Accidents Happen...Blackwood OM rebuild

[DonW]

Now that's some wonderful recovery. Looking great.

[Claire]

I absolutely love this story.
A story gives a guitar character, and what better story than a re birthed guitar.
I like the other stories as well you guys put in as well.
And the guitar is looking great.
Can't wait to see how it progresses.
The idea even of scavenging bits works for me.


My current guitar is a flamenco guitar that I built from the remains of smashed guitar, and literally old bits of junk that were laying about.
The idea was to test the geometry of a new solera using the bits of junk i had laying about the place rather than trowing good materials at an experiment.
I experimented with different construction techniques thinking that in all probability the guitar wouldn't work, and that it didn't really matter since it was made out of junk and i wasn't loosing money on it.
I was really quite surprised that the guitar worked, because i never expected it to. I threw it together and almost didn't care about the way it looked, so long is it held together long enough that i could take measurements off it to confirm that i had my solera gemoetry set up porperly. The joke is that its actually a good guitar, The timbers are really stable, it sounds good, plays well, feels good under the hand, the new construction methods i experimented with all worked really well, and despite how roughshod i threw it together it even looks okay. Its not rough, moreover just not a polished looking guitar. Everything is straight, and the joinery works well. And I learned some really valuable repair techniques. I named it Lazarus. Now its my daily player.
I figure that you've got to name your re birthed guitar or it won't feel loved.

So I'm really looking forward to seeing more progress pics and reports of your guitar.
So far it looks great!
I love that you took the top off with a jig saw, AND that the repair looks great.
You can't buy stories like that.
Your guitar needs a name. Something epic.

Cheers,
Claire

[Kim]

Great work John and nice of you to take the time to share with us. Looking forward to your tonal assessment of the tech upgrade

Cheers

Kim

[nnickusa]

Sometimes accidents might be meant to happen. That's looking great.

I have a question for you completely unrelated to your guiter, tho....I'm planning to put herringbone on my current guitar. Did you have to bend them on a pipe first? The ones I have seem quite stiff in the cross section, and I don't want to snap them when I get to that point?

thanks.

[woodrat]

Hi Everyone, especially Claire as I see that it is your first post so Welcome to the ANZLF:)...I have not been online since last Wednesday before I went to the National (see Peters thread about it) so its nice to read the comments.
So Claire...what should I name it?....It split like a watermelon...but I dont think that would fit:)....it was a black top but its latest incarnation is a clear finished top like a regular one....suggestions?
Nick, I bend the herringbone cold but it wants to twist out of plane because you are bending against the wide dimension. The most important part is the waist because it is the tightest . I bent mine cold and flat against the template. Use plenty of tape at the waist and examine it closely to make sure that it gets closed there in particular. Double check everything...

I am just lacquering it at the moment so I will post some new pics soon....Thanks for following the story:)

John

[Cookie man]

You should name it Osiris - after the Ancient Egyptian deity who was killed and cut into pieces by his evil brother Seth, then repaired and resurrected by his wife Isis (although he was missing his manhood after a crab ate it )

What a great story, cheers.

[Nick]

(although he was missing his manhood after a crab ate it )

*insert cheap joke here about crabs, organs e.t.c......*

[Kamusur]

Oh yeah Cookieman well named.

Steve

[Cookie man]

(although he was missing his manhood after a crab ate it )

*insert cheap joke here about crabs, organs e.t.c......*

I just knew you would appreciate the humour in that extra detail so naturally I had to include it

[woodrat]

Hi Again!....I thought that I would update the brethren regarding this guitar and its rebuild back to life. I had it on the back burner a bit but I am glad to say it is finished. The main tech upgrade was of course the falcate top which is lovely and rich. All in all it was a pretty good save although it was out of action for well over a year. Its for sale if anyone knows anyone who may be interested in it....

Thanks for all your encouraging comments throughout the process....

John.

[charangohabsburg]

For a second I thought "how and why did he make all those scratches allover the top and back? It looks a bit weird, surely one of these modern designs with strange techniques". But in the next second I recognised that these "scratches" are just the reflections in the mirror guitar (or guitar mirror).

Well done John, this one looks just great! Congrats!

Of course, the next question I ask myself is "hell, who will want to buy a highly figured blackwood guitar, this is completely old fashioned" . Just kidding as usual. I guess his one will be sold faster than you can cash in (not kidding this time).

Cheers,

[Kamusur]

Good quality, handmade stuff including repairs always takes time and this is what you nailed here John.

Steve

[woodrat]

Thanks Steve and Markus...!....

[auscab]

That looks great John.
That Blackwood , is that from the log you milled yourself ?
I had a quick scan back through this thread to see if that was mentioned and couldn't see if it was. Nice wood too

[woodrat]

Hi Rob....yes it was....a once in a life time find methinks!...its so lovely!

Cheers

John