to see it go to a good home, Congrats Billie Jo!
Several years ago I gave away a $9000+ motorcycle in a promotion at my shop in a drawing. The guy who won it actually got upset because I would not give him $9000 in cash back for it. He said he did not need a motorcycle that big and fast. We ended up exchanging it for different motorcycle. The guy then gave us a bad review when he got the survey from the manufacturer because he felt we should have given him the cash back. All over a free ticket.

Your giveaway ended up so much better, Glad for you and good of you to do this Bruce.
Travis

I did have people at the show ask me if I was was going to give the cash equivalent! This made me think about it, and I suppose there is an amount I would have given for the guitar, but it is NOT the amount I' d have sold it for.

I did prepare myself to have someone want a better guitar than the prize, which I do have, and I would have given my standard trade in deal: I will give full purchase value in trade up to an instrument of 150% the price if the trade in is as new condition. . . of course the actual purchase price in this case is $0 (I'd do better than that!).

Billie Jo seems an ideal winner to me.

Today we had an NCAL meeting hosted by LMI in Windsor. A very interesting meeting for me as we saw lots of jigs and fixtures I had not looked closely at, and had a behind the scenes tour of their manufacturing side.

Also, they showed off some alternative tone woods they're presenting to the community. I bought a set of flamed Indian Laurel. I've heard of it before, but had not seen it. Very pretty stuff, AND it is dark enough to appeal to the rosewood fans. Also again, not very expensive!

One of the disadvantages of living in a nearly perfect climate for lutherie is that I do not have humidity control equipment. Thus I am in my third week of being unable to do any meaningful work as it is unusually hot and humid here in Petaluma this summer. Not complaining actually, the dampness in Texas and in Florida is much worse.

I have been doing some work on my "Woodlocker", though it is merely a few steps on a long journey as far as I can see. Still, here are some pictures of the Indian Laurel I just acquired, and also of an OM sized tortoise set of the "Tree" I got a couple of months ago in the Ukulele deal.

Indian Laurel:
http://mojoluthier.com/lutepics/Wood...ianLaurel1.jpg

The Tree:
http://mojoluthier.com/lutepics/Woodlocker/Tree2a.jpg

Tweaked the contrast for this:
http://mojoluthier.com/lutepics/Woodlocker/tree2c.jpg

Humidity is back into the normal range here in Petaluma, and I am back at the bench. I am working in earnest on a 000-18ish guitar for Vic Manuel, whom some of you may remember as the Aussie who was Eric Schoenberg's right hand man before James Hipps, who currently holds that position. Vic had me make a similar guitar for him at that time, but is seems that some semi-violent instant entropy overtook it. It still works, I think, so it will be most interesting to hear how today's version compares to yesterdays.

Here is where the project is today:

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/peone.jpg

Good to see you back at it, thought you might have decided to put your feet up for a while. Your using Indian Laurel jogged my memory. I had a set of wood but forgot what kind it was, now I remember.

Just looking at the top I was wondering of your V styled popsicle brace. I can't remember (recurring theme in my life) if you ever commented why you deviated from the traditional straight brace.

I too have no idea whether or not I have explained my thinking on the popcicle brace. There is a well known repair person on the UMGF who appears to be making his living removing it from Martin guitars. I think it plays a very important role in guitar balance, particularly in helping eliminate local resonance nodes. Also, I find it useful when clamping on the neck as a sort of caul. I have never thought of it as a foil to mitigate top cracks beside the fingerboard, as most observers seem to. The upper transverse brace and the sides ought to be enough for that, if it is actually an issue. I think the source of that common crack lies in another direction altogether, and I have taken other steps to deal with that.

coming along. The back will go on in a few minutes . . .

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/kerfing.jpg

I have built a number of more "interesting" guitar this last year or two, but this "roots" guitar is going very well, and really will be as good as anything else I make for considerably less moolah. I find great beauty in this simplicity; very close to Martin's style 18.

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/closed1.jpg

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/closed2.jpg

Any particular reason for using tantalones for the top and conventional ribbon kerfing for the back ?

OtrHnd
If you look back through my pics you will see that I work w/o molds and build to a line on the top. The sides are placed and the fixed by the Tentalones (I call them Peone), one block at a time. This allows me to forgo complex calculations forming the side shape to fit the MANY different shapes I build and gives me a great fit to the top. I can ONLY then form the side shape to receive the back and am able to put in and shape the kerfed linings in the more conventional way.

This is a familiar sequence to anyone who builds in the Spanish style.

I like looking at the "fancy" guitars, but there is something about a well made, unadorned guitar that is beautiful in itself.

The box is bound and taken to 180 grit, so it's on to the neck. Pretty nice mahogany IMO, and I am delighted to notice I have several more sister sets.

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/bound1.jpg

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/bound2b.jpg

http://mojoluthier.com/LP17/Vic/bound3.jpg

I now see that I am no longer tuned into pop culture AT ALL. I had some guys come into the shop who play in a band, wanting to look at my guitars. They called in advance (always a good idea) and so were expected. When I mentioned to my daughter that they were coming she seemed to lose the power of speech. I had to forbid her to crash the meeting and she ended up calling in the middle of it anyway. She wanted tickets to the bands show tomorrow in Sacramento where she lives. Nice guys that they are she got them, too. Even nicer, for me, they left with a couple of my guitars saying they'd be back for more before too long. More pleasant people they could hardly be, too. I do like their band name, which is "Imagine Dragons".

Turns out I sold Ben McKee, the bassist, his first double bass about 12 or 15 years ago and gave a pretty good deal too as his friends had made a collection to buy it for him and it was his mother who actually did the deal intending to surprise him. I have always been a bit of a soft touch for a good story. Comes around/goes around, we old hippies used to say. Now he has my Pear 0 which I WAS going to bring to Woodstock.