Hatcher's Studio '19 #2

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Lonzo

Hi Mark,
..not that it matters what I say, but if that really was an obsession I am glad you have it... it guarantees any guitar you make looks as good as it possibly can.
That combined with your skills is the combination I would (and will ;o) want to see in a guitar built for me.
Even more so, it shows you care about what you do and how you do it, with a lot of thought and care.
What more could a customer wish for ? ... again, not that it matters, but you sure have my blessings and consent 👌🏻👍🎸

Thanks Lonzo, I appreciate your comments and your thoughts certainly do matter. When it comes right down to it a happy client who is bonded with the instrument I made for/with them is good for my business and great for my satisfaction in this job helping to make sticks sing.

Originally Posted by GeoffStGermaine

Mark,
I wouldn't expect any less than the amount of thought you've put into the detail of the heel block where you install the strap button. Impressive.

That's a very cool saw you have there as well. I went and checked it out and it's surprisingly priced. I expected it to cost considerably more.

Thanks GeoffStGermaine, I agree that it is a great price for what you are getting, the materials, precision, and workmanship that goes into this saw is amazing. The fact that it is from an individual in a small shop makes it even better in my book. The cost does add up when you add in the sled, fence and guide extensions, the tilt table, and micrometer but, looking at the quality, these will be once in a lifetime purchases.

Thanks for commenting!
Mark

[Halcyon/Tinker]

That's quite the machine...

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Halcyon/Tinker

That's quite the machine...

Thanks!

Here is a picture of me test fitting the Koa heel block wedge along with the purfling inside the cutaway:



And all glued in:



I followed a similar process for the point of the Florentine cutaway. It is also made from the same piece of wood:



Cheers!
Mark

[kkrell]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

I use go bars and a radius dish to support and help form my tops and backs when gluing the braces down. This arrangement holds the braces down tight and allows access to clean up glue squeeze out before it sets up. Works great.

Something I needed to work through with the raised rosette was the top won't lay flat in the dish. I needed to raise the whole top a little to accommodate that and I needed to maintain the radius for the top.
A thin layer of dense foam rubber would lay in there nicely and I could easily cut a circle out to put the rosette in. Hmm. A yoga mat would be just the ticket!

All was well in my world as I glued up my first round of braces and started pinning them down with the fiberglass go bars.
In the middle of this it occurred to me I may be in trouble. From time to time one of those go bars roll a little and sometimes they might snap off where they are placed and pop the top. It is usually not an issue, at worst there may be a little dent and a drop of water and a light bulb disappears that. Except now I have a flexible membrane under that top and if one of those pops, it's going to go right through the top! There is no fixing that, that's start over with a new top time! I was too far in to quit.
Let's say I was very, very careful and later went back with some scrap wood in the hopes to block any errant go bars.
All went well and I'm glad I had thought of that nightmare before I lived it!

Thanks for following!
Mark

I can't see if you've done it there, but in those scrap pieces at the end of the go bars you could have a countersunk hole to further keep the bars from wandering.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by kkrell

I can't see if you've done it there, but in those scrap pieces at the end of the go bars you could have a countersunk hole to further keep the bars from wandering.

Thanks kkrell, that's a good idea. I've been using the same little plywood scrap sticks for over a decade. Seems a good time to upgrade a little. I can think of a couple other things I could improve while I'm at it.

I glued up the kerfing on the bottom of the sides.

Here's an insiders view:



Here's a normal picture in case that first one didn't make any sense:



More to come!
Mark

[Stevied63]

Looking fabulous, Mark!! For those following along, the anticipation of going to my Hatcher flickr page to see if there are new pics is a daily event!!

[NewPicker]

Originally Posted by Stevied63

Looking fabulous, Mark!! For those following along, the anticipation of going to my Hatcher flickr page to see if there are new pics is a daily event!!

I know exactly what you mean, and boy do I miss that feeling (from the Lullaby Guitar build). Feel like I should do it again. That Woodsman model has been calling to me...

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Stevied63

Looking fabulous, Mark!! For those following along, the anticipation of going to my Hatcher flickr page to see if there are new pics is a daily event!!

More pictures up!

Originally Posted by NewPicker

I know exactly what you mean, and boy do I miss that feeling (from the Lullaby Guitar build). Feel like I should do it again. That Woodsman model has been calling to me...

I'd be happy to work with you on a Woodsman. Stevied63 mentioned early on that it was you lullaby guitar that got him interested in this build.

Thanks for commenting!
Mark

[hgaynor]

Hi Mark, I bought some kerfing clamps from StewMac that look just like yours. The StewMac clamps come with rubber o-rings that don't provide enough clamping force. Do the heavy rubber bands you use provide enough pressure and if so, where can I find them? Thank you.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by hgaynor

Hi Mark, I bought some kerfing clamps from StewMac that look just like yours. The StewMac clamps come with rubber o-rings that don't provide enough clamping force. Do the heavy rubber bands you use provide enough pressure and if so, where can I find them? Thank you.

These rubber bands are strong enough with two per clamp. I have a lot more clamps than rubber bands and the company these came from is long gone. I recently bought this latex rubber tubing which works really well:



I just use a straight razor and slice off as many as I need.

I got this from McMaster-Carr #5234K16

Mark

[hgaynor]

Thank you Mark! I will order up some of that tubing.

[Mark Hatcher]

Here I am cleaning up the Spanish Cedar kerfed lining. It's a job I like because I like the smell of the Spanish Cedar so much which is also why I use it inside the guitar in the first place:



When doing the point of a Florentine cutaway I usually bind it like the top and back edges. This time I thought I'd try doing it with a single piece of Koa and avoid the seem at the very edge of the point:



It is a little more work to match the joint perfectly but it's stronger and allows me to face the best figured curly side out and the figure matches on both sides.

More to come!
Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by kkrell

I can't see if you've done it there, but in those scrap pieces at the end of the go bars you could have a countersunk hole to further keep the bars from wandering.

I spent a little time this weekend and made up these replacements for my brace glue down blocks. I made a couple improvements including the suggested countersink holes suggested by kkrell.
My new little Byrnes table saw made short work of this!

[kkrell]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

I spent a little time this weekend and made up these replacements for my brace glue down blocks. I made a couple improvements including the suggested countersink holes suggested by kkrell.
My new little Byrnes table saw made short work of this!

Nice! I'm glad that someone like me with absolutely no woodworking or luthier experience could get a suggestion implemented. I hope it turns out to be a valuable addition, and those go bars just snap into place.

[Mark Hatcher]

We're putting a side soundport on this Piña. I sent a picture of my suggested oval shape:



I suggested oval because we already have an oval shapes on the back and the inside logo chip so it would tie in and I could dress it up with Koa binding and purfling. Stevied63 liked the oval OK but, was looking for something more. We tossed ideas back and forth for a bit looking for some additional detail that would tie in with the rest of the guitar.

One of the defining visual features of the guitar is the 3 dimensional rosette and the pillow top sculpted headstock. Stevied63 suggested an oval within the oval and that mixed with some sculpting got us on the path of something new!





Thanks for following along!
Mark