KENT CHASSON "Craftsman Style” Concert No. 99 (Engelmann/Wenge)

[iim7V7IM7]

Before Kent left for his break, we discussed some interesting ideas for the rosette, end graft and back strip of KC#99 to complement the "Craftsman" aesthetic that we have shared with the design of the headstock (truss rod cover, "Chasson" logo typography) and flamed catalpa fingerboard inlays. Those of you familiar with the wood inlay designs of Harvey Ellis that reflect nature in Stickley furniture pieces won't be disappointed.







Staying simple in the ornamentation, and emphasizing the beauty of quarter-sawn Wenge, and mitered edge details. This even follows through to the finish not being glossy and emphasizing the natural texture of the materials of construction. I will see if I can capture these finish samples with my home photography setup.

What has been interesting about this build is how the process of building itself has revealed many of the ideas that we in some cases did not think of prospectively. In other cases, earlier design ideas have ended up being repurposed into new areas of the guitar in what I believe is a better way.

[iim7V7IM7]

I received some material finish samples from Kent this week. I was looking at the hand rubbed Tru-Oil sample of Wenge and comparing it to the oak finishes that are typical in craftsman oak pieces. The 3-dimensional quartersawn grain of the Wenge despite being a darker hue actually works very well in simulating the semi-gloss finish associated with these pieces.





The test top piece is Sitka and not Engelmann but the Tru-Oil finish again looks nice providing an ever-so-slight golden cast to the wood with a semi-gloss finish.



I would be interested to hear from others as to their experience with the durability of a Tru-Oil finish compared to a typical nitro or poly finish?

Here is the Wenge finished in Tru-Oil on the left and sanded with a wax application on the right. I am not so sure that I like the contrast mismatch. We will need to think about this. Keep in mind that the photo may be exaggerating this a bit based upon lighting and exposure.

[iim7V7IM7]

Hi,

Kent tried a first stab at executing his "craftsman style" headstock logo in flamed catalpa into wenge...





The typography, along with the materials beautifully captures the intent and design feel of the movement.

:-)

Bob

[steveb2223]

I'm very pleased to see how this build is progressing. My wife and I are long-time Arts & Crafts students and collectors. I'm looking at our own Harvey Ellis rocker as I write this. It's the same design as the one in the last furniture picture but with a somewhat lighter finish.

Can't wait to see your build come together.

-- Steve

[iim7V7IM7]

Hi,

I have a couple photos to share of some areas where Kent has been exploring some design options; the headplate and rosette through a set of pilot build experiments to test out some design ideas.

Headplate: You can see with the cast shadows how Kent has inset his new craftsman style logo to create a subtle sense of surface dimensionality to the relatively clean headstock design. The wenge and catalpa in this sample are not finished so the color/contrast will change.



Rosette: A simple, raised catalpa rosette design comprised of four segments with dovetail joints at 9-6-3 o'clock reflective of some of the joinery techniques associated with the movement.

[CoolerKing]

Looking awesome! Thanks for sharing.

[JamesO]

Surprised (in a good way!) and impressed with the design work so far. You guys are nailing it.

[iim7V7IM7]

Thanks, we're both pleased as well.

[roberts]

Which h/s design are you leaning toward - inlaid or raised?

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by roberts

Which h/s design are you leaning toward - inlaid or raised?

I think the image is playing a trompe l'oeil illusion with you.

The logo will actually be inset and not raised. The headplate wenge is pin routed and pocketed from behind. A single piece of flamed catalpa is placed into the pocket from behind. Some pieces in the H, A and O are fabricated and glued in place.

[BenjaminPaldacci]

What a great topic, the quality of your picture is really great! I'm impatient to see the rest!

[Richard Mott]

Hi, just saw this lovely build and noticed that the plan is to have a wenge fingerboard. It's something you might want think hard about. The lighter wood in wenge between the hard dark chocolate colored lines can be very soft and wears easily. My brother has a wenge-topped electric and the where it is handled or touched often the soft wenge wood literally wore away leaving dark ridges. Even hard tight-grained woods like ebony can wear out "finger troughs" on the fretboard over time. If you do go ahead with wenge, maybe consider some kind of epoxy finish so it doesn't wear away. --Richard

[Kent Chasson]

Originally Posted by benbenbenben

What a great topic, the quality of your picture is really great! I'm impatient to see the rest!

Thanks! Pictures have never been my strong point but I'm working on it...

Originally Posted by Richard Mott

Hi, just saw this lovely build and noticed that the plan is to have a wenge fingerboard. It's something you might want think hard about. The lighter wood in wenge between the hard dark chocolate colored lines can be very soft and wears easily. My brother has a wenge-topped electric and the where it is handled or touched often the soft wenge wood literally wore away leaving dark ridges. Even hard tight-grained woods like ebony can wear out "finger troughs" on the fretboard over time. If you do go ahead with wenge, maybe consider some kind of epoxy finish so it doesn't wear away. --Richard

Thanks for pointing that out, Richard. We are discussing it now but I had asked Bob about his left hand technique in relation to recessed marker dots and my impression was that he doesn't dig into the board. And for someone who really digs in, any wood will groove eventually but it's certainly good to figure out ahead of time and ebony is still an option.

I just sent Bob some shots of the full rosette. Now we need to decide the location of the dovetail in relation to the center seam. Lining up with the shoulder gives it more movement (visual tension ) while centering the tail on the seam is more symmetrical. I'm always amazed at how the smallest decisions can have a big impact.

[iim7V7IM7]

The journey of creating a guitar together with a luthier is indeed a luxury and in some cases a collaborative journey. Here, Kent as created two variations on a raised, dovetailed rosette to try and capture the craftsman style design theme.





You can see that one has the shoulders of the dovetail on the seam and the other has the ends of the dovetail. We haven't decided yet, but I wanted to share in this thread some of the behind the scenes decisions in the journey of creating this instrument. Working with Kent has truly been a treat in this regard. You can also now begin to see just how nice the piece of Engelmann he has chosen (tight grained with some silking already showing).

We are still in discussions around the fingerboard (earlier comment on material choice). What has been so interesting on this project is that every detail has not been prescribed prospectively (beyond some sonic goals, body size, scale length and design theme) but has been created together along the way by either a shared sketch or 3-D mockup. This process, which requires trust has taken us to some ideas that I don't think we would have arrived at prospectively on paper.

[iim7V7IM7]

Let's build a guitar!

Sides, blocks and kerfed linings being clamped...





X marks the spot...



More as it comes...

:-)

Bob