The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Custom Shop

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
  #16  
Old 12-19-2020, 02:14 PM
Mark Hatcher's Avatar
Mark Hatcher Mark Hatcher is online now
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Green Mountains
Posts: 4,859
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by TomB'sox View Post
Do you think that plum wood, Bavarian plum wood, would make a red white and blue guitar?
I think it would make a fine Red, White, Blue and then some guitar!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jlhunt View Post
I absolutley love the fret markers and the guitar is simply stunning. You mentioned you have some Sheoak sets. I recently acquired some beautiful figured Sheoak boards and am going to build with them. What has been your experience working with Sheoak?

Jim
Thanks Jim, I haven't made a guitar with it yet but it's reputation and my initial impression when cleaning it up is that it will tend more toward fundamentals but I also expect a good quick response with a little more overtones than Mahogany.

Quote:
Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks View Post
That plum will be nice looking.
Thanks! I was lucky to get these sets.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ukejon View Post
Love that style of fret marker. Great eye appeal.
Thanks ukejon! I like it a lot too! I don't know who did it first. I think Kostal called it Baskin fret markers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mikealpine View Post
That Plumwood is gorgeous! Might nice with a rich cedar top, an we all know I think everything goes well with Redwood!
Cedar or Redwood would work very well with Plumwood. It strikes me that it will be versatile enough to handle a range of different tops.

As a matter of fact I just received a new billet of Western Red Cedar that might fit the bill quite well. It's old, perfectly quartered and sounds wonderful. This billet was hand cut and hand split so there isn't any run out.
Here it is:



It's 9" wide, 25" long and 6 1/2" thick. I started cleaning it up a bit today to get a good look and plan my attack. I'm afraid I didn't get too far with the scrub plane today because I'm so sore from shoveling snow all day yesterday.

One advantage of cleaning up with a plane is you get a good clean look at the colors in the wood:



For comparison here is what I was getting from the tri-color Sitka:

__________________
Mark Hatcher
www.hatcherguitars.com


“Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”. Andrew Fletcher
  #17  
Old 12-20-2020, 12:34 PM
Mark Hatcher's Avatar
Mark Hatcher Mark Hatcher is online now
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Green Mountains
Posts: 4,859
Default Woodman Ready for Finish

I've pretty much finished the last steps and clean-up before finish starts on this 00 Woodsman:



I installed the frets on the 5,000+ yr old Bog Oak fretboard:



I love the subtle brown color when you look up close on the very old wood:



It's a perfect match for a Woodsman!
__________________
Mark Hatcher
www.hatcherguitars.com


“Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”. Andrew Fletcher
  #18  
Old 12-21-2020, 07:25 AM
Lonzo Lonzo is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Bavaria
Posts: 455
Default

Hi Mark,
your woodsman looks like the essence of a guitar, just the fundamentals, old techniques, hardly any embelishments or bling, but old wood that looks like it’s old (in a good way of matured, ripe).. looking forward to seeing this one finished and to hear it hopefully.
  #19  
Old 12-21-2020, 09:21 AM
BrianM99 BrianM99 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 18
Default

Hi Lonzo - I echo your sentiments 100%, and that's why I ordered mine (which you see above). When I saw Mark's work on the earlier Woodsman builds, it just seemed to check all the boxes. I'm looking forward to playing my guitar in the near future and for many years to come.
  #20  
Old 12-21-2020, 05:02 PM
Treenewt Treenewt is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: The Ol' North State
Posts: 5,182
Default

Mark, I love seeing your posts of your work with handtools...those shots with the plane are wonderful! The character in that old wood...wow!

Also, that Woodsman is FIRE. I SOOO dig that design!
__________________
Treenewt
  #21  
Old 12-23-2020, 05:09 PM
Mark Hatcher's Avatar
Mark Hatcher Mark Hatcher is online now
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Green Mountains
Posts: 4,859
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lonzo View Post
Hi Mark,
your woodsman looks like the essence of a guitar, just the fundamentals, old techniques, hardly any embelishments or bling, but old wood that looks like it’s old (in a good way of matured, ripe).. looking forward to seeing this one finished and to hear it hopefully.
Thanks Lonzo, I love making this Woodsman guitar. It is a big contrast to my other work in design, building technique, and concept. It’s proven to be a good seller. It sounds great and what I’ve learned making this one is influencing my other work.

