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cutaway, tapered, armrest OM.
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Author:  John K [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:24 pm ]
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This has been a major project and I wanted to show it off. This is only the second tapered guitar I have made but it is the first with a taper and an armrest.
Body is hrw, ad top, zircote bindings, overlay, and armrest veneer.
Bridge is A. blackwood. My favorite bridge material
The ad top has some nice bear claw

rosette is also zircote


You can see a little microphone from the K and K trinity system





You can see the taper pretty well here. I really messed up installing the end pin jack. It is not centered well at all. I did not notice that until it was packed off and I was looking at the pictures. Very strange. Another Navajo mistake to appease the gods.

A decent shot of the Zircote arm rest.

I must say that the guitar is very comfortable to play
Author:  burbank [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:35 pm ]
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wow, wOw and WOW!!    
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 2:06 pm ]
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And WoW!  Beautiful..   
Author:  JohnAbercrombie [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 2:08 pm ]
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John-
Very nice job on the armrest!
How did you do the purfling/binding around the armrest? It really 'flows' around the rest.

John
Author:  Ken Jones [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 2:55 pm ]
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That is one fine instrument. Beautiful work!


I'm curious about the interior profile of the armrest. How thick is it in section, and is it similarly joined with kerfed (or solid) linings? It's a beautiful effect, and seems like it would be a joy to play.


How much more difficult is it to build in the taper?
Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 3:36 pm ]
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John this guitar just zooms into the stratosphere! Congratulations to you and the lucky new owner....   
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 3:49 pm ]
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Quite nice, bro!
Your "bling light" series has another winner.
I particularly like the Hondruan--it glows like Narra.
Very pretty wood.

KBW
Author:  Allen McFarlen [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 4:07 pm ]
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That's a very nice package you have there. I would love to know how you managed to do the armrest. I've seen a couple of tutorials on them, but they've left me wanting to know something else...or perhaps I'm just not all that smart...er quick...duh...oh never mind. I like it a lot.
Author:  Howard Klepper [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 5:14 pm ]
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Now that I have my sunglasses on I can see it. Wow, good work! Congratulations!
Author:  Dave Bamber [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 7:08 pm ]
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Wow, that is a stunning guitar, the colours all compliment each other perfectly and that little touch at the bottom of the rosette - wow.
Author:  Colin S [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:56 pm ]
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John your usual stunning craftsmanship, and an elegant choice of woods to go with it. Yet another Kinnaird guitar I would be proud to own and even prouder to have built.

Colin
Author:  John K [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:13 pm ]
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Thanks all..what a friendly group.

regarding the armrest guys i wish I had some magic recipt to hand over to you. The interior of the armrest is a piece of solid mahogany that I just cutout to the shape of the guitar side. I glue it in square in profile because it is so much easier to clamp up that way, then I trim away to a triangular profile with a shapr knife after the glue sets.

I cut the bottom purfling ledge with my purfling cutter bit set lower than usual. All the rest of the cutting is done by hand. The top ledge for purfling is cut with a sharp knife and a plexiglass form.

I make a cardboard form to serve as a pattern for the veneer. That is a pretty complex shape and it has to be bent over a pipe to get the curve and recurve at the ends. After I glue that on, I go back and cut the inside purfling channel. Its slow work and though I like the look I don't relesh the assignment. I am always looking for better ways to do the same thing.

Be glad to answer any questions you guys may have.

John
Author:  John K [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:21 pm ]
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Oh yes Ken I forgot to mention anything about the taper. The only problem with a taper is binding the back. There the side are not similarly orientated to the plate as they are on the top so the cutters guide bearing has a little different reference point. It will cut deeper on the thicker side and more shallow on the other. That has to be compensated for. I am sure there is an elegant solution to that problem but I make so few of these that I have not bothered finding it. I use a nut file and a pair of caliper to get the binding channels equally deep. Once those channels are established, I reference off of them to cut the purfling channels.
Author:  Bill Greene [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:50 pm ]
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Good grief John...that's magnificent. Every guitar you posts seems to defy logic in that it's somehow nicer than the last one.

Amazing work...I have GOT to get up there soon to see if some of that will osmotically rub off on me.   

Bill

Author:  John K [ Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:59 pm ]
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Thanks guys
   Bill you know you have a standing invitation to motor on up. I can promise you will be disappointed in my cluttered shop.

    Hesh I really like HRW. I think it is the best sonic bargan out there right now. You get Brazilian sound at about 1/4th the price and I kind of like the way it looks. It ain't braz, but its nice. This guitar spoke up right away. No break in time needed, which pleased me.
Author:  Kevin Gallagher [ Sat Oct 27, 2007 2:42 am ]
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John,

    That is a beautiful guitar. Great taper and a very tasteful bevel. You know,
I really love the more recent innovation in bevels by Kevin Ryan with it
reaching from the waist all the way past the rear block and interfacing
seamlessly with the binding, but there is something very attractive about the
recurve at either end of the Laskin style bevel. Those little miters at the ends
of the bevel really add to the line around the top, in my opinion.

   Great job! I'm sure it sounds every bit as nice as it looks too!

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars
Author:  Dave Anderson [ Sat Oct 27, 2007 3:07 am ]
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Very,Very nice guitar John!The taper is so cool along with the arm rest! I like the Hrw a lot too. I'm going to have to order some. Great top too.Wow,Just another superb job!!
Author:  John K [ Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:31 am ]
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Thanks guys. I appreciate it.

Ryan, I am not sure how a person would go about doing the Ryan Bevel. I have seen a Korean guys work done in curly maple that was a seamless bevel similar to Ryan's. I think it involved some form of magic.

Dave I can recommned the HRW. Great sounding wood it is.   That top came from Old Standard. The customer picked it out.

Author:  Don Williams [ Sat Oct 27, 2007 9:59 am ]
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Yeah, that has typical KDF.

(Kinnaird Drool Factor)


And I'm a big fan of HRW myself. It certainly looks great under finish eh?
Author:  John K [ Sat Oct 27, 2007 11:28 am ]
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EDIT
I meant to say "Kevin I am not sure how you do a Ryan bevel" All these great luthier's names run together
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