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  #31  
Old 04-01-2021, 04:29 PM
jt1 jt1 is offline
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Wonderful! Thank you for sharing your journey with us.

I did the same a few years back with Jay Lichty. It was an extraordinary experience. My favorite act was using a spokeshave to carve the neck to fit my hand. But far and without a question to this day it is, for obvious reasons, my favorite guitar neck (relatively shallow with 1 13/16 nut and 2 5/16 bridge spacing).

I chronicled my experience with a daily Fretboard Journal online article.
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  #32  
Old 04-01-2021, 10:06 PM
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Thanks folks! This IS outrageously fun. Thus far, everything on the build is turning out better than I would have imagined. The company isn't too shabby either!

John, I clicked on the link to your article and read through the first day of your experience so far. I'll return to finish how your journey turned out when I'm not so tired. I will say though that your words so eloquently describe how my experience has been thus far. I especially loved reading about your initial goal... "I’ve set a modest goal: folks should be able to recognize our joint creation, even if they shudder upon examining the details". For this reason, I never even thought about bringing this build to BIGer. However, I must say, with my zany binding scheme, this guitar is definitely recognizable. So it got me thinking, if I were following this thread I'd like to see it too. What do you say Vasu and John? Lets take over at least a coffee table! Tom, have we gotten your attention yet? At the very least, let us sign the back of the poster, and not in dry erase!

Day 4, and we're rocking and rolling.

One thing that is somewhat eye opening is the spectrum of hardness vs softness of woods and how they cut, sand, glue etc. I've worked with lumber before, read a lot of build threads about this topic, and have common sense. However experiencing it in your hands and working with it really gives you a sense of how different each wood species is. Ebony is definitely on the hard end of the spectrum, and a little work was required to get this fretboard radius right.



Here I am doing my best impression of Eddie Van Halen while at the same time measuring the neck angle.



Ironically, I'm holding the arm of the router like I'm playing a guitar while I'm routing the edges for the binding.



Installed purfling.



Binding installs best with a 2 man crew.



We are bound to meet again tomorrow. Thanks for checking in.

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  #33  
Old 04-02-2021, 04:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nootis View Post
John, I clicked on the link to your article and read through the first day of your experience so far. I'll return to finish how your journey turned out when I'm not so tired. I will say though that your words so eloquently describe how my experience has been thus far. I especially loved reading about your initial goal... "I’ve set a modest goal: folks should be able to recognize our joint creation, even if they shudder upon examining the details". For this reason, I never even thought about bringing this build to BIGer. However, I must say, with my zany binding scheme, this guitar is definitely recognizable. So it got me thinking, if I were following this thread I'd like to see it too. What do you say Vasu and John? Lets take over at least a coffee table! Tom, have we gotten your attention yet? At the very least, let us sign the back of the poster, and not in dry erase!
Yes, bring your guitar to big!

I've taken my guitar to several guitar shows: Woodstock, Artisan in PA, and the Memphis show. My luthier friends, including Linda Manzer, Ervin Somogyi, John Slobod, etc. have played and commented on it. That experience has been great fun.
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  #34  
Old 04-02-2021, 09:25 PM
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Day 5. Still not ready for a Texas yeehaw, but feeling really good about things. First task this morning was to add to the ever growing ball of tape while removing it from the body. The rest of the day would be devoted to the neck with the goal of fastening it to the body with two bolts by day's end. Easier said than done.

We started on the frets. I sure am going to miss the peacefulness in the shop and seeing the beautiful trees out the window while checking if I pounded the frets in far enough.



After trimming the frets, it was time to file them for a soft feel.



Carving the neck: After the day, Billie asked me what has been my favorite part so far, and I was really at a loss for words. I've loved all of it, and that was my answer. She then asked me what was my least favorite, and I replied that it was probably the one that Vasu is suffering PTSD from, the Watusi. Even that was fun... at first. I will say though that carving the neck was a lot of fun. This is Steve's domain, and I was somewhat amazed how we used so many tools as we whittled away bits of wood until we got to the shape of a neck. I've opted for a slight V neck (really it's more of Steve's standard neck carve, but it has a slight ridge riding up the center).

Roughing it out and trimming the fat.






Last edited by nootis; 04-04-2021 at 06:43 PM.
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  #35  
Old 04-02-2021, 09:45 PM
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Looking good, even under all that tape! It is going to be a very pretty instrument, and it will sound FINE, no doubt...

You must be exhilarated and exhausted both!

Congratulations!

Salud

Paul
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  #36  
Old 04-02-2021, 09:51 PM
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Thanks Paul! I'm glad you're liking it. Tiredness did sneak up on me a little bit today.

