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African Blackwood OM Cutaway
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=23423		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  dgentner [ Thu Aug 13, 2009 7:20 am ]
Post subject:  African Blackwood OM Cutaway
I just finished an OM with a cutaway. Back and sides are African Blackwood. Top is Adirondack Spruce. Neck is bolted on, one piece Mahogany. Fingerboard, headplate and bridge are Ebony. The binding is curly Eucalytus. The rosette is Afzelia burl. And the pickguard is Cocobolo.
Author:  dgentner [ Thu Aug 13, 2009 7:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
More pictures
Author:  phil [ Thu Aug 13, 2009 7:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
beautiful work. very tasteful. with the adi and blackwood, i bet it thunders!
phil
Author:  Bill Greene [ Thu Aug 13, 2009 8:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
Beautiful. It looks like you blended the heel. Very nice.
Author:  Chris Paulick [ Thu Aug 13, 2009 8:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
Very nice D. I've been getting interested in the Blackwood. I like the look of it. How does it work and sound?
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Thu Aug 13, 2009 11:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
Great looking guitar. Nice work.
Author:  dmills [ Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
Nice work. Did you happen to play the guitar before and after the pickguard installation? Did it have a significatn impact on the tone?
Author:  Josephus [ Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:49 am ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
I'm now the proud owner of this guitar. To answer the questions as to its sound... The tone is very balanced. It has excellent bass but not overwhelming as in a dreadnaught. It's a guitar that can whisper as well as "speak" above the crowd. The sustain is forever.

The response is excellent. In other words, you barely have to touch the strings to get sound, which is very helpful for my arthritic hands. This is an excellent guitar for "tapping", which places the onus on me to become a little more accurate in fretting because any sloppiness on my part is going to be heard. The size of the guitar is very "comfortable". I gave up dreadnaughts long ago because of their size. The OM size is perfect for my needs.

This guitar is the quintessential guitar for any singer/songwriter who fingerpicks and/or strums. When one adds to that its beauty and the flawless craftsmanship (I love the cutaway heel contour), one can't help but become a better player over time. By the same token, I'm sure this guitar is going to get better also over time as it ages.

BTW I'm afflicted with GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome). I own 15+ guitars of all stripes...Martins, Rainsongs, Fenders, Alvarez Yiari, Harmony Sovereign, and more. This guitar looks, sounds, and plays better than them all. I couldn't be happier.
Author:  dgentner [ Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
Thanks to everyone for your kind words. I didn't play the guitar before attaching the pickguard so I can't comment on how it affected the tone. Chris to answer your question blackwood is very hard and brittle, splits easily. It's also very dense. I resawed the back and sides from a board that I bought in Atlanta. It completely dulled the blade. Going through the thickness sander it quickly caused a black buildup on the paper, even going through at an angle to the grain. I took the sides down to .075" and treated them with Super Soft II before bending. Once the sides were glued to the end blocks they rang like a bell. The wood is great to finish. I filled the pores with System III epoxy, sanded back to bare wood, and shot it with McFadden's nitro.
Author:  TonyKarol [ Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
Very nice , last year in Montreal Bill Tippin was beside me and he had a couple ABW and Adi guitars .. they were amazing .. went out and bought some ABW the next month !!!

how was the cutaway bent ... pipe? or bender ???
Author:  dgentner [ Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
Bender with two heat blankets.
Author:  Dave_E [ Tue Aug 18, 2009 12:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
Congrats, looks GOOD! [:Y:]

Dave
Author:  Chris Paulick [ Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
How did you treat it with SSII and what was your bending temp. and time?
Author:  dgentner [ Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:19 am ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
I lightly sprayed the sides with SSII the night before bending. By the next morning they were dry. When I was ready to bend that afternoon I sprayed them again with water, wrapped them with kraft paper and made the usual sandwich of spring steel and heat blankets. I heated to 300 - 320 range for 15 minutes and cooled to room temperature. You have to be really careful removing the cutaway side from the bender with the spring steel.
Author:  mateo4x4 [ Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
Fantastic work...bravo!
Author:  Sondre [ Wed Aug 19, 2009 5:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
Nice! I really like the look of the eucalyptus against the blackwood! Where did you get the bindings? Or did you cut them yourself?
Author:  dgentner [ Wed Aug 19, 2009 11:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
The binding is from RC Tonewood.
Author:  Ken Franklin [ Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: African Blackwood OM Cutaway
Nice work, Dave. I'm a big fan of that type of heel to cutaway transition.
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