Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Just finished another archtop which i'm really happy with. All the timber is master grade quality.
Spruce top
Blackwood back sides and neck and headstock veneers.
Gidgee finger rest, f/b and tail piece.
Evo gold frets.
Marri bindings.
Kent Armstrong pickup.
K&K internal twin spot pickup.
Schaller locking tuners.
Miritone 3220 lacquer finish.
Wayne

Lovely. Love the wood combinations and the binding looks great. Does the soundport make much difference with an archtop??

That's a fine looking Archtop. The Blackwood is very special and all your appointments make a stylish guitar. I like the idea of the Kent Armstrong and K&K pickup combination. I would also be interested in if the sound port makes a difference to the player experience sound wise.
Beautiful guitar Wayne.
Cheers
Alan

Thanks Richard and Alan. I think the sound port does give the player that little bit extra, it does make a difference even on an archtop. I'm really pleased with those bindings, I've never used Marri before but I'm definitely using it again, I bought another 2 dozen pieces and have used them on the classical I'm building, they look great with the HRW I'm using.
Wayne

Another great guitar build. With the pickup and K & K set up can they both switch on together.

Wayne

Thanks Wayne. No there's separate jacks for them. The toggle switch is for the coil tap on the Armstrong pickup.
Wayne

Lovely looking archtop Wayne, well done.

Thanks Trent.
Wayne

I love it Wayne. I have a mate who wants an archtop so I am planning to try my first one some time soon. Where do you source soundboard timber? I would be thinking of spruce or Huon pine. And what about those nice blackwood billets?

Thanks Mark. The spruce top came from ASW, the back and sides came from Tim ( Australian tonewoods) also the neck and bindings. I'm not sure where you'd get a huon top, I have one here that came from Pete before he dropped off the grid. You could ask Tim he might be able to help.
Wayne

Thanks Wayne. I will try those options . It is going to be a while before I wet started on that project but at least I am starting to plan and think about it, and to read Benedetto’s book.
Cheers
mm

No problem Mark I'm happy to help.
Wayne

Very nice Wayne!
Curious to know if you follow the same recurve dimensions as stated in benedettos book for a 16" (assuming you're familiar with the book)

What thickness did you take your sides to for bending?

Cheers!

With the re curve I do it more by eye and touch than trying to get it exactly like the plans. I do try and get the right thickness though.
I always thin my sides to around 2mm to 2.2mm, at the cutaway section I thin to about 1.7mm to 1.8mm, depending on what timber I use.
Wayne

56nortondomy wrote: ↑

Wed May 29, 2024 4:44 pm

With the re curve I do it more by eye and touch than trying to get it exactly like the plans. I do try and get the right thickness though.
I always thin my sides to around 2mm to 2.2mm, at the cutaway section I thin to about 1.7mm to 1.8mm, depending on what timber I use.
Wayne

Thanks for sharing Wayne! Beautiful instrument.