Here are a few shots of the Steel String Classical with the back glued on and ready for the binding. For those who didn’t see the first installment this is a classical design that I turned into a steel string that will have a Bags pickup w/volume control. I’m using Hide Glue so when I was sure the back fit perfectly, I brought in an electric heater to warm up the room to about 80 degrees and moistened the head and tail block along with the lining just before applying the glue to slow down the set time. Then quickly clamped the back on before the glue cools and jells so it bonds to the wood properly and I think it went very well the box is tight and musical. On the flat board is a 2×4 cut to the right curve for the back braces of a classical on one side and a steel string on the other. This is used to do final shaping of the back braces and the lining around the back to a nice curve in all directions. The knife on the guitar body is an antique scalpel blade that had an ivory handle I removed the handle and set the blade in a piece of Rose wood. The Ivory handle will become a nut for a stringed instrument.
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I’ve had a few request to see what I’ve been working on in the shop so I decided to put up a few pics. and write a few lines about the project. The guitar I’m working on is a design that I worked up some years ago and it has always been a nylon string Classical type with on-board sound. This time I thought I would use steel strings so I changed the bracing to accommodate the added stress and used some different wood for the top and the neck with American Walnut body. The top is Port Orford Cedar and the neck is Catalpa wood. I made the rosette from a piece of Brazilian Rose wood that I acquired many years ago for some guitar repairs. The board was bought before the moratorium and was about 1 by4 by 48 inches long and now only a few inches left. Also you can see my work stand that I originally made for wood carving that evolved into guitar making. I’m using Animal hide glue to see if I get a better response and I don’t put anymore for decoration then is necessary and no more glue joints that I have to, I believe the more joints you have the less the sound transfer, that’s why I always try to make the neck from one piece instead of scarf joints and a stacked heel. If you like to build guitars let me hear from you and than
Guitar back
ks for the visit.
Carving Stand and Addjustable Form
Let me start by saying The Stranger Creek Band would like to apologize to those who came to the show last night and couldn’t find a seat or couldn’t get their meal in a timely manner. The restaurant was just over whellemed…….that being said we want to thank everyone for being so nice and understanding and we were thrilled at the turn out for the show we hope to do it again soon… we had a blast. Rekindled sounded great and was a nice contrast to our music ….thank you Rekindled. for those not in the loop we did a show at the Bichelemeyers Stake House in Tonganoxie KS and the place was rockin’ with standing room only; my wife Rosie had to help serve along with others who jumped in to volunteer. A big thank you goes out to them sorry I don’t know who all helped. Anyway thanks and let’s do it again soon. We have some shows coming up so go to the Stranger Creek Band web site or here at my site to get all the details. One show I’m looking forward to is The DeSoto Opry at the DeSoto Multipopurse centre June 9 ( they have a huge auditorium; we don’t anticipate a seating problem there) With the Stranger Creek Band, Judy Coder, Dave Purcell, and Maggie Marks a 14-year-old girl who could win the Idol Contest if she was old enough, come and see for your self; we are very excited about her. See you at one of the shows….
I’m no Rodger Ebert not even close but I do have my own ideas about what a good movie should be like. I went to see Red Tails and I will say it had great special effects, it might even get nominated for an award in that categories. But it could have been so much more. I think it’s target audience is for the younger crowd and that’s fine, the story needs to be told to them in a way that will keep their attention, Lucas is very good at that we all know. But you never get to know the correctors; what makes them tick, why did they want to do the things they did. Where did they come from and what was their family life before the war? These men were the best of the best and brightest, they had to be, and yet they still used the accent that we have all heard before. Maybe they did; they were very young and full of life but it didn’t seem likely to me. ( just my opinion I wasn’t there ) when looking up the history of the P40 Warhawk (the older and slower plane that the movie indicated they were left to fly in before they got the faster P 51 Mustang) there was no mention of the European war front. While further research would be called for I think that in short it could have been a little more accurate in its portral. There is no doubt that they were not treated fairly and that they were very well-trained and wanted to prove themselves under fire and they did that without a doubt. They flew 200 escorts for the B29 and never lost a single bomber, a record that still stands and there medals for valor is a story in of its self but was only touched on. In short the movie fell short of my expectations…………………
I decided a while back that I would build another guitar. It will have some unusual woods that I have on hand, and one that I know produce’s a good sound. The neck will be made of Catalpa, the sides and back of American Walnut ( from a log harvested in the area that I live) and the top will be made of Tupelo grown in the swamps of Louisiana. but this time instead of PVA ( carpenters glue) I’m using hide glue. Hide glue is a little harder to work with but worth the effort because of the sound quality it produces. I may be wrong but I don’t think you can buy a guitar off the rack made with Hide Glue these days, because of the extra effort that is required. Hide glue is thousands of years old known to have been used in ancient Egypt. It was used to make every musical instrument or furniture and anything organic in nature from then until some time after World War II. It ranges from the strongest (Ox Hide) to the Weakest (Rabbit). There is lots of info on the Internet ( Frets.com and many others). So why don’t all guitar manufacturers use it? Well because it has to be done with a few rules in mind. The joint must be clean and not oxidized, the glue must be kept hot to be a liquid and clamped before it cools. But if it was good enough for violins made in the 17th century that are still in fine condition today it should be fine for what I’m doing. So if you are into gluing furniture or any thing made of wood nothing is stronger and still reversible than Hide Glue. If a joint made with PVA fails it must be cleaned off completely because it won’t make a good joint if you don’t. Hide glue will reconstitute with heat and moisture and will adhere to its self because of it. Hide Glue breaks down at about 140 degrees and PVA at about 120. Other rules apply but you can look it up on the net………….
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