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We have not done a what's on you bench thread for quite a few weeks and I think we need to do one. So what are you all up to the last few weeks?

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Making solid Linings for a mandolin. Experimenting with various methods and theories. Also practicing using hide glue and various tools I've acquired recently.

Just finished the binding and perfling on my first box and about to start on the my first fretting process. Adventure is my middle name.

I bound this dread yesterday, and today I did the top ZipFlex purfling and Ebony binding on an OM. Don't have pics of the OM yet.

Chris.

I did something crazy and told the 15-yr-old son of a good old friend of mine that I'd fix up "his" guitar for nothing. I say "his" because this guitar in reality, actually belongs to another old good friend of mine. so it's like I'm doing a triple whammy favor for all three of them. plus i sorta owed the original guy...ok, you're confused. i guess all that part doesn't matter.

it's an early 60's melody maker that was totally trashed, routed all to hell, refinished many times and was missing all its parts. i refretted it, and painted the headstock, got a 'gibsun' decal, made a pickguard out of plywood, wired it, and started to finish the guitar, but kiddo says he is in a hurry to get it. so the guitar does not have much of a finish on it yet. (i've been working on it on and off, mostly off, for 6 months). i used all new hardware purchased by the kid. it could be cool, but i'm kinda happy to unload it. i'm concerned others will judge me on it having a not-optimum looking finish, etc. on the other hand i will have gotten the kid a really decent playing guitar for cheap. i'll probably string it up and ship it this weekend. then i can get back to working on my regular projects.

it has a lawrence keystone in the neck position and a duncan JB in the bridge position.

before:




after:

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

I haven't posted much progress pics in a while, so here you go. Life has prevented anything from getting done in the shop in a few weeks, but I got some work done on two new ones in the last several months. I'm doing two at once this time.

First is a Leopardwood GA with "curly" spruce top. I dont see much curl right now unfinished, but the tap is phenomenal, so there you go. This will have curly Tas Blackwood binding and Coco HP, FB, radial rosette, bridge and I think coco-o-lam perf on top. Both of these have Lutz spruce bracing from Shane. First time trying it out. Seems great so far. I went rosewood BP on this one opposed to my usual maple. I've always loved the tap of this Leopardwood (only set I have so far), and along with the top tap I'm pretty excited about this one.

Second is a all Hondo Mohog OOO. This one will have curly Eucalyptus binding, Mad Rose HP, FB and BRW bridge. Maple BP. I'm going for more of a traditional look in this one, so it will have herringbone top perf and a three ring rosette opposed to my typical radial rosette. I made a little twist on he normal three ring rosette by having Madrone Burl in between the rings. I think its Madrone Burl. I got a bowl blank that I resawed years ago and I cant remember exactly what it is. It's real close in color to the Hog top, so I figured it would blend in nicely. T'will have a torch HS inlay and diamond fret markers.

Well, rims have back profile sanded in and tailblock is glue on. Neck block to follow, then lining. I'm thinking of trying some carbon rod reinforcements on the neck block this time, so well see what happens. Top and backs are braced and in process of brace carving. Hopefully life will allow some procress to start back up.

Heres the pics:

I'm French polishing it now, but I got strings on #7 and played it a couple of days to see how it came out. Seems fine to me. it's a good thing, as it is a replacement for a screw-up on #6, which also turned out as a great sounding guitar, but had a terminal F&F issue, which was my fault. Here are a few clips toward string-up, in the white.

Here are a couple of study pieces I play some. Excuse the playing. Didn't have time to get my ringer. Maybe when it's completed. These pieces do not use much of the fingerboard, unfortunately.

"A Toye" - Anon.
Lexicon V, Opus 60 - F. Sor

Recorded them on a Zoom H-1, no effects. I did take out a couple of places where I started over at a couple of phrases.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I am getting ready to spray the guitar pictured below. The guitar is for my good friend. Black Walnut back/side/rosette (comes from a tree his grandfather cut from the family farm more than 20 years ago), Adi top, high flame koa bindings, rosewood FB. Just finished leveling the last coat of Z-poxy, and will start spraying Colortone waterbased lacquer tomorrow. It will be my first time spraying a finish, so fingers crossed. Neck is Tru-Oil and pores were left open (except the headstock veneer). Built the booth pictured below last weekend. Pretty cheap to build, and it breaks down to 4 manageable panels by taking out 8 screws. No explosion proof fan, so it will be used solely for waterbornes. Hopefully, I will have some picture of the finished guitar soon. Already working on two more.

Aaron

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Aaron Craig

Just delivered a 12 fret SJ complete with a slot head.
Got to use some special issue Alessi tuners for this one...wow, what a treat!

