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Old 07-03-2020, 01:08 PM
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Mark Hatcher Mark Hatcher is offline
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Default Hatcher's Studio '20 #2

Time for my second studio thread. It's July and tomorrow is July 4th! It seems appropriate to do a Red White and Blue guitar.
Let's start with Blue. The top for this guitar comes with a story drawn from an American way of life. The Sitka top I selected came from an old logging float camp in Alaska. The huge old growth Sitka logs were lashed together over 30 years ago and formed the raft which houses were set on. When the loggers were finished in one area they would use tugs to pull the camp to the next site.

Here is part of the old camp:



To give you an idea of the size of the 110 foot long logs that were salvaged:



Iron cleats and 12" long iron rods were driven into the logs to hold it all together and to hold the steel cable lashing used for towing the camps:



After thirty years soaking in salt water the iron leaches into the surrounding wood fiber.
Here is a quote from my supplier:

"These boards cut from a floatlog in the vicinity of a 12″ long spike, that permeated the surrounding fiber with iron. The result is this oxidized blue board. Out of thousands of tops cut from these logs, only a few have the stain for the full length and width of both boards. They are blue throughout the board. The sugars of the wood has become crystalline and extra mineral added"

Of the few that had the blue stain a very few had bear claw figure and that is what I am using on my Red White and Blue guitar:



If you'd like to know more about these old camps I came across this video of a different camp, but you'll get the idea:

http://www.ketchikanstories.com/film...s/logging-boom

More to come!
Mark
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  #2  
Old 07-03-2020, 01:14 PM
Lonzo Lonzo is offline
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Cool story !

Looking forward to the next episode
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Old 07-03-2020, 01:40 PM
Treenewt Treenewt is offline
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That is so COOL! Thanks for sharing this Mark! I love hearing the story behind the wood!
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Old 07-03-2020, 02:56 PM
BEJ BEJ is offline
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Bet they would have loved to have one of your canoes to get around camp or to town in style.

Bruce,

Last edited by BEJ; 07-04-2020 at 04:27 AM.
  #5  
Old 07-04-2020, 04:15 AM
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The story sounds similar to that of Salmon Sitka which comes from the crates made by fisheries to hold a fisherman's catch during the day. But none of that cool blue color.

This should be fun to watch!
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  #6  
Old 07-04-2020, 09:14 AM
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Default Red White and Blue Back and Sides

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lonzo View Post
Cool story !

Looking forward to the next episode
Thanks Lonzo, here it comes!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Treenewt View Post
That is so COOL! Thanks for sharing this Mark! I love hearing the story behind the wood!
Thanks Treenewt, I enjoy researching and telling the story.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BEJ View Post
Bet they would have loved to have one of your canoes to get around camp or to town in style.

Bruce,
Thanks for commenting Bruce, Seems back in the day everybody had a little float plane. That would have been fun!

Quote:
Originally Posted by cigarfan View Post
The story sounds similar to that of Salmon Sitka which comes from the crates made by fisheries to hold a fisherman's catch during the day. But none of that cool blue color.

This should be fun to watch!
Thanks cigarfan, I have built with floatwoods before and have been happy with the results. I don't know if there is really any magic to them, I just go by my standards when picking tonewood. The blue is just cool as far as I'm concerned.

Awhile back I bought this highly figured and unusual Sapele board:



It's 5ft long and 2 inches thick. Besides the striking pommele figure it also has much lighter sapwood and it even has blue spalting. So this is a no-brainer for my Red White and Blue guitar.

Here's a closer look:



The model I am making is my parlor Piña:



Here are a couple pics of the back and side set I found inside that board:





Happy Fourth of July everyone!
Mark
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“Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”. Andrew Fletcher
  #7  
Old 07-04-2020, 10:18 AM
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As always Mark, woods beyond the ordinary!
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Old 07-04-2020, 11:42 AM
Treenewt Treenewt is offline
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That Sapele is quite lovely!
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  #9  
Old 07-04-2020, 01:32 PM
BrianM99 BrianM99 is offline
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That's some fine looking wood! I also love hearing the stories from where the wood originates too. Those are some LARGE timber.
  #10  
Old 07-04-2020, 02:58 PM
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Really fun wood sets!!!

