#2 Finished - plus photos

[Dave Olds]

Well - it has been a long time in the making ( 9 months ) but #2 is finally finished.

I made my first guitar last year on a course with Sergei De Jonge in Canada - so this is my first "solo" effort. I have spent as much time making jigs and moulds - and waiting for supplies to arrive - as I have building the guitar. But - now I have most of that sorted the next build should be quicker. ( yep - there will definitely be a next one - the wood is already on the bench )

Some specs ...
- EIR back and sides
- Sitka Spruce top
- Flamed Maple bindings
- Mahogany neck
- Rewarewa rosette (NZ native)
- finish - French Polish

There are plenty of places for improvement, but I am very happy with the sound - and the intonation is spot on. I am tossing up whether to put a pickguard on this - but I am erring towards a clear Mylar guard.

Thanks to the ANZLF for the mass of information available here - and for specific answers to my questions re French Polishing etc. What a great resource !!!















Thanks for looking.

Dave

[Lillian]

Nicely done Dave. Lots to be proud of there. And I would second your notion of a clear pick guard.

What are you plans for the next one?

[kiwigeo]

David, that looks good mate. I second the clear pick guard.

Youve done a good job with the french polish....great effort.

Cheers Martin

[Allen]

All that time was very well spent. Top notch and very clean workmanship. Clear pickguard would be my choice as well.

[Kim]

Great effort Dave she looks great but I will go against the tide, a big kick ass dred like that has more than enough real estate going on to produce plenty of sound and a pick guard would not make much difference. In fact to me a dred looks nude without one and I reckon if your going to do it, don't try and hide it, the tortis pickgaurds from LMI look great and if that guitar where mine, it would have a medium brown D28 slapped right on there.



http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproduc ... Pickguards

Cheers

Kim

[ozziebluesman]

Great job there Dave. The NZ native wood rosette is a nice contrast. Looks like a little wider fingerboard and maybe a short scale just right for finger style? What ever, it is a beauty. Congratulations mate!

Cheers

Alan

[xray]

that french polish looks as good as ive seen. im curious though, did you go with something else for the neck or is it the same amount of coats as the french polish? im just thinking of durability and longevity of such a beautiful finish?
also how many coats and what was the basic method. e.g buffing polishing after each coat?

[seeaxe]

Dave - well done mate!

We have a Gallery Forum now for masterpieces like this, don't you know!!

Having had the privilege of seeing this getting built I can testify that its as good or better than it looks in these photos. The wood on the back is just perfect rosewood.

All that remains is to post a sound file! I'll have to come for a listen at the weekend.

Two very large thumbs up.

Cheers
Richard

[Dave Olds]

Thanks very much for the kind comments - I really appreciate it.

To answer a couple of questions ...

Alan - the neck is just a hair over 44mm at the nut - so pretty normal there - and the scale length is a regular 25.4. but it is a good fingerpicker. I will do a little work on the action - which is a fraction high at the moment, but will let it settle in for a couple of weeks first.

Xray - The french polishing was a bit hit and miss. The back and sides came up nice after 3 or 4 sessions, but the top took a bit more work. I think the issue was with the spiriting off at the end of the sessions. There seem to be many varying ways that people finish off sessions. What worked for me on this top was to let the fad dry out towards the end of the session - which meant applying a bit more pressure and padding a little quicker to prevent sticking. I don't know if this is a recommended way of doing it but it did seem to even out the finish and help with the shine. I also did a very light sanding with 1500 micromesh between sessions. When finished, I gave it a polish with Meguiars swirl remover as per recommendations on this forum. I did this by hand. The neck had the same number of sessions as the rest of the guitar - I guess time will tell whether this will wear well or not - this is all new to me .....

Lillian - the next one will be a 14 fret OM with the same wood - Sitka and EIR. I got two sets at the same time due to the high cost of shipping from Canada - so will use the second set on this next guitar. Thinking of using contrasting Rewarewa and Wenge for the rosette.

Thanks again for your positive feedback.

Dave

[WaddyT]

Nice job, Dave. Beautiful guitar. I'm curious though, isn't the strap button on the heel, on the wrong side? Seems, most guitars I see, it's on the other side, so the strap pulls against the heel, and sideways against the button. Maybe it's a preference thing, and I just don't know what I'm talking about. It's happened before!

[Joe Sustaire]

Great job Dave! And I second Kim on the pickguard. Not only can you protect the top, it also gives you another opportunity to shape the overall design with color and shape. And I just don't like clear ones, I'd rather see a worn and gouged top than a clear pickguard myself. They're kind of like plastics slipcovers on couches.

My 2 cents,
Joe

[Dave Anderson]

Very nice looking guitar Dave. You did a fine job on your 2nd guitar.
Congratulations !

[Nick]

Nice job Dave, not a fan of Dreadies but I certainly can't fault your workmanship on this one and the French Polish is bang on to my decrepit eyes