Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Following on from Paul's Flamenco Blanca post, and in a similar spirit, I am encouraged to post details of a recently completed build.
Please excuse the photography.

Top - Student grade WRC sourced from Daryl Wheeler (formerly Gilet Guitars).
Back and sides - Macrocarpa sourced from Timothy Spittle esq.
Fingerboard/Bridge - East Indian Rosewood, ebay - Rosewood and Bits of Everything.
Neck- Toona Ciliata, Working with Wood Expo in Canberra some time ago.
Tuners - ebay specials.
Bindings - Jarrah sourced from Timothy Spittle esq.
Rosette - ebay special.
Saddle/Nut - bone from local butcher.
Finish - French Polish, Robbie O'Brien method.
Weight - 1.578 kg.
T (1.1)1 - 99.7
T (1.1)2 - 190
T (1.1)3 - 237, I recorded what I assume is the back frequency as I do not have a fat gut.

I did not set out to make a flamenco guitar, nor do I consider this guitar to be one.
It does not have the "attack" or "bite" of a traditional flamenco, never the less I am
happy with the finished guitar. It sounds ok to me.
The macrocarpa was a lovely timber to work with and bent very easily. I would happily
build with it again.

Nice one Bruce.
I'm also building a macro at the moment with a red cedar neck - the stuff is so light! Did you CF reinforce it or use a truss?

I think we should all build a macro guitar to raise awareness for this beautiful timber.

Hi Rob

I reinforced the neck with a 6 x 6 mm square ( with 3mm bore) carbon fibre rod.
The headstock has East Indian rosewood and maple veneer on top and a red cedar
veneer on the back side.

Nice one Bruce ,

It was like we were thinking the same thing at the same time

Nothing wrong with pajama stripe macro, It's a great alternative to the other cypress.


Very nice indeed mate .

Cheers,

Good to see Macro getting a bit of love ,
I've milled a heap for back and sides , haven't sold too many though . Ive taken to sending them out as packers for other sets !
Pete

Put em up in Buy swap and Sell ,

They will go like hot cakes.

Cheers,

they are decent resonances and a good interval ratio top to back. i like the idea of carbon rods, it reduces the weight instead of using ebony strips or steel rods. how is the weight of the red cedar neck? what is it like compared to traditional mahogany, or the light weight spanish cedar? i am considering an australian neck wood, but do not want to make a gutiar that is neck heavy. from what i have read aussie toonis has quite a light weight, but that is just website data and not from people who actually use it.

curly wrote:Good to see Macro getting a bit of love ,
I've milled a heap for back and sides , haven't sold too many though . Ive taken to sending them out as packers for other sets !
Pete

That's what I'm using at the moment! Too chicken to have a go at the leopardwood yet...
It's got some lovely subtle figure in it, too. I'll post a picture when I get home.

I bought a slab from distinctive timbers in devonport & asked them to resaw - perfect quarter, nice straight grain - the total cost was about $100 and it yielded 7 guitar sets and a couple of smaller ones. Good value if you like the stuff!

Thanks Rob and Paul.

kp - I think Aust. red cedar is equal to and is a good alternative to Spanish cedar for the neck
on a nylon string guitar, although it may not smell as nice to work with. The mechanical properties
of both timbers are similar. See "Wood in Australia", by Bootle page 418. As in all timber there is
a degree of variation and some Aust red cedar can be very coarse grained and "corky" or soft so
I would avoid such pieces.

i have just read a similar thing about the aus red cedar at this site i have just found http://www.wood-database.com
quote:
"Formerly placed in the Cedrela genus, Australian Red Cedar bears many similarities with Spanish Cedar (Cedrela odorata). Both species are in the Mahogany family (Meliaceae), and Australian Red Cedar is sometimes referred to as Indian Mahogany"

Looks great! If it was in a shop I'd definitely be drawn to it.