Build Thread: The Paperbark Guitar

[ozziebluesman]

Hi to you all,

SESSION 1

This is a first guitar build thread of my friend and business partner Joel (forum handle timberfreak). Joel build his first Ukulele as built our during our first Ukulele Building Course held here in Townsville recently. Joel sliced up some wood for his first guitar build on Saturday and he sent me an email and said its Melaleuca Al, what do you think? Hmmmmm, I remember back on the dairy farm 40 years ago we planted these trees as fast growing shade and wind breaks for our cattle. Anyway, he arrived last Monday morning with this set of Melaleuca or common name Paperbark. Joel may chip in later with the botanical name.

So I have never used this before and first impression is it feels like Myrtle. It is close grain and will not need pore filling. Tap tone is nothing like Myrtle which can be a bit dead but more lively and nice sustain. It is heavier than Myrtle but not so stiff across the grain. We took its thicknesses down to about 2.8 mm. Bracing is Oregon which will be ok for the back and a first build. We will use spruce bracing for the Sitka top chosen for this build.

The build is an OM non cutaway using the Scott Antes plan but we will modify the bracing thickness a little and use a soundhole patch. Other than those changes pretty much off the plan. The neck is going to be a one piece Queensland Maple bolt on.

Here are a few pictures of the first four hour session Monday morning:

to be continued.......

Cheers

Alan

[christian]

Hi Alan,

This is sure to be a cracker, it will be interesting to see how this paperbark works out tonally.
You certainly packed a lot into one session!! keep it up.

Cheers,

Christian.

[ozziebluesman]

Thanks Christian.

Joel is a very experienced cabinet maker and a fine furniture maker so working with wood is his passion. My role in this build is purely as a mentor and point out my sequence of events building an acoustic guitar so he is a joy to teach. He loves using woodworking hand tools which he says reminds him why he first got into woodworking. Kingfisher Furniture which he owns and manages is a big shop and I can see how making benches and counters out of particle board can get boring.

As far as the Paperbark goes as a tonewood it will be interesting to see how it will sound. The wood certainly has the ascetic appeal. I think if we build it so the top is responsible for most of the tone it should work out well. The proof is always in the pudding so we will see how it pans out.

Thanks for your interest.

Cheers

Alan

[Kamusur]

Pretty nice looking wood Alan, n same as Christian hope it sounds as good as it looks.

Steve

[P Bill]

Looks good Alan, I always like to see work with " outlaw " timbers.

[Bruce McC]

Hi Alan

Thanks for this post. Having noticed large melaleuca sp growing on Magnetic Island and around Airlie Beach
when on holidays past, I had wondered if anyone had ever tried using it in guitar building. Where did Joel source his
supplies of melaleuca?

[ozziebluesman]

Thanks Bill and Steve.
Bruce I think the wood come from the Atherton Tablelands but not absolutely sure.
Joel will hopefully correct me if I'm wrong.
Cheers
Alan

[simonm]

The wood reminds me a lot of Anigre (spelling?). Here is a wikipedia image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Anigre.jpg

[DarwinStrings]

Where is that darn centre line

I guess you know you're doing okay with your joinery when you can't find the bugga Alan.

Jim

[ozziebluesman]

Not me Jim, its this damn cabinet maker that has such fine woodworking skills. You should see his furniture work. The long trying plane helps too and wouldn't be without it as even I can get real good results using it.

Cheers

Alan

[H3ytm@n]

Looking good. Nice start !!!

[ozziebluesman]

SESSION 2

Another four hours this morn spent on the OM. Started out marking the sound hole and cutting channels for a Paperbark rosette Joel made last week. Using some off cuts from the top he joined two pieces for the sound hole patch, glued in the rosette and then cut the channels for the black white black purfling gluing those in a little later. Sliced up some bracewood for the transverse and the x brace from some Sitka spruce. While the rosette dried Joel started on the bending of the sides. The wood bent with ease as expected as it feels so similar to myrtle and sassafrass. Joel squared up the side ends with a new saw he has been dying to try out. Damn him, I gotta have one of them saws now. Joel worked on the rosette with his trusty block plane and leveled it to the top. He then measured out, cut out and drilled a centre hole in sound hole patch. Next job was to cut the lap joint in the x braces. Once that was achieved he then shaped the edges of the soundhole patch with the block plane so they matched the arc of the x brace. The transverse was cut out and scalloped on the bandsaw and the bottom of the brace was sanded dead flat. Next the tail block was glued in and the top was put in the go bar to glue up the soundhole patch and transverse brace. Had to use the aircon this morn as we had a very heavy fog and dew this morning. I will put both the top and sides in the dry box tonight. Another good mornings progress on the Paperbark guitar.

