Build: Chasing Tone with a Tom Doerr Legacy Select

[islandguitar]

Fantastic!! Yes, Tom puts the heart and soul into his work, for sure. Brings back memories of my build..... received 5 years ago this month, Tom's 103rd build so he had crossed the 100 mark that many years ago.

[jmagill]

Building the rims.

The sides are in the mold and the neck & tail blocks are glued & clamped.




The cutaway's been added to complete the rim.




Almost ready for the lining...




Here's a closeup of Tom's mitred cutaway. Note how well the grain matches up at the edge.

[Tom Doerr]

Thanks Jim for doing this build thread. I've been looking forward to this build since you ordered the guitar. I am confident I will get the tone you're looking for. It all starts with good tonewoods and voicing for optimal tone. The icing on the cake is having the guitar French polished. With all the tedious details from voicing, responsive back, hot hide glue, double sides and so on French Polish let's the guitar perform at the highest level it was ment to preform at. Can't wait to hand deliver it to you during guitar week at your Swannanoa Gathering and also to be part of it for the first time. Until that time I'll keep the pics coming

[jmagill]

Tom, I'm really enjoying the ride.

I've commissioned instruments before, but the anticipation & excitement of watching planks become a guitar just never gets old.

It's SO much fun...

[swiftz07]

What a gorgeous build! Congratulations!

I have a second Doerr in progress as well in a second half of the year after yours is completed so you can imagine how excited I am to see your build come together!

It’s pretty hard to go wrong with a Doerr guitar, both in looks and tone. Enjoy the journey!

[jmagill]

Time to brace the back.

Here Tom's prepping the surface before gluing the braces.




Next, the back seam is glued...




...and sanded.




The back braces are glued on the vacuum press.




Next, the braces are shaped. Tom removes some mass from the lower braces with a finger plane. Notice they are a different shape from the upper two. Tom writes:

I've recently switched the two bottom braces to be more traditional, being wide and not as tall. I did it like this in the last couple guitars and really liked the results. I've heard that the added mass from the braces added more depth in the bass response and that is what I've been hearing in the two that I did like that.




Carving the upper braces.




Final shaping & sanding.




The back's now braced and ready for assembly with the rims.

[jaymarsch]

I'm enjoying this thread, Jim. Thanks for taking the time to post these great pics Tom's build process. I hadn't seen the vacuum seal process before.

Best,
Jayne

[jmagill]

Next up is adding the kerfed lining to the rims. Tom writes:

I'm very happy with these linings. I have been wanting to make my own for years and I just recently got a jig to do so. I wanted to make my own because I like the sizes to be different than what they sell in the luthier supply places. I can also pick out the most potent smelling Spanish cedar and boy does it smell good!

First, the lining's glued & clamped to the back side of the rim.




Then to the front side.




In the mold while the glue cures.




The back and rims are complete and ready for assembly. Note the transverse brace on the rim that abuts the laminated tongue of the neck block. It will eventually be glued to the underside of the top just north of the soundhole.

[jmagill]

The back is now glued to the rims.

Here Tom's clamped the rims to the back using a jig in the outline of the guitar to apply even pressure all around.




The back/rim assembly.




Closeup of Tom's handmade kerfed lining. So clean...

[Jimbo1776]

Tom is a great guy and an awesome builder. Almost got one myself. Maybe some day.

[islandguitar]

The magic continues!!! Great stuff!!!!

[jmagill]

The box is now closed!

Here’s a shot from the front…




…and one from the back.




Before he closed up the box, Tom signed the underside of the top – backwards(!) – so anyone using a mirror could read it.

The first photo is a shot of the actual inscription, and underneath, I’ve flipped it. This is what you’d be able to see in a mirror.
“S#LS:1905145” translates this way: Serial Number Legacy Select 19 (the year), 05 (the month), 145 (the guitar number), = 1905145.

[Nemoman]

This is really looking awesome!

Have always loved Tom's Legacy body and the elegant lines of his cutaway.

I'm sure this one will be magical...

[jmagill]

It occurs to me that I have been less than publicly appreciative of the supportive and encouraging comments on this thread by AGF members and more focused on posting pics.

In my defense, I would only say that I have been distracted by the steady stream of photos and progress reports that have been coming hard and fast from Tom. I've been a bit taken aback by how smoothly and quickly this guitar has taken shape under his hands, and it will soon be sent off for French polish finishing.

So let me pause now, and offer my belated thanks to those who have been following this build and remarking on Tom's skills.

My sincere thanks to fitness1, islandguitar, EverettWilliams, Nemoman, gitarro, Diamondave, Dustinfurlow, colins, swiftz07, jaymarsch and Jimbo1776, as well as all those who have been following the build from afar.

The journey is not yet over and there is much more to come...

[jmagill]

The box is now bound and & the scraping process is underway, to smooth out and make flush the binding with the top and sides. These are shots of what Tom calls the ‘ugly stage,’ but when you're working with straight-grained Brazilian rosewood and Master Grade spruce, just how 'ugly' can it really be?




Scraping the sides...