Official Luthiers Forum!

Well, I have been slow in getting pics up. Been busy carving. But here are some now that I am ready to "close the box".

Guys, this is my second build ever. I still have alot to learn (mostly from my own mistakes). My OM is waiting spraying (build #1).

Bubinga is from Bruce Dickey and top is from Shane. I know that the bracing is unconventional, but for this build, I am working according to GAL drawings. My next build will attempt to use current knowledge to improve upon the design. I want to make sure that I learn as much as I can from the original builders (Dyer, Knutsen, et al)

Mike

Very cool.....one day one day.....
I recently saw and played one of Kathy Wingert's Harp guitars. It was awesome and not too huge.

Keep up the picts during the build. I would love to see the progress
Nice Job

BTW Building a Harp Guitar as your second guitar is very ambitious....Some would say crazy

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Ever since I stumbled on to Stephen Bennett's website, harpguitar.com, I have been hooked. I wanted one. But I could not justify spending $8-$10K on one. So, I decided I would learn how to build one. Would you believe that with all of the tools I have bought, and the 1 and 1/2 kits I have bought, I am still under the $8K point? (bandsaw, table saw, drill press, thickness sander, chisels, scrapers, and so on...) I got into guitar building because I wanted a harp guitar. Now, I have a passion for building anything guitar related. Ambitous, yes. Crazy? No. But that was my goal all along. Thanks to John Hall, and OLF, I have moved farther and faster than I could have ever imagined. Its a lot easier to get to where you want to go if you have a really clear idea of where you are going. And good guides help too!

Mike

Mike,

That's looking really good and there's nothing wrong with making what you have a passion for very early on. All harp guitar bracing is unconventional and people like Knutsen were pretty much maverick pioneers. How many sub-bass strings will it have?

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Mike buddy your harp guitar is looking fantastic!

Thanks Hesh.

Dave, I had planned on six. This plan calls for 5. Is there something that you would reccomend that I do if I intend to do 6? More bracing? I get the feeling that is where your question was heading.

Mike

Mike,

No - I was just curious. I'm sure the bracing you have will be fine with both five or six.

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

I have seen harps. I have seen guitars. I have never seen anything like that! That looks like a lot of fun. My Chinese brush painting master once pointed out that after you have completed just one brush painting you know 100% more about brush painting than everyone in the world who hasn't. Building just one guitar teaches us a whole heck of a lot about it. Building more refines that knowlege.

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http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

I know exactly how you feel. The first time I ever saw one (purely an accident, I went to Stephen Bennett's website to learn more about his conventional music) I was "moon struck." That in turn led me to harpguitars.net where I found a community of people who love this instrument. BTW, Stephen Bennett is a lifetime member there and contributes to annual meetings. I have even had the good fortune to speak with him about this. There is now a revival going on. I just had to have one. However, original models are rare and if they are in any good shape at all, they are extremely expensive. And those are even rarer. I thought about having a luthier build me one, but I could not justify that price. Lark-in-the-Morning (Mexico) makes a copy... but the community is not happy with them ($2K). So, I decided to learn how to build guitars. I built an OM (Bluescreek)... made a lot of mistakes and finally got it right. So, naturally it was time to build this next. I bought the GAL plan from harpguitars.net. It is a skimpy plan at best. But now there is a fellow over there x-raying them, and we are learning more. My handle over there is slackkeymike.

So today, I glue the top on. I finally get to build the peghead. That really has to wait till the top is on. Sizing it and shaping the normal 6 string peghead have to be done at the same time... close fit.

Stephen Bennett sells CDs with harp guitar music. I highly reccomend it. Michael Hedges recorded some wonderfull harp guitar music. I keep a magazine picture of his guitar in my office (original Dyer model).

There are a lot of wild designs out there for harp guitars, but nothing IMHO comes close to the grace and beauty of the the Dyer Harp. I really hope others here will attempt to do this.

Mike

Rats! I built the butt wedge and was getting ready to install it. I like doing this before closing the box. The wedge needed two thin strips of white fiber board on each side. I could not find my fiber paper anywhere. All I can think is my 6 year old boy must have found it and used it for making pictures. So, no box closing. Got to order some more supplies.

Mike