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

[Kent Chasson]

Thanks for the visual, Bob.

Here's the current version of the fretboard. The terminus may not stay square. Not sure.

I'm thinking either ebony or possibly wenge for the fingerboard and recessed turquoise for the markers. Turquoise is not exactly authentic Craftsman but I'm thinking a splash of color might be nice. Maybe Taliesin West

I see my center line did not disappear as expected. Don't have time to fix it at the moment.

[roberts]

Love the h/s logo.
Go 'Hawks!

[iim7V7IM7]

I thought it was you suggesting use of your pin router....:-)

[iim7V7IM7]

Kent and I have made some material decisions on the design of #99. Like many of the furniture pieces of Gustav Stickley, KC#99 will emphasize the textures and straight grained beauty of quarter-sawn woods, honest functionally joinery simply ornamented with simple abstractions of nature.

Aside from the Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii) top and Wenge back and sides that I communicated last time that posted, we have decided upon:

1) Using Wenge (Millettia laurentii) for the fingerboard,
2) Belizean Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) for the neck.
3) The body will have Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum) binding
4) For fingerboard inlays, we may either use green abalone (Haliotis fulgens) or Flamed Catalpa (C. speciosa & C. bignonioides)



5) The Chasson logo will be inlayed in tightly Flamed Catapla.



6) No glossy nitro or poly finish, but a hand rubbed, lower gloss, Tru-Oil finish to show off the textures of the wood.



Kent also sent me an image to show how he structurally reinforces his neck heel with a cross-grained maple insert. This along with the longitudinal carbon fiber neck inserts provide additional rigidity for the cantilevered, elevated fingerboard.



The final design for rosette, end graft and back-strip are still being refined.

More to come soon...

[ewh2]

I look forward to seeing the build progress.

I played one of Kent's Wenge guitars earlier this week at TAMCO, it was superb - one of my favourite guitars in the shop.

[iim7V7IM7]

Here are some neck fabrication shots. Kent attaches profiles and bandsaws just outside them.

pp

He then flush trims to the profiles on a router.



Kent shared some images of his neck construction approach where you can see channels cut for carbon fiber reinforcement.

The idea behind his neck reinforcement is to augment the truss rod to provide enhanced control of neck relief and torsional twisting. Stopping the carbon fiber short of the nut creates a bit of hinge point so that the apogee of the relief stays where Kent wants it. The Carbon fiber is asymmetrical to intentionally impart a slight twist and give a bit more relief to the bass side where it is needed.



He also shared a couple of images of a hand rubbed Tru-Oil top finish using a piece of Sitka Spruce as a sample (The real top will be Engelmann). It is difficult to capture in photos, but there is depth and warmth and a subtle gloss that is a bit shiner that what Kent considers a satin finish.

[JoeCharter]

I really like the new logo with the Craftsman font. Works perfectly with the existing headstock shape.

Great going guys.

[iim7V7IM7]

Thanks...

The typography should look good in the flamed Catalpa against the dark, straight grain of the Wenge.

Originally Posted by JoeCharter

I really like the new logo with the Craftsman font. Works perfectly with the existing headstock shape.

Great going guys.

[ukejon]

Looks great. I like the Greene and Greene inlay markers. This guitar would look right at home in the Gamble House in Pasadena:

http://www.gamblehouse.org/history/architects.html

[iim7V7IM7]

One of my favorites.... I used to live in Pasadena in the 1980's

Originally Posted by ukejon

Looks great. I like the Greene and Greene inlay markers. This guitar would look right at home in the Gamble House in Pasadena:

http://www.gamblehouse.org/history/architects.html

[iim7V7IM7]

This is really more of a view into the process and luthier's workshop. I like shop equipment and this is a pin router. Kent has finished the pattern prep and is now ready to use the pin router to try out some inlay samples of some concepts that we have been going back and forth on.



Like finish Tru-Oil finish samples, this is example of how empirical experimentation is used to finalize a concept beyond the "sketch" to evaluate scale, actual materials, their contrast, proportion etc.

More to come...

[iim7V7IM7]

Instead of just sharing a build in process, I thought I would share thinking in-process. Here is a small design study on fingerboard inlays.

Here is a piece of Wenge with 3-sample inlay materials: turquoise, green abalone and flamed Catalpa in mitered insets (edges are bit rough-quick samples) to reflect the chamfered edges of the truss rod cover.



A bit of goldilocks going on here. The turquoise has too much contrast and the green abalone while beautiful does not stand out enough. The flamed catalpa looks best. We have decided upon wood for the inlay material. Kent may try a few others beyond the flamed catalpa.

[CoolerKing]

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

One of my favorites.... I used to live in Pasadena in the 1980's

From Pasadena to NJ, with stickley house nearby, you're never very far from arts and crafts!

[Kent Chasson]

One more sample that's a little cleaner. I'm pretty happy with this look. We'll probably inset the headstock logo below the surface like this too. I like the color of the catalpa and it has some incredibly tight flame in it that I hoped would show up. Turns out that if I plane the surface and keep it very flat, it shows up even on these small pieces.

[iim7V7IM7]

Here is the Wenge fingerboard and headplate that are from the same board to achieve a good match. The craftsman "Chasson" logo is being inlay milled into the Wenge head plate. The letters will be inset and chamfered.



I will be getting some samples in the mail of some sanded, waxed pieces for approval. I also should receive some inlay samples as well. I will share some images of both when they arrive.

The Wenge back plates have been glued...


The Englemann Spruce top plates have also been glued...


The Wenge sides have been bent (cutaway side in the bender)...




Kent is about to take a long overdue break from the shop until mid-March so this will be the last update for a little while.