Mark Blanchard - Sugar Pine [“Lucky Strike” Redwood | Carved, Curly Black Walnut]

[iim7V7IM7]

Mark was interviewed by luthier Michael Bashkin in May at the La Conner Guitar Festival. Here is the link to Michael’s Luthier on Luthier Podcast.

https://luthieronluthier.libsyn.com/...nchard-guitars

[Chazmo]

By the way, @iim7V7IM7, while I love the wood choices and everything here, those Rodgers tuners are really something!! They are real works of art, or should I say engineering!

I’ll just add my congrats to the rest of the gang on what’s sure to be a marvelous guitar. I’ll be fascinated to hear how the dense-grain (old growth) redwood top resonates with the walnut back and sides! Best wishes.

[eKat]

Please allow me to quote Bob:

"Brazilian Rosewood peghead veneer with a Paua Abalone “B” inlay”

OooWeee I love seeing my little “B” getting ready for a slotted peghead build; my all time favorite headstock, to be sure; especially when Rodger’s tuning machines are involved.

The first time Blanchard’s mom saw my “B” she said, in her thick British accent, “Oh Mahk, it’s a little harrht.”

Doodz, I designed that logo, but after hearing that, all I see is a little heart!

This is going to be a reMARKable build. He certainly was thrilled to find this radical walnut.

Keep the magic alive!

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

Mark was interviewed by luthier Michael Bashkin in May at the La Conner Guitar Festival. Here is the link to Michael’s Luthier on Luthier Podcast.

https://luthieronluthier.libsyn.com/...nchard-guitars

Bob, thanks for that link. That was a very interesting listen! And hearty congrats on your latest Blanchard build. You always are so good at providing the juicy details. Should/will be a spectacular Sugar Pine with those fantastic woods.

Originally Posted by eKat

Please allow me to quote Bob:

"Brazilian Rosewood peghead veneer with a Paua Abalone “B” inlay”

OooWeee I love seeing my little “B” getting ready for a slotted peghead build; my all time favorite headstock, to be sure; especially when Rodger’s tuning machines are involved.

The first time Blanchard’s mom saw my “B” she said, in her thick British accent, “Oh Mahk, it’s a little harrht.”

Doodz, I designed that logo, but after hearing that, all I see is a little heart!

This is going to be a reMARKable build. He certainly was thrilled to find this radical walnut.

Keep the magic alive!

Kath, I always saw it as a "B", but now I know it came from the heart.

[iim7V7IM7]

Mark laminated the curly Black Walnut sides with an inner layer clear Black Walnut using a polyurethane adhesive. Today, he successfully bent them. The rims are relatively thick and stiff which he likes in his approach to construction. They are 0.112” thick except for the Venetian cutaway curves where he thinned them by 0.010” to 0.102”. The outer laminate (the curly Black Walnut) is about 0.067” thick. In this photo, you can also see his end cut test bends in the photo to empirically determine how thick to take them for bending.



Test pieces…

[eKat]

"Kath, I always saw it as a "B", but now I know it came from the heart."

It certainly did. Thanks, Andre!

[iim7V7IM7]

Mark started to fabricate the Gaboon Ebony fretboard today.

This guitar will have a 25-1/4” scale length, 1-3/4” nut width and a 2-5/16” string spacing at the saddle. We agreed on a taper at the 12th fret of 2.285” width to establish the fretboard taper. I measured a number of my other 12 fret guitars all having 1-3/4” to 2-5/16” string tapers (but with 25.4” scales) at 2.2680”, 2.2745” and 2.3200” so it should feel right at home. Here is a photo of the fretboard in his clamping fixture having its Gaboon Ebony binding glued to it after being slotted.

[mhw48]

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

Mark started to fabricate the Gaboon Ebony fretboard today.

