Minnerichi bridge....Wow nice stuff!!!

[Rod True]

I've been waiting a long time to make this bridge. I got this wood in an OLF auction I think in 2006....

Of course most of us northern hemi folk have ever heard of Minnerichi before, some may have thought it was a mexican band or something....

I have to say, this is by far one of the finest woods I've used for making a bridge. It machines very very easily, it is actually very light and my is it pretty to look at. Takes a finish really nice too. I'm definitely gonna be stocking up on more if I can.

The guitar this is going on is 90% Australian wood, but for a sinker top and the guts....

You guys down under sure got some awesome woods to work with.

[christian]

Hey Rod,

Thats a cool looking bridge!!! Can't say I've ever heard of minnerichi, I would have come to ths same conclusion as you!!
the Aussie lads on here will likely know all about it.

Cheers,

Christian.

[Gazm]

Hi Rod, As they say here in Aussie, When your on a good thing.......! one of the lads , 68matts, recently completed a Tenor uke of Australian Blackwood with Minnerichi trimmings & posted to the gallery, nice combo of good woods. I hope you post some pic's of your fine looking build when completed. interesting looking rosette combo Rod, do tell.

Gaz

[kiwigeo]

Minnerichi is one of the prettiest woods Ive seen.....think its a desert wood isnt it?

[Mark McLean]

Wow - it does look really nice Rod.

You get more Google hits with different spellings - minnerichie or minneritchie. It is a desert acacia (wattle) with amazing curly bark.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/indole/2610767080/

http://www.worldwidewattle.com/imagegal ... =14088&o=2

[Allen]

I love the stuff. Like a lot of the desert hardwoods, it machines beautifully. Rather deceptive for such a hard wood.

[Bob Connor]

Tim Spittle is your man for Minnerichi supplies.

http://www.australiantonewoods.com/

Regards

[Trevor Gore]

...it is actually very light...

Well, this stuff certainly looks good. Does anyone know its typical density? My limited experience with desert acacias is that they are usually ~1000kg/m^3. It would be nice if this was lower density.

[Rod True]

Thanks folks.

Trevor, I found a site than mentioned the Minnerichi being in the 750-1100 kg/m^3 but that of course is a rather large range...

Just doing another search I found {Acacia grasbyi} Miniritchie Janka hardness 3800 - Specific Gravity 1.23
from this website http://www.morlanwoodgifts.com/MM011.ASP?pageno=208

Then I found this site when searching for the botanical name, http://www.fpc.wa.gov.au/content_migrat ... tchie.aspx

My guess is this second site will be of some use to you....

[Rod True]

Hi Rod, As they say here in Aussie, When your on a good thing.......! one of the lads , 68matts, recently completed a Tenor uke of Australian Blackwood with Minnerichi trimmings & posted to the gallery, nice combo of good woods. I hope you post some pic's of your fine looking build when completed. interesting looking rosette combo Rod, do tell.

Gaz

I'll post in the gallary when it's finished. The rosette is based of Jason Kostal's stained glass rosette. His are very nice and this is my first crack at it.

[Dominic]

Rod, what does your finished bridge weigh? It is pretty but looks quite heavy.
Cheers
Dom

[Rod True]

Rod, what does your finished bridge weigh? It is pretty but looks quite heavy.
Cheers
Dom

Dom, this bridge weighed in at 25g. It's 6.5" long x 1.6" wide x 0.375" at the highest

[John Maddison]

Stunning bridge, Rod.
Any chance of a tute on how you did the inlaid rosette. Or at least, how do you do the black 'in-between' strips to simulate lead in a glass panel?
Cheers

[Rod True]

John, the stained glass rosette is the brain child of Jason Kostal, he builds amazing guitars. I'm always sure to give credit for his design.

Having said that, the construction is rather simple I think.

The pieces are all random size and shape. The black lines are 0.015" ebony and I just randomly glue the pieces together with the ebony between. I lay it out on a poster board with the rosette size drawn on it so I know where to overlap the pieces. You do have to be purposeful with the layout and often goin to the sander to ensure the pieces fit properly, especially in the corners. After it's all glue together I cut the ring out, inlay it into the top then route for the inner an outer purflings.

It's similar idea to a segmented rosette or really a mosaic rosette.

[Mark McLean]

Rod
Thanks for pointing us all in the direction of that rosette style, designed by Jason Kostal. I was also grabbed by it and would like to give it a try. I found the following thread which shows one of his rosettes during construction so it answers John's question with a picture - saying just what you said in words. I don't think it was posted by Jason Kostal himself - it seems to have been by the owner of the guitar who has been given some build photos. I hope Jason doesn't mind it "going viral" on the anzlf! It is lovely work - and yours looks fantastic also Rod.
http://theunofficialmartinguitarforum.y ... JLQrobNjgE

[Rod True]

Oh ya, Jason's guitar sure look great. I've head a few sound clips of them around the net too and they sound really nice too.

Yup, that thread shows a very good detail on how this rosette is made. Pretty simple really, just time consuming.

[Trevor Gore]

Thanks folks.

Trevor, I found a site than mentioned the Minnerichi being in the 750-1100 kg/m^3 but that of course is a rather large range...

Just doing another search I found {Acacia grasbyi} Miniritchie Janka hardness 3800 - Specific Gravity 1.23
from this website http://www.morlanwoodgifts.com/MM011.ASP?pageno=208

Then I found this site when searching for the botanical name, http://www.fpc.wa.gov.au/content_migrat ... tchie.aspx

My guess is this second site will be of some use to you....

Thanks for the info and the links, Rod. I'm still searching for a hard, dark, low density (<600kg/m^3) wood suitable for bridges.