Local, Local Guit
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Local, Local Guit
I've been reluctant to post pics of one of my guitars because of the beautiful examples of craftsmanship and photography you gentlemen always present here. But here you go.... one from last year. The wood all came from my property here in the Sierra foothills. Here's the breakdown: Top and Bracing - Ponderosa Pine with staining and wormholes. Back and Sides - QS White Oak. Neck - White Oak with Manzanita laminations. Binding, Bridge, Fretboard, Peghead overlay - Manzanita. Rosette - Manzanita Burl slices with natural edge. Fretboard dots - Manzanita sapwood. LMI Parlor Plan. Herman, thanks for the details on that Bridge design.
I've got another one from the same materials, a Prairie State that I'm reshaping the neck profile on now. Should be able to show it off soon after the neck refinish if you want to see it.Re: Local, Local Guit
That is very nice Carl. Great use of local wood. I did not know of the Manzanita tree.
Some googling shows me a very mysterious tree. Lots of twists, does it contain straight wood?
Herman
Some googling shows me a very mysterious tree. Lots of twists, does it contain straight wood?
Herman
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Re: Local, Local Guit
A gorgeous guitar and a very cool project. Post away! That guitar looks great and is very unique. I love the bridge design; that is not in the lmi plans!
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Re: Local, Local Guit
The Manzanita is usually considered a bush but closely related to Madrone trees. Their branches are quite twisty so it is difficult to find pieces straight enough to use, however I had 13 acres to clear for wildfire protection covered with the Pine, Oaks, Manzanita and Poison Oak. Most of the Manzanita trunks are 3" to 6" diameter however some were 100 year old + specimens with trunks 16" diameter and 25' tall. If I can find something 8" to 10" dia x 32" to 36" long I mill a straight cut through the twists and kinks that gives a basis to mill slabs for binding, fretboards and neck laminations. The binding bends surprisingly easy in a bender with a blanket. Burl slices are beautiful and I've done many segmented rosettes with them.
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Re: Local, Local Guit
Here's some shots of the Prairie State. Not a Larson body shape. I got the shape and bracing pattern from a 2003 Washburn with that name. It's 17" across the lower bout and I really like the slope shoulders. Gracie the Basset Hound is checking it out too.
The "C" is for Carletone which is my given name with the added "e".-
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Re: Local, Local Guit
Oh, Carl, that is just exquisite.
Local lumber, native timber - I'm all about that. Except that this is easily an order of magnitude above my functional level. At least that's my excuse at 80. Just splendid.
And "ponderosa pine with staining and worm holes". Yeah, so what. it's wood, not plastic. I've built several out of old oak boards with black stains from nail holes. Sound machines can be pretty, but the first requirement is that they sound good. Pretty not necessary.
I built one here with soundboard from white pine, but it was ladder braced so I'm not sure that while the final sound wasn't like sitka, red spruce, or cedar, that was because of the material or the bracing.
What I reach for first here at home is my #2, actually the first playable one I built because the first was a square neck biscuit bridge resonator that used a $2 Wal Mart electric stove drip pan for the cone. The back of #2 is parallel to the soundboard because the sides were practice for the resonator. It's ugly, the neck is like a baseball bat, the fretboard is flat, and the soundboard is 6mm underlayment plywood, and it just sounds better every year.
Do lots more of these, add sound files. Great stuff!
Local lumber, native timber - I'm all about that. Except that this is easily an order of magnitude above my functional level. At least that's my excuse at 80. Just splendid.
And "ponderosa pine with staining and worm holes". Yeah, so what. it's wood, not plastic. I've built several out of old oak boards with black stains from nail holes. Sound machines can be pretty, but the first requirement is that they sound good. Pretty not necessary.
I built one here with soundboard from white pine, but it was ladder braced so I'm not sure that while the final sound wasn't like sitka, red spruce, or cedar, that was because of the material or the bracing.
What I reach for first here at home is my #2, actually the first playable one I built because the first was a square neck biscuit bridge resonator that used a $2 Wal Mart electric stove drip pan for the cone. The back of #2 is parallel to the soundboard because the sides were practice for the resonator. It's ugly, the neck is like a baseball bat, the fretboard is flat, and the soundboard is 6mm underlayment plywood, and it just sounds better every year.
Do lots more of these, add sound files. Great stuff!