Guitar WIP

I'm now in the lacquering stage with the nylon string guitar. Here it is after the second coat of sealer:

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One of the pieces in the sound board has really pretty silking. Hard to take a picture of though.
 
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Phillip,

Your work is looking REALLY fantastic. I especially like the binding pattern on the back. I can't wait to see it after it's complete, and what I would really, REALLY like to do is play it for a while.

The last time I played a nylon string guitar was in Istanbul, Turkey (1999), at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul. The company I was contracting for, had an emplyees dinner there. Being the stage ham that I am, I asked the guitar player from the band if I could play his guitar, he graciously said yes. In between the 2nd & 3rd set, I played solo for the entire break, very cool.


Again Phillip, I can't wait to see that guitar when it's done.
 
T Blade said:
Phillip,

Your work is looking REALLY fantastic. I especially like the binding pattern on the back. I can't wait to see it after it's complete, and what I would really, REALLY like to do is play it for a while.

The last time I played a nylon string guitar was in Istanbul, Turkey (1999), at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul. The company I was contracting for, had an emplyees dinner there. Being the stage ham that I am, I asked the guitar player from the band if I could play his guitar, he graciously said yes. In between the 2nd & 3rd set, I played solo for the entire break, very cool.


Again Phillip, I can't wait to see that guitar when it's done.
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Cool story! Do you remember what songs you played?
 
Well, I don't have much to add to this thread right now, (the finish on the classical is curing for two weeks before I finish polishing it) except that a bookend fell on the guitar back and put a big dent in it. :mad: :D

Also, today I bought an old Sears jointer from a guy on craigslist. A nice solid machine. Made in 1948, and everything still works great. At least, I hope so. haven't used it yet. ;)

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In addition to guitars, I'm also making a hammer dulcimer. So far, all the people I've mentioned it to, have never heard of them. Has anyone here? I think it's a very beautiful instrument, and somewhat easier to build than a guitar.
 
Phillip Patton said:
In addition to guitars, I'm also making a hammer dulcimer. So far, all the people I've mentioned it to, have never heard of them. Has anyone here? I think it's a very beautiful instrument, and somewhat easier to build than a guitar.
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Dunno about easier, but certainly different...

LOTS of strings, which requires a different supporting rib structure.
 
Hammer dulcimer? Absolutely know what it is.

Are you going to play these instruments when you're done or are you building them for someone else?

When's the album going to be ready on iTunes? :cool:

B
 
Phillip Patton said:
Cool story! Do you remember what songs you played?
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Phillip, I really don't rermember the entire set list that I played, at least one Bob Seger song, probably "Againt the Wind" or "Turn the Page" and a couple of modified R&R tunes changed for playing acoustically. The last song I played was Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven", when I played that, I had the whole place, about 200 people up on their feet slow dancing, most very cool that evening for me :)

As far as the hammer dolcimer, an independent luthier, John Judge, from Wickford, RI, formerly of Guild Guitar, made several dulcimers back in the 70's.

I have a couple of solid body electrics made by John, I bought one in '78 and recently acquired another.
 
stephanfowler said:
Dunno about easier, but certainly different...
LOTS of strings, which requires a different supporting rib structure.
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I just finished tuning the dulcimer for the first time. The hammer dulcimer was much faster and easier to build than a guitar, but stringing and tuning is a pain in the neck.





Brian_T said:
Hammer dulcimer? Absolutely know what it is.

Are you going to play these instruments when you're done or are you building them for someone else?

When's the album going to be ready on iTunes? :cool:

B
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I'm going to play them. I might eventually get into selling them, but no plans right now.

No album, but I'll probably post some videos on youtube, when I get good enough. :)


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There's lot's of little mistakes, but I guess it's not too bad for a first attempt. And it does sound better than my other one. :thumbup:


Here's a sneak preview of my next dulcimer:

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Now that the classical is out of the way, I'm ready to pick up working on the steel string, which is actually what this thread is about. :)

This weekend, I worked on the head block, and today I glued it and the tail block to the soundboard:

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I decided to bend the sides on this one using a different technique than I did on the first one. On the classical, I used a hot pipe to bend them, on this one, I'll be using a silicon heating blanket and a mold. Today I ordered the blanket and built the mold:


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Phillip,

That's fantastic. I really love your completed guitar, and the dreadnought that is on your work bench will be another work of art.

How many hours a week do you estimate that you devote to these builds, if you don't mind my asking?
 
T Blade said:
Phillip,

That's fantastic. I really love your completed guitar, and the dreadnought that is on your work bench will be another work of art.

How many hours a week do you estimate that you devote to these builds, if you don't mind my asking?
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I don't know how much time I spend on this. Too much, probably. :D

The steel string isn't quite a dread. It's actually the same size as my Grizzly classical kit, which I think is a little on the big side for a classical. I have a dreadnought, and it's a little too big to be comfortable for me.
 
Thanks fellas! :)

Made some more progress on the steel string yesterday. I'm waiting for the heating blanket to arrive, so I can't bend the sides yet, but I can finish the neck while I'm waiting. I drilled the holes for the tuners, and made the fingerboard. And I finished the side bending press.

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Phillip, was that a drop of glue on the fretboard, do you glue the frets in? Is it typical to glue the frets in? If so, it must not be too difficult to tap old frets out when the neck is in need of re-fretting.
 
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