Here are a few pictures:

To be continued:

[timberfreak]

Thanks Alan and hi all. Must admit I'm finding this guitar building thing a lot of fun. The melaleuca is locally sourced. We milled it from just down the road from a property at Cape Cleveland. The top of the tree was screwed off during cyclone yasi and we managed to get a few nice pieces out of the base. It's actually the first time I've used this timber for anything and I love it. Will definitely use it again if I can get my hands on some more.
Cheers, Joel

[H3ytm@n]

The melaleuca is going to look great Joel.

Happy to see it bends OK.

[ozziebluesman]

SESSION 3

Good progress again this morning and the humidity is perfect today.

Cut the mortise into the neck block, glued it in for a bolt on neck join, leveled, profiled the sides where the back will join the rim, glued in the linings and side supports. The fingerboard is Bloodwood and it came from the same property as the Paperbark. Nice light figure and red colour about the same weight as some of the Desert hardwoods so it is a little thinner. Joel inlayed the pearl dots, groved the slots, removed all saw dust from the fret slots and pressed in some medium frets.

Some more progress pictures for you:

Cheers

[ozziebluesman]

SESSION 4

This morning Joel spent four hours on his build at the Kingfisher workshop. The Silkwood guitar neck blank was cut out last week and today has the truss rod channel cut, neck stiffeners channels cut, head stock face leveled, profile cut out, truss rod carbon fiber stiffeners glued in and a filler cap glued over the truss rod. Joel also cut out the neck tenon, drilled the bolt holes in the neck and neck block and cut out the excess side material covering over the mortise. He also leveled the sides of the frets and filed the bevel on the fret ends.

Beautiful work today and here are a few pictures.

Cheers

[ozziebluesman]

SESSION 5

Moving along nicely with the back voiced, rims radiused and the back has been glued on. Soundhole cut out and Joel prepared the final braces for the top. He has used some Paperbark for the bridge patch which will be interesting to see what it sounds like. The Paperbarck it close grained and quite hard so it could work well. The top has been braced and ready now to close the box next week. Joel scraped the trussrod filler cover and squared the top of the neck ready for the fingerboard to be glued on next week.

Moving along nicely here are some action pictures. Thanks for your interest. Cheers Alan

[ozziebluesman]

SESSION SIX

Inlet the top into the rim, voiced the top and closed the box on Monday. Joel took the neck and fingerboard with him back to his workshop to glue up the fingerboard with some epoxy, glue on the headplate and make up some binding for the body. Closing the box at my workshop took all the clamps I have. I will be going in to his workshop Friday so will take a few pics of the neck. The box is very responsive and I believe the guitar is going to sound damn good!

A few pictures and thanks for your interest:

Cheers

Alan

[P Bill]

Nice work fellas, I love a nice scribe saw.

[ozziebluesman]

SESSION SIX

A few more pictures from session six carried out at Joel's workshop last Friday. Don't you love the head plate material.

to be continued............

[ozziebluesman]

SESSION SEVEN

I bought a new Colt Router for the Stew Mac binding system so Joel tried it out. Worked a treat so we cut the channels on the mini maton, another OM and just the top of the Kona. Joel has been shaping the neck and the heel and we made sure the neck lined up with the centre line. The headstock shape was cut out, nut fitted and Joel has a Bloodwood bridge blank prepared with saddle slot routed out. Starting to look good!

Here are some more pictures and thanks for your interest:

[DarwinStrings]

How is this paperbark one going Joel or Alan?

Jim

[ozziebluesman]

G'day Jim,

We have both been very busy. Joel has a big order for some hand made stools and we have our third Ukulele Building Course starting next Saturday. We never dreamed the interest would be so high. We have eight starters for this next course so last Monday I bent up 10 sets of concert ukulele sides ready for the next course. I have started a new student mentoring him through a 018 acoustic guitar build and have just finished a OM build with a Doctor who will be playing his newly built guitar at his wedding day this coming Saturday down in Toowoomba. He did a fine job of the guitar I was very proud of his first ever acoustic guitar build.

So Joel has the Paperbark OM ready for the finish process he will be back at it soon.

Cheers

Alan