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I completed this one the day before Thanksgiving but only just now had the time and a day with at least some sunlight to get some ok photos.

Top: AA red spruce.
Back, sides, head plate, and rosette inlay: waterfall bubinga
Neck: mahogany
Fretboard, bridge, end graft, tuner buttons, and the binding around the body, fretboard, and sound hole opening: ebony
Finish: EM6000

This one went together quite a bit faster than the first one and I didn't get any sand through on the finish this time (yehaa!). Bending the sides was a challenge. I used Super Soft and bent them on a hot pipe. It never gave any sign that it was about to crack or break, but with the grain running every which way, it wanted to make facets about the size of a quarter. I ended up setting the pipe on Hi and then applying pressure with small wood blocks directly on the edges of the facets where the grain was coming up out of the wood or going down into it and then leaning into it with my body weight. (The pipe was clamped vertically on my bench.) My shoulders were actually a bit sore by the time I did both sides. They came out pretty good though and it didn't take a lot of sanding to level them. It doesn't show up so well in the photos but the curl in the bubinga is intense. It appears as though the curls are about a half inch deep and you should be able to stick your finger in there and follow the contours.

I'm like the way it sounds and I'm looking forward to seeing how the sound changes over the next few months. The tone of my first guitar changed a lot over the six weeks after I first strung it up.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Beautiful, and lovely bubinga indeed!

Sounds like it's time to invest in a bender...

Jay: One super job for your second guitar...........CONGRATS.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Fantastic!!! Really classy looks.

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EddieLee

Lots of very cool details on this one.
Love it!

There's a lot to like here. Well done!

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George :-)

Everything is nicely done, Jay. Love it!!

Alex

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

Thanks for all the comments. They are appreciated.

Ed - I was wondering about the bending machine. I've only used one once in a class and that was to bend Macassar ebony with a lot of figure. The sides bent without cracking, but had lots of ripples and a few facets that were a real pain to level. I could be wrong, but I would be concerned that this bubinga would have come out of the bender with lots of facets. With the pipe, I could see exactly what was going on and where specific attention was needed. You've built a good many more guitars than me so what do you think about it? Would a bending machine have worked ok?

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Beautiful. Well done indeed.

It's impossible to say really. Some sets just won't bend for whatever reason. But I've found the bending machine to be a huge asset.

Really like the shape, is that your own design? Can you share dimensions? And the overall look is very very nice. Professional looking for a 2nd guitar. Do you like the em6000?

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Thank You and Best To All

Love your rosette! Great job.

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

J,
FWIW, I have bent 3 sets of highly figured bubinga in the fox bender without issue.
No cupping or faceting.
Thicknessed to .085", SS2 the day before, all good.
Come to think of it, I even bent a cutaway backwards, flattened it with a steam iron, and re-bent it... (!)

Congratulations on your #2 Jay

I have my #2 pretty well planned out but have not started it yet. I bent my sides and bindings on a hot pipe and they came out pretty well too. I guess my thinking is I will build a few using the hot pipe method and try to keep things "Old School" so I can get a feel for what I am doing.

I love the looks of your build and especially the steps on the headstock. And that wood is gorgeous!
Nice clean job,

Cheers,
Bob

Jay, I think it's a beautiful guitar. Congratulations.

Great job Jay. You inspire me !!!


Robbie,
Did you use water for those bends or only the s2 the day before? I have some I'll be bending next year

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Thanks a lot for your compliments. Yes, it is my own design. I came up with the shape using the "G" Thang program which is made for designing acoustic guitar bodies. I had a couple things in mind when I started on the design. I wanted to stay away from dreadnought shapes and I didn't want the tail end to be flat. As I played around with the design, I found that I didn't like having the sides come into the neck joint at a right angle because it messed up the curve of the upper bout. I settled on the shape you see here and then figured out how to make the neck joint work. The radius of the body continues through the joint and the end of the neck is radiused to match. You can see that on the photo of the back of the body.

The dimensions:
Upper bout: 10"
Lower bout: 14.75"
Waist: 8.5"
Length: 20"

The lower bout dimension puts it in the ball park of a OOO. The smallish size of the upper bout had an unanticipated benefit. It makes holding the guitar while sitting very comfortable. My 19 year old daughter, who has played since she was six, is 5' 0" tall. Even she can get her arms around this guitar easily.

EM6000 is the only finish I've used so I can't compare it to anything else based on experience. I've figured out a schedule that works nicely for me. Some people have reported a bluish tinge with it, but I haven't seen any of that. I do know from experience that you can apply EM6000 over a sand through and it will end up invisible. No witness lines. Three professional builders who took a look at the guitar previous to this one were shocked to find out it was EM6000 and not nitro which they had assumed it was. It looks that good. I have no desire to have to wear a respirator or deal with flammable, toxic materials and it comes out looking quite good so I'm happy with it.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Thanks for that info. I'm happy with the design of the guitar so I may have to build a bender now.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Nice No 2 Jay. Looks great!

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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.

Joe, I used the SS2 the day before, then when bending, used the normal spritzed craft paper sandwich to provide a bit of dampness when bending.
Started the waist at 250, maxed at 300, cook for a bit at 250.
I also noticed that with the spring steel slats, the bubinga was probe to darkening. I fixed this on earlier bends with oxalic acid.
They were not scorched; it is a chemical reaction.
I then wrapped the slats in aluminum foil before bending and they turned out perfectly using the same method and temps as above.

looking very nice, a job well done !!!

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Really beautifully made guitar. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work.
One question, which is inconsequential really, why didn't you use a white line on the purfling to match the end graft?

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We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at guitars.

Wow! Makes my second guitar look like....well, a second guitar! Yours is stunning. The wood is beautiful, and you put it together even more beautifully. Congrats!

Beautiful guitar

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

The purfling on the top and back is b/w/b so I'm guessing you are asking why I didn't put in side purfling. I agree that would look nice, but I wasn't sure enough yet in my binding skills so I didn't feel ready to add side purfling into the mix. Guitar number three will be my first shot at side purfling including miters at the end graft.


And, thanks again to everyone for their kind comments.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter