No 6 Fretted Up

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Wed May 13, 2009 7:25 pm

I had planned a full day in the workshop but as usual it didnt happen. The 3 tonne load of firewood that was supposed to have arrived yesterday arrived today and half the day was spent stacking the stuff. Anyway I did get a quick fret job done on the classical. The bridge is sitting loose on the top...it wont get glued on till the instrument is french polished. The Englemann top has been sanded back to 180grit and it looks great...Graham Heins Englemann is simply great wood. For those wondering about the brown coloured patches on the bindings...its a epoxy/rosewood dust touch up job where binding didnt quite seat fully.

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Wed May 13, 2009 7:39 pm

Looks great Martin, very clean and neat lines. The headstock looks very accurate. Same with the bridge. Nice work.

So, another 3 tonnes of 'firewood' eh.

Sure it wasn't another 3 tonnes of AAA engleman you were stacking Martin.
Cheers
Dom

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Wed May 13, 2009 7:43 pm

Not quite 3 tonnes but enough to cause some serious bench space issues. In the foreground is the latest delivery of Englemann from Graham.

Cam · Post by **Cam** » Wed May 13, 2009 8:01 pm

wow, i wish I had that sort of a wood collection. I mean, look at it all!

Great work Martin, I love the binding on the bridge

J.F. Custom · Post by **J.F. Custom** » Wed May 13, 2009 8:54 pm

Hey Martin,

Beautiful work on that there classical. Englemann offsets Indian so beautifully and I love large bold rosettes. Is that a Spanish Cedar neck or something else? What build style did you follow for this one - as in Torres, Hauser etc... Ode to more time in the workshop that's for sure. Some more firewood wouldn't go astray either - we've already been sub zero and it's not winter yet!

I really feel your pain with the space issue, I mean look at it all! How are you supposed to work under those circumstances - which is why I am only to happy to help out and take some off your hands.

And a general note goes out here to all others on the forum suffering the same trauma; it's a service I offer to those burdened under the sheer weight of quality timber.

Only to happy to be of service.

Jeremy.

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Wed May 13, 2009 9:16 pm

Jeremy,

Yes the neck is Spanish Cedar. The rosette is a stock item from Stewmac. Build style.....basically Torres but this instrument has very low profile fan struts after Hauser.

The IRW is opp grade from Allied. I have a fair stash of the stuff and IMo its great value for money. It has a few knots and other blemishes but for classicals you can easily work around same.

This is my first time using Englemann..previous classicals have had Sitka tops. Will be interesting comparing sound of my previous builds to this instrument.

Cheers Martin

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Wed May 13, 2009 9:39 pm

Nice work Martin, very clean and sharp on this one, like Ron Wisdom's work it is easy to see a marked improvement with each new build from you and you are now well passed the point of novice.

Well done mate.

Cheers

Kim

Lillian · Post by **Lillian** » Thu May 14, 2009 1:32 am

Martin, your guitars are starting to remind me of Colin's work. I'm looking forward to seeing it completed and hopefully getting to hear it as well.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:46 am

Nice work Martin

very clean lines,should be a pearler. I'm impressed with the Englemann, will be interesting to hear how you think it sounds as compared to your previous Sitka topped axes. Is this the guitar you were making for for the fellow Kiwi?
Oh & if you keep buying tonewoods you'll only have enough room in your shop for building Ukes

or you could be like an uncle of mine and start storing it in the dining room, I'm sure the boss would understand

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Thu May 14, 2009 5:48 am

It's gotta be frustrating being stuck out on the rig, knowing that something like that is sitting on the bench waiting for your return. It's just gorgeous. Is this one that you were building for a mate as a quick, cheap build? If so, they're getting a great bargain.

WaddyT · Post by **WaddyT** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:20 am

That's really nice, Martin.

Geez, not an Emu any more. May have to change my Avatar.

sebastiaan56 · Post by **sebastiaan56** » Thu May 14, 2009 8:02 am

Verry nice looking geetar there Martin. Is this the "lets see how fast I can build" instrument?

Waddy, A barramundi is a guitar shaped tropical fish.

Hippety Hop · Post by **Hippety Hop** » Thu May 14, 2009 8:39 am

They don't come much nicer than that.

Hip.

DarwinStrings · Post by **DarwinStrings** » Thu May 14, 2009 8:46 am

Very stylish mat you have to work on there Martin am wondering if you have a hooka just out of shot there. I was a little disappointed in the thread at first but your second post made up for it. Looking past the mat and the pile of spruce though I do see a very fine guitar and once again hope that when it is finished I get to hear a bit of sound from it.

Jim

Hesh1956 · Post by **Hesh1956** » Thu May 14, 2009 8:51 am

Beautiful work Martin my friend.

I agree with Kim - your work is super clean and I too can see that you are coming into your own style of guitar building.

Way-to-go!

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Thu May 14, 2009 10:13 am

Mister Super Clean.....LOL. The guitar might be a clean build but the workshop is currently a mess. Its gotten so bad that today Im going to have a huge clean out.

Thanks for all the positive comments. I dont know about the comparisons to Colin and Ron's fine work but they are builders whos work I strive to emulate. Ditto for everybody else in the forum....

PHANTOM · Post by **PHANTOM** » Thu May 14, 2009 4:39 pm

I cant believe that no one banned you for that guitar, or are you the only one authorised to hand out bans. The guitar looks great mate.

John Steele · Post by **John Steele** » Fri May 15, 2009 3:39 pm

That is some tidy work there sir! Looks very clean & crisp.
You did wax the end grain on those tops, right?

J

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Sat May 30, 2009 10:34 pm

French polishing in progress on No 6. Pore filling went ok but there was a bit too much leaching out of colour on the back for my liking. Pics of body sessions in progress. My munecas are cheesecloth from local paint shop and the outer layer is well used T shirt material. The shellac is LMI super blonde and the oil Im using is walnut oil from Victoria.....Ive just started using it after trying olive oil and baby oil.

A few drops of meths..IMS grade. I charge up the meths and shellac direct to the wadding rather than onto the face of the muneca ala Milburn Bros Tute.

A few drops of shellac. Im using a 2 lb cut from the bottle which gets diluted on the pad to somewhere in between 1 and 2lb cut. The purple stuff in the glass....vodka and cranberry juice (ran out of soda water and couldnt be bothered going to the shops). On the chair in the background is "Arnie the Armadillo" with the cardboard template for the first rib pinned on.

The muneca gets tamped on typing paper until it gives a patchy impression on the paper. Once Im happy a few drops of walnut oil go on the pad.

Working on the back. You can make out the filmy plume that tells me the shellac is going on. The analogy is the film a car windscreen wiper leaves on a windscreen that has a bit of oil on it.

Working on the sides.

Look at that reflection! This is after two bodying sessions.

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Sat May 30, 2009 11:20 pm

John Steele wrote:That is some tidy work there sir! Looks very clean & crisp.
You did wax the end grain on those tops, right?
J

John, the tops will get a coat of acrylic undercoat on the end grain when I get a chance.

Ron Wisdom · Post by **Ron Wisdom** » Sun May 31, 2009 1:00 pm

That really is a nice build, Martin. Beautiful finish!!

The two cutaways I built last were made from Allied's opportunity grade EIR, also. A few worm holes, but that is character. I think they cost $20 a set. Wonderful value.

Ron

Stephen Kinnaird · Post by **Stephen Kinnaird** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 6:47 am

Martin, I'm with everyone else in admiring your work.
And to take Phantom's thought one step further, it looks like you will
have to ban yourself if you keep this fine work up.

Steve

Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

No 6 Fretted Up

No 6 Fretted Up

Who is online