Hatcher's Studio '20 #2

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by ukejon

Looking spectacular, Mr. Hatcher.

Thank you ukejon!

Originally Posted by Lonzo

Beaming!
Such a beautiful guitar once again... nicely complemented by your photography Mark. The lighting and exposure on those last pics is just 👌🏻 perfect!
Did I already say that I love this burl and it really is a great combo with that georgeous sapele as well as the unusual and special sitka top. Mmmmmh !

Thanks Lonzo! Guitars are very good photography models. They sit motionlessly while you fiddle with the lights and take multiple pictures till you get keepers!

I have the guitar strung up now. It sounds great, if I do say so myself. Here are a couple pictures of the completed headstock. This first one shows the new burl buttons I made. One little detail I am particularly proud of was the little truss rod cover hold down screw. I spent an inordinate amount of time heat treating a brass screw until I got the color right to go with the tuner hardware:



I also made the nut from blue woolly mammoth tusk bark:



I have a dummy saddle to start off as is my way. Next week, after the guitar settles in a bit I'll make a saddle out of the same blue Mammoth bark. I'll also just got in the K&K pick-up with the vintage jack so I'll be installing that when I switch up the saddles.

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

[TomB'sox]

Wow, amazing, I should have made up my mind sooner. I can't believe that the nut even matches with its colors and off course it is 10,000 plus years old!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Wow, amazing, I should have made up my mind sooner. I can't believe that the nut even matches with its colors and off course it is 10,000 plus years old!

Thanks Tom, You can still get a guitar with the same woods. I was very happy with the tone of these and they were a pleasure to work with so I ordered more of the same from the original suppliers while they still had woods from the same trees.

Here are a couple of pictures of the second Sapele board I got:





After cleaning it up and re-sawing I got four complete back and side sets. All of them have the Red, White, and Blue coloring and the amazing pommel figure. They are large enough to use for any of my models. Here is a picture of one of the sets:





I also bought a couple more of the bearclawed Blue Sitka float wood:

[nootis]

That sure is amazing wood! I also am quite amazed how you go to great lengths for even the tiniest details (the screw). The screw is nice touch, but the mammoth bark, tuner knobs, purfling, binding, fret markers, etc. all are small details that really work in harmony to compliment the beautiful back and side wood choices. Just outstanding!

[Erithon]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

One little detail I am particularly proud of was the little truss rod cover hold down screw. I spent an inordinate amount of time heat treating a brass screw until I got the color right to go with the tuner hardware.

I also made the nut from blue woolly mammoth tusk bark.

These sorts of details are why I love these threads, and also why I am proud to own a Hatcher guitar. You put so much love, thought, and skill into your builds, Mark.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by nootis

That sure is amazing wood! I also am quite amazed how you go to great lengths for even the tiniest details (the screw). The screw is nice touch, but the mammoth bark, tuner knobs, purfling, binding, fret markers, etc. all are small details that really work in harmony to compliment the beautiful back and side wood choices. Just outstanding!

I’m glad you like how this guitar is coming out nootis. Once started, I usually take four months to finish a guitar. I normally start planning that guitar no less than four to six months before that. One of the great advantages a small shop like mine has is I have plenty of time to select and accumulate all the elements that go into a build. My guitars are not just a snapshot of what happens to be on a factory floor.

Originally Posted by Erithon

These sorts of details are why I love these threads, and also why I am proud to own a Hatcher guitar. You put so much love, thought, and skill into your builds, Mark.

Thanks Erithon, I consider myself fortunate for the opportunity to enable trees to sing the songs they learned from the birds!

[ukejon]

Mark, send me a nice block of the figured Sapele and I'll forge you a Japanese style kitchen knife.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by ukejon

Mark, send me a nice block of the figured Sapele and I'll forge you a Japanese style kitchen knife.

Thanks ukejon! I'd be happy to. I'll throw in a couple others as well. Maybe some of this Leopardwood I just got too.

