Me build a 17" Jazz Arch Top.

[duh Padma]

.
Yes!...is true! Me gonna build an arch top.

Ok dudes...here we go...

A 17" carved topper for me Chilean curendero buddy who sings the Icaros with an angels voice and is one heck of a jazz picker too.

This ain't gonna be no copy of a Benedetto or D' Angelico.
Yup, its another Padma Built Special.

Using a 50 year old White Kermodie Spruce top from the Mario DaCosta over at http://sprucetonewood.com/, thank you Mario!
The neck back and ribs are from me very own spalted, wormie holed White Birch thats been air drying in me yard for 10 years. Trim woods gonna be white holly from Jesse Burge, walnut, maple or sycamore and topped of with some pear burl. Basically she gonna be a deep honey burst blond and finally dressed in gold hardware. Might even hang a hummmmmmmmmmmbucker off the end of the fretboard.

But wait for this dudes...its gonna be a bold on! With a zero fret too.

Ok lets get started....

First me needed to rip some birch for the back and ribs...see this is how we did it the old fashion way, but only because me big band saw blade is busted and it takes forever to order one in.



Bendin up the ribs with a strip of flashing to prevent the grain from breaking out which happens of fancy grained woods or holy woods bless by worms. Yup thats a BBQ started shoved in a tail pipe...me no bother with any fancy temp controls....just plug her in and let her rip. See..no fancy bender needed.




Letting the ribs chill in the mold for a few days before installing the kerfed linings.








Jointed and gooed up the back, layed down some mystical chicken scratchings of cosmic import and started carving.

Here you can really see the quality of dis spalted holy birch.





This here is a scorp...A1 for removing material fast!





The carving bench...




listening to what she has to say...




This package of White Kermodie arrived from Mario DaCosta and of course me just had to joint and goo her up asp.









Me like using white goo for jointin plates




put her to sleep for 24 hrs....








Here is the difference in how me makes the neck joint. Virtually everybody adds this neck extension block to the neck...Me don't like this idea at all and prefer to make the entire neck from one piece of 3 inch stock, believing this construction to be far stronger than the "add on" neck extension. It is also a heck of a lot harder to cut the tenon in a angled corner for a one piece neck joint, so stay tuned for that part of the build.





Band sawing the one piece neck from 3 inch birch...








Next up is the carving of the White Kermodie top plate. This part of the thread will be covered in step by step details so you dudes get an idea of what its all about. During this carving me will go into how to make your own mini, curved bottom, hand and finger planes from an old file and a hunk of wood that will work just as good, if not better than the fancy shmancy store bought specials. So keep loggin on to see where we is all at with the




Carving of the White Kermodie top...




Blessings
duh Padma

[woodrat]

Love It Padma!!! Keep on smiling! Also love the secret agent technique to obscure your address so we cant come and steal it!

The WoodRat

[duh Padma]

deleted.

[duh Padma]

deleted

[woodrat]

[Quote]PS...he just loves to chase balls.[Quote]

...Padma, I haven't known a dog that didn't!

with that deterrent I am sure that all is safe there somewhere above the 48th parallel!

The WoodRat

[matthew]

Love It Padma!!! Keep on smiling! Also love the secret agent technique to obscure your address so we cant come and steal it!

The WoodRat

me gotta protect me secret identity...Only my tone wood supplier, Mario Dacosta knows it, so if anything happens to him, I'll double my security...see pic of security.
His name is Buddie~Satvha and he is me bench dog. So take heed if you come sniffin round my place cuz you gotta deal with him and me teaching him how to chase and bite balls if you get the just of me drift.

Dunno, I reckon If I dragged a string of sausages from Hart down to Stibbs young Buddie might reveal the secret location nice and peacefully. Hope you have beer in the fridge!

[kiwigeo]

Ya Rat,

me gotta protect me secret identity...Only my tone wood supplier, Mario Dacosta knows it, so if anything happens to him, I'll double my security...see pic of security.

Why on earth would anybody want to do anything to Mister Dacosta???? I've heard he's one of the worlds finest purveyors of tonewood of a quality with a level of service that cannot be matched even by the likes of our own Timothy Spittle.

[Nick]

Hey Pad, if it's just you and the dog up there on that property, who's balls are you teaching Buddie to bite off?
Nice build by the way, can't wait to see the spalted all shinied up!

[duh Padma]

deleted.

[matthew]

Here down under everything's arse-about so it's still "down to Stibbs" to me. I'll have to stick your prayer-flag on my google map so's I can pay you a visit on my next world tour ...

I'm an ex-pom so warm beer is even better!

[duh Padma]

deleted

[duh Padma]

deleted.

[kiwigeo]

Ya, Mario is one bent out a shape dude and an A1, first class purveyors of tone woods, especially lutz.

The quality of his wood is unquestionable. He has kept me in supply of the finest tonewoods me has ever eyeballed or used. In fact, pther than what me log meself, me get virtually all of me spruce from the Bear (is a nick name me give him) and have enough of his tops to last me for the rest of me life.

