MARK BLANCHARD - Pinyon, German Spruce/Madagascar Rosewood: Build Thread

[Tim Porter]

Similar to my guitar (pics above), I understand yours will have the Manzer wedge. I was stunned when Mark built mine and the wedge had not yet been "cut" when he got to the point yours is in post # 37. That will happen when Mark puts the whole thing on a great big disc sander or equivalent and takes a half inch off the treble side. Fascinating and scary! (Honestly, I don't recall whether he sands off all that wood or cuts it off somehow, but it is a big job!) Tim

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by Tim Porter

Similar to my guitar (pics above), I understand yours will have the Manzer wedge. I was stunned when Mark built mine and the wedge had not yet been "cut" when he got to the point yours is in post # 37. That will happen when Mark puts the whole thing on a great big disc sander or equivalent and takes a half inch off the treble side. Fascinating and scary! (Honestly, I don't recall whether he sands off all that wood or cuts it off somehow, but it is a big job!) Tim

It is likely that we'll see soon...

[iim7V7IM7]

The first image shows the installation of polyester twill side ribbons. They 5- minute epoxied in place. You also can see the kerfed Spanish Cedar top linings being clamped in place.



Next, Mark is sharing his fixture that he uses to trim the rims and linings to a target top radius. The router slides along on curved X, Y rails in two directions, resulting in a spherical radius. For this Pinyon, the rims and linings are routed to a 47’ radius. The top itself will be braced for a target 30’ radius. This part of Mark’s normal approach to have this differential between the top and rim radii.



The sides will remain in this fixture until to top is ready to be attached.


More when I get it….

[iim7V7IM7]

Before selecting a top set for the Pinyon, it is time for Mark to select the wood for the rosette "tiles". Mark had already selected some beautiful, book-matched Brazilian Rosewood headplate and backplate veneers. He selected wood for the ten rosette "tiles" that match the veneers in hue and figure.



Here are the rosette tiles being cut in his fixture and Japanese razor saw.



You can see how by varying the figure and light/dark hues in the "tiles" it creates a simple, yet beautiful rosette.

[Steve Kinnaird]

Clever layout for the tiles. Man, that is some pretty Brazilian!

Steve

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird

Clever layout for the tiles. Man, that is some pretty Brazilian!

Steve

Thanks Steve...

This guitar will be by design ornamentally simple, but will feature graceful, simple forms and the beautiful woods used in its construction. The landscaping of the Madrose body set, BRW veneers and rosette themselves are the main ornamental features.

[Cocobolo Kid]

I just love the bookmatched Brazilian rosewood headstock veneers.

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by Cocobolo Kid

I just love the bookmatched Brazilian rosewood headstock veneers.

Thanks very much! Mark certainly has some beautiful woods in his wood locker. Those veneers will really "pop" once there is some finish on them. I predict the landscaping/spiderwebbing of the Madagascar Rosewood set will also be quite striking as well.

[TomB'sox]

That Brazilian for the headstock is amazing. It looks like a feather was inlaid into the wood. It is hard to even imagine how a tree can do that. Congrats on a great looking build.

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

That Brazilian for the headstock is amazing. It looks like a feather was inlaid into the wood. It is hard to even imagine how a tree can do that. Congrats on a great looking build.

Thanks for the kind words... I haven't yet done a proper Rorschach test on the book-matched pattern...

[iim7V7IM7]

Mark informed me that he had selected four potential top sets from his wood locker as candidates for my Pinyon. Two of the sets are Engelmann Spruce and the other two are Italian Alpine Spruce. Over the next few days he will select a set. All four top sets were chosen for low density to help accommodate my "responsive to a light touch" playing request.

He will join the sets and then cut them to the size of one of his larger guitar models. He does this so the three sets he doesn't select For this project are still usable on other guitars in the future. He next will then run Chladni modes on them to pinpoint the long grain/cross grain stiffness ratio to see if any one of them is closer to his ideal target for a Pinyon. Hopefully one of them will be what he is looking to find for my Pinyon.

[iim7V7IM7]

Mark ended up joining and testing 5 tops in all instead of 4 as I described in my prior post; 2 were Italian Spruce and 3 were Engelmann Spruce. In the end, only one of the Engelmann sets had what he was looking for. The Italian Spruce tops were too stiff across the grain for the narrow 14" body shape of the Pinyon. They are just right for Mark's larger body models like the Bristlecone (15-1/4") or perhaps even a Juniper (14-1/4"), so they will find their way into one of those models in the future.

One of the Engelmann Spruce sets had good stiffness ratios but it was heavier than desired, so he discarded it from contention. It will be reserved for a player with a heavier attack than I have. The two remaining Engelmann Spruce tops had both good stiffness ratios and good weight, but one seemed to have a slightly more resonant tap tone than the other, so it was the winner for my guitar.

According to Mark, the numbers in the photo below tell the tale. The numbers with the tick marks around them are the frequencies of the two modes Mark uses use to select his tops. One mode indicates the long grain stiffness and the other indicates the cross grain stiffness. The delta (triangle) number is the difference between them. When cut to a Bristlecone shape (15-1/4"), this top had a Delta of -34Hz. That’s too far negative for a Bristlecone, so he cut it down to Pinyon size. The narrower body shape reduced the difference to -15Hz, which is much better. When the sound hole goes in the top, it will end up with a delta near zero. In other words, the length to width stiffness ratio of the top will be just about neutral. Mark has found that this is a desirable trait for making a guitar that is efficient and has the tonal character that he likes in his guitars to have. This is where having detailed notes on 125+ guitars becomes useful vs. just taking abstract measurements.

The Engelmann Spruce top that Mark selected has been seasoning in his wood locker since August 2001 (14-years ago when he purchased it at Healdsburg). I think at this point, it is considered "well seasoned". The top also happens has a nice uniform color, fairly even grain spacing and, and only a tiny bit of runout for you "runout fanatics" out there in cyber-space..

[Richard Mott]

Mark is powerfully smart guy--such a rare combination of "physics" smarts and artistic sensibility. Extremely easy to engage with and builds GREAT guitars!

[iim7V7IM7]

Mark has joined the D. baronii back set. You can begin to see how the landscaped figure will visually break up the back of the modest Pinyon profile.

[Bruce Sexauer]

This guitar is certainly not going to lack "story"! I think this aspect of a true custom build is a great deal of the value, not only in the process, but in the result, especially from the owner's POV.