This guitar will have a 25-1/4” scale length, 1-3/4” nut width and a 2-5/16” string spacing at the saddle. We agreed on a taper at the 12th fret of 2.285” width to establish the fretboard taper. I measured a number of my other 12 fret guitars all having 1-3/4” to 2-5/16” string tapers (but with 25.4” scales) at 2.2680”, 2.2745” and 2.3200” so it should feel right at home. Here is a photo of the fretboard in his clamping fixture having its Gaboon Ebony binding glued to it after being slotted.

Hi Bob, I always just assumed that the nut width and the string spacing at the saddle (along with the scale length) determined the fretboard taper. Thanks! Now you've given me something new to worry about!

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by mhw48

Hi Bob, I always just assumed that the nut width and the string spacing at the saddle (along with the scale length) determined the fretboard taper. Thanks! Now you've given me something new to worry about!

It honestly comes down to the builder's approach. Some use CAD and CNC to establish taper and others who build by hand gauge measurements at a known reference point between the nut and saddle such as the 12th fret. What is important is the player likes the E string to edge spacing.

[mhw48]

Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7

It honestly comes down to the builder's approach. Some use CAD and CNC to establish taper and others who build by hand gauge measurements at a known reference point between the nut and saddle such as the 12th fret. What is important is the player likes the E string to edge spacing.

Good point, there is nothing worse and having the E string slide off the side of the fingerboard

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by mhw48

Good point, there is nothing worse and having the E string slide off the side of the fingerboard

It’s a feature!

I honestly haven’t given this spec a ton of thought in past builds, most likely because I haven’t had an issue with strings falling off the fretboard. The one place where I really noticed the taper in recent memory was on my LeGeyt commission. Burton used a particularly wide taper (for aesthetic reasons) and the strings are unusually far from the edge on that guitar. It doesn’t impact the playability; it was simply something I noticed.

iim7V7IM7 is one of the most knowledgeable buyers on the forum, so not surprising he has some thoughts on the topic.

[hubcapsc]

Originally Posted by mhw48

Good point, there is nothing worse and having the E string slide off the side of the fingerboard

My basket-case J-35 had that problem when I got it. Mike Weems made a new
nut and saddle and bridge for it and I asked him to think about that when he was
deciding how the new stuff should be. It is no longer a problem ...

-Mike

[rie]

Wonderful! I love the redwood/walnut combination on a 12 fret. Looking forward to watching the progress.

[Jwills57]

If you haven't had the opportunity to play a guitar constructed with double-sides, I think you're going to be impressed. Lots of roads lead to Rome, of course, and I have played many, many great guitars not constructed with double-sides, but my newest guitars, a pair of OMs from the Scottish luthier Oska Burman, are made with double-sides and they are both incredible, incredible guitars. Somehow I think double-sides give the guitar just a bit more heft and solidity to the sound, if that makes sense. Plus, from a structural standpoint, double-sides make a lot of sense in terms of the long-term stability of the instrument.

[iim7V7IM7]

I have a classical guitar made with laminated sides of Black Cherry and Port Orford Cedar. That guitar has solid linings as well.

Mark recommended double sides to mitigate against the curly Black Walnut not faceting when bending around the 1" radius in his Venetian cutaway. Even with the lamination, he had locally thin the outer layer by 0.010" (he learned this with his test bends).

Laminated sides are stiff and stable. Different guitar making concepts have differing perspectives on the role of the sides in a guitar. Some look for stiffness and mass to dampen and others want them to resonate. I have excellent guitars made using both approaches.

Mark uses reverse kerfed (capped) linings which add additional stiffness to boot.

Originally Posted by Jwills57

If you haven't had the opportunity to play a guitar constructed with double-sides, I think you're going to be impressed. Lots of roads lead to Rome, of course, and I have played many, many great guitars not constructed with double-sides, but my newest guitars, a pair of OMs from the Scottish luthier Oska Burman, are made with double-sides and they are both incredible, incredible guitars. Somehow I think double-sides give the guitar just a bit more heft and solidity to the sound, if that makes sense. Plus, from a structural standpoint, double-sides make a lot of sense in terms of the long-term stability of the instrument.