Hatcher's Studio 2021

[Mark Hatcher]

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:



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



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:





Then clean it all up:



I think it works together nicely!



Thanks for viewing!
Mark

[Nemoman]

Beautiful, Mark--they tie in perfectly!

Looking forward to what 2021 brings to your workshop.

Happy Holidays!

[Lonzo]

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

[CarolD]

Oh, wow! Gorgeous work!

[TomB'sox]

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

[BrianM99]

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]

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]

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]

Originally Posted by Nemoman

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!

Originally Posted by Lonzo

..that looks very promising for 2021
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.

Originally Posted by CarolD

Oh, wow! Gorgeous work!

Thanks Carol!

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

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?

Originally Posted by BrianM99

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]

Originally Posted by cigarfan

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!

Originally Posted by Carpinteria

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:



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:



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



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:



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

[TomB'sox]

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

[Jlhunt]

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]

That plum will be nice looking.

[mikealpine]

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

[ukejon]

Love that style of fret marker. Great eye appeal.