New Dryad Drednought Model Hatcher Guitars

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by B....

I very much enjoy following this build Mark, being a Dreadnought guy to the core myself. I'm so impressed with your website design as well & found it a real treat. Well done. You are to be commended on your dedication to the guitar.

Thank you B…., Setting up that website was a real project but it has been working well for me.

m

[KevWind]

Mark what cool guitar , I am following this build with rapt interest I am a well seasoned (read old ) guitar player, but am a newbie to the world of custom luthier builds
I am a dread fan as that was my gigging guitar for 20 years .
But I have expanded my palette and am excited to announce I will be taking delivery next week of one of your Josie Small Jumbos that I have purchased from Larry K
So count me as big fan and convert
And with that I am very interested in the strap buttons you show in post #45 as I play and sing standing up..
And will be excited to play and show off the Josie and your luthier skill at my local open mic ( one of the longest running open mics in the country over with 1200 weekly performances ) called The Jackson Hole Hootenanny which is a mic'ed only (no plugging in a pickup) acoustic venue so the attributes of a well made acoustic will really shine ................

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Mark what cool guitar , I am following this build with rapt interest I am a well seasoned (read old ) guitar player, but am a newbie to the world of custom luthier builds
I am a dread fan as that was my gigging guitar for 20 years .
But I have expanded my palette and am excited to announce I will be taking delivery next week of one of your Josie Small Jumbos that I have purchased from Larry K
So count me as big fan and convert
And with that I am very interested in the strap buttons you show in post #45 as I play and sing standing up..
And will be excited to play and show off the Josie and your luthier skill at my local open mic ( one of the longest running open mics in the country over with 1200 weekly performances ) called The Jackson Hole Hootenanny which is a mic'ed only (no plugging in a pickup) acoustic venue so the attributes of a well made acoustic will really shine ................

Thanks KevWind. Congrats on your Josie. I hope it works out to your liking!
That strap button arrangement came from when I use to make strip built Cedar Kayaks. It was a big help recessing the deck hardware to keep it out of the way.

Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

I have a shop full of dreadnoughts right now! I am back to work on the original Amazon/torrefied Sitka Green Mountain series Dryad. That was quickly followed by an order for a long and short scale pair Black Walnut/ADI and Torrefied Sugar Maple/ADI.

The ADI pair are to be french polished. I am doing them in the more traditional french process. This starts with sealing them with egg albumin.
Here they are with the last seal coat on:





Tomorrow I'll start the actual french polishing. I have the shellac mixed and ready. This morning I made a new applicator. There are many ways to make these and they have several different names. The one I like is Spanish Doll.

Here is how I make a Spanish Doll:



The stuffing is a number of pieces of wool and the I find the best covering is pima cotton



It is a little smaller than a ping-pong ball. I like to use a wire twist to pinch it all together. This makes it a lot easier on the fingers than having to do all the pinching without the tie. It also makes it a lot easier to control the flow of shellac.

[mikealpine]

The guitar looks gorgeous as is. It’ll be glowing when you’re done. Always appreciate the explanations and pictures of the process!

[Al Mojo]

I love the sound of french polish finishes - way to go, Mark!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

The guitar looks gorgeous as is. It’ll be glowing when you’re done. Always appreciate the explanations and pictures of the process!

Thanks for the comments Mike. French polish as a traditional finish for string instruments goes back centuries into the Middle Ages. They may not of had plastic coated wire twists back in the 1500s but I do try to stay with traditional methods on this well proven finish.

Originally Posted by Al Mojo

I love the sound of french polish finishes - way to go, Mark!

That’s not the sound of french polish finish, it’s the sound of the guitar set free!

mark

[Mark Hatcher]

I enjoy watching how the color and figure develops with each french polish session:

[Nemoman]

Beautiful work as always, Mark. Both dreads look amazing!

[canuck7]

That is one beautiful guitar…wow!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Nemoman

Beautiful work as always, Mark. Both dreads look amazing!

Thanks Nemoman, This model is off to a good start!

Originally Posted by canuck7

That is one beautiful guitar…wow!

Thanks canuck7! I look forward to playing these guitars. It is very helpful for me to have three very different versions of the same new new model at the same time.

Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

I have the bridge glued on my first spec Dryad dreadnought:



My bridge has gone through a number of design improvements over many years. Since I announced this new dreadnought design I am getting a lot of interest from new more dreadnought leaning players. I've commented on my bridge design over the years but I should do it again for the newer folks.

I will break this up over 3 posts because I've got a lot to say and due to the length of this post I probably have already lost 30% of you .

The three posts will be:

1) Tone & Dynamics

2) Ease & Comfort of Play

3) Structure & Funtion

Watch for them on a forum near you!

m

[Treenewt]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

I have the bridge glued on my first spec Dryad dreadnought:



My bridge has gone through a number of design improvements over many years. Since I announced this new dreadnought design I am getting a lot of interest from new more dreadnought leaning players. I've commented on my bridge design over the years but I should do it again for the newer folks.

I will break this up over 3 posts because I've got a lot to say and due to the length of this post I probably have already lost 30% of you .

The three posts will be:

1) Tone & Dynamics

2) Ease & Comfort of Play

3) Structure & Funtion

Watch for them on a forum near you!

m

I for one am NOT bored and can't wait to hear!

[canuck7]

Me too!!! [emoji106][emoji4]

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Treenewt

I for one am NOT bored and can't wait to hear!

Originally Posted by canuck7

Me too!!! [emoji106][emoji4]

Thank, glad to have you guys along!

Mark