dear OLF members,
I know it is customary to introduce oneself on such forums (or fora for the purists
)My name's Gwenn and I live in Paris (but next summer I'm moving to London UK with my job).
I got into amateur guitar building a year ago and almost completed a first build (a Padauk OM guitar).
I am now in the early stages of my second build: a "post-1926" Weissenborn-copy. I say "post 1926" as a reference to Tom Noe's book and all the posts I've read on the subject of late 1920s' weissenborn construction (especially those with Tony Francis' comments) which included (among other things) a massive bridge plate (the "christmas tree" bridge plate) a narrower and shallower bridge. I must thank Alan Hamley from Townsville Queensland for the valuable information he's been giving me regarding Weissenborn construction: thanks Alan!
TIMBER:
Regarding timber, I've decided to go with Tim Spittle's exquisite blackhearted Sassafras:
This is just back and sides, but you will see the top later on.
For the other parts it's going to be:
- Headstock: BH Sassafras
- Fretboard: Eucalyptus wandoo (position markers: maple)
- Bridge: Wandoo
- Rosette: Wandoo, maple; w/b/w purfling
- Bindings: Pacific blackwood and b/w purfling
- Christmas tree bridge plate: sugar maple
NAME:
I thought the name Firefly sounded good on a Weissenborn copy, it's got this dusty-mystic-deep south scent to it. I've begun to work on the (how do you call that in English), well the sticker, but there's still room for improvement...:
CONSTRUCTION:
I've started with jointing the soundboard and the back, using the spanish method:
Then I've been working on the wandoo fretboard:
the rosette which consists in 12 30° sectors of wanddo with the grain running from the center towards the periphery, separated as you can see by .5mm maple veneer. It is now glued to the fretboard, but I still need to make it flush with the soundboard and then I'll add purflings inside and outside the wanddo sectors..
Well that's all for now... I also forgot to say that I've got my mould done and my side profiled...
And most importantly and I have been working on this for the last couple of months: I've completed a scale one plan in which I try to include all the details I've found on the properties of those "post-1926" weissenborns, i.e. the christmas tree and the reduced bridge, but also details that really lack in my opinion in the MIMF and Stewmac plans: details on the headstock, the neck doublers, side profiles and other things:
More later, and thanks for watching
Cheers from Paris!
Gwenn
)
I stay near the Opera in the 8th (where our office is).
