#46
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Quote:
Me too! |
#47
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Mark has put many hours into realizing this technical soundport design. He began by sanding the area nearly down to the wood. Next he laid in one cross-grained .020” black laminate inside to shore up the side before cutting the holes. After cutting the holes he added one Maple layer and two more black layers to create a floor and buttress the side strength. Finally he inserted the purfling and the Ebony binding, and glued and clamped it all up:
After the glue dried Mark cut through the three laminate layers and smoothed them up to the binding (the side was wiped with Naptha for these photos): This is some truly fine woodcraft by Mark: the Maple interior laminate enhances the perception of depth against the Ebony binding; the tight curves of that purfling are cleanly executed; and instead of wrapping a strip around the inside of the ports, each binding is an entire piece of hollowed-out Ebony. What an elegant choice! Not only is there no join seam, but the Ebony's grain also runs parallel to that of the Cocobolo's. Subtle and creative. Next Mark will bevel the soundport bindings so they have a round edge that leads the eye inward. Once that's done, we'll move on from the soundport to the next stages: stripping the rest of the finish from the sides, voicing the top, and then closing up the box for refinishing. |
#48
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Fabulous work.
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#49
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Wow--surgical luthiery in action!
Great work, Mark!
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2013 Stehr Auditorium (Carpathian/Myrtle) 2015 Stehr Auditorium (Adi/BRW) 2020 Baranik Meridian (Blue Spruce/Manchinga) 2020 Wilborn Arum (Tunnel 14/Coco) 2021 Kinnaird Graybeard (BC Cedar/Bog Oak) 2022 Kinnaird CS Student Build (Adi/Padauk) 2023 Kinnaird FS (Italian/Koa) |
#50
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Those are probably the coolest sound ports I have seen and to think they are being retrofitted as well!
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PS. I love guitars! |
#51
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Thanks for the kind words. This was Erithon’s concept which I thought goes well with the other design elements of the guitar. I can tell you it’s a bit fiddlely to make bound ports that small but, I love a challenge!
__________________
Mark Hatcher www.hatcherguitars.com “Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”. Andrew Fletcher |
#52
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Looks great
__________________
My YouTube Page: http://www.youtube.com/user/ukejon 2014 Pono N30 DC EIR/Spruce crossover 2009 Pono koa parlor (NAMM prototype) 2018 Maton EBG808TEC 2014 Hatcher Greta 13 fret cutaway in EIR/cedar 2017 Hatcher Josie fan fret mahogany 1973 Sigma GCR7 (OM model) rosewood and spruce 2014 Rainsong OM1000N2 ....and about 5 really nice tenor ukuleles at any given moment |
#53
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Something something, beer is good, and people are crazy. |
#54
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The box is closed!
After voicing the top, Mark weighed it and glued it on. This WRC top weighs 26% less then the previous Sitka top did at this same point. In Mark's words: "That is a huge difference which will show up wonderfully on this instrument. We'll be looking for a quicker, louder response and it will have a much greater dynamic range plus, it now will have the wonderfully musical timbre of a nice Western Red Cedar soundboard." In short, this is exactly what I'm aiming for:
Once again Mark has proven his skill: properly fitting a top is a lot more difficult when the arm bevel is already in place! |
#55
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Cool but it’s gonna be hard to play with all those blue thingys in the way!
__________________
My YouTube Page: http://www.youtube.com/user/ukejon 2014 Pono N30 DC EIR/Spruce crossover 2009 Pono koa parlor (NAMM prototype) 2018 Maton EBG808TEC 2014 Hatcher Greta 13 fret cutaway in EIR/cedar 2017 Hatcher Josie fan fret mahogany 1973 Sigma GCR7 (OM model) rosewood and spruce 2014 Rainsong OM1000N2 ....and about 5 really nice tenor ukuleles at any given moment |
#56
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Great work on an amazing redesign. Fiddly work to be sure on the bound sound ports. Amazing detail. I have only done one segmented sound port, but I am not sure if it is as effective as a single port. What are your thoughts on that?
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#57
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A recent sound port I’ve done was shaped as an olive twig with little leaves and olives spread out on the upper bout. Each element was a separate port. Overall the cut out area was quite small but, the overall dimension of the sound port was pretty large. I’ll admit that I was doing this more as a decorative part of the guitar but, the first time I played it I was astonished on how well it worked. That’s when I started thinking of the grille comparison.
__________________
Mark Hatcher www.hatcherguitars.com “Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”. Andrew Fletcher |
#58
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You may have noticed in the last update that the sides were fully sanded down to the sealer layer. The finish has now been sanded off the back as well. This wasn't originally part of the plan, but Mark felt that if he could thin out the back a bit it would result in a better sounding instrument.
At the same time the binding and purfling were bent: We're keeping the same purfling pattern as before: seven .020" violin lines composed of dyed black Birch, Maple, and Mahogany. The order is b-w-b-m-b-w-b. Here is a picture from the guitar's Spruce-topped days: Mark cuts the Mahogany line and sandwiches it between two pre-made purfling sticks of b-w-b. It's easy to find such sticks online, but Mark custom orders his from Gurian because he wants dyed black Birch instead of "wood fiber." Birch is actually wood--not an artificial cardboard-esque composite. Not only do "wood fiber" sticks (probably) dampen the soundboard's vibrations, but their dyes bleed more easily. Once bent, the purfling and binding were attached to the body: Because raw Red Cedar is so delicate, there's a coat of shellac under the taped region to firm it up. Here's the body all cleaned up and ready to be finished. It shipped off for that work this past week. While it's gone, we'll be shifting focus to the neck. |
#59
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It always amazes me how lightly colored cocobolo is before it oxidizes.
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Avian Skylark Pono 0000-30 Gardiner Parlor Kremona Kiano Ramsay Hauser Cordoba C10 Chris Walsh Archtop Gardiner Concert Taylor Leo Kottke Gretsch 6120 Pavan TP30 Aria A19c Hsienmo MJ Ukuleles: Cocobolo 5 string Tenor Kanilea K3 Koa Kanilea K1 Walnut Tenor Kala Super Tenor Rebel Super Concert Nehemiah Covey Tenor Mainland Mahogany Tenor Mainland Cedar/Rosewood Tenor |
#60
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Looks great!
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