His no questions asked guarantee is rock solid.

blessings

Sorry Pad....maybe my sarcasm was a bit too subtle in my last post. No reflection on your integrity or honesty intended mate but I've got a pile of mouldy discoloured Kermode spruce in my workshop that I wouldn't give away as a christmas present to my worst enemy....and thats the stuff that got sent as a replacement for the original shipment of equally as moldy wood. After I received the replacement wood I gave up dealing with the vendor and accepted the whole transaction as a learning experience. Matthew found it useful for repair work on one of his basses but for tops on any of my guitars it's of no use at all.

Note that any comments I post in this thread are my personal opinions and based on my personal experiences and do not in anyway reflect the views or opinions of the moderators/administrators of this forum.

As has been stated on numerous occasions in other threads if you buy from ANZLF approved vendors there is negligible chance of getting shafted...if you use any other vendors then it's buyer beware. If you're unsure about a vendor then ask for advice...more than one of us has had experience with the less reputable vendors.

Regards Martin

[matthew]

deleted

[kiwigeo]

As has been stated on numerous occasions in other threads if you buy from ANZLF approved vendors there is negligible chance of getting shafted...if you use any other vendors then it's buyer beware. If you're unsure about a vendor then ask for advice...more than one of us has had experience with the less reputable vendors.

Regards Martin

So ANZLF is guaranteeing the performance of ANZLF approved vendors?

Where's the can of worms icon when I want it??

You've got a conflict of interest in this discussion....you get the mouldy wood I cant use for my tops for your repair work so its a win win situation for you.

Does the ANZLF guarantee approved vendors? No of course not and thats not what I stated in my last post. The point I make is you have far less chance of having problems with an ANZLF approved vendor than one who is not and I want members to be very clear about this. Put it this way given the choice of buying from a vendor who advertises that he's endorsed by vendors who pay for the privilege (or get discounts and/or the best wood) or buying from a vendor with whom ANZLF forum members have had a good trading relationship with which vendor would you go for??

This is all I'm posting on this subject...Ive said all that needs to be said. My apologies to Pad for hijacking the thread.

Regards Martin

[duh Padma]

Thank you Marin, however no apologies necessary.


blessings

[woodrat]

I'm an ex-pom so warm beer is even better!

Hi Matthew, when I met you in Canberra I didnt pick that you were an ex-pom. I was in the UK in Jan-Feb of this year and the Poms sure know how to make beer!

Pad...an ex-pom is an erstwhile inhabitant of England as described by inhabitants of their new homeland.

[Kim]

PS...he just loves to chase balls.

Which one you talking about Padi, the dog or the vendor?

Cheers

Kim

[Bob Connor]

As has been stated on numerous occasions in other threads if you buy from ANZLF approved vendors there is negligible chance of getting shafted...if you use any other vendors then it's buyer beware. If you're unsure about a vendor then ask for advice...more than one of us has had experience with the less reputable vendors.

Regards Martin

So ANZLF is guaranteeing the performance of ANZLF approved vendors?

Where's the can of worms icon when I want it??


Ah, there is is.

I don't see anywhere where anyone is guaranteeing anything Matthew.

We have preferred vendors here that have had a long association with, and are trusted with the luthiery industry. And this is not just our opinion.

I think you will find that these people are universally respected in the industry as being reliable and honest over a long period of time

Regards

[duh Padma]

Ok dudes

Is obvious that this thread has done gone run off the track.

No guilt, no blame, shift happens.

However me will no longer be posting to it.

In a few days you will find the rest of this build continued in a new thread called

"Carving a 17" Arch Top"

thus spaketh
duh Padma

oh ya...
Blessings

[seeaxe]

Oh-oh - I think we have just removed the sparkle from the Padmas eyes and dimmed the 500 watt smile a bit.
I was enjoying that build, so Ill be keen to the see the rest of it

Keep posting Padma, your pictures and approach are inspiring.

Cheers mate (noozillun for "blessings")

Richard

[matthew]

deleted

[kiwigeo]

Ok dudes

Is obvious that this thread has done gone run off the track.

It was a nice start to a thread Padma.

I'd be happier if the mods cleaned up your thread, starting with the post made at 2.40pm. If you like to back your tonewood supplier, there is no rule against that, is there?

Your point that if fresh cut tonewood is wrapped in plastic and shipped internationally it may go mouldy, is an excellent caveat.

Matthew

I have already apologised to Padma for hijacking his thread but to not have aired my bad experiences with the tonewood supplier he waxed lyrical about in his initial post would have been just as much of a crime. I'm happy for the posts that don't relate directly to Pad's build to be moved to a separate thread but I am not happy for the posts to be deleted from the forum.

Matthew see PM for a response to your last post.

Regards Martin

[matthew]

to not have aired my bad experiences with the tonewood supplier he waxed lyrical about in his initial post would have been just as much of a crime. I'm happy for the posts that don't relate directly to Pad's build to be moved to a separate thread but I am not happy for the posts to be deleted from the forum.

Well, looks like no-one dares touch this messy thread with a barge-pole now. Pity about the whip-marks.

[Puff]

There be something odd going on in this thread which has a wee whiff of sensorship; not to be confused with "moderation".