#7 is Done!

[Kevin in California]

I did a final polishing today and put this one in the case....yes I forgot to make a sound file so I'll try and do that in the next couple of days and post. I give this one away in two weeks.

Here is the low down.
I started this build in the middle of January of this year, finished it last weekend.

Indian Rosewood Back & Sides
Sitka Spruce top
Curly Maple binding
Abalone top and back purflings
Abalone rosette
One piece Honduras Mahogany neck
Madagascar Rosewood Headplate, Fretboard, and Bridge
Curly Koa "S" headstock inlay, end wedge, and heel cap.
Standard Martin style bracing, scalloped on the lower X braces and tone bars.
Timbermate pore filler, black on the rosewood and rosewood color on the neck
Mohawk Nitrocellulose Lacquer finish
End is drilled to 1/2" for an end pin jack for a pickup to be installed by the guitar owners technician.

I always learn new things with each build; things not to do again, ways to do things better, techniques that make more sense, etc, etc, etc. This is a wonderful aspect of building guitars, and I can't wait to start building the next one so I can try and hone my skills. I still have a long way to go!!!!!!!

I really liked working with the EIR, my first one using this wood. I learned how to install abalone purfling on this guitar and I loved doing it, there will be many more guitars with this feature. I have some fuzzy areas on my BWB rosette purflings that I want to not let happen again...no reason that these should not be very sharp and clean, so I will strive to do this better on the next one. I was pretty pleased with the shape of the neck on this one, but my heels are still a little bit clunky. I tried the rounded heel on a couple of guitars, but I think I do like the pyramid shape better, just not the skinny narrow one like you see on a Martin. The Madagascar rosewood is really pretty, but it is a bit more porous at the surface then I like, so after I use what I have on the next build, I will probably go back to some type of ebony.....I like the Macasar Ebony I've used in the past. I got a much better pore fill and build up of the finish on this one, and it leveled pretty well and polished up pretty well, however, I still end up seeing the little flaws "after the fact" when I think the polishing I done. It may be my eye sight and it may be I don't have adequate light, and I may just not be inspecting it close enough after wet sanding, but I still wound up with a few little pin point sinkers that I'm sure would have sanded out. So I will strive to do better the next time. I am seriously considering putting up a couple of buffing wheels if I can figure out the "where" to put it in my already too crowded shop. I have a buffer for my knife making but it is a direct drive 3600 RPM, too fast. I have plugged it into a router speed control and it does work to slow it down so I may try and use it for the guitar buffing.

Well thanks for looking at the pics of this one.

Kevin

[Dave Bagwill]

Wow. wow wow wow.
That's all I have to say about that. :-)

[Paul C]

Beautiful! I want it.

[TonyinNYC]

That turned out great! Really nice job. Makes me want to do some bling on the next one!

[Herman]

Well, that looks great! Did you use solid abalone or the laminated stuff? The latter I used for a rosette. But it has a very small error thickness. Tricky! Funny to see that you make the same Head-Neck transition as I do. Keep them coming!

Herman

[Tim Benware]

Kevin, that's as pretty as any Martin 45 you'll ever see (I'm guessing all around better). Well done.

[Kevin in California]

Thanks Guys, it is rewarding to be able to show our work to our peers, equals in this endeavor of making guitars. It is the encouragement that I've received from you all and on Bill's old forum that has made me want to keep working at it! I'm glad you are all here!

Herman, that is solid shell, but it is a little thinner than what you usually see. Somes from Duke Luthier and is very affordable in my opinion, and makes putting the Bling on the guitar fun, and not feel like you had to rob a bank to do it.

Kevin