I’m considering adding on to expand my Woodsman line. I’d like to add to this 00 model. I could do an 0 and a 000. Then I’d offer a Wodsmam, Woodsman and Wooodsman. OK I know the names would be stupid.


Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianM99 View Post
Hi Lonzo - I echo your sentiments 100%, and that's why I ordered mine (which you see above). When I saw Mark's work on the earlier Woodsman builds, it just seemed to check all the boxes. I'm looking forward to playing my guitar in the near future and for many years to come.
I’m glad to hear that! I started putting finish on today.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Treenewt View Post
Mark, I love seeing your posts of your work with handtools...those shots with the plane are wonderful! The character in that old wood...wow!

Also, that Woodsman is FIRE. I SOOO dig that design!
Thanks Treenewt, I can tell you I love working with those hand tools!

Mark
__________________
Mark Hatcher
www.hatcherguitars.com


“Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”. Andrew Fletcher
  #22  
Old 12-25-2020, 04:38 AM
Lonzo Lonzo is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Bavaria
Posts: 455
Default

..I know it is most probably a typo, but I like the idea of a “wodsmam” ;-)
seeing, that most all guitars are a “she” anyway, referred to as “her” ... in german the article is feminine... so why not a wodsmam?
Either way those are/will be cool.
  #23  
Old 12-25-2020, 10:19 AM
Mark Hatcher's Avatar
Mark Hatcher Mark Hatcher is online now
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Green Mountains
Posts: 4,859
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lonzo View Post
..I know it is most probably a typo, but I like the idea of a “wodsmam” ;-)
seeing, that most all guitars are a “she” anyway, referred to as “her” ... in german the article is feminine... so why not a wodsmam?
Either way those are/will be cool.
It's true that guitars seem to always be referred to as feminine. I always just accepted that guitars were feminine, my models were Penelope, Josie, Greta, Pińa, and Bella. About five years ago I was making a custom Josie and it was the first guitar I've made that struck me as having more of a masculine affect:



I think it's the dark and smooky look that does it as well as the sharper edges of the abalone inlays it had:



The masculine vs feminine thought stuck with me ever since. When I designed my Baritone I named the model Bacchus and you can see I carried the more masculine design aspects into this one:



I even started sharpening up some of the edges of the bridge design for this purpose:



When I started designing this retro 00 with the old woods and traditions and techniques I took the masculinity theme to the next level. Of course "The Woodsman" really was my way to confirm how my thinking worked around this model. Luckily, it connects with the folks that have been buying it!

Thanks,
Mark
__________________
Mark Hatcher
www.hatcherguitars.com


“Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”. Andrew Fletcher
  #24  
Old 12-25-2020, 04:01 PM
Lonzo Lonzo is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Bavaria
Posts: 455
Default

Thanks for the elaborate answer !
I can see how different guitars, despite their feminine shape, also do have their own character and could well be seen as male either. That Josie being one of them for sure.
..and then I thought I knew your models Mark, but I hadn’t heard of a Bella so far... is that a discontinued one ?

Aah, just checked again.. Bella is a 4 string bass model on the base of the Bacchus... my oversight as I am not a bass player... sorry to cause confusion..

Last edited by Lonzo; 12-25-2020 at 04:09 PM.
  #25  
Old 12-25-2020, 04:29 PM
Mark Hatcher's Avatar
Mark Hatcher Mark Hatcher is online now
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Green Mountains
Posts: 4,859
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lonzo View Post
Thanks for the elaborate answer !
I can see how different guitars, despite their feminine shape, also do have their own character and could well be seen as male either. That Josie being one of them for sure.
..and then I thought I knew your models Mark, but I hadn’t heard of a Bella so far... is that a discontinued one ?

Aah, just checked again.. Bella is a 4 string bass model on the base of the Bacchus... my oversight as I am not a bass player... sorry to cause confusion..
That Bella was a fun build. I made it for Graham Maby who is the bass player for the Joe Jackson band and has toured and played with all kinds of bands from They Might Be Giants to Bon Jovi. It was ADI on Claro Walnut with a wedge, f holes, and great big planetary geared cello tuners:







It's not discontinued but, I'm glad I didn't try to make a living making acoustic bass guitars!
__________________
Mark Hatcher
www.hatcherguitars.com


“Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”. Andrew Fletcher
  #26  
Old 12-27-2020, 10:16 AM
Mark Hatcher's Avatar
Mark Hatcher Mark Hatcher is online now
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Green Mountains
Posts: 4,859
Default Western Red Cedar Billets

