Roughing in a Compound Radius
Mark is roughing in the compound 14” to 18” fingerboard radius. The bridge is not glued on to the top yet, it’s just sitting there. He uses a straightedge to project the fingerboard plane out to the bridge to verify and adjust the neck angle on both the bass and treble sides.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...82AD4178B.jpeg |
It’s starting to look great, Bob! :up:
I love them at this stage, and yours does not disappoint. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
Steve |
Carving the neck
Mark is carving the neck. I like a neck with a bit of “meat” to it, and he shapes it with an asymmetric cross sectional profile. This is Mark’s standard neck profile which I found comfortable on the Pinyon that he made for me 6 years ago. He installed a Macassar Ebony/Koa heel cap to match the body bindings/purflings.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...2643FCC5A.jpeg |
That's really looking great Bob. Really clean and lovely wood choices :up:
|
Coming together
Mark sent me sent me a photo showing that he added a concave fretboard terminus that is concentric with the inner ring of the rosette. The 21st fret lines up with the outer ring of the rosette as well. You can also begin to see how the curly Koa rings of the radial Brazilian Rosewood rosette visually harmonize with the curly Koa top purflings. The Macassar Ebony binding also ties in with the Gaboon Ebony fretboard. The guitar should be done in “white” fairly soon.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...D17318CA5.jpeg |
A bit-o-pore filler
Mark sent me some photos showing the body with epoxy pore filler applied. You can finally see a hint of what the koa purflings are going to look like against the Brazilian Rosewood.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...72C440D2D.jpeg https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...A41E68503.jpeg https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...DE3E369CB.jpeg |
Ready for finish
Back to bare wood (except for the pores). Hangers attached… ready for sealer
https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...0CD6B642A.jpeg |
Very Swanky
Elegant and classy! I especially like the flamed Koa purflings and the bookmatched Headstock overlay.
I am also a fairly recent convert to asymmetrical neck carves. You must be getting itchy now... Salud Paul |
Thanks for the kind words, but it is still a ways off...:)
Mark applies his nitro finish slowly allowing for drying time between coats. He also allows for a good month for it to dry before buffing. Another week for assembly followed two weeks to settle in. So it is like 2+ months until it makes the journey from the High Sierra to the East Coast. Quote:
|
As part of finishing...
Mark sprays shellac on his guitar tops to protect it during his construction process. After pore filling, he sands the back and side to only leave residual epoxy in the rosewood pores. Mark sprays on vinyl sealer onto the back and sides to prepare them to accept nitro. When he applies the vinyl sealer to the sides, some overspray always ends up on the top but it is protected by the shellac. He leaves the shellac on until the back and sides receive about 6 coats of nitro. He then sands off the shellac and vinyl sealer overspray from the Italian Spruce top and does his final thinning/tuning of the sound board (if needed).
https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...A9BD3B55B.jpeg |
Awesome thread
I just re-read this entire thread. Boy, there is a LOT of very interesting technical info above!
The axe sure looks beautiful, and I too hope to play one of Mark's beauties some day soon. Thanks for sharing all of this with all of us! Salud Paul |
Quote:
He did learn the tool of Chladni from Al Carruth in the mid 1990s and he developed his own way of integrating it into his build process to help him guide decisions and improve his consistency of outcomes. Keeping careful notebooks on every guitar coming off his bench has helped him interpret characteristics associated with his best sounding work. He also learned the basics of archtop guitar construction through a course taught by Linda Manzer and Tom Ribbecke. Mark pasted along some of his approach to Chladni methods teaching luthier Randall “Sparky” Kramer. He designed, patented and manufactures his own double acting truss rods as well. While he has been building custom instruments for over 25 years now, Mark is a quiet guy who now lives in the Sierras. He has a website, makes some guitars for a well known reseller and attends luthier exhibitions. Despite this, I don’t feel that he is widely known enough among the AGF custom acoustic guitar community. Fellow luthiers all know and respect him and his work, but I don’t think there are more than a few threads here on AGF exhibiting his work across the 20-years that this site has been around. His guitars are unique in their construction and in their tone and that is why I am back to have him build me a second guitar. |
Bob, your posts are some of my favorite - so interesting and educational...and you have great taste. This guitar looks like another masterpiece. The BRW is exceptional.
|
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:56 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum