Another aussie built archtop

[rocket]

Here's a unit i've been toiling away on for the past six months.
Full bodied symetrical 17" archtop
Spittle blackwood B/S
Sitka top X braced
Curly maple binding
Rock maple neck with purple heart and eucalyptus burl veneers
Getting ready for finish soon.

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Such a lot of pics to upload i got them a bit out of order, still i tink you lot will get the idea.
Next time you see this axe it will be in the gallery, and not too long off, weather permitting!!!
Cheers!!
Rod.

[DarwinStrings]

Hmmm.... marquetry stripe on the neck, thanks for planting that idea in my head Rod.

Jim

[ozwood]

Really Nice work there Rocket,

I admire a man who takes on the challenge of making an archtop from blackwood , I piss and moan just carving a BW neck.

Can't wait to see the finnished article.

Cheers,

Paul.

[ozziebluesman]

Absolutely beautiful Rocket. I wish I could get my neck to fit a well as your guitar. How did you find the blackwood to carve? Is this guitar having a pickup installed if so, what brand do you have in mind?

Cheers

Alan

[woodrat]

I'm Impressed Rod....Very Nice work!!!!!

[rocket]

Actually i don't have a problem with carving blackwood, the only drawback i find with it is the massive pores you are left with to fill. The guitar will be fitted with a" Kent Armstrong handmade adjustable PAF," mounted via a side tab to the finger rest, volume control will be a thumbwheel arangement that just protrudes from the edge of the fingerest, i think a knob mounted on top is too obtrusive so i'm trying the thumbwheel this time.
Cheers,,,
Rod.

[Paul B]

That's just something else man.

Shit, you guys are killing me with these archtops, I got the book, I got the plans (cost me twice as much as the plans cost, to get em laminated).

My next build has to be an archtop.

Damn it, I was gonna build a little Martin parlor...

Well, there goes this years tax refund.....

[rocket]

Yeah Paul, i got my plans laminated so i could hang'm on the shop wall, Officeworks,,,,, stuffed'm for me, came out all creased, the bird said oh sorry we'll give you a refund, like that's gonna take the creases out isn;t it lovie!!! still hung'm up, just try not to look at the shitty bits.
Not following Bob all the way with this one, deleted the side bracing in favour of a laminated side, still 2.5 mm thick but a smooth contour inside the instrument and very stiff sides.
Cheers,,,,
Rod.

[kiwigeo]

That's just something else man.

Shit, you guys are killing me with these archtops, I got the book, I got the plans (cost me twice as much as the plans cost, to get em laminated).

My next build has to be an archtop.

Damn it, I was gonna build a little Martin parlor...

Well, there goes this years tax refund.....

Ya left a 7 course Renaissance lute off ya list mate.....

[Paul B]

I got mine laminated in matt finish laminate stuff, no reflection when you throw a rule up against e'm. And, I had to walk though the back streets of Redfern (Sydney) to get to the laminator guy - expected to get mugged, shelled out something like $70 for the laminations, and had to go back next day to pick em up, talk about perseverance and dedication. I needed Clint Eastwood and all I could call up was a goofy mate from Bulgaria for back-up.

I'm thinking of Blackwood for mine, but I'm leaning towards the darker figured stuff like you find on the mainland, hard and dense, like me. well, dense anyways.

Sitka for the top.

Marty, don't think I haven't thought about it. Can't call yourself a Luthier if you ain't built no friggin lute, yeah? But I expect you know how much study would have to go into embarking on such a project - yes? I'll get there, just building up to it... Been following your build with much interest.

[P Bill]

Very nice Rod, the violin ff's are a nice touch.

[kiwigeo]

Marty, don't think I haven't thought about it. Can't call yourself a Luthier if you ain't built no friggin lute, yeah? But I expect you know how much study would have to go into embarking on such a project - yes? I'll get there, just building up to it... Been following your build with much interest.

Just as much challenge in building an archtop.....I love them. Got some Lutz archtop tops on their way from Shane so an archie build is on the horizon.

[rocket]

You got Lutz as well as Cedar on the way Martin? are you building a megastash?
Cheers,,,
Rod

[kiwigeo]

You got Lutz as well as Cedar on the way Martin? are you building a megastash?
Cheers,,,
Rod

Not a megastash.....just enough to see me through to the 30th century

[duh Padma]

Real nice carving you don did there Rod...real nice.


blessings
duh Padma

[Nick]

Looking really nice Rod, should be a ripper when completed.
Is that your normal F hole pattern/size? Just looks slightly bigger than normal so I'm interested to hear how it sounds, I so far haven't strayed from the "standard" F hole with mine, according to Bob B the surface area has an affect on volume so I'm keen to hear your findings. Also think I like the sweep look you have rather than the traditional 'pointed' look.

[rocket]

Pad,, I'll take that as areal compliment coming from an old school carver like yourself!!
Nick, those F holes are a different to the ones Bob uses, i have a couple of different shapes i like to use .
As far as size goes this particular one is a little bit greater in area than Bobs design but i designed it that way to compensate for the slightly larger volume in the full body box.
I've built this style before, you can see it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdvJX-4g_bU
Cheers,,,,
Rod

[needsmorecowbel]

Looking mighty swell mate...By the way if you want to record any of your guitars i have a very small recording setup at home that you are welcome to come over and use. PM me if you are interested but can only really do Saturdays as i work 6 days a week.

Stu

[charangohabsburg]

A really nice shape. Yes, maybe the f-holes do part of the trick. These here are just like big beautiful eyes. But of course also everything on this build is so neat and smooth - flawless, at least to my eye. I really like this one.