I thought I'd write more about this Western Red Cedar billet:



I sourced this from the islands off British Columbia. This is from logs that have fallen off commercial lumber booms or barges and become driftwood that would of otherwise rotted in the ocean or on a beach somewhere.
The fella I deal with is a one man operation working off the grid and he has an eye and love for salvaging master grade tonewood. Here is a fun little YouTube of him selecting and hand splitting Cedar billets:



Gerry Chicalo loves this work and takes pride in salvaging and hand processing this wood, carefully selecting out the best for musical instruments. Splitting out this incredibly straight grained cedar by hand ensures the sound boards will be absolutely quartered without any run out.

I've found as I further my commitment to hand building that there are wood suppliers that take this same pride and passion in their work. There are tool makers that raise their passion to art. My goal is to find these individuals and small businesses that align with my goals and passion as a luthier and partner with them.
__________________
Mark Hatcher
www.hatcherguitars.com


“Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”. Andrew Fletcher
  #27  
Old 12-27-2020, 10:47 AM
Guitars44me's Avatar
Guitars44me Guitars44me is online now
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Mountains east of San Diego
Posts: 7,370
Smile This guy works FAST!

Wow, Gerry works at TOP SPEED!

But seriously, this is cool indeed, and I am a believer in WRC!

"I've found as I further my commitment to hand building that there are wood suppliers that take this same pride and passion in their work. There are tool makers that raise their passion to art. My goal is to find these individuals and small businesses that align with my goals and passion as a luthier and partner with them."

These are the folks we want to support!

Salud

Paul
__________________
3 John Kinnaird SS 12c CUSTOMS:
Big Maple/Cedar Dread
Jumbo Spanish Cedar/WRC
Jumbo OLD Brazilian RW/WRC

R.T 2 12c sinker RW/Claro
96 422ce bought new!
96 LKSM 12
552ce 12x12

J. Stepick Bari Weissy WRC/Walnut

More
  #28  
Old 12-28-2020, 05:14 AM
Mark Hatcher's Avatar
Mark Hatcher Mark Hatcher is online now
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Green Mountains
Posts: 4,859
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Guitars44me View Post
Wow, Gerry works at TOP SPEED!

But seriously, this is cool indeed, and I am a believer in WRC!

"I've found as I further my commitment to hand building that there are wood suppliers that take this same pride and passion in their work. There are tool makers that raise their passion to art. My goal is to find these individuals and small businesses that align with my goals and passion as a luthier and partner with them."

These are the folks we want to support!

Salud

Paul
Thanks for commenting Paul. Gerry does work really fast
Mark
__________________
Mark Hatcher
www.hatcherguitars.com


“Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”. Andrew Fletcher
  #29  
Old 12-28-2020, 07:05 AM
Lonzo Lonzo is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Bavaria
Posts: 455
Default Astounding

If you look at the log as it lies there on the beach it looks like many you have seen yourself. Then someone comes along not only knowing what kind of tree that is/was but also takes a little off here and there, in the right fashion of course and what you get to see is a surface that looks loke a really nice top even in the raw... is that trial and error or can you actually get clues as to which log to cut into and which one not ? Fascinating !
  #30  
Old 12-31-2020, 10:34 AM
Mark Hatcher's Avatar
Mark Hatcher Mark Hatcher is online now
AGF Sponsor
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Green Mountains
Posts: 4,859
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lonzo View Post
If you look at the log as it lies there on the beach it looks like many you have seen yourself. Then someone comes along not only knowing what kind of tree that is/was but also takes a little off here and there, in the right fashion of course and what you get to see is a surface that looks loke a really nice top even in the raw... is that trial and error or can you actually get clues as to which log to cut into and which one not ? Fascinating !
I think he has a locals advantage of knowing the shipping lanes and what woods are being logged in the area. Western Red Cedar is an easy one to identify. If you just crack a piece open and smell it and start thinking school pencils you know it's probably WRC. You can even hear it's WRC by the noise it makes when he splits it.

Happy New Year everyone!

I haven't posted on the Josie "Tree" guitar recently. I'm just doing final clean up on it now and thought some pictures of this one would be nice to ring in the new year!











Thanks for viewing!
Mark
__________________
Mark Hatcher
www.hatcherguitars.com


“Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”. Andrew Fletcher
Closed Thread

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Custom Shop

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:07 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=