#16
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I was in Edinburgh for a few days back in 2019--does that count?
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2013 Stehr Auditorium (Carpathian/Myrtle) 2015 Stehr Auditorium (Adi/BRW) 2020 Baranik Meridian (Blue Spruce/Manchinga) 2020 Wilborn Arum (Tunnel 14/Coco) 2021 Kinnaird Graybeard (BC Cedar/Bog Oak) 2022 Kinnaird CS Student Build (Adi/Padauk) 2023 Kinnaird FS (Italian/Koa) |
#17
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Nicely played, nicely played!
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PS. I love guitars! |
#18
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If only such a path did not end in divorce! I am strongly aware of the fact that I have pushed my luck to the limit over the last couple of years so vicarious thrills rule the day. Have fun with the build.
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Martin |
#19
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Time to begin!
Het guys--thanks for the interest and comments on this thread thus far. It's been awhile since I've updated this, and I just returned home last night from a most excellent week at Kinnaird West. My internet capabilities (and spare time) were limited while there doing my student build, so I'll be bringing this thread up to speed within the next week.
So how about let's start off by showing where the magic happens and proceed from there. Those of you who have paid attention to Steve's signature may remember his "Crafted in the Piney Woods" tag. Here are the Piney Woods of Chez Kinnaird... And here's where all the magic happens! More to come--thanks for looking!
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2013 Stehr Auditorium (Carpathian/Myrtle) 2015 Stehr Auditorium (Adi/BRW) 2020 Baranik Meridian (Blue Spruce/Manchinga) 2020 Wilborn Arum (Tunnel 14/Coco) 2021 Kinnaird Graybeard (BC Cedar/Bog Oak) 2022 Kinnaird CS Student Build (Adi/Padauk) 2023 Kinnaird FS (Italian/Koa) |
#20
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Ah, the West Wing of the shop. You will notice the rain-splashed color from our East Texas red clay. Old friend Danny Brevard says it looks like a Gibson sunburst, suitable for a guitar shop, so we shouldn’t paint over it. I like his thinking.
Kevin, it sure was fun! Sorry our internet proved squirrelly, but maybe we all got more work done that way? Glad you arrived home safe and sound! Steve |
#21
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So cool! I'm interested to see all the details and how it came out.
The whole student build thing is peak guitar nerdery. I'll be joining this club eventually
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Seth G. ------------------- |
#22
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Very excited you got to build with Steve and Ryan. Looking forward to seeing the fruit of your labors!
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#23
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Hey I recognize that place. One of the best shops anywhere. It even has a bathroom with running water. A real upgrade from what us Appalachian folks use.
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Kinnaird Guitars |
#24
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That shop is one of my favorite places in the world. I can't wait to see your guitar!
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- john If anyone has ideas for case storage once your kids' closets and under their beds are full I'm all ears. |
#25
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It does have an old world Geppetto feel to it!!! I did not see any wooden boys though when I was there, just beautiful woods waiting patiently to be guitars!
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PS. I love guitars! |
#26
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Day-1!
Let's get this party started! Day 1 was a big day on the production scale. After a safety talk and some general design/build discussion, it was time to get to it. My woodworking experience stems from construction working with Skilsaws generally cut to a precision of 1/16" plus or minus. In the luthier world, working to 1/1000" is the norm. Besides Ryan and Steve, the caliper became my new best friend!
Here we go--pictures with explanations where applicable... Truing up the back joint... The guys gave me a choice between 3 backstrips or no backstrip. I decided on using a backstrip left over from a previous parlor build that they had made themselves in the shop. With its touches of red and green, it seemed like the perfect choice--did I mention that this padauk is really red?! Gluing up the back with the backstrip... Ryan had previously joined the top so that it had a good set time before I arrived. He did a masterful job on this adi top--it's really a stunning set that holds a lot of promise. So it was on to the rosette--actually one of my favorite processes in the entire build. I had chosen to do a simple rosette with a fairly narrow padauk ring and double B/W/B viola purfling. The padauk had been cut to size, so it was on to the install using a very cool jig... High tech rosette clamping... The completed rosette... Now it was time to cutout and thin down the sides... Next up was bending the sides. Due to its interlocking grain structure, padauk is challenging to bend. So Ryan gingerly checked out the bending of it and found it to be true to its reputation. As he put it, "If you don't mind, I'll bend the sides--cause if one breaks, it's gonna be a short student build!" I was more than happy to let the master do the bending. I did get to warm it up and get a slight feel for it though... Ryan doing the heavy bending... Successfully bent and into the holding pen! More to come with Day-1...stay tuned!
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2013 Stehr Auditorium (Carpathian/Myrtle) 2015 Stehr Auditorium (Adi/BRW) 2020 Baranik Meridian (Blue Spruce/Manchinga) 2020 Wilborn Arum (Tunnel 14/Coco) 2021 Kinnaird Graybeard (BC Cedar/Bog Oak) 2022 Kinnaird CS Student Build (Adi/Padauk) 2023 Kinnaird FS (Italian/Koa) |
#27
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Day-1 (con't.)!
Continuing on, the bent sides were now put into the CS mold whereupon the internal blocks were glued in along with the fabric side reinforcement strips. I went with the dark blue herringbone...
Two recurring mantras were continually repeated. "We want to be able to count to 10" (No fingers getting cut off!) and, "We don't want to be heroes" (cut things to within an 1/8" of the line--don't try to cut right to the line). With that in mind, we moved on to cutting out the back and thinning it to final thickness... Steve had the neck done in the rough. At this point we did a little shaping of it in order to get it so that we could glue on the headstock. One thing that has always amazed me is how a rough chunk of square-edged mahogany becomes an elegant curvaceous neck--I was looking forward to how this was going to transpire. Gluing on the headplate... Then I laid out the back template... The back center seam reinforcement was glued on... After the center seam reinforcement glue dried. it was shaped and then cut so that the back braces could be glued on... At this point, Day-1 was winding down. The soundhole was cut out... Finally, the top was sanded and thinned to final thickness and the braces for the top were laid out... And Day-1 was a wrap! And we didn't even complete the entire Day-1 list--fortunately, we completed all the must-do items for the day that were required so that we could keep on track. I was super excited and pumped to see what Tuesday would bring! Thanks for checking it out...much more to come!
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2013 Stehr Auditorium (Carpathian/Myrtle) 2015 Stehr Auditorium (Adi/BRW) 2020 Baranik Meridian (Blue Spruce/Manchinga) 2020 Wilborn Arum (Tunnel 14/Coco) 2021 Kinnaird Graybeard (BC Cedar/Bog Oak) 2022 Kinnaird CS Student Build (Adi/Padauk) 2023 Kinnaird FS (Italian/Koa) |
#28
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Thanks for letting us look over your shoulder…
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A bunch of nice archtops, flattops, a gypsy & nylon strings… |
#29
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Beautiful woods and a great start! Looking forward to following along! Dave
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#30
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Very exciting, Kevin!
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--------------------------------------- 2013 Joel Stehr Dreadnought - Carpathian/Malaysian BW 2014 RainSong H-OM1000N2 2017 Rainsong BI-WS1000N2 2013 Chris Ensor Concert - Port Orford Cedar/Wenge 1980ish Takamine EF363 complete with irreplaceable memories A bunch of electrics (too many!!) |