Tahoe Guitars: 00-14 (Ovangkol/Red)/000-12 (Flamed Maple/Lutz)

[OddManOut]

Here is a build thread for two guitars by luthier Larry Nair of Tahoe Guitar Co..

(1) 00-14 Ovangkol/Red Spruce, short scale

(2) 000-12 Flamed Big Leaf Maple/Lutz Spruce, long scale

Here are a few videos I made while visiting the TGC shop. Some pics will follow.

Top Bracing and Go-bar Deck:



Braced Backs and Tops-in-progress



Quick Look At The Rims:

[OddManOut]

Here are some pics of the Ovangkol/Red Spruce 00-14. I will reduce the image size going forward.






The unclarved neck (flamed mahogany/walnut/maple)



The top in the go bar deck.





Voicing the top.

[OddManOut]

The maple/lutz 000-12 "Norwester" guitar. The voicing of this top is not quite complete. It will be completed with the rims attached.

[Sagebrush Tom]

Very nice pictures especially of the screwdriver and toothbrush. So are you getting 2 guitars built? Anyways i like the idea of a big leaf maple matched with sitka spruce.
Tom

[OddManOut]

Originally Posted by Sagebrush Tom

Very nice pictures especially of the screwdriver and toothbrush. So are you getting 2 guitars built? Anyways i like the idea of a big leaf maple matched with sitka spruce.
Tom

I am having two built, but I will be doing the finishing.

Yes, the "Norwester" guitar is something I've wanted to do for several years. The warmer tone of Lutz should be a good match to the crisp and clear tone of maple.

[OddManOut]

Top tuning is now complete on the maple guitar and the maple neck blank is glued up.













And a few more pics of the ovangkol 00-14. This includes the rough neck fit.






A couple spots sanded on the neck blank to let a bit of the curl show.


Rough neck fitting.

[Sagebrush Tom]

Curious about the neck attachment. From my perspective it looks like M/T neck joint, is this correct? And does Larry bolt the necks on? Great pictures especially of the shaping of the braces.
Tom

[OddManOut]

Originally Posted by Sagebrush Tom

Curious about the neck attachment. From my perspective it looks like M/T neck joint, is this correct? And does Larry bolt the necks on? Great pictures especially of the shaping of the braces.
Tom

It is a two-bolt M/T joint. Pic of a "sister neck" below.

Thanks...glad you like the pics.

[OddManOut]

The maple 000-12 is getting traditional design elements: Herringbone rosette/top purfle, traditional paddle head, pyramid bridge. Pics of head from its "sister neck" and bridge below.

The 00-14 is getting modern design elements: wood rosette, BWB top purfle, modern paddle head and bridge. Pics of head and bridge templates below. The bridge and head are new designs for Tahoe Guitars.

[OddManOut]

First, a few pics of some of the raw woody goodness, wet with naptha. That's curly claro walnut binding and headplate.








I'm trying to decide on fretboard markers. I am torn between a traditional four diamond pattern on frets 5-7-9, or a pair of hummingbirds on the 12 fret. Note the little pearl slivers are the hummingbird beaks. These are not placed on the pics of the fretboard.

[OddManOut]

This sequence shows the glue-up of the five neck lams. The lams are flamed Big Leaf Maple, Peruvian Walnut and Hard Maple. This is essentially a woody sandwich.

The layers before being glued and Larry's neck jig.






Glue applied, the woody sandwich made.




Clamp-o-rama




Ta-da!

[OddManOut]

The tops of Tahoe guitars are braced at a 28' radius curvature. Thus the rims must be beveled to an angle to the same curvature. A few pics of this process. The sanding stick has a wedge on one end so the rims are sanded to the proper angle.

Also I have included a couple pics of the modern head with two possible logo placements.

Finally a pic of the ovangkol with the rosewood binding, wet with naptha.













The new Tahoe Guitars modern head, shown with Gotoh 510 tuner.

Angled Logo


Straight Logo

[J.R. Rogers]

Enjoyed the video... Not feeling pithy? Love the maple multi-lam neck. A little naptha makes that Ovangkol glow.

JR

[OddManOut]

Thanks, J.R.. Glad you liked the vids and the pics. Yes, that flamed maple neck blank is something special, the inner lams add a nice accent IMO. Agreed...the ovangkol has a very rich look under (simulated) finish, the stripey range of tans and browns popping out.

[OddManOut]

In this sequence Larry routs the mortise into the neck block of the maple 000-12. These show the jig and progression of the routs.

I'll start here with the sequentially numbered neck blocks. 148 is the 000-12, 149 the 00-14. Note the stamp set. The mortise is routed into the opposite face of the block.