A travel guitar on the cheap

[Dave Olds]

I just finished this travel guitar over the weekend. It was mostly made from offcuts and left overs from previous guitars ( hence the rather ugly three piece back ) so it cost me bugger-all. Quite a fun project.

The back and sides are Monkey Pod. I had brought this from Allied quite a while ago, and in the photo on their web site it had nice looking sapwood down the middle. However, when the set arrived, the sapwood had some ugly grey spots through it and I wasn't happy to use it on a guitar. By the time the sapwood was removed it was too small for a full sized guitar - hence being used here. The middle section is Macrocarpa left over from a recent build - I am not that happy with the combination - but it could be worse.
The top was a low grade one from either LMI or Stu Mac - ( USD15 ).
Tuners were Gotoh minis I ordered by mistake a few years ago, that have been sitting in their box - nice little tuners and I think they work well here.
Binding is Blackwood from Tim - left over from some Ukes I made a while back
Fingerboard and Bridge are EIR.
Finish is French Polish

The scale length is 574mm and the fingerboard is nearly full width ( 44mm at the nut ). It isquite common to have intonation problems on short scale length guitars due to the reduced tension on the strings, but this one is pretty much spot on - I may need to bring the B forward a touch but will give it a few days to settle first.

Anyway - some pics.

The last picture is to give you some idea of size. The travel guitar is in the middle with an OM on the left and a Tenor Uke on the right.

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[Tod Gilding]

That Looks Just Fine To Me Dave, I don't mind that combination at all, well done

Tod

[Nick]

Quality as always Dave & just what I have come to expect of an Olds build Not bad for a collection of 'mistake materials' How does the shorter scale sound? Looks like you've got a bit more room in the shop, or is it just cleverer use of available space?
I'm building an electric bass at the moment for a friend in Auckland which is getting close to finishing & will be getting hand delivered so I must catch up with you when I'm up, will PM when the time gets nearer.

[seeaxe]

Hmmmmmmmmm........ that looks very,very sharp. And I know by experience it will look better in the flesh.
There's no "green with envy re guitar building skills" emoticon, otherwise there would be several here.

Well done Dave!!

Richard

[Alastair]

Very pretty

A quick (and stupid) question from a beginner:

If one does a 3 (or 4) piece back, how do you handle reinforcement of the extra back seams? Do you include additional back grafts?

[Dave Olds]

Hey there Alistair,

There are no silly questions on this forums - thought there are silly answers sometimes !!

I did put two back reinforcements in, and I expect this would probably be the norm. I have attached a couple more pics - showing the inside of the box for you, including both the back and top bracing.

Nick - would be great to catch up when you are up here - I am sure I must still owe you a beer. No - there is no more room in the workshop - still a pokey little corner. I am feeling very righteous though because I have tidied it up a bit.

Dave

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[Alastair]

Thanks for clearing that up

[Kamusur]

Seen small Jumbos never a Mini D nought but i reckon you are on the money. Probably plays really well and sounds great. Well done.

Steve

[kiwigeo]

Nice work as always Mister W....

[Kim]

Hey Dave, great looking little guitar well done..

I really like the bracing lay out of the top too, no tone bars, big BP, single fingers and a soundhole patch looks to be a great combo for that size..but mast ask, do you not cap the "X"?

Cheers

Kim

[Dave Olds]

Thanks for the comments guys ....

Kim - I have not capped the X braces on any of my guitars. The X braces are different heights at the point they cross. In this case the one coming from bottom left is about 2.5 mm taller than the other one at the cross. It then angles down at a slightly steeper angle towards both ends, so they are the same height at around the point where the finger braces meet them. I learnt this from Sergei De Jonge - and it seems to work well.

Dave

[DarwinStrings]

I do like them when they are compact and as a instrument made of "offcuts" it is almost as good a bargain as Kim's recent chisel buy.

Jim

Life is good when you are amongst the wood

[Lillian]

Dave, I can't find anything cheap about this guitar. Definitely not the craftsmanship or the design.

In this day and age of excessive waste, it's refreshing to see someone take the time to design a guitar that makes the best use of less than perfect wood instead of relegating the offending bits to the kindling bin.

Thanks for the comments guys ....

Kim - I have not capped the X braces on any of my guitars. The X braces are different heights at the point they cross. In this case the one coming from bottom left is about 2.5 mm taller than the other one at the cross. It then angles down at a slightly steeper angle towards both ends, so they are the same height at around the point where the finger braces meet them. I learnt this from Sergei De Jonge - and it seems to work well.

Dave

Interesting. What is the thought process behind the differing heights? Which side receives the higher brace or does it matter? I can't really tell from the photo, are they the same width?

[charangohabsburg]

A quick (and stupid) question from a beginner: [...]

Hey there Alistair,

There are no silly questions on this forums - thought there are silly answers sometimes !!

I fully agree with Dave.

There's a saying which I believe is very often true:

"The one who asks may be a fool for two minutes. The one who does not ask will be a fool for the rest of his live"

If one does a 3 (or 4) piece back, how do you handle reinforcement of the extra back seams? Do you include additional back grafts?

Well the answer was already given by Dave. I'd just like to add that in 19th century guitars (and older ones) multiple piece backs (and also sides) very commonly where reinforced with pieces of cotton cloth or even paper strips (just as in a lute). Antonio de Torres was no exception here. Some of those old guitars still have intact, not yet repaired backs. Even though I wouldn't go the "paper way". What you can't see (or cant see well?) in Dave's photos is that the reinforcing strips (normally, for more stability) have their grain running across the seam. But maybe you knew this already.

Ah, btw: beautiful little guitar, Dave! You have no reason to be unhappy with the wood combination. The only thing I probably would have designed differently is the centre of the back: I would have added a dark centre strip. But it doesn't look ugly at all as it is!

[Dave Olds]

Hey Lillian, I don't think it would make any difference which brace you made the taller one - given that it is only taller for a small part of its length. As mentioned it is profiled back to the same height by the time it has reached the point where the finger brace meets it. The width of the braces is the same.

I guess the theory is just that removing wood from these braces to make the joint weakens them - and this method means you do not have to remove as much wood from each one.

Dave.

[Lillian]

Hey Lillian, I don't think it would make any difference which brace you made the taller one - given that it is only taller for a small part of its length. As mentioned it is profiled back to the same height by the time it has reached the point where the finger brace meets it. The width of the braces is the same.

There is a difference in stiffness, but how much is dependent on the height difference. But as you point out, it is only a small portion of the overall length. I didn't know if someone had made up two guitars with the two brace layouts just to see what effect, if any it does have.

I guess the theory is just that removing wood from these braces to make the joint weakens them - and this method means you do not have to remove as much wood from each one.

Dave.

That makes perfect sense. Thanks.

[christian]

WOW pretty awesome offcuts and leftovers!!!!
I'd be very happy with how it turned out.
Look forward to seeing the Ancient Kauri guitar come together Dave.

Cheers,

Christian.