The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Custom Shop

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 04-02-2018, 10:00 AM
IndianHillMike's Avatar
IndianHillMike IndianHillMike is offline
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Montreal, QC
Posts: 546
Default Build Thread: Indian Hill Short-scale Ziricote/Cedar for La Conner

Greetings!


I had an absolute blast at the La Conner show last year so when I was asked to show my guitars again at this year's festival there was no way I was going to turn that invite down! One of the great things about building guitars for shows is that it can be a good excuse to experiment and try some new things without having to convince a customer first. So, for this year's show I decided to finally build something I've been dreaming of for a while and I'm SO excited for it!

Some of my favorite instruments of the past few years have been my tenor guitars. They always seem to have this incredible power and clarity that just sings and is not what you would not expect from such a small body. Here are a couple for reference...





The only problem with tenor guitars is that, being uncommon, most people don't know how to play them! So, I decided it's time to build a short-scale 6-string version and try to capture some of that magic tone in a more accessible instrument. Essentially, this will be akin to a regular guitar as if it had a permanent capo on the second fret and built on my tenor body. Almost every day when I sit down to play guitar I pop a capo on the second fret right away -- comfort wise I love playing in that position, vocally it suits me better, and, well, I just find it more fun!

So... on to the build...

This guitar is going to have ziricote back/sides with a sinker cedar top. I've built three guitars with tops from the same batch and they're all in my top 5 or 6 of the past few years. I LOVE this wood!





Here's a shot of laminating the sides and another of the rim getting joined....








Ziricote can be highly prone to cracking so with that in mind I decided to laminate my back as well...





And as a quick aside I thought I'd share a shot from our weekly shop cleanup/meeting/hangout from this past week....





A couple of shop members get discussed on the forum so for the curious that's Jeremy Clark (52 Instrument Co.) with the white t-shirt, Joel Michaud (Michaud Made) sitting facing the camera, and Nic Delisle (Island Instrument Manufacture) with the beard playing chess. And a couple of the guys are antsy for me to get on with this build so they can build one next!


Thanks for looking and more soon!

Last edited by IndianHillMike; 04-02-2018 at 10:08 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 04-02-2018, 12:28 PM
Marcus Wong Marcus Wong is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Singapore
Posts: 1,649
Default

Sounds like a fantastic idea Mike! The woods look great too. Would be interested to follow this one
__________________
.
THE GOLDEN ERA GUITAR
FOR SALE | VIDEOS

AUTHORISED DEALER OF:
Astrand | Bowerman | Brondel | Buendia | Casimi | Datlen | Doerr | Fujii | Gerber | GR Bear | Heinonen | Isaac Jang
Keith | Keystone | Matsuda | Michaud Made | Ogino | Pellerin | Petros | Poljakoff | Strahm | Tom Sands | Wingert

...and more

www.TheGoldenEraGuitar.com
[email protected]
+65 8666 0420
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 04-02-2018, 03:01 PM
tkoehler1 tkoehler1 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Englewood, Ohio
Posts: 664
Default

How typically Canadian - it's a co-operative where they build guitars, share space, tools, ideas etc. Plus a generous helping of Moosehead beer!
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 04-02-2018, 03:22 PM
Halcyon/Tinker Halcyon/Tinker is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 2,129
Default

That's very clever how your mold doubles up to be your laminate jig, well done...
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 04-02-2018, 05:25 PM
printer2 printer2 is online now
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Middle of Canada
Posts: 5,097
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Halcyon/Tinker View Post
That's very clever how your mold doubles up to be your laminate jig, well done...
No trouble getting the sides to fit in the mold that way I guess.
__________________
Fred
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 04-03-2018, 09:06 AM
IndianHillMike's Avatar
IndianHillMike IndianHillMike is offline
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Montreal, QC
Posts: 546
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcus Wong View Post
Sounds like a fantastic idea Mike! The woods look great too. Would be interested to follow this one
Thanks! I'm pretty excited to see how this one turns out!


Quote:
Originally Posted by printer2 View Post
No trouble getting the sides to fit in the mold that way I guess.
Exactly! I figure why mess around trying to make two molds that will perfectly match each other -- plus, with 4 different shapes only having one mold per shape sure saves a lot of space!
__________________
Michael Kennedy Guitars
michaelkennedyguitars.com
facebook
instagram
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 04-04-2018, 09:23 AM
IndianHillMike's Avatar
IndianHillMike IndianHillMike is offline
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Montreal, QC
Posts: 546
Default

This guitar is moving right along and I hope to have most of the woodwork done on the body by the end of the week. One huge benefit of using structured sides (that's what my shopmates and I decided to call the extra thick sides we've been building with recently) is that the initial stages seem to fly by. Since they will be laminated, the individual pieces of the sides can be a bit thinner which makes bending much easier and faster. Once laminated there's less sanding required and no messing around with liners so it's basically ready to glue the back on!





This guitar will have an elevated neck which means there will be a bit more vertical/perpendicular pull on the top due to the increased angle the strings hit the bridge. You know how old guitars belly and the bridges twist towards the neck? I'm convinced that that twist and change in the direction of force is one of the things that helps make older guitars sounds so good. In a way, an elevated neck is helping simulate that effect. In this case it's not the bridge twisting towards the neck, but the neck is rising up and "twisting" towards the bridge. With all that in mind I like to use a lattice pattern (and it's even distribution of support) for my elevated neck guitars which means lots of braces going over and under each other...





