Ensor Guitars- Walnut/Cedar Build FINAL PHOTOS NOW UP
 

It has been a while since I have posted here. My family and I have gone through a whirlwind as of late. I am happy to report that the house project is finally finished and it turned out great. Having wrapped up a my list of house projects (it was too large to be consider "honey-dos"), I am now getting back into the shop. Thank you to everyone who wished us well. While it will be a long road of healing, we are moving forward- putting the past where it belongs and working to make up for what we lost.

This is a guitar that I am intending on bringing to SBAIC.

I remember a guy from a woodworking class I was in in college saying that walnut is the way a shop should smell. I can't agree more. It is one of my favorite woods to work with. It smells amazing. And it makes a heck of a guitar. This particular set is one that I cut a while ago. At the time, I had a small 14" bandsaw. It was a challenge and reminds me just how blessed I am now to have the tools that I do. A friend of mine turned me on to old tools and I haven't looked back sense. I will share a little bit about some of my tools along the way in this build thread. The tools I use to make my guitars are very important to me. After all, a guitar is a tool for a musician and its beginnings are its DNA.

Here are the current specs (subject to change upon whimsy):
Concert size
Claro Walnut
Western Red Cedar
IRW binding and back strap
Spalted Radial Rosette
Walnut headstock overlays
Mahogany neck
Ebony fingerboard and bridge
Gotoh 510 tuners (1:21)
Maybe some wooden tuner buttons

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I will be showcasing a few new options on this build: a new version of my headstock and a pinned bridge. No I won't be doing away with my original headstock or pinless bridge- just adding options. I hope you like them.

More to come. Thanks for following along.

Hey Chris...that's a mighty fine set of Walnut. I also love the smell (and sound) of Walnut...I have a 1995 limited-edition Taylor GAWS (grand-auditorium walnut/spruce) which was my first truly nice guitar, and a lifetime keeper. Every time I play it, I always smell through the soundhole because the smell, to me, is intoxication. "Keep the Faith" 😇

Joel

Looking forward to the build

Welcome back Chris!

It's hard to beat cedar and walnut. I'm looking forward to see your new options!

Mark

Chris,

Glad you are back in the saddle. Nice wood!

Chris

Thanks for the kind words everybody.

When I first started building guitars, the thing that tickled me more than anything else was bending wood. Until you've done it, it seems impossible- like it requires some sort of voodoo. I still very much enjoy the bending process. It is a very peaceful time in the shop. I turn the music off and listen to and feel the wood. While I do the majority of my bending with a fox style bender, I still break out the iron on every build. I use it to perfect the sides after they come out of the bender, bend purfling for rosettes, and bend headstock overlays. It is just too much fun to omit from the build process.

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Let me introduce you to one of my old tools. This is a 20" wood/metal bandsaw from the mid 1960s. I have this one set for curve cutting and making delicate cuts- with a fine toothed blade. This thing weighs around 1000lbs! It is a beast and does a great job.

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While I am a huge fan of sapwood, on this particular set, I wanted to reduce it a little. So I used my bandsaw to cut the walnut back down a little bit. I also used it to straighten out the top to run parallel to the grain. It was off just a little bit.

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I then took the plates over to my jointer. This is my oldest machine. It dates back to the late 1920s or early 1930s. The neat thing about it is that the knives are skewed. This gives a nice and clean cut- even in figured woods like this walnut back.

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But I had just sharpened my favorite plane's blade, so I just had to touch up the joint.

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Then both the plates were joined.

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I pulled the sides out of the bender, perfected the bends on the iron, and cut them to length. It is almost a shame to do an end graft inlay on this one.

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Thanks for looking.

Binding and purfling is something that I put a lot of thought into. This guitar will have a nice elegant indian rosewood binding and backstrap. The top purfling will have a splash of color. I will be using an interesting piece of honduras rosewood for the purfling around the top as well as the rosette. This will be surrounded by black/maple/black.

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HAPPY EASTER

I mentioned earlier that I love the smell of walnut. Cedar also has a very pleasant smell. But when you mix the too, it is pure shop heaven. I can see building with this combination more in the future if nothing else just for the aroma in the shop.

Once the plates were joined, I cut them to shape. This is a fun visual transition- seeing large joined pieces turn into guitar shaped wood.

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With the plates cut to shape, I turned my attention to a delicate process- inlaying the backstrap. This one is a simple, elegant indian rosewood bordered with black/maple/black. I want the fit to be snug but not one that requires a hammer to fit the pieces. They will swell slightly with the glue and insure a nice and tight fit.

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Once the glue is dry, the fun part begins- making really neat shavings and flushing everything up. I left the inlay only a few thousandths high, so there wasn't much work to be done. But again I needed an excuse to use my freshly sharpened hand plane. I followed that with a scraper.

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Thanks for following along. I hope you like what you see.

Yes...very much so!!!

Joel

Looking great so far, I'm curious about the new bridge and headstock shape :)

Hi Chris,

Really nice work. Love the Wallace jointer! Looking forward to seeing (and hearing) the finished product.

Can you please tell me what's going on in this picture?

Brad,
This is how I cut thin, small parts like binding, purfling, and backstraps. The fence is set close to the desired width. The blade is not raised yet. I then set the material over the blade and put a block of wood on it. I clamp the block of wood to the fence, remove the material and raise the blade into the block of wood. The block of wood holds the blade, holds down the material during the cut, and keeps my fingers attached to my body in one piece.

I make the first cut and measure it with my calipers to see where I landed. I always make sure my first cut is a bit fat of where I want to be. I then lower the blade and use the dial indicator to move the fence by the exact amount I want to take off to get to my final numbers. Then the blade is raised again and the final cut is made. This set up is very safe and very accurate. I love it. Hope that helps.

Really good looking - and very clever system for cutting. I love the cedar/walnut combo and I hope I get to see this one in Santa Barbara!

I have to admit that's one of the main reasons I started building one myself. Glad to see I'm not the only one who finds wood bending intriguing.

Really nice work there. Looking forward to the progress.

Thanks,OK I get it now. I use a "featherboard" but your method seems better. I will have to try it.