One More... this time Claro / Cedar

[Stephen Kinnaird]

I really run the risk of trying your patience, but as you see I'm taking the risk!
Here's the "sister" guitar to the Coco / Engelmann posted last week.
They left the shop at the same time, and were bought by the same customer. (I love customers like that.)

Claro Walnut from Larry Davis, WR Cedar from Shane Neifer, red Cocobolo trim from local hardwood store. Burled walnut headplates and rosette, Brazilian rosewood bridge.












Cheers,

Steve

[Lillian]

Steve, why on earth would you think you are trying our patience? We all love eye candy.

[Sam Price]

Gosh, that is some Claro...

Great design appointments there, Steve- well done!

[Allen]

I like the back inlay. Trying to think how you go about getting that nice tapered point on it kind of alludes me though. It is just past 5:30 am and I haven't had the first cuppa, so I might be a bit slow on the uptake.

[Taffy Evans]

Wow. I do like that guitar a real class act.

[gratay]

The only trying thing about this guitar is me trying not to look at it all day long..
That is beautiful, Steve.
I really love your headstock shape .

[Bob Connor]

Beautiful work Steve.

They just keep gettin' tastier.

[Dave White]

Steve,

Wow - they are coming faster than steaks off a Texas barbeque

Another lovely creation from you. So how does this sister's sound compare with the Engelmann/Cocobolo?

[sebastiaan56]

I really run the risk of trying your patience, but as you see I'm taking the risk!

Yup you're trying my patience. Im impatient that I dont have you're skill, time to pursue this art or the timbers you seem to have in your stash Steve. Very, very tasty...

How do you go in the summer with humidity in Texas?

[ozziebluesman]

Gee Steve that's a mightly fine looking guitar. Keep posting the pic's of your builds please.

Cheers

Alan

[Kim]

Fantastico Steve,

Your ability to bring the combinations together is amazing, always first class every single time and we never could tire of seeing your work.

I have some widely banded figured claro similar to what you have used in this guitar out in the shed. It is obviously crotch wood and naturally enough with this kind of figure comes short grain and with short grain comes it's own problems, such as floppiness and what I imagine would be a certain amount of instability.

How do you address this if apparent in the wood you have chosen or does it just not get chosen for this reason in the first place? I need to ask this question because 2 of my sets have great figure but tap like a serial box. We don't see too much claro walnut growing around AU so local knowledge is about as scant on the ground as the trees are.

Cheers

Kim

[Stephen Kinnaird]

Many thanks for your kind remarks, as well as your tremendous indulgence!
Let me answer a few:

Allen, the fine point is simply carved/sanded to suit. What's a bit tricky is wrapping the purfling around the point. It's a pretty severe angle on each piece, and what one wants is for the joint line not to show. Routing the trough is not too hard, but that last little bit of carving to fit the point is sort of a pain. The upside is that you don't have to do two miters up near the heel cap.

Dave, there are similarities and there are differences. (Man, what a safe, no-where kind of statement. I should run for office...) Of all the things, the Claro /Cedar is louder, and sort of in your face. The Coco / Engelmann is lusher, and perhaps a bit more balanced. But the woods are so different from each other, that you'd expect such things. Right?

Sebastiaan, humidity is always a concern in East Texas. Summer just adds the insult of high heat. I've got a fairly well-sealed construction room with a dehumidifier running constantly. It's rare for it to shut off.

Kim, those are good questions. Highly-figured wood is both it's own reward as well as it's own challenge. You gotta pay for all that sparkle. Some of it just won't make a guitar. For instance, I'd be nervous about crotch wood, unless used for smaller areas like pegheads or rosettes. This piece isn't crotch wood, though at the moment I can't say just where from the trunk it came. Several things you can do--leave a crazy wild back a little thicker. Brace it a little differently. Laminate a supporting veneer on the inside to stabilize it. (Several possibilities.)
But don't let an un-lively piece of wood discourage you. I've used some rather dull-sounding (but eye-popping) woods before to great effect. A piece of Ambrosia maple from Uncle Bob made a wonderfully rich and warm guitar, though the set tapped like cardboard.

Thanks for your kindness,

Steve

[kiwigeo]

What can I say Steve.....your banned!!!

[Stephen Kinnaird]

Martin, I won't say I don't deserve it.
But tell me... from what am I banned?

Steve

[Paul B]

From showing the rest of us up.

Between you, Craig and Bob, well, bloody hell!