I played in Ketchikan repeatedly in the 80s and 90s. It was NUTS and the huge club was ROCKIN' every night.

This will be very cool

Thanks for showing us all...

Paul
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  #11  
Old 07-05-2020, 07:35 AM
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Default How do they go?

Quote:
Originally Posted by TomB'sox View Post
As always Mark, woods beyond the ordinary!
Thanks Tom, It's crazy what you can find!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Treenewt View Post
That Sapele is quite lovely!
Thanks Treenewt, Sapele is a great tonewood. It at first looks similar to Mahogany with its color and interlocking grain but it is as hard as Rock Maple and doesn't seem to have a limit in the gorgeous grain department. Tonally it is complex with a lot of sustain.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianM99 View Post
That's some fine looking wood! I also love hearing the stories from where the wood originates too. Those are some LARGE timber.
Thanks Brian, Big old growth trees, it's nice to be able to re-purpose them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Guitars44me View Post
Really fun wood sets!!!

I played in Ketchikan repeatedly in the 80s and 90s. It was NUTS and the huge club was ROCKIN' every night.

This will be very cool

Thanks for showing us all...

Paul
Thanks Paul, Yeah, I thought that video helped catch the flavor of the times.

I've shown two woods so far for my Red White and Blue guitar let's see how they go together:





Those of you who have been following me for awhile know that I have a bench in the back of the studio called the Dartboard. It is where I stage the woods and parts for future builds and accumulate ideas for. That way I can always see them and can drop things off or take them away in passing depending on how well they get along with the other parts.

This idea has been building for many months so you are going to see a lot of different elements coming together as I am building this guitar!

Thanks for viewing!
Mark
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  #12  
Old 07-05-2020, 08:06 AM
Treenewt Treenewt is offline
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Mark, first off, that top is seriously amazing!

Second, thanks for that description of Sapele. That’s quite informative, as it so often is simply lumped in as a mahogany substitute. I have heard it’s hard to work with due to the dust...is that simply the case for folks with allergies, or does any extra care have to be taken on your end to work with Sapele?
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  #13  
Old 07-05-2020, 01:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Treenewt View Post
Mark, first off, that top is seriously amazing!

Second, thanks for that description of Sapele. That’s quite informative, as it so often is simply lumped in as a mahogany substitute. I have heard it’s hard to work with due to the dust...is that simply the case for folks with allergies, or does any extra care have to be taken on your end to work with Sapele?
You’re welcome Treenewt, I didn’t take any extra precautions working with Sapele. It has a pleasant sweet smell and I did not find it irritating in any way.
That’s me. I haven’t read that it is particularly bad but, if I were sensitive to it you’d being hearing a different story. This is coming from a guy who finds African Mahogany particularly irritating and I have never heard the same complaint from another woodworker. It is hard to know which woods, if any you will react to so it’s important to pay attention and always exercise basic precautions when working with woods (dust mask, and dust filters). I worry mostly about respiratory symptoms. For skin issues my only real precaution has been to be sure to shower right after working in the shop, not before.
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  #14  
Old 07-05-2020, 01:54 PM
Treenewt Treenewt is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher View Post
You’re welcome Treenewt, I didn’t take any extra precautions working with Sapele. It has a pleasant sweet smell and I did not find it irritating in any way.
That’s me. I haven’t read that it is particularly bad but, if I were sensitive to it you’d being hearing a different story. This is coming from a guy who finds African Mahogany particularly irritating and I have never heard the same complaint from another woodworker. It is hard to know which woods, if any you will react to so it’s important to pay attention and always exercise basic precautions when working with woods (dust mask, and dust filters). I worry mostly about respiratory symptoms. For skin issues my only real precaution has been to be sure to shower right after working in the shop, not before.
Thanks Mark! I could absolutely have mixed it up with another wood!
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  #15  
Old 07-05-2020, 01:57 PM
gstring gstring is offline
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Default Floatwoods

"I have built with floatwoods before and have been happy with the results"

I can personally attest to the exceptional look and sound of Mark's ""Floatwood""

To my eye, this is one of your best ( if not the best ) wood combinations you have put together.

daniel

Last edited by gstring; 07-06-2020 at 07:15 AM.
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