Official Luthiers Forum!

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

cool gwenn.
i removed that top brace near the tail block.
just didn't seem necessary to me.

Nice! I'm working on #1, also a weiss. Interesting that you attached the rosette to the fretboard. Do most weiss builders?

Patrick, could you send me your email adress via PM: I tried to reply to your previous PM but I couldn't!

Gwenn

I'm building a couple of these myself. I am going to watch this one closely.

Thank you for sharing. It looks beautiful so far!!!

Best,
_Mike

_________________
_Mike Tracz
MCT Guitars
https://www.instagram.com/mustcreatethings/
https://www.youtube.com/mustcreatethings

Gwenn, PM sent.

Dear ANZLF members,

Been working on my headstock this weekend. I still need to refine it but the basic shape/dimensions are there...

So this is a wandoo headplate on a sassafras headstock...



(notice the euro-patriotic photo composition )

Unfortunately I have had issues with my rosette... it didn't stand the process of making it flush with the soundboard (at least part of it did not). I think the grove I cut was too shallow, so I need to give it another try. No worries...

Take good care and thanks for watching

Wow Gwen that is some spectacular wood!

Dear OLF members,

I've been very busy this week end and the Firefly is well on its way!

Saturday was bending session. I've only bent Mahogany and Padauk so far. Both are supposed to be easy to bend but as I'm still a newby, these two timbers gave me some resistance befor they accepted the shape I was looking for. But Sassaras is a totally different story: effortlessly the sides accepted their new shape and no bad surprise during the process:


Then, I worked on the back which is now fully braced.

After having let the sides chill out for a while, I assembled them to the headstock and end block

(If you look well at this picture, you'll see that where the soundhole is supposed to be, there's the Eiffel tower!)

And I also glued the top kerfed lining and the spruce doublers in the "neck" part...

And I reworked on my rosette since my first try didn't work in the end...

So, to resume, I've now got: almost finish sides, finished back, finished fretboard and nearly finish top: looks like I'll be able to close the box pretty soon!

Thanks for watching!


Gwenn

Looks awesome Gwenn! Love the wood selection.

BTW, I am in and out of Paris-heading there Tuesday evening for 9 days (although have to spend 2 days in Warsaw). I would love having a beer and chatting guitars I stay near the Opera in the 8th (where our office is).

Glenn

Busy is an understatement...
Your guitar is coming along quickly.

Looks great! All that planning pays off huh...

Thanks for continuing to post progress!

_Mike

_________________
_Mike Tracz
MCT Guitars
https://www.instagram.com/mustcreatethings/
https://www.youtube.com/mustcreatethings

Dear OLF members

Things are moving forward in my basement…

My new rosette is now finished and the soundhole cut :



I braced the top with hide glue and the « Christmas tree bridge plate » I talked about at the beginning of this topic :



My sides are also complete and the housings have been routed in the linings to accomodate the top…




Soon this will be a musical instrument, I hope !

Looks great Gwenn!

It's going to make a great musical instrument!!!

Thanks for continuing to post.
_Mike

_________________
_Mike Tracz
MCT Guitars
https://www.instagram.com/mustcreatethings/
https://www.youtube.com/mustcreatethings

Hey Gwenn, looks great, but,
I think you ought to thin those braces up a lot before you close it up.
Just my opinion.
Looks a little heavy.

Also, that brace at the bottom doesn't seem necessary to me.
It's so close to the end block.
Seems too rigid.
Sorry, but that's why we be here!
Even when we don't know much.

Dear OLF members !

I have been able to dedicate some time to my project and things are taking shape !

Ten days ago, I have glued the top to the sides and adjusted the edges flush with the sides.
I agree that this bracing pattern looks particularly heavy. It is however the sum of the research I have been conducting on traditional late 1920s’ bracing. I will see what kind of impact it will have on tone…

I have had the chance to play on a 1928 style 4 original Weissenborn in a shop here in Paris, which has the same brace calibre and the sound is very warm and sweet. I understand the comments regarding the impact of lighter bracing on “sound complexity” and “responsiveness”. For the moment I’ll stick to tradition, but don’t worry: I have begun to educate myself on all these factors and I have a plan to build in the near future a lap slide closer to the kind Daniel Brauchli produces. That would involve alternate bracing patterns with carbon fiber laminated lattice, why not laminated sides (just like Bob Connor from MC Guitars is doing on his current build) and semi-slotted headstock with perpendicular tuners…

But for now, let’s get back to my heavy bad ass Firefly!

Last week en I’ve closed the box!









Here is a snapshot with the fretboard and future bridge just to give an idea:



A closer look at the Rosette



The back and its constant flames!


The square-neck/headstock joint:



The next step will be bindings. I’m very anxious about this because I don’t like routers. For my first build, the routing stage went OK though, but I didn’t bend the bindings really accurately and didn’t glue them very well to the body so this is my weak point… Bindings
will be pacific Blackwood with b/w/b purfling

So that’s all for now thanks for watching!

That thing looks great Gwenn!
Unreal wood.
I'm assuming it's a flat top with no radius?
You shouldn't have any router trouble then.
Just find a tutorial on it, and go the right direction to the grain.
Don't cut into the grain with the cutter.
You probably already know that.
Be careful when cutting backwards though,
as this is when the router will want to take off on you.
I put an arc to my last build, and had to cut the ledge by hand,
because I don't have a router-binding jig, yet.
Good luck.
Sweet!

Nice progress Gwenn. Thanks for keeping us udated. What kind of finish do you plan on using?

Thanks for the kind comments... I re-read the stewmac tutorial on routing binding channels and this shouldn't be such a difficult part.. I'm thinking if I remind myself to make shallow multiple passes, things should be ok...

Patrick, I'm planning to use Satin waterbased laquer, for the moment at least... btw, how is your own project moving along?

Gwenn

Bravo, Gwenn, that is going to be gorgeous.

_________________
"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Hi Gwenn, The satin should look great. My progress has slowed due to the holidays here but I will be working on it again soon.

Dear OLF members!

Now is time to report a little bit on my progress! I have been slowed down by the christmas holidays but now things are moving more quickly:

- I finished binding the instrument
- I drilled the tuner holes
- I drilled the endpin hole
- I positioned the bridge location and drilled the two outer holes
- I sanded the instrument clean for finishing

So here is how it looks:

I just positionned the fretboard and bridge to give an idea, but I put making tape underneath for the finishing process...


There you can see two setbacks: I marred the wood during my first attempt to drill the endpin hole so I had to make a patch larger than the hole itself.. But in the end I think this patch gives a kind of retro style to this part of the guitar... The second problem I've had is a crack in the soundboard underneath the bridge: the humidity level in my appartment fell from 70% to 27% in 3 days (we have collective heating that comes from the floor in my appartment, I don't control it and it makes the athmosphere extremely dry...) so I had to put a maple patch where the crack occured... I think I will maybe try to taint it a little to make it onuptrusive


And the headtsock and tuners:



More later, and thanks for watching!


Gwenn

Cool, Gwenn!
What are you going to finish it with?

Nice save on the endpin Gwenn. The whole thing is looking great!

Hi Gwenn, Nice progress. That wood wil realy pop under finish.
How thick will the FB when finished?
Patrick