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PostPosted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 5:38 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 3:34 pm
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First name: Stuart
Last Name: Gort
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
Starting the fretboards for a new neckthrough model tomorrow. I had to get this tooling together first.

In the foreground is a vacuum fixture for the fretboard. Just behind that is a form fitting support block that will be used both when gluing the fretboard to the neck and when pressing in the frets. Behind that is the caul that will be used to press in the frets. I'll tap them in about 75% of the way and use that hydraulic press in the rear to fully install them.


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PostPosted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 11:22 pm 
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Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2009 10:34 pm
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First name: Rob
Last Name: McDougall
City: Cochrane
State: Alberta
Mr Gort to luthier tooling as Mr. Myhrvold to modernist cuisine



These users thanked the author Robbie_McD for the post: Stuart Gort (Wed Dec 11, 2013 12:58 pm)
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 12:43 am 
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Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 2:25 pm
Posts: 1958
First name: George
City: Seattle
State: WA
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
Little past the weekend, but I tackled this tonight...

Image

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:18 am 
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Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:36 am
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Location: Southeast US
City: Lenoir City
State: TN
Zip/Postal Code: 37772
Country: US
Focus: Repair
Nice looking top George. I'm getting to where I really like simpler rosette designs.

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"Music is what feelings sound like"


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PostPosted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:25 am 
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Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 7:15 pm
Posts: 1041
First name: Gil
Last Name: Draper
City: Knoxville
State: Tennessee
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
Sunbursting...
Attachment:
1441367_10152056275409696_1763126473_n.jpg


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PostPosted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:35 pm 
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Brazilian Rosewood
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Joined: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:55 pm
Posts: 3820
Location: Taiwan
First name: Tai
Last Name: Fu
City: Taipei
Country: Taiwan
Focus: Repair
Status: Semi-pro
Almost finished with this J-300 build. It's finished but there are still some cosmetic stuff to do, because I had to reset the neck once since I got the angle wrong. It's playable but there are some finish touch ups needed around the neck heel and fingerboard... I made the pickguard cover half the rosette because I accidentally sanded through them...

Attachment:
1.jpg

Attachment:
2.jpg


I've been working on another J-300 build, this time with lumberyard Bubinga. I got the truss rod installed, and I'm ready to start carving the neck. The route in the body is for the adjustment wrench to access the truss rod, there's a block inside to support everything that goes all the way up to the UTB.

Attachment:
3.jpg


I've also joined the back plate of the ukelele. First time I used fish glue, it has a really high initial tack for sure! I just wish they were available in powder because shipping liquids costs money.

Attachment:
4.jpg


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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:41 pm 
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First name: Beth
Last Name: Mayer
City: Tucson
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George, that top is really classy looking!
Tai, nice J300!


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 9:52 pm 
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Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 2:25 pm
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First name: George
City: Seattle
State: WA
Country: USA
Focus: Build
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Thanks for the compliments on the top. I love the look of this guitar. It's my first scratch build. Assuming I can dodge a few holiday engagements, I should have it strung up pretty soon and will post some pics and first impressions then.

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 9:24 am 
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Posts: 1964
Location: Rochester Michigan
I just completed a re-finish of a 1970's vintage factory made bandura for a friend of mine. Finish is Cardinal lacquer, my first time spraying nitro. Really like how it came out.

The work involved stripping off the original finish which was some sort of lacquer or possibly shellac that was over a really thick layer of this nasty green primer. After I stripped it it seems that the thick primer was there because it was easier to sand flat than the bare wood. General lack of care by the factory guys when carving etc was cleaned up as well (e.g. undercutting the scroll, rounding harsh edges etc…)

Originally, where the sound hole is this instrument had six dime sized sound holes. I used my CNC machine to open up the sound hole to what you see.

Banduras of this type typically have 12 bass strings - C# to C chromatically so i added a lucky 13'th bass string and made a new bridge so that it goes C to shining C now (unfortunately the customer/friend is Canadian though)

Finally, once it was strung up the re-tune mechanism needed to be regulated.

The end result was shocking - removing all the green goop turned it in to a completely different instrument. Factory banduras sound "ok" at best, usually aren't very responsive and lack a midrange entirely. This instrument, while in my opinion still doesn't sound as good as one of my hand made instruments, sounds pretty darn good and is now a musical instrument at least. To put it into guitar terms, I'd say the re-finish and opening up of the sound hole moved this from Ovation territory to Martin/Taylor territory.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 9:58 am 
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Koa
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Posts: 1958
Location: Missouri
First name: Patrick
Last Name: Hanna
State: Missouri
Country: USA
My compliments to all. Very nice work!
Patrick


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 11:44 am 
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Location: Saint Petersburg, Florida
First name: Glenn
Last Name: LaSalle
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State: Florida
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OK, I realize today is the 14th, so not applicable to this thread :-), but thought I would add to it anyway. I am pore filling my 3rd and 4th guitars right now. 3rd application of Z-poxy. First is OM with African Mahogany, Zebrawood bindings/trim/radial rosette and lutz top. Second is Jumbo (ala Prairie State) Mad Rosewood, Curly Koa bindings/trim, Spalted Maple rosette and Bearclaw Sitka top.

Glenn
Attachment:
IMG_2608.jpg


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 12:04 pm 
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Koa
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Location: 8.33±0.35 kpc from Galactic center, 20 light-years above the equatorial in the Sol System
First name: duh
Last Name: Padma
City: Professional Sawdust Maker
Focus: Build
Andy Birko wrote:
(unfortunately the customer/friend is Canadian though)




So whats so unfortunate about being a Canadian? Eh!


Nice spray job.

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 7:04 pm 
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First name: Beth
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Country: United States
Focus: Build
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Wow, Andy….that's an amazing job! I'm so impressed with restorations because I imagine them to be quite a bit more challenging than building from scratch. It's really beautiful!
duh Padma, I don't think Andy was making any disparaging remarks about Canadians, just that his reference to "C to shining C" is from a song about America.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 9:07 pm 
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First name: Doug
Last Name: Balzer
City: Calgary
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Country: Canada
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the Padma wrote:
Andy Birko wrote:
(unfortunately the customer/friend is Canadian though)




So whats so unfortunate about being a Canadian? Eh!


Nice spray job.



"A Mari usque ad Mare ("From Sea to Sea"), Canada's motto, was derived from Psalm 72:8, which reads in Latin "Et dominabitur a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos terrae," and in the King James version, "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." Attention was first directed to the verse when, apparently at the suggestion of Samuel Leonard TILLEY, the term "dominion" was chosen to represent Canada as a whole when the British North America Act was drafted." ...in 1871.
-from TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com

So we Canucks have had this as our motto for several decades prior to the US version....just sayin' ;)

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 11:25 pm 
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First name: Beth
Last Name: Mayer
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Status: Amateur
Doug Balzer wrote:
the Padma wrote:
Andy Birko wrote:
(unfortunately the customer/friend is Canadian though)




So whats so unfortunate about being a Canadian? Eh!


Nice spray job.



"A Mari usque ad Mare ("From Sea to Sea"), Canada's motto, was derived from Psalm 72:8, which reads in Latin "Et dominabitur a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos terrae," and in the King James version, "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." Attention was first directed to the verse when, apparently at the suggestion of Samuel Leonard TILLEY, the term "dominion" was chosen to represent Canada as a whole when the British North America Act was drafted." ...in 1871.
-from TheCanadianEncyclopedia.com

So we Canucks have had this as our motto for several decades prior to the US version....just sayin' ;)


:D


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