Hatcher 100th Guitar!

[Dustinfurlow]

I knew when I opened this I would be seeing a cedar top! Congrats Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

That brought a chuckle. I know what you mean.

Thanks for commenting. At least sharp steel cuts heal quickly!

Originally Posted by Dustinfurlow

I knew when I opened this I would be seeing a cedar top! Congrats Mark

We've talked about cedar several times. I'm not surprised you saw this coming

m

[Mark Hatcher]

I'm new to the Green Mountains but I have no hesitation in saying I am a Vermont luthier. I make guitars out of Vermont. Foraging is like treasure hunting whether it is Iberville Shale on the shores of Lake Champlain or the Cherry, Maple, White Spruce or Blue Stain Pine from my own back woods.
So my 100th guitar has got to have some Vermont built in.

The Blue Stain Pine is special up here. The colors are amazing and it's here for the picking:



A walk in the woods and a little sawing and I can sticker up my finds:



And my getting better at finding the good stuff!



So here I'm gluing some into that rosette channel:



While woods colors stand on their own very well with spruces they are the perfect complimentary colors for darker tops like Redwood and Cedar:



OK, you have to let me throw a little abalone bling in here too, this being my 100th guitar and all



M

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

While woods colors stand on their own very well with spruces they are the perfect complimentary colors for darker tops like Redwood and Cedar:


M

I am usually not a fan of bling but that is truly elegant
The red and the tan elements in the pine ties it altogether with WRC and the abalone twinkle is very tasteful

[Treenewt]

That is a stunning rosette Mark!

[Dustinfurlow]

Gosh those colors work so nicely together!!

[Aimelie]

Originally Posted by KevWind

I am usually not a fan of bling but that is truly elegant
The red and the tan elements in the pine ties it altogether with WRC and the abalone twinkle is very tasteful

I’m no fan of bling either, but I can’t help but agree with above.

So nice.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by KevWind

I am usually not a fan of bling but that is truly elegant
The red and the tan elements in the pine ties it altogether with WRC and the abalone twinkle is very tasteful

Thanks KevWind, A little abalone in the rosette isn’t a lot for a 100th guitar.

Originally Posted by Treenewt

That is a stunning rosette Mark!

Thanks Treenewt!

Originally Posted by Dustinfurlow

Gosh those colors work so nicely together!!

Thanks Dustin. The teal color in the pine works

Originally Posted by Aimelie

I’m no fan of bling either, but I can’t help but agree with above.

So nice.

Thanks Aimelie!

[Mark Hatcher]

After the rosette is settled in I start thinning the top down. I thin it from the inside where the braces will be glued on.

Where the braces get glued on.

There is an old technique that can make glue stick up to 40% better than it does on sanded surfaces:



I use a smoothing hand plane. When sharp and well set up it is an extremely accurate way to thin the most important part of a guitar.



This plane is set up to take just under .003" per cut. That is a little over half the thickness of a piece of common paper.
For comparison a drum sander vibration swings run farther back and forth than that. Let alone the variations in sandpaper individual grits and consistency. Variations in the speed of the drive belt causes even greater thickness inconsistencies.

The most accurate way to thin a top is a good, sharp, well tuned handplane in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.

Another area that power tools don't stand up for precision guitar making is they don't talk back like hand tools do. When I'm pushing my smoothing plane across a soundboard I can feel changes in grain direction and small inconsistencies in hardness. This feedback lets me make small compensations or worst case, part ways with an impending disappointment.

The more power between you and your work the farther away from your work you are.

m

[NTS]

Congratulations Mark. I’m proud for you. 100 is quite an accomplishment. That rosette is awesome looking on the top. I will certainly be following along to see what else you have up your sleeve for this special build.

[ukejon]

Congrats, Mark. You made me my lifetime guitar and I’m beyond grateful for your talent and your friendship.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by NTS

Congratulations Mark. I’m proud for you. 100 is quite an accomplishment. That rosette is awesome looking on the top. I will certainly be following along to see what else you have up your sleeve for this special build.

Thanks NTS, I have much planned for this build. It will me a mix ox some of my favorite elements from the past and some new things I’ve yet to try. Thanks for following along.

Originally Posted by ukejon

Congrats, Mark. You made me my lifetime guitar and I’m beyond grateful for your talent and your friendship.

Thanks for commenting ukejon. You’ve been a great friend and supporter. I look forward to showing you my new shop one day!

Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

I cut out the sound hole when I have the the top thinned close the when I start deflection testing it:



I use this Ebony and brass circle cutter which I also use to cut the rosette pocket walls.



As fancy as it is, it is only as good as it is sharp, very very sharp.

[Dustinfurlow]

Mark, I think I speak for everyone in saying we would love to see some of these steps in video format, that just looks so satisfying! I know it'd probably be a task and a half, but if you ever stuck your Canon or iPhone on a tripod to film any process I'm sure it would be therapeutic to watch, haha

My Greta has been spoiling me today, its a pure joy warming up for my gigs with it (it's got a k&k in it now, but it's gonna have to be a really nice stage/room for the #1 to make an appearance).

Have a great weekend and tell Karen and Enzo I said hello!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Dustinfurlow

Mark, I think I speak for everyone in saying we would love to see some of these steps in video format, that just looks so satisfying! I know it'd probably be a task and a half, but if you ever stuck your Canon or iPhone on a tripod to film any process I'm sure it would be therapeutic to watch, haha

My Greta has been spoiling me today, its a pure joy warming up for my gigs with it (it's got a k&k in it now, but it's gonna have to be a really nice stage/room for the #1 to make an appearance).

Have a great weekend and tell Karen and Enzo I said hello!

Thanks Dustin, When I was in New Hampshire I put a lot of time and money into setting up for quality recording and understanding how to put together a recording studio for guitar sound samples and some "in the shop processes".

Several issues derailed that. One was I ran into some very expensive equipment incompatibility issues which sucked up the money.
The other issue was while studying how to set up a recording room it became obvious to me that so much of what I was learning was directly relatable to the shape and interior features of an acoustic guitar body. Well that revelation diverted my course from recording guitars to optimizing the sound coming from the room inside my guitars.

So, that's the long way of saying sure, I'm planning on doing some recordings, it's coming back onto my to do list!

I'm glad you and Greta are getting along! I look forward to seeing you in October at Woodstock. You'll have to bring that guitar along and include it some during the performance demos.

Mark