I just bought a 6+ foot board of Leopardwood. The dealer said it was Lacewood which is sometimes used as a more generic name for several species that have this type of figure. However, Leopardwood is a little darker and much heavier than real Lacewood. Think heavy rosewood verses lighter Mahogany:



The figure comes from the huge medullary rays that run at about 90 degrees to the grain of the wood. I tried to capture a view of that in this end grain photo:



The white lines are the medullary lines and if you look closely you can see this is a well quartered board with the much darker fine grain lines running up and down. For you Italian food lovers the medullary rays are like dried tagliatelle pasta.

It was a clean board that I was able to get these four back and side sets:

















They have a great and sustained tap tone and make for a wonderful sounding guitar!

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

[Guitars44me]

My goodness these wood sets are all SO BEAUTIFUL

Amazing stuff! And your pics are always so exquisitely done, too!

Salud

Paul

[ukejon]

No need to send lacewood. I’ve done many knives with that for scales and have a big stock. Fascinating history for lacewood, which often gets confused with Leopardwood:

http://https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/spotlight-on-lacewood

[Treenewt]

Mark, leopard or lace, that’s some good looking wood. Can’t wait to see what you create with it!

[Nahil.R]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

Thanks ukejon! I'd be happy to. I'll throw in a couple others as well. Maybe some of this Leopardwood I just got too.

I just bought a 6+ foot board of Leopardwood. The dealer said it was Lacewood which is sometimes used as a more generic name for several species that have this type of figure. However, Leopardwood is a little darker and much heavier than real Lacewood. Think heavy rosewood verses lighter Mahogany:



The figure comes from the huge medullary rays that run at about 90 degrees to the grain of the wood. I tried to capture a view of that in this end grain photo:



The white lines are the medullary lines and if you look closely you can see this is a well quartered board with the much darker fine grain lines running up and down. For you Italian food lovers the medullary rays are like dried tagliatelle pasta.

It was a clean board that I was able to get these four back and side sets:

















They have a great and sustained tap tone and make for a wonderful sounding guitar!

Thanks for viewing!
Mark

Those set look beautiful Mark!

It's almost got a kind of digital camo look. Stunning what nature can provide!

[kkrell]

That Leopard wood is mighty attractive, Mark.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

My goodness these wood sets are all SO BEAUTIFUL

Amazing stuff! And your pics are always so exquisitely done, too!

Salud

Paul

Thanks Paul. I think I got pretty lucky with this board. I was happy to get so much variation in the look of the different sets. I even got a couple extra sides (just in case Leopardwood is as hard to bend as they say it is)

Originally Posted by ukejon

No need to send lacewood. I’ve done many knives with that for scales and have a big stock. Fascinating history for lacewood, which often gets confused with Leopardwood:

http://https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/spotlight-on-lacewood

OK, Thanks ukejon. The naming of woods is certainly a loosey goosie affair.

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Mark, leopard or lace, that’s some good looking wood. Can’t wait to see what you create with it!

Thanks Treenewt, I like it too! I think the coloring would go great with that Amboyna burl I have been using so much lately.

Originally Posted by Nahil.R

Those set look beautiful Mark!

It's almost got a kind of digital camo look. Stunning what nature can provide!

Thank you for commenting Nahil.R It does have an interesting pattern. The pattern is fine enough that it shows up in small areas so it's good for things like binding, rosettes and other trim. It's hard enough to use for a bridge or fretboard as well.

Originally Posted by kkrell

That Leopard wood is mighty attractive, Mark.

Thank you kkrell, I look forward to doing guitars in it!

Thanks for your comments everyone!
Mark

[Steve Kinnaird]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

I got the idea for doing my Red White and Blue guitar from this Amboyna burl that was not only two toned but, also had Blue spalting in it:



A little of it went on the logo chip and it is also going into the rosette:





To take it one step further I worked out a way to use it for the rosette purfling and for around the top:







Here I am removing the teflon place holder so I can bend and install the burl purfling:

Mark, that's my favorite rosette of all the lovely rosettes you've done.
What a masterpiece!

Steve