A luthier bends some wood. You won't believe what happens next!

[Glenn23]

Sorry for the clickbait come on, but it's been a long time since I've posted a new build, and this one promises some fun challenges, so here goes.

I begin by laminating full contour bevels. Not only have they become a signature design element for me, they provide a tremendous weight to stiffness factor. I'm obviously operating in the "modern school" envelope, with stiff sides being a priority.
The laminated bevels triangulate the rim of the guitar with the plane of the soundboard and rear resonating plate to create a very stable platform.



The shape always looks "musical" to me!

]

I'm fully convinced of the legitimacy of the offset soundhole, so here goes my interpretation of that!
The rear plate is going to be Katalox (Mexican ebony) Incredibly dense stuff. Once you get it thin enough, it really gets lively.

[jnidoh]

Glen23, have only been playing a few years and don't know that much about guitar building but having been a wood carver for over 30 years, have come to appreciate the beauty of anything wooden and different.

When you say that "the laminated bevels triangulate the rim of the guitar" etc., you've lost me. The beveled curves and the jigs you had to devise to form them amaze me.

Getting older and more conservative, I prefer the old fashioned simple and plain guitar but, like the Martin one million (?) model, though I wouldn't want one, have to greatly admire the workmanship involved and respect the mind that conceived the idea.

Would like to see the finished guitar and appreciate your posting these pictures.

john

[cigarfan]

Interesting looking guitar Glenn. How are you getting the purple coloration on the bevels. Is that some sort of dyeing process? Looks really cool!

[SJ VanSandt]

Super cool. I love those wild bevels!

[David Wren]

Such a cool start to this thread. I love the way this is shaping up ... especially love that shot of the top with the offset soundhole and veneer that matches the bevels!

[gitarro]

The last build Glenn23 did was memorable for the sheer number of interesting ideas that it incorporated and the high level of build execution that it displayed. Will watch this thread with much anticipation!

[printer2]

This is going to be an interesting, not usually a fan of purple but that looks cool.

[Glenn23]

Originally Posted by cigarfan

Interesting looking guitar Glenn. How are you getting the purple coloration on the bevels. Is that some sort of dyeing process? Looks really cool!

Those are pieces of double-dyed, stabilized, maple burl. It’s a process where a vacuum draws dye and resin deep into the wood. I believe it’s the same process Jason Kostal uses to prepare pieces for his “stained glass” rosettes. In fact, on one of my next instruments I plan to use multiple, segmented colors, all the way around the beveled edge!

[Glenn23]

Originally Posted by SJ VanSandt

Super cool. I love those wild bevels!

Thanks for checking in!

Originally Posted by David Wren

Such a cool start to this thread. I love the way this is shaping up ... especially love that shot of the top with the offset soundhole and veneer that matches the bevels!

Actually they’re different dye sets with the sides having a steely blue interspersed with magenta that reads as a purplish-blue from a distance and the soundhole color being more of a deep purple. Thanks for the kind words!

Originally Posted by gitarro

The last build Glenn23 did was memorable for the sheer number of interesting ideas that it incorporated and the high level of build execution that it displayed. Will watch this thread with much anticipation!

It’s nice to be remembered! This build will have no shortage of new directions for me too.

Originally Posted by printer2

This is going to be an interesting, not usually a fan of purple but that looks cool.

I think I mentioned on one of my other builds that I once illustrated an album cover for the band Deep Purple. The color must have stuck in my head!

[Glenn23]

Headblocks can incorporate many different structural features. I've seen fingerboard extensions, foot extensions, carbon fiber braces that run to the waist, laminated curves, and broad blocks of wood. All can be good designs that address the desire to stabilize the intersection of the neck with the body. Anybody familiar with my work knows I'm influenced by Biomimetics-using nature to inform my designs. With the headblock one of the things I'm inspired by is the tree root. My goal is to spread the forces acting on the neck into the upper bout, allowing the entire lower bout to be supported by the broad grasp of the upper structure. This also allows me to put soundholes and soundports pretty much wherever I want to, with negligible effects on the integrity of the whole.


Here's a look at the glue-up of the bevels to the laminated sides. I was asked once if I minded if someone copied this method. Well, for one thing, I doubt there's anything here that hasn't been done before. And in addition, it's one of the most difficult steps in building my guitars. So much so, that I'm tempted to simply say, "Have at it!"
It takes a good bit of careful handwork, to perfectly mate the multiple curves together. There's none of the flexibility you get with kerfed linings, and you are working with what is to become an exposed surface. Nevertheless, I find it one of the most enjoyable steps.

[Pura Vida]

The clickbait headline brought me here.
But the purple wood made me stay.

[Glenn23]

Here's the start of my V tenon head joint.I like how the pieces wedge together tighter under the force of the strings, forming a mechanical connection. I'm sure, once the faceplate is glued on, and the center shaft of maple and katalox acts like an enclosed tenon, you could string up the guitar with no glue and the joint would hold wonderfully well.



At the intersection of birdseye maple, spanish cedar, katalox and curly maple.

[Glenn23]

I've made some unusual choices in the materials for this guitar for a number of reasons, and I'll list them here. First of all I do have an aversion to using unsustainable woods and that certainly factors in in some of my choices, but I have used a lot of rosewoods and ebonies and will continue to do so in the future because of the distinct properties they possess. In this guitar I'm not going to use any.
My major consideration in not using ebony or rosewood is actually rooted in the large amount of these woods I've used in the past. I've grown allergic to the resins in tropical wood! I can overcome this difficulty by gearing up like I'm doing asbestos removal, (what my mother used to call "dressed to haunt a house") but that does interfere with the tactile and olfactory bliss that comes with working in wood!
Another consideration in avoiding these woods is the fact that I do sell a lot of my guitars overseas and I just don't want to deal with Fish and Wildlife and all that.]

Here are some of the experiments I'm making in my choice of materials.

Katalox. I've been looking for a chance to use this set I picked up a while back, and some skin tests suggest it is not nearly as much of an irritant as say african blackwood (and don't even get me started on cocobola!)

Rocklite. I'm giving rocklite a try for the bridge and fingerboard. It certainly is attractive and has a silky depth when polished. It doesn't seem too dampen as much as Gabon ebony, but it's also not as dense. Since I tend toward lower mass bridges I don't think that will be an issue. I have high hopes.

Stabilized wood. This seems to be very promising. The infused resins seem to seal in whatever irritates me in wood.

Butternut. My secret wood! I love this stuff! The tap tone is terrific, better than mahogany, limba and the like in my mind, and a beautiful golden color. The downside is a slightly lower strength to weight ratio and a fuzziness when working it, but it's a great choice for my laminated bevels I believe.

Spanish cedar. This one's a bit of a gamble as far as its oils and terpenes go, and I probably would have used butternut for the neck if I had a large enough, quartersawn billet...but the fragrance!

Those choices, and better air management, promise a much friendlier environment on this build. So far, so good!

[Glenn23]

Final fitting

[Glenn23]