With more tools we get more and more refined.

[



After the neck was carved, I got to experience a taste of what it's like to walk on that tightrope of lutherie. While I won't go into details: fitting the bolts to connect to the body became a brief challenge. In the end, Steve and Ryan put on their super hero capes and we were victorious.





This happy Texas camper is holding a guitar!


Last edited by nootis; 04-02-2021 at 09:56 PM.
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  #37  
Old 04-03-2021, 12:43 PM
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Ahhh, the neck carve and neck fitting, always two of the most mysterious parts of the build to me. Looks like you did a FINE job!
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  #38  
Old 04-03-2021, 02:04 PM
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That looks like a very good job. Beautiful instrument.
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  #39  
Old 04-03-2021, 02:53 PM
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Nootis, That looks awesome!! What a sweet gift to yourself and something you can treasure for years to come. I envy you for sure.

Now I just gotta ask...maybe a question for Steve and/or Ryan...

Build a guitar in a WEEK??? WOW!! I thought Ben Wilborn was punching them out in record time, but a week is...well...a stunningly short amount of time . Not to mention this one is being built by a great guy but who doesn't build guitars for a living. At last count, I think my new one has been in process for 6 months or slightly more in the hands of a pro. Mine has a few more whistles and bells, but heck not enough to add THAT much time .

Inquiring minds need to know how this gets done so fast??
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  #40  
Old 04-03-2021, 03:20 PM
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Like everything else, the days in Texas are bigger than anywhere else, you get a lot more done.
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  #41  
Old 04-03-2021, 03:22 PM
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Just sent Dan back home, and like for all these week builds, there’s a big letdown that your friend that you worked hand in hand with for a week is not going to be in the shop come Monday. But, there is immense satisfaction in what we accomplished in a week. I personally couldn’t be happier with the 00 Dan built. It’s a honey.

Woody, mainly a lot of work. Steve and I have tried to do what we can to strip down the build process so that a student can come in with any experience level and essentially do all the major construction steps in 5 and a half days. To be frank, it is not a full guitar build from inception to completion in that quick of a time. We do a lot of prep work before, and finishing and final setup is done after the week. But I believe that we offer a fully immersive experience that allows anyone to not only share in some of what it means to be a luthier but to know that they actually built their own great sounding guitar.

Our class is a Monday through Saturday work week. The student becomes the third member of our shop and does all the build steps with hands on instruction. Steve and I are just there to supply all the knowledge, woods, parts, etc. and to make sure that you can’t screw up. We guarantee to wear you out, but at the end you’ll have something special. And with Dan like our other students, we get to hang out with great people.
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  #42  
Old 04-03-2021, 06:21 PM
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This is a really cool thread. I don't live too far from there and this makes it very tempting to try this someday. I have a knack for screwing projects up so they might not want to take me on.
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  #43  
Old 04-04-2021, 05:42 AM
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Phenomenal ride! Fun watching all of the hard work (Dan doing it and Steve/Ryan sweating it). Absolutely love these threads.
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  #44  
Old 04-04-2021, 11:07 AM
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Default Nacogdoches Student Build

Thank you everybody. Woody: Ryan is being a bit gracious, but the truth is that he put a lot of thought into planning the week out. I mentioned in another thread some of the items that were done prior to my arrival, but for certain, the glamorous items were on display for me to tackle and to get a good idea of what the processes are for each task.



The last day was indeed bitter sweet, but I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I also came out of the experience with, as Ryan described, "a honey". It is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. However as fun, cool and rewarding as the experience has been, I've come away with a deeper friendship with Steve and Ryan (and Billie too) that I too can cherish for the remainder of my time.



Like so many luthiers, this experience hasn't been been just a bucket list box to check off and move on (not to say that it can't be treated as so), but I think I got bit a little by the bug. Not the Lone Star tick thankfully, but I told Steve and Ryan that my new goal in life is to build 10 guitars. Still a lofty goal indeed. It just so happened, on Friday night, right after Ryan sent me pictures of me holding my almost complete guitar, a friend of mine texted me and asked if I'd be interested in buying "all the stuff to make guitars with" from his neighbor whose husband had passed a couple of years ago. I answered, "You've got to be kidding me?", and sent him a picture of me holding up my guitar from hours earlier. With that said, I'm headed out now to see what she has. As they say, timing is everything! I'll update this thread with the final photos upon my return.

Last edited by nootis; 04-04-2021 at 06:49 PM.
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  #45  
Old 04-04-2021, 04:38 PM
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Very cool, Dan--it looks like a sweet little guitar!

I look forward to seeing and trying it out one of these days.

Cheers
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