The Brazilian

[Hesh1956]

OK folks here is my current guitar project. I know that many of you have seen this on the OLF but Sergio certainly has not and I have made some progress recently.

The idea of this guitar was to feature the traditional elements, Brazilian and Adi, and be minimalistic about the rest of it. With the exception of the neck (Mahogany) and the back joint reinforcement (WRC) everything on the guitar will be BRW or Adi. Including 3 degree, unslotted BRW bridge pins.

Right now with the neck on it weighs in at just under 2 pounds....... I am shooting for 4 pounds strung up.

Everything on this sucker has fought me tooth and nail from the get go...... Right now I am working on the neck angle and alignment, both are way off and need attention.... Yesterday the neck was leaning nearly 1/2" to the left when facing the guitar and the neck angle was to little. But with flossing we are slowing bringing it back to where it needs to be.

Take a look.



Wow that was the first picture that I have ever uploaded here



I use the neck alignment jig/tool from Luthier Suppliers and love the thing. It is very easy and fast to do quick checks of progress, or, lack of same.

You can see below that the neck is still off by about 1/16" but headed in the correct direction.



This is my headstock and it is a bit different. I showed it on the OLF and no one picked up on the fact that it is deliberately asymmetrical. The left wing extends 1/8" out beyond what the right wing does. When the guitar is in the playing position it looks perfectly symmetrical as a bit of an optical illusion. Any way I am trying this one out still searching for a headstock shape that I like and can call my own.




See all the ugly pores in the BRW...........

Here is the back.



Thanks for looking!

[Kim]

She looks beautiful Hesh and whilst it may be putting up a fight, the best things are always worth fighting for.

thanks for posting M8.

Cheers

Kim

[Serge]

Hesh, i think i know what your problem is with that guitar, the zoot is too goooooooood looking and you just get excited touching it and it hurts your patience, best send it to me and i'll see that it doesn't bother you anymore!

Yeah right, You wish Sergio!

Man, bro, that zoot is awesome and i love that asymetrical headstock idea

That will be a fancy one under finish!

[Alain]

That looks awesome man! I did see the head-stock was not symetrical but I thouhgt it was because I had a few too many...

Awesome work man! You got to love it when they fight back! Ha!

[TimS]

Nice job on the guitar Hesh. That neck alignment tool looks good. I might have to get one of those!!

Tim

[Ron Wisdom]

Great job, Hesh!! I saw it on the OLF, but it looks much better here.

Ron

[Hesh1956]

Thanks folks - I feel a little better now that the neck is in alignment with only some neck joint flossing left to do.

Serge you like this zoot? OK you can have the guitar (JUST KIDDING)

I'll tell you though if the other BRW that I have is this difficult (cracks, flat sawn, massive pores, not perfectly book matched, fouls sand paper quickly, etc.) I will not be in a hurry to build with it.....

Kim that is a new one and I like it "M8" - thanks M8!

Tim the tool is great. And nice to see you here too my friend. With this tool I no longer have to grab a straight edge and align three marks to get an idea. I just fit it once and then pop it on and off for quick checks. Of course I still use the straight edge at the end to determine if I am done but so far the tool and the straight edge always read the same.

Good eye Al and thanks for not saying any thing..... I actually did do this shape on purpose and to back that up as you know I don't drink:D

Ron great to see you here buddy and I will try to keep my content here fresh to some degree from my content on the OLF. So who is going to be the first to get sent to the library.....

[Serge]

Hesh wrote: OK you can have the guitar

What;s said is said !

[BillyT]

Really Nice looking work Hesh! I was wondering is that a lam neck or is that a streak of mild grain?

[Hesh1956]

Billy it's a three piece Mahogany laminate with black fiber between each lam. the lams are all fairly wide so you can see the black fiber somewhat from the side.

[Hesh1956]

Sorry I hit post before uploading a pic. The neck is just like this one and fairly red Mahogany too.

[BillyT]

Yea! That's some nice work there boy! And Tony sure puts a shiny on that!

Never get tired seeing the tiger!

[Sam Price]

Hesh, as always, your guitars are absolutely stunning! I have always enjoyed following your tutorials/build threads.

If it's any consolation, I am struggling with #3. A busy lifestyle and design modifications is holding me up!!

[Serge]

Think i'll be using some black fiber for brother Mart's guitar, it looks really elegant on yours and i have some that i purchased from Shane.

Awesome tiger!

[Craig]

That's a wonderful guitar Hesh . Very understated , very stylish.

I wonder if there are any who enjoy fitting the neck ? . I find it pretty time consuming . Mind you , I ain't that good at Luthiering ( Kiwi spelling )

Brilliant mate !

[ZOOTMAN]

Wow that looks fantastic Hesh. I really like the looks of the neck. Very elegant looking with the black lams.

[Hesh1956]

Well hell M8s I reckon that I will just add some photos here and keep you all appraised of my progress - or lack of same.

I have the stinkin neck fitted and Craig you are right my friend, this was very time consuming.... It took me probably 10 hours to get a nice joint, left and right aligned, and the neck angle properly set......

I glued the fretboard on last night and am now using Stew-Mac's leveling beam (16") radius to level it all out. This fretboard has some rather large cracks and open pores so I am also squeegeeing some Titebond in the cracks and filling with dust from leveling.

Take a look:

[Kim]

Looks beautiful Hesh and the neck joint looks like an injection mold soo crisp and clean. The stewmac radius beam is a tempting tool, would you be without it?? I just ask because they are pricey, especially with shipping to AU.

Cheers

Kim

[Serge]

Nice job Hesh! love that fretboard!

[Ron Wisdom]

Yup, looking good. I'm at the same place with my current build. I leveled my fretboard yesterday, too. I'm ready to fret then finish shaping the neck.

Ron

[Dave Anderson]

Lookin' Great Hesh ! I always enjoy your posts, pics, tutes, and your excellent guitars! My favorite is your Tiger with the black top. Now this one just might be even nicer than that! I can't wait to see her all finished.
I have one of Tracys alignment do-hickys too. Man,what a great tool.
Your headstock looks very nice. Thanks fer sharing this bud!

[BillyT]

Hesh Buddy, that fretboard looks flatsawn, is that typically the case? I never noticed that before?

[Lillian]

Hesh, it looks beautiful. I really like it. I'm looking forward to hearing it sing.


How do you like using the bunny ears? I've been thinking about getting one for the bench but wasn't sure it was worth investing in.

[BillyT]

Don't forget Liliian, you could take your guitar too the gun range too!

Can you tell Hesh is that filled with lead..., sand...?

[Ron Wisdom]

Looks beautiful Hesh and the neck joint looks like an injection mold soo crisp and clean. The stewmac radius beam is a tempting tool, would you be without it?? I just ask because they are pricey, especially with shipping to AU.

Cheers

Kim

Kim, I'm certainly not Hesh, but I wouldn't want to be without my beam. It's all I've used to level the FB and the frets. I keep 120 grit on it and it will give you perfectly level FB in a matter of seconds (with new paper). I've only used it on ebony, too, but it should be the same with other wood. And, of course, it maintain or create your radius very accurately.

Ron