Green Moutain Series Josie Sm Jumbo

[Mark Hatcher]

In my roll out of my Green Mountain series I've introduced my new Dryad dred. My 100th guitar was the Penelope OM in this new series and I have made several Greta grand auditoriums. My Woodsman 00 is in the works and next up is my Josie Sm Jumbo. I hope to have most of these ready for the Artisan Show come April.

The back and sides of this Josie are Leopardwood. Names vary greatly by region with Lacewood thrown in there in different ways. Specifically, I am using Roupala montana. This is a dark Mahogany colored wood but the characteristics place Leopardwood right between Wenge and Bubinga. This puts Leopardwood deep into the rosewood side of the spectrum.





It is the huge medullary rays that create the titular Leopard spots and the fact that Leopardwood grows where Leopards roam.



I cut a number of back and side sets from a perfectly quartered billet. When you look at the end slice you can see the medullary rays cutting through at about 45 degrees. It is hard to even see the actual growth rings.

This wood rings remarkably well with overtones and sustain which is why it is a popular tonewood locally in Central America. I believe the medullary rays contribute to the cross grain stiffness that make for easy to find mid-range response. They also make the wood more resistant to cracking.

I hope I've enticed you to follow along as I roll out this latest build!

Mark

[Treenewt]

Beautiful set of wood Mark! I look forward to seeing this one come together!

[Nemoman]

That leopardwood is amazing, Mark--can't wait to see what you turn it into and what you pair it with!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Beautiful set of wood Mark! I look forward to seeing this one come together!

Thanks Treenewt. I’ve had these 6 back and side sets for a while now, it feels good to dig in!

Originally Posted by Nemoman

That leopardwood is amazing, Mark--can't wait to see what you turn it into and what you pair it with!

Thanks Nemoman. Well I’ve been working a lot with all the Snakewood I have and my lapidary skills are coming along so I guarantee we’ll be seeing some of these involved.

Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

I have the back joined and the center strip is in:



This gives a pretty good view of how this guitar is going to go. The trim will mostly be Snakewood including the binding and bevels. Green Turquoise will be worked in throughout.

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

[Dustinfurlow]

Gorgeous! Never knew that stuff was pretty dense - hope to play this at Artisan!

[Treenewt]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

I have the back joined and the center strip is in:



This gives a pretty good view of how this guitar is going to go. The trim will mostly be Snakewood including the binding and bevels. Green Turquoise will be worked in throughout.

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

That back inlay is outstanding Mark. Well done!

[mikealpine]

Such cool wood! Did you mention what top you’ll be using?

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Dustinfurlow

Gorgeous! Never knew that stuff was pretty dense - hope to play this at Artisan!

Thanks Dustin, I hope to have it ready for you to play at the Artisan Show!

Originally Posted by Treenewt

That back inlay is outstanding Mark. Well done!

Thanks Treenewt, I'm very happy with the color combo. I have this half pound Green Turquoise stone I'm cutting from for the gem work:



The Snakewood color and textured figure looks great with the Leopardwood IMO.

Originally Posted by mikealpine

Such cool wood! Did you mention what top you’ll be using?

As a matter of fact I haven't yet mentioned what tonewood I'm using for the top, thanks for asking!
I'm doing something a little different on this guitar. I'm using Western Red Cedar which I use very often but this time I selected a rather dense WRC that is also extremely stiff:



This perfectly quartered plate has roughly 55 grain lines per inch. The density is 6.44gr/in³. This density falls closer to Sitka than regular WRC which is normally around 5.00gr/in³. Sitka averages around 7gr/in³. My thinking is this will help balance out the Leopardwood mids with a cleaner bass and more defined trebles.

Plus it goes great with the color palette I've already committed to.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

Here are a couple pictures of the rosette being set up:

Drilling the center reference hole:



Cleaning out the rosette pocket with a routing plane:



Fitting up the rosette inlays, rings and micro purfling:



Rosette close up:



Thanks for viewing!

Mark

[Nemoman]

Gorgeous rosette, Mark--looks wonderful with the cedar.

[The Bard Rocks]

I like that rosette too. And this is not something I often say. I find green works well with darker bodies and yours is wide enough to hold it's own with the wooden rings.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Nemoman

Gorgeous rosette, Mark--looks wonderful with the cedar.

Thanks Nemoman, I think it’s a good pairing too!

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

I like that rosette too. And this is not something I often say. I find green works well with darker bodies and yours is wide enough to hold its own with the wooden rings.

I know the rosette has the symmetry you prefer and the green is a great contrast.

Thanks!
Mark

[mikealpine]

Beautiful color combo, Mark! Do you expect the stiffer cedar top to lend itself to more headroom for the strummers among us?

[Jeffreykip]

That is really beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a jade rosette. I really like it.