Sunday August 18, 2024

The prototype (Frankenstein) guitar project.

For the most part from one Vermont red maple board, including the neck. The original board milled roughly .800 inch thick, was chopped up in a Vermont barn by me and shipped to California. A good amount is still stacked there, all with the figure, all from the same tree. Three layers for the neck, glued, the orientation an attempt at creating 1/4 sawn cuts.

Ebony sound hole trim bends.

Stand-alone, three layer neck, no glue join at the headstock. Neck block, tail block and neck all one self-supported, strung, tunable unit. No adjustable bar, just a square .375 inch steel tube (see channel image below) like Martin used in the 60s.

Hand cut/planed Lake Volta ebony fingerboard, from a large, bent, wax incased piece. Wasn't sure I could get a clean fingerboard from it at first.

One piece, floating top/soundboard with carved braces (one-piece).

Floating bridge in process, could use a bit more style and design.

Steel, welded tail piece with silver brazed brass insert.

Hand cut to thickness and planed hard maple sides, formed with a piece of pipe/torch.

Working on a "removable" back. Managed to get a book match on the back by hand-sawing (sans bandsaw). May try to go electric at some point.

Hand cut Ebony binding/trim and the @lienielsentoolworks No.4.

Ebony trim added around sound holes around the heel.

The red seems red (ColorTone stain from Stewmac). Final ebony insert/trim will finish forming the unusual sound holes.

#guitar #lutherie #handmade #luthier #acousticguitar #stewmac

Hoping the hard maple sides can be stained cherry red? Not your father's Oldsmobile/sound hole. #guitar #woodworking #lienielsen

Bending the hard maple sides. Cut from a hard maple board and hand planed to a thickness around .090. Bent over a kitchen pot and a smaller pipe fired with a cheap heat gun.

Welded steel tailstock with silver-soldered brass insert.

Ebony fingerboard with maple markers

Note on the ebony waxed blank from WoodCraft:

"This Ebony is the product of the sustainable harvesting of submerged hardwoods in Lake Volta created by the Akosombo dam’s construction in 1961 in the African nation of Ghana. The lake now houses nearly 3,500 km² of dense forest area filled with various species of hardwoods that have been flooded ever since the lake’s creation. The submerged trees remain standing, perfectly preserved. For nearly 50 years, these hardwoods have absorbed minerals from these waters, adding beautiful character. Removing the submerged hardwoods from Lake Volta has reduced and continues to reduce the demand and pressure on Ghana’s living forests.

Gaboon Ebony (Diospyros spp.) heartwood is usually jet black with little or no variation or visible grain. However, Lake Volta Gaboon Ebony is beautifully streaked with sapwood, as well as grays, brown, and shades of red; it is not solid black. Ebony has a fine texture with mostly straight grain. This wood can be difficult to work due to its extremely high density, but it is worth the reward. It has a dulling effect on cutters. Tear-out may occur on pieces that have interlocked or irregular grain. Typical uses include small ornamental projects, such as piano keys, musical instrument parts, pool cues, and carving."