Not to mention Matt's basses.

Makes a bloke feel bloody inadequate. As if I didn't get enough of that from the missus.

[Paul B]

Keep the pics coming tho, I like them!

[sebastiaan56]

I dont think we should ban Steve, but......

How bout some tutes Steve, "Headstock purfling for beginners", "Making a backstrip look really pretty", "Understating Bling" and "When is my stash big enough?" (or how to know when I have a big enuff woodie...),

Red Cocobolo from the local hardware store... sheesh, I get excited when the mdf is straight......

[Craig]

Red Cocobolo from the local hardware store... sheesh, I get excited when the mdf is straight......

. ,,Good one Sebastiaan , and oh so true.

Steve , Another winner completed ! The burl grabs my attention . Always seem to add an elegant touch , and in this case , well suited to the overall design . Could you post a close up of the rosette for us ?

I admire the backstrip also Steve . Is it to become a Kinnaird signature ?
I've noticed you've used it before I think . Very cool .


Paul ,To a man that included a cutaway on his very first build , I've always found your instruments to be awesome . Impeccable taste !

[kiwigeo]

Why are you being banned.....? For showing me up as a boat builder.

Martin, I won't say I don't deserve it.
But tell me... from what am I banned?

Steve

[Stephen Kinnaird]

Ahhh, ok Martin... (But you know this thing can't float, right?)

Thanks again, fellas.
Craig, here's the closest shot I've got of the rosette.
The burl is the same piece as the headstock, but the lighting makes it look a bit darker.





And this back seam dart is only standard if 1) the grain looks like it would support it and 2) the customer wants to support it (i.e. $$$)
It is extra tedium, afterall.

Steve

[Ron Wisdom]

Wow!!!

That is some kind of purdy. Great job, Steve.

Ron

[sebastiaan56]

Hi Steve,

A serious question if I may; the bling thing. You must have a consultative process with your client, so who wears the boots? If the customer asks for something really over the top do you do it and not show us, or talk them back into some semblance of taste. There is a fine line and you are inside it really well.

[sebastiaan56]

Hi Steve,

A serious question if I may; the bling thing. You must have a consultative process with your client, so who wears the boots? If the customer asks for something really over the top do you do it and not show us, or talk them back into some semblance of taste. There is a fine line and you are inside it really well.

[Stephen Kinnaird]

Many thanks, Ron.

Sebastiaan, you know it's tempting to blame all this on clients. But that's not only incorrect, it's a cowardly dodge.
A lot of it IS consultative, a back-n-forth thing w/ a client. I really enjoy this, as the design stage is the most fun anyway. (Well, other than playing the thing.) However, I do have standards, limits even. There's a lot of things I just won't do. That said, I've found that a client can come in with new ideas, and some of them are great. Those are the situations that stretch us as builders, and get us out of our comfort zones.

Now this guitar--- It was totally spec. The back-n-forth occurred in our shop between Ryan and myself. The starting point was the woods: back/sides and top. Then it was a process of "what goes with this???"
If we failed, then we've no one to blame but ourselves. However, if you LIKE this guitar, then the kudos get to stay here in our shop. In that case, we got lucky-- like the old blind hog who finally found an acorn.

Steve

[Larry Davis]

Great way to breath life into that walnut, Steve!! That's the set you got a GAL 2 times ago?? It is indeed crotch wood as crotch figures and grain orientations vary greatly.

I have been blessed with good advice from Mario Proulx and Jeffery Elliot on using crotch wood. I had some crotch BRW at GAL and Jeffrey was kind enough to describe how it should be orientated for best center strengh...long fibers as opposed to end grain which means sacrificing bling sometimes. The BRW sets I showed Jeffrey had some potato chipping going on and he dismissed it non-problematic. Proper bracing would take care of it and keep it stable. I've e shipped many sets of Hondo mahogany crotch wood to Mario and he has made a lot of fantastic guitars with it. I was preparing another 10 sets for him when the mahogany ban came about and we scrapped the shipment. Both guys advise butting the center joint with long grain instead of the end grain. Mario could relieve a lot of fears of using crotch wood so long as it's GOOD crotch wood.

Crotch wood should be chosen only after many years of being cut so that all tension has released from the wood...well...as much as possible and any stress fractures that might occur have. Steve, your set was cut at least seven years before you used it.

Hi Kim....by "short grain" do you mean "end grain" Short grain is wood fiber that has been cut thru at an angle not parallel to the tree pith...run out?