Here's the head before nut/strings went on:




Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Waddy! Sweet playing!

Inlaid a herringbone rosette into a top for a L-00. Funny, but emotionally I am not counting this guitar in my build numbers-its just a steel string so that my nylon string guitars don't get trashed by players who insist on using a pick! Ribs are done and profiled, neck is ready for fitting, and did the final thicknessing of the top and got the brace stock ready.

Made a bunch of clamps for re-gluing a cello top back on. Got the cello top glued on!

Finished carving the scroll for the viola da gamba, but don't have a photo of it right now.

Re-varnished an older stripper canoe.

Designed and lofted plans for a rowboat. Made the mold, gathered in materials, made more parts.

Started a pair of Hi-Fi loudspeakers, have them mostly assembled now, just waiting for the drivers for some final fitting before I close them in.

Needed a circle cutting jig for the router and couldn't keep putting it off.

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

Finishing up a D-14, up to my eyes in another 12 fret adi mahogany dread and a LS-madrose E2, and have joined plates for a Sinker/mahogany OMFS.

Right at the moment I am at work

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

It's great to see every ones work, I am final shaping the neck on the Cocobolo wedge, the bridge location holes will be done next and then finishing, but I will stop work on it to sand, buff and final assemble my OM that has been curing for a month.

If anyone is interested there are photos of both builds on my facebook, FE Tellier Guitars page
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=163451547003866&aid=45239

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

I gave myself the month of Feb to try to focus mostly on shop improvements and so far it is going well. I installed an upgraded dust collector and ran new 6" piping for a bit. I got my new DRO installed on the mill and now have to move the mill into the shop (finally!!) I have stripped my old bandsaw project almost completely down to the bare metal and have removed and sourced new bearings. Hopefully I will get most of it painted this week. I have been obsessing on lathes a bit as my boss is tooling up to make watches and we have been sourcing old lathes and spending hours on the lathes.co.uk site trying to understand the different models of companies that have been out of business for 50+ years or more! That actually has been a lot of fun. I have been neglecting finishing up my build thread but will hopefully finish that up soon as well. I did buff out a little guitar I had been working on off and on for a year or more, a little ziricote/red spruce LL model. It came out nice, I am happy with it. Here are a few shots of that:

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

Built a size 1 for a 2" x 4" competition (and the MIMF Challenge) out of pine 1" x 4" and a piece of Macassar ebony. Sounds great and light as a feather.

Working on the final shaping of a fingerboard for a classical. Slowly, as usual.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

In addition to 3 or 4 instruments that are almost done, I just started another pair of guitars; one is a "Lowdenesque" steel string jumbo with a cutaway...








...the other is a Madrose / Adi dread

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Working on the fretboard for my second(electric), sanding it to size before binding and installing markers. It's a maple board, and the markers are black walnut.

Believe it or not the fretboard came from an old maple cutting board I had laying around(as did the body of this guitar). I cut it to size with a table saw, then cut it to half it's thickness, and planed it down to 1/4". The fret markers came from a 26" piece of split log that a friend gave me. Don't have a bandsaw, so tried to cut it down to 1"x4" strips for neck blanks, but it's too much for my table saw. Going to have to take a maul and some wedges to it to get it down to a more manageable size for my table saw, then I'm planning to attempt cutting binding strips for the neck and maybe a few headplates.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Finished putting my buffer together and buffed my guitar this afternoon.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Working on painting a Northwest mask that I have been carving for some time.

Darryl did you have a plan that you worked from to make the buffer? I like what you did and would like to make one for myself.
Chuck

I have been doing some up-close and personal research on ukuleles.
Took the Kamaka factory tour again, visited Hana Lima Ia and discussed things with Asa and attended the Ukulele Picnic in Honolulu.

My playing has not improved but my tan has.

Bob

Was tired of waiting for, and paying for, kerfed linings which were never quite what I wanted.
So made a jig for my bandsaw to do it myself and found the process quite satisfying.
BTW, what's a list guy? - Maybe I shouldn't have posted.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

i've been working on "the wierdo". Pulled it out of the mold this morning and didn't like the look of the heel,
which was square, so I cut it on an angle.
Still wierd looking though.
It looks like a freakin' boat!

I'm working on a 1954 Strat.- set up,fret dress,electrical



Also doing some finishing-nitro





A refinished top on this L-00

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Today I completed prepping the lining and trimming the braces on my first build; a EIR/Port Orford Cedar 000 with 28 style appointments. I purchased the kit from John Hall and purchased the EIR/Port Orford from Brock.

As soon as I take the time to see how to post some pics, I will. Next....onward to gluing the top and back.

Marc