That's it for now, thanks again for following along!
__________________
Michael Kennedy Guitars
michaelkennedyguitars.com
facebook
instagram
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 04-05-2018, 01:10 PM
David Wren's Avatar
David Wren David Wren is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Toronto Canada
Posts: 1,960
Default

Really looking forward to watching this one come together Mike ... looks great so far!!!
__________________
David Wren
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 04-06-2018, 08:41 AM
IndianHillMike's Avatar
IndianHillMike IndianHillMike is offline
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Montreal, QC
Posts: 546
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by David Wren View Post
Really looking forward to watching this one come together Mike ... looks great so far!!!
Thanks! I love that I can still get super excited to finish up an instrument even after all this time. I think this one's just going to sing!

Only time for a quick update today -- here's the top braced, carved, ringing like a bell, and ready to be glued on...





With the top done and attached, it's always a nice step to get it a bit more cleaned up and see how things are looking. This rosette has radial ziricote for the main rosette and sound hole binding, surrounded by some radial arariba. The arariba was one of those random and too small boards hidden in a pile at the local fancy woods store for $5.95 that's perfect for this kind of accent work. I find the subtle transitions between sunset-like colors to be quite beautiful!





For a little insight into how a guitar maker's mind works (well, mine at least) there's a pretty small detail in that rosette that most people will never notice but, ideally, still have some sense of. If you look at the outermost purfling line in the rosette (the dark brown Peruvian walnut) you'll notice it's just a bit thicker than the corresponding walnut line on the inside. The thickness of the two strips are in the golden ratio and I feel the difference, combined with the radial lines, creates some ever so subtle movement towards the center of the circle. Small details but I love thinking about that kind of thing!

That's it for today and time to get up to the shop!

Mike
__________________
Michael Kennedy Guitars
michaelkennedyguitars.com
facebook
instagram
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 04-11-2018, 08:05 PM
IndianHillMike's Avatar
IndianHillMike IndianHillMike is offline
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Montreal, QC
Posts: 546
Default

One last update before I head down to Pennsylvania tomorrow for the Artisan Guitar Show this weekend! The woodwork is finished on the body for this one and the neck is moving right along. Here are the various pieces of the elevated neck at the beginning of the process...





Once the neck angle is set and the tenon cut, I glue on the extension with a wackload of clamps...





I've been varnishing over the last few days and now that it's flat and level it will hang for a week before french polishing...








For those that might be going, I'll have my most recent f-hole guitar at the Artisan show...





Hopefully meet some of you there!

Mike
__________________
Michael Kennedy Guitars
michaelkennedyguitars.com
facebook
instagram
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 05-08-2018, 12:45 PM
IndianHillMike's Avatar
IndianHillMike IndianHillMike is offline
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Montreal, QC
Posts: 546
Default

It's been a busy couple of weeks in the shop since the Artisan Guitar Show getting this one finished up and ready for La Conner. Seeing as I'm currently sitting in the Philadelphia airport on my way out to Seattle it's definitely time for an update!

I still had a nice bit of ziricote with some sapwood to use for the headstock...




I'm really happy with how the radial arariba turned out for the top purfling...




I always enjoy carving and defining the lines of the volute in the back of the headstock...




As usual I french polished this one. When you french polish you definitely get used to your polishing material and I try to make it last. I had this bit for a year or two but at this point it's more holes than material and has polished its last guitar...







I'm incredibly pleased with how this one turned out -- being so small it's very very comfortable to play but if you close your eyes you would never guess the size. I'll post a few more final photos in the next day or two and hopefully some of you will get a chance to try it out in person!

Mike
__________________
Michael Kennedy Guitars
michaelkennedyguitars.com
facebook
instagram
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 05-08-2018, 12:52 PM
Halcyon/Tinker Halcyon/Tinker is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 2,129
Default

I'll be there for a bit on the Friday morning...
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 05-08-2018, 03:24 PM
riorider's Avatar
riorider riorider is offline
*mahoganut*
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Central Rural Oklahoma, off old Route 66
Posts: 7,112
Default

Mike - we've met at a couple of shows (most memorably Healdsburg where you were voiceless!) and I'm looking forward to seeing you again this weekend -- and in seeing this interesting guitar.

Thanks!

Phil
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 05-09-2018, 07:03 AM
SJ VanSandt SJ VanSandt is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Posts: 2,124
Default

I wish I could try this out! I've been dreaming about this very thing. We do so many songs in D and A at bluegrass jams that I'm capoed at the second fret more often than not. Post a video if you get the chance.
__________________
Hatcher Woodsman, Collings 0002H, Stella Grand Concert
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 05-09-2018, 08:39 AM
nacluth's Avatar
nacluth nacluth is offline
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,436
Default

Looks great Mike! I’ll swing by to see them.
__________________
Ryan
Kinnaird SJ - Walnut/Sitka

Kinnaird Guitars - from the oldest town in Texas
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Custom Shop

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:28 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=