Ditson 12 Fret Dreadnought

[dhlutherie]

Just finished the build of a Ditson 12 Fret Dreadnought. I saw the Figured Black Walnut at the local store where I get most of my wood from. I joke that the wood spoke to me and said "I need to be a guitar". Having great luck with Walnut I had no reservations. The only draw back was the board width. This forced me into a three piece back. Just put strings on it Saturday afternoon. Sounds extremely nice. I'll be curious how it sounds over time.

Project Specifics:

1. Figured Black Walnut Sides & Back
2. Sitka Spruce Top
3. Pattern from KMG/Preston T.
4. Martin Long Scale (25.4")
5. Binding - Martin Tortise
6. Purfling - Martin BWB Combinations
7. Rosette - Martin BWB Combinations
8. Neck - African Mahogany with Behlens Solar-Lux Dye
9. FB - Martin Ebony
10. Finish - Behlens Instrument Lacquer

[Dave Bagwill]

Very very nice!! Any chance of a clip? :-)

[dhlutherie]

I'll have to enlist one of my friends to play on a clip. I'm a much better woodworker than guitarist!

[Tim Benware]

8. Neck - African Mahogany with Behlens Solar-Lux Dye

Walnut stain? Did you spray or wipe on? Beautiful job!

[TonyinNYC]

That is nice walnut. And I loves me some walnut!
Fantastic looking guitar. Can't wait to hear it.

[dhlutherie]

I used "Hickory" Solar-Lux Dye on the neck. This color is basically a blackish-brown. The African Mahogany already has plenty of red tones in it and I only wanted to darken the neck. Being a small surface I used an Air Brush to apply the Dye. This gives me lots of control and allows me to "creep-up" on the final color. I typically spray Solar-Lux rather than brushing. Dyes in general have fairly intense color and can lap easily if you don't have a high quality brush or good brush technique. Solar Lux does though work easier than say a straight water-base analine dye. It's really a versatile product and can be sprayed (lightly) on top coats to provide very light shading, or mixed in most finishes to create a lite toner (make sure to read mfg's recommendations on mixing).

[Tim Benware]

I used "Hickory" Solar-Lux Dye on the neck. This color is basically a blackish-brown. The African Mahogany already has plenty of red tones in it and I only wanted to darken the neck. Being a small surface I used an Air Brush to apply the Dye. This gives me lots of control and allows me to "creep-up" on the final color. I typically spray Solar-Lux rather than brushing. Dyes in general have fairly intense color and can lap easily if you don't have a high quality brush or good brush technique. Solar Lux does though work easier than say a straight water-base analine dye. It's really a versatile product and can be sprayed (lightly) on top coats to provide very light shading, or mixed in most finishes to create a lite toner (make sure to read mfg's recommendations on mixing).

I thought as much about the spraying, lap lines are hard to get rid of. Hickory surprised me though, nice choice. I have to get better at color matching.