Traditional Dreadnought for Healdsburg

[Bruce Sexauer]

This is the first time I've noticed being suborned to Howard, and I will allow it as an honest mistake.

The volute appears, in the photo, to be hollowed out some where the neck approaches it. Very catchy, kind of like violin ff holes in the Italian tradition.

At the last HGF, I had one of only two dreads in the entire show, according to Scott Nygard, who pays attention to such things, this time at least I'll know who has the other one.

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer

This is the first time I've noticed being suborned to Howard, and I will allow it as an honest mistake.

"HOLY MISPLACEMENT, BATMAN " ...

[Howard Klepper]

Originally Posted by WGTroutman

OK, this guitar makes me want to buy a ticket to Healdsburg.

Mr. Klepper, I admire your work and if I didn't have college to pay for, I would be on your wait list.



on a side note, do resources allow for a pernambuco dreadnought? and does this guitar have the carbon fiber triangulating struts supporting the neck?

My resources allow for it. I don't know about yours.

No struts on this one.

BTW, I've taken down the description of my arching systems from my website, because I have come to question my explanation after rereading it. I know that what I do works, but I suspect it does for different reasons than I had thought.

Bruce is my senior in both life and lutherie, which is actually comforting at my age. Besides, he is already named Bruce. I will gladly play Robin to his Batman.

[Howard Klepper]

Originally Posted by Kitchen Guitars

Nice. Did you create the Herringbone for the back strip? How else is it made but by hand?

I make my own marquetry and rarely use standard patterns. The top herringbone on this dread is the exception, for the sake of tradition. It's the standard black and white stuff, bought from LMI. I made the strip on the back.

I use "handmade" as a shorthand for what David Pye calls "workmanship of risk." Commercially available herringbone is made in factories by production methods that fall under Pye's "workmanship of certainty." Basically that means with jigs, fixtures, and automated processes that fix the outcome of the job when the process is started, but leave little room for adjustment to unique materials or design change. Workmanship of risk may be done with powered tools but it requires a considerable amount of hand guidance to the tools that puts the outcome at risk, but allows for flexibility of design and attention to the individuality of materials.