Hatcher's Studio '19 #2

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by j. Kinnaird

Mark how does this work around the heel area?
Very cool looking by the way.

Thanks John. That would be a trick to do a tiled back strip all the way through the arc of the heel. This strip is a little over 7 inches long and will only be on the neck, it won't reach the heel.

This morning I've glued on the fretboard and am setting up the Cocobolo arm bevel:







Thanks for following along!
Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

I've cleaned up the arm bevel some. I was able to select out a nicely figured piece of Cocobolo for this one:



Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

Now it is starting to look like a guitar:



My favorite part when building a guitar is carving the neck. This is the main touch point between the guitar and the artist playing it so it needs to feel right. In my opinion jigs and CNC programs do not make a neck feel right. The neck needs to be done in an open human hand by feel.
My favorite wood to carve for necks is Hard Maple.
Like this neck:



More to come!

Mark

[SJ VanSandt]

That's a gorgeous guitar in the works there, Mark. How does hard maple compare to mahogany or Spanish cedar weight-wise? Would it adversely effect the balance of a smaller guitar like, oh, say a 00?

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by SJ VanSandt

That's a gorgeous guitar in the works there, Mark. How does hard maple compare to mahogany or Spanish cedar weight-wise? Would it adversely effect the balance of a smaller guitar like, oh, say a 00?

Thanks! Hard Maple tends to be about twice as heavy as Spanish Cedar. That dose not mean a neck would weigh twice as much though. Other things also affect the weight of a neck and the balance of the guitar. The weight of the frets, fretboard, torsion rod, tuners, headstock laminates, and center laminates together probably weigh more that the weight of the neck wood.
As for the balance of the guitar, where that weight is makes a big difference. The headstock area with the weight of the laminates and tuners has a lot more affect on the balance than if that same weight was added, for instance, to the heal.
So double the neck wood weight might be 25 percent heavier and have a 20 percent effect on balance,.
Now if I were making a very light weight 14 fret OO, I would be concerned that extra weight would be too much. The balance could be easily compensated for with a heavier tail block but our super lightweight, playful guitar that dances like a child wouldn’t be so light on her feet anymore.

Mark

[FGBR]

These Hatcher threads are always a treat. Interesting instruments, impressive woodworking and beautiful photography

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Silverfox

These Hatcher threads are always a treat. Interesting instruments, impressive woodworking and beautiful photography

Thanks Silverfox!

I've been working on many of the final pieces and bits such as the heel cap, truss rod cover, neck back strip, and front strap button facet. I'm getting ready to do final sanding and clean up. Here's a couple pics:









Thanks for viewing!
Mark

[Kenneth Casper]

Truly beautiful, Mark.

[Nemoman]

Really like the maple neck with the mosaic inlay--schweeeet!

[j. Kinnaird]

Beautiful Mark. Love the neck inlay and all the other appointments.
However I cannot share your enthusiasm for carving maple necks. There are other woods that are more willing to be carved and I'm a peaceful man.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Kenneth Casper

Truly beautiful, Mark.

Thank you Kenneth!

Originally Posted by Nemoman

Really like the maple neck with the mosaic inlay--schweeeet!

Thanks Nemoman! I think the inlay is a nice contrast with the white Maple neck, yet the colors tie in well with the rest of the guitar.

Originally Posted by j. Kinnaird

Beautiful Mark. Love the neck inlay and all the other appointments.
However I cannot share your enthusiasm for carving maple necks. There are other woods that are more willing to be carved and I'm a peaceful man.

Thanks John. I imagine most hand builders have their favorites when it comes to neck woods. There are many different good ways to build a guitar neck.

Another area that seems to have so many various methods is setting the neck angle when building a guitar. In two weeks our Granite State Luthiers group is getting together on that topic with demos and discussion. Builders all have their tricks. Hopefully, everyone attending will come away having learned a few and shared a few.

Mark

[Guitars44me]

Many here may already know this but I recently tried full size Buttons on Gotoh 510 MINIS. They work fine but do need the full size screw. There are two considerable mass reductions on the Headstock where it really matters. The full size wood buttons weigh a lot less than the small metal ones, and the mini tuners are much lighter than the full size, too.
Plus the extra comfort of the large buttons, which help a bit when changing tunings during a gig.
I have a lot of gigs where there is no stage, and nowhere to stash a second guitar so I am getting a LOT faster at retuning while telling jokes or stories.

This one is sure a LOOKER

Carry on Sir, and thanks again for all the detailed info!!!

Paul

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

Many here may already know this but I recently tried full size Buttons on Gotoh 510 MINIS. They work fine but do need the full size screw. There are two considerable mass reductions on the Headstock where it really matters. The full size wood buttons weigh a lot less than the small metal ones, and the mini tuners are much lighter than the full size, too.
Plus the extra comfort of the large buttons, which help a bit when changing tunings during a gig.
I have a lot of gigs where there is no stage, and nowhere to stash a second guitar so I am getting a LOT faster at retuning while telling jokes or stories.

This one is sure a LOOKER

Carry on Sir, and thanks again for all the detailed info!!!

Paul

Thanks for commenting Paul, that makes sense that a larger button would help speed up tuning. If you are making big changes like going from standard tuning to DADGAD while performing I can see that being important. It makes me wonder what the ideal speed button would look like.

Mark

[The Bard Rocks]

I fail to see how a larger button would speed up tuning. But I can see how it would make it more accurate. Maybe, if you're fussy enough, the two would be related.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

I fail to see how a larger button would speed up tuning. But I can see how it would make it more accurate. Maybe, if you're fussy enough, the two would be related.

Yeah, while a larger button would be turn easier, you would need to open your fingers more for each turn. If you could just roll the button between your fingers you might pick up some speed. It would be a trick to make a button like that look good.