Carl's guitar project.

[warpedbored]

I am getting ready to put the finish on the guitar but first I need to mask off the area where the bridge will be glued on. This is a saddle locating jig my mentor Charles Fox explained to me how to make. It has a 1/8th inch thick piece of plastic glued on to it at the precise angle the saddle needs to be for proper compensation. Kind of a fake saddle that goes into the saddle slot on the bridge. The treble side is exactly the scale length, 25.34 inches. The bass side is 1/8th inch longer over the span of 3 inches. Once the finish is complete I just pull off the masking tape and glue the bridge in place.

 

http://oi50.tinypic.com/1zqwklc.jpg

[Mick]

Just incredible, Carl. You are a true craftsman. Following this project has been not only a pleasure, but enlightening as well. It takes such precision and attention to detail. Excellent work!

[chilton747]

Just incredible, Carl. You are a true craftsman. Following this project has been not only a pleasure, but enlightening as well. It takes such precision and attention to detail. Excellent work!

+1 from me

[warpedbored]

Thanks guys.

 

I put a coat of Zpoxy on the back today as a grain filler. I've never used it before but it seems to be working fine. I'll sand it back to almost bare wood put another coat on and repeat the process one more time on both the back and sides. The top being Sitka spruce is a closed face grain so doesn't need the pores filled. Once this is done I'll have to decide whether to use shellac French polish or spray lacquer. I'm leaning towards a French polish.

[tsap seui]

Wow Carl, you are almost there. What a project you took on, and not a single warped board to be seen.

 

Following your project I feel like I have been watching "This Old Geetar". The guitar looks great. I'm equally as impressed with the jigs you made and your innovative use of them. Truly a great project buddy.

 

Just lookin' at that axe makes me feel like dancin'...I'm ready to put on my tap shoes, my fancy hombre suit and dance some circles and click my fingers while you play some flamingo on that thar geetar....

.AH-REEEBA AH-REEBA Dancin', dancin', dancin' the night away, I feel like dancin', dancin', dancin' the night away...YEAH

 

tsap seui

 

Carl, our son Fengqi is finger pickin' away on his guitar. I tried my best to take him to lessons but he's shy, and has his own way of thiinking too. Anyhow, he went online and found one of those sites in Chinese that teaches beginners...and he printed out some schematics and what not. I bought him one of those tuners that clips onto the head, a strap, and he asked for a capo. He sits down with his guitar about an hour or more each day, got his capo on the fret he wants it on and he finger picks a little tune he saw on the computer. HIs fingers are getting some callus's and getting more limber I've never seen him pick up one of the picks they gave him.

 

Watching him learn, I swear, one of these days I'm gonna take my bass out of it's case and start getting my fingers to not feel like I'm trying to push strings on a 2X4. My last gig was in 1978 and I've never picked up a bass since. Amazin' I am so far behind it's like I'm less than a beginner....and no, it's not anything at all like riding a bicycle again. I'm piss poor on the bass. I tell Fengqi one day we will have a little band, with lil' rabbit singin'.

 

I encourage ol' Fengqi to play, and have stepped back on the lessons thing, let him go at his speed and how he wants to learn. Who knows, maybe one day we'll take him into our local guitar shop and buy him a prized Warped Board guitar. Now THAT would be cool.

[warpedbored]

That's great Ronnie. I figured he is a boy that doesn't do anything half assed. I learned from my dad who couldn't read music at all. I was heavily influenced by the finger picking styles of Merle Travis, Chet Atkins and later Bob Dylan's "Don't think twice it's alright". When I bought a new Gibson Hummingbird it came with some free lessons so I made it to a couple. The instructor wanted to see what I could do so I showed him. He promptly figured I didn't read music and tried to start me as a raw beginner. I didn't go to anymore lessons, preferring to learn by ear.

