Whats been keeping me off the streets lately

[Taffy Evans]

This year has been pretty busy and has kept me from getting on the forum very often, coupled with the fact that my computer died, and I have only just got most of my photo's back.

So to make up for this absents I thought I would post an overview of projects I have worked on in the later half of this year, that is in-between repairs.

The photo's will possible not be in this order but here goes.

Dreadnought: three piece back spruce top, part built.

OM: size mahogany/spruce cutaway

Cigar box guitars: Started this project at the request of a customer and I'm starting numbers six and seven.

Ukuleles: I never thought I'd build a Uke, I had no interest at all, until a customer sowed the seed. This is one of two Tenors and is NGR/Spruce, the other has a Cedar top.

Banjo: [I know I know!] One of two, just for the challenge. This one sold to the first person that saw/played it. Cedar top/NGR neck. Took a lot of working out and jigging.

plus three other guitars coming along, a '000' style and two parlors and a solidbody electric, oh and a request for an octave mandolin.

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Thanks for looking.

[woodrat]

Nice work Taffy....I love the little hasp and staple on the cigar box, great attention to detail! And of course everyone loves a sink sieve in their soundhole! Love it!

John

[Allen]

No wonder you haven't popped in Taffy. Very productive indeed. I'm liking that banjo. I had never really thought of them other than with a skin.

[Luke]

Hey Taff love the cigar box's and the banjo is interesting I was looking at a site in the states and the guy made several banjos with timber tops. Now I can't find it he had several sound samples that made for good comparisons.
Bye the way Radio National into the music had a program today on the Banjo very cool.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/intothemusic/

[auscab]

Hi Taffy, gee you do a nice range of different instruments, nice rosette up the top and I love that banjo too. Those cigar box guitars on the sand, the middle one has only three strings, how is that tuned , GBE ? and the four stringed one DGBE?

[greg]

Wow, there is a lot of creative output across all of those instruments. Very inspiring to look at.

greg

[charangohabsburg]

It looks as you dont't get bored when making instruments!
I especially liked the "I know I know - Banjo". Kind of like the Tahitian Ukulele.

[christian]

No wonder you havn't been around Taffy!!! thats a huge amount of work to get through in such a small amount of time
and no compromise on the creative and amazing build quality thanks for posting !!!

Christian.

[ozziebluesman]

G'day Taffy,

Some great builds going on in your workshop. I do like the rosette in the first picture of the dready. The ukulele looks a treat as well. So do you like building these little instruments now? Thats the first time I have seen a banjo with a wood head as well.

Thanks for your post.

Always inspiring!

Cheers

Alan

[Kamusur]

Love the stainless steel sink strainer and the banjo, great work.


Steve

[joolstacho]

Nice work Taffy. Busy boy!
I've been doing cigarbox guitars for a few years... fun to play and very low stress building! Light relief after doing 'real' guitars.
Here's a few of mine, a couple of 3-string fretless (slide) models, (I tune 'em GDG -good for blues improv).
The other one is a 4-stringer fretted. Obviously with 4 strings this gives you loads of tuning options. (I mainly use GDGD -try it, it may suprise you).
I make my own boxes because I can get a better sound, but I love the old cigarbox label artwork so I often add genuine labels.

With a light box and long neck cigarbox guitars are badly balanced, -head heavy, so I designed the 'arseabout' version which balances much better and is much nicer to play with the tuners at the back end. Also I do an 'archtop' version (a simple recurved bend in the top) which, because of extra tension in the top, seems to improve resonance and volume.

(And then you can always plug it in if you feel like a bit of 'eadbangin' eh!)

-Jools

[Luke]

nice work jools good to see some different instruments on the site.

[Kim]

Great work as always Taffy. It is easy to imagine that there is nothing in lutherie you could not take on and finish with something that not only ticks all the boxes but would have that unique style showing it was hand crafted by 'Taffy Evens' and that is something to be very proud of..

Cheers

Kim

[Clancy]

Your still well known around these parts Taff, & with even this small selection of your work it's easy to see why!

[Taffy Evans]

Hi all, thanks for all the responses and observations. But all is not as it seems.......this thread could be in three parts. Namely [1] what I have achieved this year [already posted] [2] projects that did not make it to the spray room [or even close] [3] restorations that got started and those that probably never will. Oh well, lets make it four parts [4] whats already started for next year. And as a bonus, or booby prize, to cap it all off [5] instruments I have built over the years.......this would include: mountain dulcimers, mandolins acoustic and solid body, acoustic guitars, solid electric guitars, lap slide guitars, hollow neck lap slide guitars, resonator guitars, hammered dulcimers, Irish bouzouki's, Ukulele's, banjo's, solid body Stick bass, solid body violin.......whats that saying "Jack of all........... ". I must admit not all were winners.

I gotta find the photos as some of these projects go back pre-digital camera days.

Hey how about a thread on "all the jigs I built to do a job, but forgot what they were for or how to use them the second time around".
or " how to save wall space ..... don't build jigs"
Thanks again,