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Howdy,
Some of you might remember a couple months ago I asked about the feasibility of making an all cedar (western red cedar) guitar. After getting some input I decided to give it a try, knowing that the finished product would be somewhat fragile.

I just strung it up for the first time, and wanted to share some pics and my impressions.

This was a very "cheap" guitar. The "Frugal Luthier" strikes again.

Back and sides were cut from a 6X6X8 fence post I got at Menards. The post was quartersawn, and pretty clear.
Had to use multiple pieces to get the width I needed for the back.

The top is also multi-piece from a quartersawn 4x4 post, also from Menards. Very pretty, and some areas have 70 lines per inch.

The top bracing is a mixture of Douglas fir (also from Menards), WRC, and spruce. The X braces are the DF. It worked out fine, but it was not as easy to carve as spruce or cedar, so I don't think I'll be using it again, unless I can find some finer grained stuff....

The back braces are WRC, in a double X configuration.

Binding is ebony, bridge and fingerboard are Indian rosewood. Headstock veneer is black walnut.

Nut is corian, saddle is aluminum.

The head stock and heel block are made from some old mahogany I salvaged from the legs of an upright piano. The neck shaft was left over from another project.

I would guess I have about $75 in materials in this guitar, most of that being the tuners.

It sounds good. Probably my best so far. I shaped the braces based on how my previous one turned out (it was over-braced) and I think I hit the nail on the head with this one. I also made the soundhole bigger.
The action at the saddle is a little high yet.















Thanks for looking,
Phillip

_________________
Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

Wow, that looks Marvelous!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

That's good-lookin'! How was it bending the sides?

Awesome. I've been thinking of making a Menards budget special for the niece. I was thinking Mohog.

You'll have to give updates on how it holds up.

OOooh a sleeper. Slick, simple and elegant. Way to be thrifty! So how long have you worked on this?

Nice guitar. Very clean work. Everytime I go to Menards, I look at all the maple and mahogany. I've found some curly stuff and pretty decent stuff for necks. I got a couple aspen boards last week that have some figure to them. I'm looking at making a hollowbody electric or something with that.

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Jason Moe
LaCrosse WI 54601

Congratulations Phillip that is a very impressive instrument. What type of finish did you use on it? I would love to hear what it sounds like?

Regards

Craig.

Thanks for the kind words, fellas!



I was using a heating blanket and bending press, so it was a piece of cake. There was some springback, so I cooked them twice. The only real issue is that the inside of the waist crinkled some, which you can see in one of the pictures.








Hmm. I don't think my local Menards sells mahogany. I'll have to check that out for sure. Be great if they did.




I started it maybe 6 weeks ago.




I used nitro lacquer over a base coat of shellac.
It sounds good to me, but I'm not a great player, so... I need to find a good player to record a sound sample.

_________________
Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

Geez, that looks really nice. It must be super light weight to hold.
How is the cedar back and sides after finishing? Any problem with dents and dings?

Ok, that's just cool.
Great idea, and congrats on your courage.
I love the look of those sides.

(Now next time, if you really want to save money, buy a chunk of PVC pipe, and cut your bindings out of that.
Just ask for the rosewood-colored PVC....)

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

That's pretty cool! I like the look of stripy Cedar. I guess you want to be sure not to wear your big ol' cowboy belt buckle when playing.

Thanks!
Yes, it's by far the lightest guitar I've built so far, lighter even than my classicals.
There are a couple dents under the finish that I couldn't fix, and one or two since finishing. I guess that's life. I'll probably give this one away. Wouldn't feel right charging much for it.

_________________
Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com