Ensor Guitars- African Blackwood/Lutz- FINAL PHOTOS & VIDEO

[CaE]

So I've had this design kickin' around in my head for.... well.... probably 2 or more years. I've drawn it out full scale on paper, made notes as the months passed, and slowly came up with a design I'm happy with.

Once the aesthetics were all worked out, I had quite a few engineering type hurtles to address. Bracing was one, but not the hardest. Some of the other elements require quite a bit of ingenuity to pull off.

Needless-to-say, this build is going to require a lot of custom tooling. Luckily, I rather enjoy using my mill and lathe.

Some of the specs (as of now):
African blackwood
Lutz spruce
Auditorium shape
Maple cantilevered neck
Fanned frets
Off-set sound hole(s)
Soundport(s)



My goal with this build is modern minimalism. For those of you who follow along with my work, you might get a chuckle out of the idea of me trying to be more minimalistic- as my work tends to omit a lot of flash in the first place.

This guitar will use as few woods as possible- focusing rather on the design. So there will be a lot of ABW. Every piece of maple in the entire guitar will come from a single board so that everything matches perfectly. And the interior, except for the top braces, will be all spanish cedar. So that's what I mean by minimalistic.

Follow along. This is bound to be a fun one. (Luthier pun intended)

[Cocobolo Kid]

Those woods look gorgeous. I'm looking forward to this one, and will be following this build for sure.

Thanks for sharing.

[Zandit75]

Hmmm, am I looking too hard at this, or have you matched up the top and bottom as though they are book matched with your two pencil lines across the centre?
Are we looking at a Spruce upper bout, and African Blackwood lower bout?!!
Will this one be called Two-Face??!!

[CaE]

Originally Posted by Zandit75

Hmmm, am I looking too hard at this, or have you matched up the top and bottom as though they are book matched with your two pencil lines across the centre?
Are we looking at a Spruce upper bout, and African Blackwood lower bout?!!
Will this one be called Two-Face??!!

Just a visual. Spruce top, ABW back!

[Zandit75]

Originally Posted by Chris Ensor

Just a visual. Spruce top, ABW back!

Haha, see!! I told you I was looking into it too hard!!

[CaE]

One of my favorite options to add to any guitar is an armrest. Simply put, I love the way they fell and look.

The support for this armrest is spanish cedar- like the rest of the interior. It'll be veneered with. you guessed it, ABW!

A little fun with color and clamps:

[CaE]

The first piece of custom tooling: A custom fly cutter for some inlays on the back.

[Marcus Wong]

Absolutely beautiful wood Chris! As great as they come

[Joel Teel]

I agree, Chris...now that I'm playing with an arm-bevel (and a soundport also), I'll never go without either, ever again.

Joel

Originally Posted by Chris Ensor

One of my favorite options to add to any guitar is an armrest. Simply put, I love the way they fell and look.

The support for this armrest is spanish cedar- like the rest of the interior. It'll be veneered with. you guessed it, ABW!

A little fun with color and clamps:

[CaE]

Some detail that are going into this build are standard in all of my builds:



Others are not so standard:

[CaE]

The rim is now complete:



Every internal element is constructed using spanish cedar. This helps to combat some of the added weight of the ABW and it smells delightful.

Thanks for following along. A closed box coming soon.

[j. Kinnaird]

Very cool Chris.

Love the side brace clamps. Are you selling them?
I'm also interested in seeing what you do with that rear opening.

[CaE]

John,
Yes I sell side clamps. They are made to order.

[Halcyon/Tinker]

Slick clamps indeed!

[emmsone]

Originally Posted by Chris Ensor

This is the first soundport i've seen in this location!! Especially with what looks to be a push-fit soundhole door/cover. Always room for innovation.