Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Tho I call mine the Brunswick Rose(Cutaway)

Bearclaw SItka top, Rimu back/sides/neck, Jarrah burl headplate and rosette, Jarrah bridge and fingerboard. Lacewood bindings body and neck. Grovers with Ziricote buttons, and black buffalo horn nut and saddle with ebony pins. TRu Oil finish-just wipe on-wipe off.

Whew....that was alot to get thru.... Still not perfect, but quite a bit better than the last two, and sounds pretty good for day one! Also has a Fishman Matrix Ellipse in it....

Thanks for looking

Hi Nick,

I know you will agree , Nobody should buy any Heart Rimu it clearly looks terrible , is hard to work and sounds terrible, ( Christian if you wan to get rid of that Stuff, Nick and I will take the rest of your hands cause we are good blokes and want to help) I'm sorry you had to work with that stuff , I'm still in trauma.


But your bridge looks very nice , as does yor neck , headplate , rosette , soundboard , bindings , fretboard and the Shape of your headstock is really cool .

I also love the soft natural look of the oil finish!. despite being applied to Pore Ridden, Ugly timber that no one else should buy, especially Martin.

Again don't buy Heart Rimu , it's too late for Nick and Myself , I'm already burdened with 4 sets , plus two more on order and whatever else Christian will sell me, but no too late for others, especially Martin.

Cheers,

Hi Nick,

Looks great. I like the way you've tied it all together with the bridge and headstock motif.

Thanks,
Greg.

Thanks, guys.

Paul is absolutely correct. This stuff is the most stubborn, difficult to work, and hideous timber it's been my misfortune to encounter. So, my advice to you all is to stay as far away as you can--MARTIN--and take pity on Christian that he has to use this stuff

Ohhhh Woe is me, clearly burdened by the weight of 3/4 of a cube of this revolting timber on my doorstep.... perhaps a stray match.... would relieve me of the day to day disappointment of looking and working with this scourge of the tonewood world.

Love the Guitar Nick!!! its a really nice design, especially the the headstock and echoed bridge design.
and very well made indeed !!!
Congrats Mate!!

Seriously you Aussies are churning out guitars by the dozen !!! We Kiwis need to get our act together.

Cheers,

Christian.

Thanks, Christian.

I'm set on the bridge, but am still playing with slight changes in the headstock, mostly for straighter string lines from the nut. The next one is subtly different, and I think I like it better already, even in the early stages.

As we discussed earlier, I think the less-glossy finish of the Tru-Oil really sets off the Rimu. Might try a combination soom. Tru-oil on all but FP on the top. I think that would have made the bearclaw jump more.....20/20 hindsight...

Anyway, this one is done, in my book, and it's my best so far, so I'm chuffed. Time for a celebratory

Nice Work Nick, I like the bridge,but it looks heavy , have you weighed one ?

26gm. this one

Hi Nick
Great looking guitar realy nice finish .
Iam about to start my first tru oil finish on a New Guinea Rosewood guitar .
Did you have to grain fill and if so what did you use.
Regards Steve

Great work Nick, you build some great guitars. I am not sure about the comment you guys are using about Rimu, I think your using a bit of reverse psychology there! If your right maybe I should buy some more off Christian to practice with.

Hi Steve. Rimu doesn't need porefilling, but look up deadedith's you-tube tute on Tru-Oil. IIRC he was trying to use the oil as a pore-fill. Not sure how it turned out, and haven't seen him around here for awhile. I also am pretty sure that Alan(ozziebluesman) used shellac and FP technique, but you could PM him to find out for sure, wiht oil for the final finising....

Eric. You really don't want Rimu......

Beautiful guitar Nick, nice details all round, wouldn't mind owning that one

Col

I'm sure yours will be just as nice, Col.

Been a bit damp these days, but...

Daughter's in Brissie at QUT now, so we visit sometimes. Let me know if you need anything. Got heaps of stuff, and it'll take a fraction of the time than from SM, LMI, etc....Gotta keep them Yanks on their collective toes, eh?

nnickusa wrote:I'm sure yours will be just as nice, Col.

Been a bit damp these days, but...

Daughter's in Brissie at QUT now, so we visit sometimes. Let me know if you need anything. Got heaps of stuff, and it'll take a fraction of the time than from SM, LMI, etc....Gotta keep them Yanks on their collective toes, eh?

Thanks Nick,

It won't be as nice, but as long as my first looks and sounds like a guitar I will be happy enough. I was hanging out for the humidty to drop with all the rain at the moment, and finally had 1/2 a day at 45% RH. I had to work quickly to get it all together in that time, and it shows. Appreciate the offer for 'stuff' in a fraction of the time and will PM you when I need said stuff

Col

Nick

Fantastic looking guitar mate I really like the bridge and headstock shape

All the best
Dave

Nice job Nick, you've complimented that Earthy Rimu nicely with the other appointments (bindings and top don't over power it) and the tru-oil finish. I think Rimu is one of those timbers just made for an oiled finish.

Turned out fantastic Nick. How did you find the Tru-oil finish compared to spraying? Easy to apply? I am going to give it a go on my next.

Cheers.

Cheers. Still lot's of progress for me to make, but this one is definitely better than the last two.

Jeremy, the TruOil is a snap. Wipe on wipe off. Easy. Non-toxic and user friendly, tho I do wear those blue powder-free gloves when I get close to the end, mostly to keep oil and dirt from my hands getting onto the guitar. Make sure you really sand it out well, and down to around 1200-1500 at least. Any mark becomes instantly glaring.

On the plus side, you can use a light coat to show up any imperfections, sand it all out and just keep going with the oil. No spot-repairs, blending or other issues, just fills itself in..

I'll definitely use it again, as I can do it in my little workroom inside, and not rely upon outside conditions, unlike spraying.....

Great news thanks nick. I can't really see a downside to it unless you are looking for super high gloss. I am sold, going to give this a burl on the next one.

Just a bit of an update. I sold this guitar a couple weeks ago--for costs, mostly--to a friend who is a working muso in the area.....Kathryn Jones is returning to the music scene after quiting to raise 4 boys. Our families are friends, and I made the guitar with her in mind in a number of senses.

Got an invite round to her place to visit during a bit of a rehearsal. Though it's a simple song-guitar-wise--I enjoyed it.

I've loaned her my acoustic amp, which needs a bit of tweaking, I think, but there's a video on my Facebook page at DMI handmade musical instruments

Thanks for looking again.....