And me, I’m just late
Fourth guitar - Panama Exocet
- Thread starter DLJeffs
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- #62
Got a call from my guitar coach today and he told me he's going to get out of the guitar business. He's at a stage in his life with his girlfriend etc that he needs a more reliable steady income. He promised me we'll still finish this one but it'll likely take a little longer. He's such a good guy I wish him all the best and I'm sure we'll remain friends and we'll finish this one.
I was hoping you will be able to build an OM so you can have the experience gathering the differences in sound, fit, ergonomics and playability with your dreds and the 000.
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- #64
Woo hoo, I'm so excited. My guitar coach finally had time to stop by and check over this guitar this morning. He tuned the top, he liked the way it sounded, just a little on the bright side but based on the way I play we left it that way. We did little minor sanding on a couple spots and around the perfling but other than that it was ready for the next step which is pore filling. So that's what I did this afternoon. We use West System epoxy as a pore filler. Essentially, squeegee epoxy onto the guitar, generally go diagonally across the grain, the intent is to work epoxy into the pores and grain paths. Try to get as even a coat as I can to reduce the amount of sanding later. The process involves applying epoxy, sanding back to just barely bare wood, then a second epoxy application, then sanding. Then inspect for pores and stuff and if needed, repeat one more time. That's on the back and sides. On the top I'll just do one single epoxy application to avoid stiffening the top too much.
Here's a before epoxy picture of the back...
and here's an after photo with wet epoxy applied. Shows what the Panama rosewood and cocobolo is going to look like finished. I'm so stoked about this guitar.
Here's a before epoxy picture of the back...
and here's an after photo with wet epoxy applied. Shows what the Panama rosewood and cocobolo is going to look like finished. I'm so stoked about this guitar.
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Superior! If it sounds as good as it looks, it will be amazing! Chuck
Definitely a family heirloom in the making!!!
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- #68
Don't know yet. Not sure I'm smart or experienced enough to tell the difference. I've not heard a maple bodied acoustic guitar either so nothing to compare to even if I could tell the difference. Rosewood is typically considered the top quality wood for acoustic bodies - Brazilian being at the top of that list and price. Its tonal quality is considered to be the cleanest and brightest but I think you have to have a really discerning ear to be able to hear the difference. The body plays a little role in the sound, but the top and the bracing play the largest part. The important part for me is that it came from Panama because I spent 7th grade through high school in Panama. The cocobolo binding and rosette are made from a cocobolo board my dad scrounge out of the jungle near the old French canal. The fingerboard, bridge and headplate will also be made from that cocobolo. The top is torrified spruce. The neck will be mahogany when we get around to it. This is also a 12 fret 000, so different from the first three which are dreads.
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- #69
Put the 2nd coat of epoxy pore fill on the sides and the 3rd coat on the back this afternoon (instead of mowing my lawn, which is what I should have done). The rosewood has some pretty deep pores so we'll see how the 3rd coat comes out on the back before deciding to do more. Will most likely put a 3rd on the sides after I scrape and sand them down.
Exquisite!
All I can say is WOW! Gotta find me a guitar coach. But have been unable to find one yet. There was a guy at my Happy Place (the rustic furniture place with all the purdy wood), who seemed like he would be willing, but something happened and he moved away. Being Music City, we do have a Guitar Making Academy. Don't want to be a pro, just want to learn. Also don't want to spent the big bucks at the academy.
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- #73
I feel really fortunate to have stumbled on my guitar coach. And he's been really great about answering all my questions and explaining why he does something a certain way. He's kind of irreverent in some respects, while he was taught all the textbook, proper ways to build a guitar, over the years he's figured out which ones make sense and which ones could be done faster and cheaper without a loss in quality. At the same time he's still a traditional Martin disciple and isn't into all the fancy blingy guitars you sometimes see for sale. Building guitars is a tough way to make a living tho.
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- #75
Putting a third epoxy coat on the sides and then I'll do the top with a single coat. Just to give you an idea what's happening here...
This is a close up of the side, around the lower bout. See those dark elongated ovals and streaks, some with a shiny center? Those are the pores in the rosewood. I'm trying to fill those with epoxy. The shiny bits are from the first two coats of epoxy. If I French polish without filling those pores, it'll take forever to build up shellac in those pores, if ever, and they'll stick out like a neon sign in the final finish. Same would happen even if we sprayed it with lacquer.
This is a close up of the side, around the lower bout. See those dark elongated ovals and streaks, some with a shiny center? Those are the pores in the rosewood. I'm trying to fill those with epoxy. The shiny bits are from the first two coats of epoxy. If I French polish without filling those pores, it'll take forever to build up shellac in those pores, if ever, and they'll stick out like a neon sign in the final finish. Same would happen even if we sprayed it with lacquer.
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What are you using for a super thin epoxy to get into the pores?
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- #77
Using West Systems 105A resin and 207 super clear hardener. Pretty thin, maybe like latex paint; it'll flow easily, cures in about 6-8 hours at 70F. But need to be pretty precise when mixing as it can remain tacky if you get off. I have a little squeegee thing made from plastic but it has a 1/4" rubber strip on one edge. It's about 2" wide. I don't push super hard, just enough to see the rubber flex a little. And I go diagonally across the grain. Only takes a little blob about the size of a quarter to do the entire back or top.
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- #78
Just to catch up - here's that same section of guitar after the third application of epoxy and sanding to 320. Note no more shiny open pores. Ready for shellac French polish now (I hope).
Had no idea re the pores and such. Never doubted but never worked with anything like this.
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- #80
Yeah, that's another lesson I've learned building these things. There's a whole 'nother' level of detail that goes into something like a fine instrument. Several times now I've thought I had done over and above what was necessary only to have my coach check it out and tell me I needed to do more and show me where I'd overlooked something, etc. It's been good for me - raised my own expectations for other work too.