Hatcher 100th Guitar!

[Mark Hatcher]

I'm going to try some different woods on this guitar. The bass side is Santos Rosewood. The bass back half is Morado. The treble back half is Bolivian Rosewood and the treble side is Brazilian Ironwood. The Pau Rosa tree they all came from is a Pau Ferro tree:



Santos Rosewood, Bolivian Rosewood and Pau Rosa all seem to be inferring this is a rosewood. It's not. It doesn't have the pores rosewood have but it is similar to rosewood and has been used as a rosewood substitute, especially during the big CITES rosewood scare a few years ago.

In any case, by whatever name, this is a stand up tonewood for backs and sides both in tone and looks:



So off we go:





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[canuck7]

That is some beautiful wood!!

[Treenewt]

Mark you had me going for a minute…and then I read the second paragraph. That is beautiful wood, no matter the name. This guitar is going to be quite stunning.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by canuck7

That is some beautiful wood!!

Thanks canuck7. I bought a three sets of this wood Pau Ferro from a retiring luthier. They have been seasoned 25-30 years.

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Mark you had me going for a minute…and then I read the second paragraph. That is beautiful wood, no matter the name. This guitar is going to be quite stunning.

There are a lot of different names for this wood. There are also a couple different related species mixed in with these names. I don't know how much variation is involved under these umbrella names. The ones I have are very consistent as they were likely sourced together.

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[John Osthoff]

Hey Mark, Congrats on your hundredth guitar. I personally didn’t put serial numbers on my guitars, so I never kept track of how many I built over the years. I am not sure if my 100th was a commission or a spec guitar. I do think it is really cool that you are putting a lot of energy into the making this one extra special. I know you make every guitar special, but again it is cool to put a little extra energy into this one. Thanks for detailing this build.

[mikealpine]

That’s some special wood! There’s an electric guitar company, Sinuous Guitars, that offers a model topped with something called Santos Palisander (I think), with a very similar look. It’s stunning.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by John Osthoff

Hey Mark, Congrats on your hundredth guitar. I personally didn’t put serial numbers on my guitars, so I never kept track of how many I built over the years. I am not sure if my 100th was a commission or a spec guitar. I do think it is really cool that you are putting a lot of energy into the making this one extra special. I know you make every guitar special, but again it is cool to put a little extra energy into this one. Thanks for detailing this build.

Thanks John, I appreciate your comments! A little something extra seems appropriate. It's fun to put in a little something old and a little something new.

Originally Posted by mikealpine

That’s some special wood! There’s an electric guitar company, Sinuous Guitars, that offers a model topped with something called Santos Palisander (I think), with a very similar look. It’s stunning.

Thanks Mike, I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't yet another name for this wood!


With the back joined and roughly profiled I have done the back graft and thought my logo chip would be a good place to do a little extra:



I inlayed my H in gold mother of pearl into Black Ebony. At this point Black Ebony might seem a little out of place but it will make sense as we get farther down the road.







m

[Mark Hatcher]

Over the decades my tools started out as mostly hand tools and then moved more and more to power tools. My intentions were to increase speed and precision in my building. The last number of years I've realized that for a lot of the procedures I do building guitars the lack of speed and especially the precision wasn't so much due to the tools as it was to the guy using them.

Those of you who regularly read my posts here have increasingly seen me praise the advantages hand tools over the last seven years or so as my skills and mind set have improved.

That said, the hand tools have been getting better too. As an example let's look at my table saw:



It has a table that slides on linear bearings over an adjustable Japanese pull saw blade.



The first thing to notice is I still have ten fingers. The saw does the cross cuts for the sash joints I do for my braces. The saw works quietly without kicking sawdust into the air. The cuts are dead accurate, clean, without any tear out, and hardly any heat. The joints fit together like Legos:



The joints are lightweight and don't create needless hard points on the sound boards. This all makes a big difference in the quality of my guitars especially on my lattice braces:

[Treenewt]

Mark, I love the ebony logo button…super classy! I have to admit I have never seen a table saw like that! Very unique and cool, and no doubt much less likely to take a digit in the process!

[Erithon]

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Mark, I love the ebony logo button…super classy!

Me too! It's a simple, but effective visual weight for everything that is happening around it.

[islandguitar]

Just beautiful, Mark!!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Mark, I love the ebony logo button…super classy! I have to admit I have never seen a table saw like that! Very unique and cool, and no doubt much less likely to take a digit in the process!

Thanks Treenewt, I think the Black Ebony and gold mother of pearl will work out well. I tried to catch some of the green in the gold mother of pearl in the photos and the black will also tie in with the trim that is yet to come.

Originally Posted by Erithon

Me too! It's a simple, but effective visual weight for everything that is happening around it.

Thanks Erithon!

Originally Posted by islandguitar

Just beautiful, Mark!!

Thanks for commenting islandguitar!

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[Mark Hatcher]

Since I've been writing about the Blues Stain Pine and my table saw. I thought I'd take a crack at cutting out 16th" square sticks to use for top purfling:



There is a little set up on the saw so that I get consistent thicknesses

And off I go:



Here they are with nice clean cuts that are ready for install right off the saw:



M

[Mark Hatcher]

Note to self, "This Pau Ferro is a cinch to bend!" and that's always a good thing.



Getting the side together is going easily:



That's the Spanish Cedar arm bevel support getting glued in.



This is the Spanish Cedar kerfing going on.

Then it's cleaning all that up:



I love the smell of Spanish Cedar. Most people do, that is why I use it inside my guitars.

M

[canuck7]

Is Spanish Cedar the smell that comes out of my case when opened??