 

Seeing as how the boy likes finger picking you might get him a thumb pick and a couple of finger picks. He'll be able to get crisper notes with them than with bare fingers.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v9x27ANd0A8/Te-qmBFZPEI/AAAAAAAABSY/_5qgbDyF53A/s1600/banjo_picks.jpg

[Urkidding]

sooner or later you'll have your dogs picking like this too!

 

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2013 by Urkidding (see edit history)

[warpedbored]

I'm still filling the pores with Z-poxy. I have made a decision on finish. After experimenting with French polishing with shellac I've come to the conclusion that I'm not very good at it so I've decided to spray it with stringed instrument lacquer. Here is a photo of the side right after a coat of Z-poxy. It is pretty much what it will look like with lacquer. I'll sand most of it off to level it and put at least one more coat on before I spray it. I'll put 5 coats of lacquer on sanding between coats then one final coat with a 50 50 ratio of lacquer and thinner. Wait 3 weeks and buff it out. Then I can continue with the set up of the bridge nut and saddle. So close yet so far away from being done with this guitar. I'm going to start guitar 2 while I wait for the lacquer to cure enough to buff.

 

http://oi47.tinypic.com/vpuj4j.jpg

[Fu Lai]

...I'm going to start guitar 2 while I wait for the lacquer to cure enough to buff....

 

Choose wisely...

 

http://shimmerlings.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/electric-guitar-vs-acoustic-guitar21.jpg

[warpedbored]

Guitar 2 has already been chosen some time ago. It is going to be patterned from a 1929 Martin Orchestra Model. This guitar is very significant in the history of acoustic guitars. It is the first year they made a 14 fret to the body and the first Martin designed for steel strings. The depression had hit and a lot of musicians were out of work. Star banjo player Perry Bechtel wanted to switch from an long necked banjo to guitar and requested Martin to make one for him. Perry was a little difficult to deal with so they struck his name from the model in 1930 and renamed it the "Carl Fischer" model. Carl Fischer was a well known musical instrument and sheet music dealer in New York. They are still a family owned business today.

http://www.vintagemartin.com/120424MartinEarlyTenor_026.jpg

[chilton747]

So Carl. Which one of those Martins that had the triagullar neck?

[warpedbored]

So Carl. Which one of those Martins that had the triagullar neck?

Actually they still make them. Any Martin with a V in the model number has a V shaped neck. They were more common in the pre WW-2 Dreadnoughts. Ever wonder why they called them Dreadnoughts? They came up with the name in 1916 and named it after a British battleship. In 1906, the Royal Navy launched a battleship that was considerably larger than any before it. From the idea that a ship that big had nothing to fear (nought to dread), it was christened HMS Dreadnought. Martin borrowed this name for their new, large guitar.

[chilton747]

 

So Carl. Which one of those Martins that had the triagullar neck?

Actually they still make them. Any Martin with a V in the model number has a V shaped neck. They were more common in the pre WW-2 Dreadnoughts. Ever wonder why they called them Dreadnoughts? They came up with the name in 1916 and named it after a British battleship. In 1906, the Royal Navy launched a battleship that was considerably larger than any before it. From the idea that a ship that big had nothing to fear (nought to dread), it was christened HMS Dreadnought. Martin borrowed this name for their new, large guitar.

Wow that's interesting.. back in the early 70's I was hitching in Maryland and a guy picked me up. He happened to have one of those with him so we got together and jammed some. He wanted to sell it for $75.00 but I didn't have the cash. Guess I should have come up with a way to get the cash.

[warpedbored]

Wow that's interesting.. back in the early 70's I was hitching in Maryland and a guy picked me up. He happened to have one of those with him so we got together and jammed some. He wanted to sell it for $75.00 but I didn't have the cash. Guess I should have come up with a way to get the cash.

 

The one that got away huh? If it was a pre war D-28 it would be worth 40K-55K now. http://reverb.com/pg/guide/318-acoustic-guitars-martin-d-28-1943-natural Even if it was a 70s D-28 it would be worth $1200-$1600. I had a 73 D-28 I paid $600 for new. A princely sum in those days.

[Urkidding]

Guns and Guitars