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Here is my first guitar. I built a couple of ukes last year which are pictured below and were the first instruments that I made, though I do have some hobby woodworking experience. I wanted a wood resonator to play acoustic slide and wanted something with a good base response so after numerous months researching this and other sites for info and ideas I came up with this. It is based on an OM size acoustic body shape and is just as deep, rather than being shallow like a normal dobro. It has a demi cutaway and a soundport on the upper bout. Rather than the usual laminated sound ring I went for post supports. There is a ply ring with integral extensions top and bottom that are dovetailed into the top and bottom blocks then six posts around the perimeter. I cut all the timber on my bandsaw and thicknessed using hand planes and scraper.
Black walnut back, sides and top, mahogany neck, IER fingerboard and headstock face board and back strap, bwb purfling and oak bindings. Hummingbird inlay is abalone and engraved MOP filled with black wax. Finish is two coats of shellac based sanding sealer then about 4 coats of Tru Oil. I like wood to look like wood and my personal preference is not for a high gloss buffed finish.
There are lots of things I could have done better but am very happy with the results and it sounds just like I had hoped, nice and mellow if played at fingerboard but with that dobro bark if played nearer the bridge. Next up is a 12 fret all mahogany 000 with an arm bevel and demi cutaway! Always up for a challenge! A big thank you to everyone involved in running this forum and to all the contributors without whose help I would never have started this project. Particular thanks to Hesh and Robbie O’Brien for their always useful toots! This guitar making is as addictive as crack and I already the next three planned!
Cheers, Bob

Nice work on the reso, and the ukes, Bob! What's next on the list?

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Thanks a 12 fret all mahogany 000 for my son then another 12 fret sitka/walnut 000 for me then a 12 string Om then...... where will it all end?

Cheers, Bob

It won't, but that's a good thing, right?

Nice work. Congrats!

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George :-)

Awesome work!

Well done!!

Nice looking instruments. Are those space man inlays on the ukuleles?

Yes a matching pair for a friend and his son. Here is a close up. David cut the pearl pieces from a design off the internet and I inlaid them. His son's name is also on the soprano. This was his first attempt at cutting pearl and my first attempt at inlay. I think David has a real talent for cutting pearl!

Well done! I love the reso cone pattern in the sound hole. I'm working on a first guitar as well. I also started with building a couple ukulele's to understand the mechanics a bit. My uke's do not look as great as yours, well done on those as well!

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I was thinking the same thing about the scoop. Just a wee bit of added difficulty. LOL!

Nice work

How is that grain pattern in top achieved?

what grain patterns? Is it the ukes or the dobro? Not quote sure what you are asking? Cheers, Bob

An awful lot more impressive than my first build. Congrats. Well done.

Steve

Nicely done. Love the headstock inlay.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

The Ukes. The pattern in the tops. what is that?

Is it my phone? What creates that pattern? It looks like some heavy grain spruce. I've just never see it before at that large scale.

Hi Mike it is book matched quarter sawn London Plane (Platanus × acerifolia). You get that pattern like the medulary rays in quarter sawn oak. I took the plates down to 1.5mm and they sound good.

I believe that In the US we call Platanus "sycamore". Out here in California we have Platanus Racemosa which has this beautiful leopard spots. I've used it for necks, backs, and sides. A friend tried to use it for fingerboards, but it was a little too soft. At Palomar College Lutherie School we have the good luck of having access to an urban lumber program and sycamore is a favorite when it comes in.
I've never used it for a soundboard, however.


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