Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Ok. Thanks. You have given me enough info to give it a good try. Can't be worse than my last effort.

Thanks for the info Mark. That really explains it. But I have some follow-up questions (sorry). When you mention 8oz cloth, I presume that is referring to 8oz/sq yard, which seems to be a specification I see in that merchant’s website? Secondly, do you lay this up in a flat square shape and then cut...

OK - I reread your post and see that you did state that it is CF under the timber. Can you share how you fashion that CF frame?
Love your work.
m

Hi Mark. That is absolutely lovely. I am particularly interested in the tailpiece. Is that all timber, or a timber veneer over a metal frame? I tried to do a similar thing once, using blackwood and CF in a sandwich. It swung off a bolt anchored in the tailblock - just like yours. Mine had a complete...

That is cool. I knew I would not have been the first to think if it.

Hi Jules. I was not aware of the different grades. My clamps would be made from the cheap stuff. If the other one has thicker walls it would likely be stiffer. it would still do the job but you would want to cut it in thinner slices to get about the same clamping pressure. You don't need a vice-like...

That is one very lucky 9 year old. I hope he/she will be playing it for many years to come.

That looks like a beauty Peter. Elegant simplicity in the timber and the appointments. It all works really well visually, and you are obviously happy with the sound. I really like the rounded shape and the sloped shoulders. Is that your own body shape or did you model it off an old design?

There is all of the classic stuff there - in lovely Aussie timbers. Nice.

I do like the look of the Rubner tuners with roller ends. Might need to give them a try. And I wish I had seen them earlier as I am building a 7-string guitar at the moment and had a bit of hassle putting together a set of 7 tuners - but Rubner sell 7-string sets. If I ever build another one they wi...

I, too, have been disappointed with Schallers and have replaced them. The two times that I have used Gotoh 510s they seemed very good - but I have been reading about extremely long delivery time on some of their models so check carefully before you order. Eventually, I have come to the conclusion th...

OK, so now we know you grow orchids as well as building ukes. A complete renaissance man.

Why does it have to be a tele shape? The great thing about building your own guitar is that you can make one that doesn’t look like all of the other one that come from a factory production line. How about you design a different shape that fits your nice piece of wood?

Hi Sam That should be fine. Just give it a bit of curing time. There are lots of different formulations that call themselves "Danish". Not all the same. I have used that Organoil stuff for a few necks and it cured into a very durable and hard finish. I really like it. A very experienced luthier once...

Richard, this is looking great. Lockdown has been a very productive time for you. This doesn’t get counted in GDP figures but I think many of us are doing important things right now!

Very nice Mr McFarlen. I am working on the fingerboard for my current guitar build and I am going to steal your idea for the nice curved and bound end of the fb at the soundhole. Just giving credit now, ‘ cause later I probably won’t remember where I got that idea.

Good one Robbie. I like the reverse kerfing, but It has broken on me a few times. Hopefully, no more.

Interesting idea - thanks for passing it on. My guess is that is is designed for fretting or refretting on the neck because the lower jaw has that curved block to fit the neck shape. But my neck profile changes along the length of the neck so maybe the wood block on the bottom jaw would need to be c...

My first build (a cedar top OM) did the same thing, and for the same reason that you have diagnosed. I definitely over-did the scalloping on the diagonal tone bars, and probably on the X-braces in the area between the X and the bridge plate. Like yours, it sounded great (an under-braced top is reall...

It disappeared from the OLF too. Presumably Martin Taylor was asked to remove it, either by the film producers or by Gibson?

Yes, I had noticed that too. And just for the sake of any potential customers - I am happy to offer a custom made guitar, with pointy bits if desired, at about a 90% discount against Mr Somogyi’s prices. But I will admit that my guitars are probably only 10% as good. Good luck to him.

Beautiful work Rod. It reminds me of Scott Chinery’s Blue Guitars project, which I saw at the Smithsonian Institute a few years ago.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uadXz7Nsmqk
Your guitar would fit right into that company (D’Aquisto, Benedetto, Manzer, Monteleone)

Hi Dave. I have noticed them too, and James Olson guitars have a similar bridge shape ( not quite as pointed). I had assumed it was just Ervin’s visual signature. He does pointy things on the headstock too. I can’t think of a physical reason why a wavy line on the back of the bridge wound give bette...

The patent (US9520108) shows a number of variations on the invention. It looks like they went with the one labelled Figure 2, which has the full width transverse brace below the soundhole.
Yes, some field research at your local dealer is definitely in order.

OK, it seems that the V-class Taylors do have a UTB, but they just left it out of the publicity photos. I am saying this without having actually seen one, so correct me if you have physical evidence that I am wrong. But here are some diagrams from the patent application. DB63887E-0304-480F-8EF0-C0AB...