Hatcher's Studio '20 #2

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Mark, I love all the little details you put into each build. One of my favorites on this one is the contrasting sapele binding...such a cool idea!

And that sapele under finish.....wow!! Love it!

Thanks Treenewt, It has been a fun build and the Sapele was a pleasure to work with. The guitar has a fine tap tone and I am also excited to see how it comes out under finish.

Originally Posted by Nemoman

Mark--your wood choices are spot on as always.

Great choices with the maple neck and the Amboyna burl.

Everything looks amazing--just WOW!

Thanks Nemoman!

Originally Posted by Hanter

That blue mammoth tusk is absolutely stunning. It’ll add some crazy character to the guitar. I wanted to ask if you felt that “upgrades” from bone contributes significantly to tone and what would be your favorite or recommendation for nuts and saddles.

Thanks for commenting Hanter, I think regular bone for the nut and saddle are the benchmark. Mammoth tusk bark which is somewhat fossilized is a bit harder than bone and adds a bit more ping or treble to the sounds. It could be helpful for a fingerstyle player who picks with the flesh of their fingertips (like myself).
It adds a little sparkle.

The center of the mammoth tusk tends to be softer than bone. It softens the sound a bit and can come in handy for a guitar that tends to sound too shrill, say a Cocobolo guitar with Red Spruce or a hard Sitka on it.

Mammoth offers some options for fine tuning sound.

Originally Posted by Naboz

I'm dyin'!
"It's all so beautiful..." (echoing Itchycoo Park).

Thanks Naboo! My wife knew Itchycoo Park. I admit I had to look for that one on YouTube.

[Mark Hatcher]

Here are the current top two contenders for the tuners. They are both X-finish Gotoh 510 minis. I'd also be making custom wooded tuner buttons for them which will likely be Amboyna burl:

[TomB'sox]

Not that it matters, but between those two, I like the goldish ones in the top picture, I like the blend in this case vs. the contrast. New buttons will be perfect.

[gstring]

Definitely not the second set.

d

[Lonzo]

..for the 1st golden ones.
I think they blend in nicely and imo complement any blue in the guitar better

[ukejon]

Mark, I'm a fully licensed, vetted, and bonded Art Historian....go with the gold.

[Mark Hatcher]

Well the consensus is the gold set. At least that is what looks best in the pictures because the gold goes well with the back of the headstock. We’ll look again when the finish is on and in the context of the entire guitar and see if that changes any minds!
Thanks for the feedback!
Mark

[kkrell]

Originally Posted by Mark Hatcher

Well the consensus is the gold set. At least that is what looks best in the pictures because the gold goes well with the back of the headstock. We’ll look again when the finish is on and in the context of the entire guitar and see if that changes any minds!
Thanks for the feedback!
Mark

I was thinking of how the bushings & nut would look on the front of the headstock. Are you sure that a shiny gold or even the black would not work (especially as you'll be doing custom wood buttons)?

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by kkrell

I was thinking of how the bushings & nut would look on the front of the headstock. Are you sure that a shiny gold or even the black would not work (especially as you'll be doing custom wood buttons)?

Thanks for commenting kkrell, I agree that the shiny gold might be a good choice also. Maybe even the black depending how dark the overall guitar looks under finish. It is easy enough to switch them out and decide when it’s all together.

[Mark Hatcher]

The Red, White, and Blue guitar is off to get the finish. The torrified Maple guitar is on it's way back with the finish on it. Monday I'm starting a new build.
So I have a little bit of a break this week.

So I'm going to do some other stuff.
First off I switched out all of the florescent lights with LED tubes.
I'm doing this for a number of reasons:
Non flickering light is easier on the eyes
LEDs are cheaper to run
LEDs won't heat up the shop
LEDs don't buzz
LEDs are supposed to last 32 years
I can use them for video lighting in the shop

I was going to get new fixtures but my present ones are hard wired and I found LEDs that directly replace the florescent ones. That's just easier to do. The caveat is I won't save as much on the electric bill because I'll still be powering the ballasts but that's marginal and I don't have to buy fixtures.

So that is what I went with. One thing I didn't get right was the buzz comes from the ballast not the bulb...Oh well. The new light are wonderful though so I'm going with good enough.

This week I'm doing some re-sawing. I've been looking for nice piece of English Walnut for a long time and I finally found one:



I hope to get four back and side sets from this beauty. English Walnut is a bit heavier, a bit harder, and a little stiffer than Eastern Black Walnut and I love Black Walnut and expect this English Walnut will push the tone just a little more toward a rosewood tone.

Walnuts are among my favorite woods to use for back and sides. It's nice to be able to expand the menu!

[Treenewt]

Mark, that's a very nice looking piece of walnut. That's a wood I'm enamored with, both as a tonewood and just in general. There's such a beauty in a good piece, to my eye. And that piece is quite nice! Looking forward to seeing what you create with it!

[Carpinteria]

Mark, that English Walnut is gorgeous! I have built 4 Walnut guitars but never with English Walnut. I look forward to seeing this emerge. Kudos on improving your lighting, too. Have a great day

[TomB'sox]

I find in my line of work the LED lights are too bright for me and cast a bluish haze over everything, I wonder how that will work for you as it makes things a different color and you are so into subtle tones. I will be interested to hear.

I ordered a walnut guitar from someone in the English empire and he ended up with Claro Walnut from Oregon for it LOL!

[ukejon]

Beautiful wood....very dark for English walnut.

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Mark, that's a very nice looking piece of walnut. That's a wood I'm enamored with, both as a tonewood and just in general. There's such a beauty in a good piece, to my eye. And that piece is quite nice! Looking forward to seeing what you create with it!

Thanks Treenewt, Walnut is a pretty wood and a pleasure to work with. It also makes a fine tonewood with great clarity and it records like a champ!

Originally Posted by Carpinteria

Mark, that English Walnut is gorgeous! I have built 4 Walnut guitars but never with English Walnut. I look forward to seeing this emerge. Kudos on improving your lighting, too. Have a great day

Thanks Carpinteria!

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

I find in my line of work the LED lights are too bright for me and cast a bluish haze over everything, I wonder how that will work for you as it makes things a different color and you are so into subtle tones. I will be interested to hear.

I ordered a walnut guitar from someone in the English empire and he ended up with Claro Walnut from Oregon for it LOL!

That's funny that you luthier chose Claro. I suppose it seems more exotic when it comes from another country.
I use LED lights for my photos. They come in different temperatures which set the tint between yellow and blue. 5000k is supposed to be neutral which is what my photo lights are and that is what a got for the shop lights.

Originally Posted by ukejon

Beautiful wood....very dark for English walnut.

English Walnut does look pretty light but, it seems to really darken with finish, a wipe of Naptha or shellac.

Well I had a successful re-sawing session:



I got the four back and side sets I hoped for with a little left over. Here they are individually:

















They are well quartered and have a very nice tap tone. It was a good day on the bandsaw!