Sexauer '18 (chapter 3)

[Bruce Sexauer]

Always great to see you, Tad, a good thing as I'll likely see you in a more formal setting tomorrow!

Now these pesky 0's will diverge a little more, as their fingerboards surely indicate:



I spent much of today dealing with my shop heater's failure to heat. A simple task, but it took me 3 days to accomplish it. At least we're in California rather that just about anywhere to the east.

Then, as if that weren't enough, I replaced the router in my home WiFi network. The old one was 10 years old and had developed a conflict with my wife's Mac-book air. She's had the little workhorse for 2 years or more, so we were surprised, but now we're ready for the future.

[Bruce Sexauer]

Things do go slowly in this Holiday Season! Still, I may get one of these necks shaped today. I do wish you all the best new year possible.

The cutaways start to take on visual balance with the rough necks in place:

[TomB'sox]

I can't decide, they both look great to me! Happy New Year Bruce!

[Bruce Sexauer]

You'll probably get to play them back to back, Tom, and you'll be lucky to be able to choose then, if they are as expected. This won't likely be because they are the same, except perhaps ergonomically. Thanks for posting.

[Guitars44me]

Jeez these are looking sweet to me too!

And I second Bruce. Everyone have a super New Year!!!

Cheers

Paul

[Bruce Sexauer]

After a hearty breakfast, my family and I are going for a walk with the dogs on North Beach (or similar) out at the Point Reyes National Seashore. Probably won’t make too much progress with the guitars today, but will have a nicely cleared head.

[TomB'sox]

Sounds like a great day, wind chill here in San Antonio is 37 degrees for all my northern friends who think it is 80 here all the time!

[Bruce Sexauer]

Going to the beach in January means bundling up, even in California. Except not so bad yesterday. We left the outer jackets in the car and it was an exceptionally fine start to the new year.

Here's the family plus "Josh". Laurelyn's beau.


Wife Linda sitting on a handy log . . .


Husband/luthier Bruce notices the log is figured . . .


Carrying a knife, as he generally does, he discovers that the wood is quite dark and fantasizes about pilfering US government property while the shut down persists. Nevermind, of course, as there is major degrade.


Back to work today, the 2 single 0's have gone into finish.

Adi/Mahogany:




Swiss/Pernambuco:

[iim7V7IM7]

Exqusite stuff...

[jmat]

That mahogany came to life in elegance.

[Bruce Sexauer]

Here's the mahogany 0 with the 4th coat of varnish not quite completely scuffed, in preparation for the 5th coat:


One of the main reasons Varnish is so much more expensive than Nitro, let alone modern UV cured finishes, is that it must be sanded as completely as possible between each coat. With Nitro it is generally sanded 3 times, which is every three coats, plus a final time before buffing. On my typical 8 coat finish I sand it 7 times, and the goal is to sand completely w/o every actually breaching the film. On these two guitars, I have chosen to use no pore filler because I want as much natural beauty in the materials as possible. This means little on the Pernambuco guitar as it has almost no pores to fill, but the mahogany does and will likely need a coat or two more than typical for the lack of filler. Each sanding requires about 1 1/2 hours per guitar. It could go faster if I used power sanders (which I have), but instead I do it by hand as I believe I can get a MUCH more consistent film thickness from the increased personal involvement required. Consistent film thickness equals increased integrity which I believe equates to better tone and balance.

[jaan]

Very cool. I have to say I’ve learned more from your build threads than I have in 40 years of playing/ dealing etc. thanks

[Bruce Sexauer]

Originally Posted by jaan

Very cool. I have to say I’ve learned more from your build threads than I have in 40 years of playing/ dealing etc. thanks

You are most welcome. We surely all enjoy the pictures in AGF, but some of us are likely to also enjoy finding some substance in the sandwich.

[TomB'sox]

Originally Posted by jaan

Very cool. I have to say I’ve learned more from your build threads than I have in 40 years of playing/ dealing etc. thanks

This is one of the reasons why we are so excited to have Bruce give a guitar building seminar on Sunday morning at B.I.G. in March. It is one thing to read what he posts and learn, but even better to hear it and be able to ask questions! It is a rare opportunity to tap into many years of experience.

[jmat]

Watching Imagine Dragons play at the college football championship halftime. Briefly saw a nylon string guitar. Was it the Sexauer?