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#1
08-03-2013, 05:05 AM
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Stahl Presentation Guitar
Just a sneak peek at the start of a 13-1/2" Stahl guitar. I'll be "spare time" building this one.
 The original...  I'll be making a few changes from the original, such as clover inlays on the bridge instead of stars and a few internals, but will use the basic Larson laminated X brace and will be 70 year old BRW and red spruce. 
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#3
08-03-2013, 07:37 AM
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Wow Haans, where'd you get that cool fretboard decal?
 I see you have been keeping busy.
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#4
08-03-2013, 04:04 PM
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Joe, dang toughest decal application I ever did!
 Sixty-five pieces before cutting the fret slots. Larson bros. had them cut in Germany, I went with DePaul. I usually don't like to do this kind of "scrambled eggs" on fingerboards as they are working surfaces. Usually, dots and diamonds are about as fancy as I get. Guess I was smitten by the nouveau style inlay. I can just imagine refretting this neck. Thanks Trevor! Will be carving the neck for your GC next week.
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#5
08-03-2013, 04:09 PM
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Beautiful, Hans. This will be fun to watch!
Steve
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#7
08-03-2013, 07:21 PM
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Three thumbs up (if I had 'em) on this, Hans.
I'd ask my usual scale-length-question, but I can't have this one, anyway... 
__________________
Larry Pattis on Spotify and Pandora LarryPattis.com American Guitar Masters 100 Greatest Acoustic Guitarists Steel-string guitars by Rebecca Urlacher and Simon Fay Classical guitars by Anders Sterner
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#9
08-04-2013, 05:54 AM
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Hey, thanks guys!
Steve, it's going to be a long build. I have some priority builds like the Hormigo GC-6 and a couple of oak ones too. Maurer, had some serious home maintenance to plow through and now I'm back in the shop. The MJ-12 is actually sitting in it's case now, and i just have a bit of cleaning up to do. I will be starting on the finish coats with the BRW GC. Have Trevor's neck to carve and clean up everything for finishing his GC and then on to the Hormigo. I plan on cutting some kerfing for it this week. Larry, trying to think of what I would do with 3 thumbs. Might just throw my old left one away if I could trade it for a new one. Scale is 24.9". I like it on the parlor with light strings. It's an easy play... Thanks Ian John. If you are interested, you can find a lot of my mandolin builds out there too.
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#10
08-05-2013, 04:55 AM
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A little more work on the Stahl.
Glued the back up a few days ago and cut to rough shape yesterday and added a center strip. The BRW was chosen for the QS center and flat sawn outer area. Many Larson's had some flatsawn in the backs. Removed the outer black and green off the Washburn purfling and I think it "mutes" well with the BRW. Don't usually do a backstrip, but felt it was fitting in this case.   Found a nice red spruce top, wide grain and glued that up. Will get down and dirty today and cut kerfing...yuk!
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#11
08-06-2013, 06:09 AM
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Managed to get the rosette done. The original was split herringbone with abalone in the middle, but I elected to use my ladder purfling with the green strip in the center. It really sets off the green abalone...
 A closer view of the rosette shows the green strip and how it interacts with the abalone. Sorry for the fuzzy photo, just a bit too close for the little Leica...  Also note the mismatched top. I like it! Might have to varnish or shellac this one...originals were shellac.
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#12
08-06-2013, 06:58 AM
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How close do you stick to the original Larson builds re: top and back arch as well as bracing style and placement? I love this style of build.
One thing I've noticed on older larsons with this inlay is they changed from peal to abalone on the last shell...you ever do that? Looks very nice...serious dark Braz!
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#13
08-07-2013, 06:19 AM
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jackaroo, I have never been one to make exact copies of anything. That said, when I developed my rib sanding jigs, I seem to have hit the nail, so to speak. I later found out that the back radius was 10' and the top 12-15. I use 10, 15, and a cylindrical 12' radius on the top. Tops are glued to the ribs under tension, the top is flat and bent over the ribs, while the back braces are "over-curved" and glued onto the 10' radius boarded back.
My back braces are laminated wenge/spruce instead of the more traditional spruce and I use a 4 brace back instead of 6. On this instrument I plan on using almost exact Larson X bracing, but on my GC I have been using total laminated bracing similar to the Larsons, but with 3 tone bars and several other changes.  I've also developed some bracing patterns that combine X and ladder bracing...  And some other flights of fancy...  For the parlors, I use mostly ladder bracing, sometimes with a few twists. As I've said, I don't like to overdo my fretboards normally. They are a working surface, and the repairperson doing the next fretjob will hate the builder if they have put a lot of junk on the F/B. I have used abalone on headstocks, but mostly stick to MOP on F/B's. Yes, this is about the darkest BRW I have ever seen. It is a lovely shade of chocolate.
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#14
08-07-2013, 06:58 AM
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Thanks! Very cool.
Having played a few Larson built instruments over the years I've started thinking about these concepts more and more. Fascinating stuff. Top aches, laminated braces and necks, the prairie state models with the rods inside the bodies...so many cool concepts. And all at the dawn of time with respect to the flat top steel string guitar. Nice stuff. Jack
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#15
08-07-2013, 07:52 AM
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Love the laminated bracing! I have done mine the other way pressing them in dish mold building my way up.
Your mandolins look amazimg! Been wanting to build one for myself for a while....think id rather get one from you instead now... great work Haans!
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