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This one took awhile (~ 2 yrs) and is my stab at a D12-20ish style 12 string (short scale, slope shoulder, 12 frets to body, and slotted headstock). Basics are:

Engelmann over Honduran Mahogany
Amazon R/W Bindings
Madagascar R/W Bridge & Fretboard
Red Abalone Rosette

Many thanks to all on the OLF who helped me with this, especially to 1) John Hall for the tracing; 2) Todd Stock for answering my PMs regarding bracing; and 3) J.J. Donohue who made a fantastic 12-20 style guitar awhile back and was very gracious in pointing me in the right direction on this build.

This is my 1st try at posting pics here, so hopefully they'll work

John

Wow, that's beautiful.

Matt

Hey John, that's a great looking guitar!
I built a 6 string, 12 fret slope after being inspired by JJ's build, and I love it.

You did a great job, now go and play,
Joe

Oh my, that is gorgeous John!!! The contrast of the Amazon RW bindings on the mahogany is beautiful.

Can you post more photos, please?

Like the cajuns say "don't that pretty"

Marc

Man, that looks outstanding! Congratulations!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks Charlie (and Matt, Joe, Waddy & Marc). Charlie, I really like the way Amazon R/W bindings look on Mahogany too. Here's a few more pics:

John

That's what I'm talkin' about! Thanks for the additional pics John. That's just a nice looking and very tastefully done guitar.

If I may ask, where did you find the Amazon RW bindings?

Very nice. Did you cut the bridge bone that way or was it pre made? How do you figure out how to do that anyway? Maybe that requires a whole other post. I thought I'd be able to intonate my guitar by filing edges forward or back (kinda the equivalent of adjusting an electric guitar's adjustable saddles), but found it too difficult.

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

John, great, great wood choice and very nice workmanship. I love it.

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

great looking guitar John!
jack

Lovely, John!
I like the bindings with mahogany...reminds me of tortoise bindings on mahogany.

Very nice. Do those take a special truss rod? I had a D12-20 35 years ago and the neck was weak. That has scared me away from building one.

Nice looking guitar!
I had a Martin D12-20 I bought new back in '68; man what a guitar that was!! One of the best sounding 12s I ever heard; a joy to play and sing to. It was like singing with a piano. I think the slope shoulder design has a sweeter tone than the flat shoulder dreadnaught.
I'll bet your guitar is a joy to play
BTW I never had any neck issues with mine- but I tuned a step down which was standard practice back then.
Hope you enjoy it...
regards
pvg

Charlie,

I got the Amazon R/W bindings from Allied Lutherie, a forum sponsor.



Nick,

It's not pre-made, but rather something that's an individual thing you do for each guitar. It's really not difficult at all, and you are exactly right---all you do is file the front or back edge to the line you've marked on your saddle as being the "sweet spot" for each string. How you find that spot is the subject of several previous posts----just do a search on "intonation" or "saddle making" or something like that, and you'll see it's something you can do fairly easily. And once you know how to do it, your guitar(s) will sound great all up and down the neck!




Hugh.

No, it's not a special truss rod---it's a standard two-way adjustable truss rod. On each side of the rod, I also installed carbon fiber inserts to further strengthen the neck---and it's really solid. So, don't let a weak neck from 35 years ago scare you off from building one. There's plenty of info in the archives here to point you in the right direction.

John

Looks super, John. You did your bridge pins the way I do as well--namely putting the larger strings forward, and not vice versa.
Just makes sense to me as the larger string does not have to bend around its sister bridge pin. Just a small touch, but I appreciate that.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

+1 on the Amazon Rosewood bindings with the Mahogany, and the mitered purflings.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Graceful details and beautiful execution. Well done indeed, John!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Very nice work John!

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Very nice! I was going to build a standard dred in Mahoghany, but now I think I am going to switch up to a slope shoulder build because of this. Just got to get me some drawings.

Just curious, how did you do the slotted headstock?

MetalOne,

After you're happy with things like your final headstock angle, shape, thickness etc, you then mill the 2 slots and drill the holes for your tuners. There's several ways you can do this, and there are various jigs you can buy to assist. I used StewMac 6-on-a-plate tuners, and they sell a drilling jig that precisely matches their tuner spacing so I used that. I made a jig to mill the slots, and used a laminate trimmer with a guide bushing after getting most of the waste material out with a forstner bit.

There's lots of info on the forum on what's involved in making slotted headstocks---the two threads below may be of some help.

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=23023&hilit=slotted+headstock+plans

viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=12514&hilit=+slotted+headstock

John

Thanks for the reply. I didn't see those two threads but I saw a few others. I am debating on getting the tool form Luthiers Tools. Pricey..

I have that jig and I am most grateful each time I use the device. You pay for it once and I guarantee you'll never regret the decision.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Very nice color and glow to the mahogany.

What was your finish schedule?

What a beauty! I have the wood and plans to make a J45ish model 6 string. I really like the slope shoulder look. That bridge is gorgeous! Excellent wood choices. Thanks for sharing! Beth