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OK, OK, pictures will be coming up later. This, however, is a trepidatious moment. Frets are in, bridge is glued, tuners are on, nut is roughed in with slots, but not finished. At rest, no strings, action at 12 on bass side is just over 4mm with just over 11mm at the saddle. Treble side is about a mm less, same height at saddle. It weighs just under 3 lbs without strings and finish.

OK, Stand Back, and may I ask for a MOMENT OF OLF SILENCE! I will be putting strings on this thing, and please pray that it does not fly apart before I get them all on. After I've played it a minute, it'll be OK if it does.

I'll let you know what happened in a while.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Great! Just don't jump to any conclusion ( or ) not until youve played it for at least a couple days.

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Build log

The strings are on. Nothing has disintegrated into a pile of toothpicks yet! The strings are not played in yet, nor is the guitar. It sounds, well, tolerable. I put some Hannabach Goldins on it, and the jury is still out on the G string. Sounds a little muted - couldn't be the guitar. Only heard one cracking sound when stringing it up , but I think it was at the saddle - probably wasn't seated well enough. Action, is very high, as I expected. All in all, it really doesn't sound bad. It is certainly the best guitar I've built yet! Needs a lot of setup work. Lowering at the nut by, probably 1mm, and lowering at the saddle of, between 1 & 2mm, somewhere. I like the 18 hole bridge. Makes string tying very neat. I'll post some pictures to this thread later. Right now, I think I'm going to play a little with the set-up.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Waddy I have a very strong feeling that your first guitar is going to be an exceptionally fine guitar. I am also laughing because I still remember stringing up my first and being sure that the neck was going to fold. With every creaking noise I held my face back further and further. But it held together and I was thrilled and you will be too.

Hurry up and get us some pics bro - you know the drill........

OK - Pictures. I'll cut to the chase. For the last two weeks, I have become caught up in bridge making (2 now), finger board tapering and slotting, action measuring, ad infinitum. So, here is the guitar before stringing. Still no finish, but there are still a few splotches of shellac on the soundboard from the binding process. It has been a long journey, which I doubt I would have accomplished without the generous help of you folks.

Body - Zebra Wood from RC Tonewoods
Top - German Spruce - RC Tonewoods
Finger board - Brazillian Rosewood - RC Tonewoods
Bridge - Brazillian Rosewood - RC Tonewoods
Bindings are BRW that I got at the swap meet, can't remember from whom.
The rosette and all purflings were made from veneer. The black is dyed Something Wood?
The tuners are Rubner (I had originally planned on Gilbert, and have them, but they looked too clunky on this headstock, fortunately the Rubner Tuners have a similar footprint. The Sloane's are too short and looked funny.)
Top Braces Dentellones, and fans are Italian Moon Spruce from Filippo during the Swap Meet.
Back bracing, reinforcement strip and lining are Mahogany.

I won't bore you with all the construction stuff. You can see that at my album when I update it. I'll change the date. I know you all can't wait. I can hear the panting now! Please understand that this guitar still needs a lot of detail work to get it to where I'll be ready to put a finish on it. I just wanted to get strings on to play it in a little in case I need to tweak the top a little. Here we go. I have a number of shots. It will take several posts to get them in.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

The original action was higher than I thought, but after working the nut down, and takiing 2mm off the saddle, here is what I have on the treble side. Bass side is about 0.8 mm higher at the 12th fret. The same at the bridge and at the nut. I have a tiny buzz on the first fret, but only when you really play it hard. Minor adjustment in order there. I may also have to raise the height at the saddle just a tad, maybe 0.2 or 0.3mm on the bass side. Here is the action on the treble side.

Next Post.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

At the first fret.

At the Bridge.

Here are a couple of the 18 hole bridge. I liked the wood so much I didn't decorate it.

And finally, here it is with strings.

Once again, thank you all for looking.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Waddy bro I have only ever offered 5 clapping hands for completed guitars, meaning with finish on them too - but in your case I am going to make an exception. This is a guitar that anyone no matter how many they had built prior would be very proud to have created.

Absolutely fantastic work/craftsmanship Waddy!!!!

Small photos hide a myriad of errors and gaps, etc.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I'll give a hearty second to Hesh's statements. Well done from start to finish!!

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Reguards,

Ken H

Well done Waddy!

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Aoibeann

Nice, Waddy! I think that's an exceptional first build.
I've been admiring your zebrawood, all along the photo process, and think it's beautiful. I wouldn't have thought a classical would look right with zebra, but yours looks great.
Oh, and I like your peghead! It all works together.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Waddy - Deepest congratulations! She looks great. I love the head, very elegant and original.

Generally I can barely stand my guitars until they've been strung for at least several hours. Usually overnight they become what I've intended. You'll likely notice a huge difference over the first few days.

Did you weight your bridge?

Looks like you did a wonderful job.

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Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/

Waddy,

Outstanding guitar, hard to believe it's your first. I love classical guitars and that is a beauty. A classical guitar built in classic style, way to go. 10.5 on the bridge height, right on target, just as your pre-fingerboard glue-on measurements predicted. When you get it set-up just the way you like it please post a sound clip, I would love to hear it. Congratulations.

Oh, and great job on blending the neck into the back of the head, that's really good, I have to look hard to find the scarf line.

Very nice overall aesthetic Waddy.
Thanks for your generosity of spirit with all the photos and commentary!


OK....now to the finish!!...............

Way to go Waddy! That is a fantastic first effort. I'm impressed with your workmanship. I really like that peghead also! Can't wait to see what you make next. Now go and enjoy it!

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Thank you all for your comments. It has been quite a journey, so far.

Hesh, I feel honored to get the five clapping hands early. I'll think about that when I'm filling all those gaps around the binding and purfling.

Steve, the Zebra Wood was a cheap buy at the time. Bob was running a special, and I got that and a couple of tops at a great price. Go figure! Bob always has a bargain lurking somewhere.

Joshua, as I said, it sounds tolerable. I'm trying not to form any opinions until it has a chance to open up a little. Not sure if I'll know what to do after it does, besides finish it. Don't know much about the tweaking process. What did you mean, "Did you weight the bridge?" If you mean weigh, I forgot to weigh this one. The other one was about 21 - 22 oz, and it was thinner, but the wood was lots heavier. I would guess it falls in the 20 oz range, but that is really a guess, and that would be without the saddle.

Ah, Mark. Keep looking, the neck, I forgot to mention, was an old mahogany neck I bought when the Harmony factory closed. I've had it for nearly 25 years. Always plan ahead. The action was a little lucky, but I strung it up high originally, and took about .8mm out of the nut and 2mm out of the saddle to get to what I have now. It's pretty good, but I may try a shim under the bass side to see what action changes happen before I start working frets. I'll try to post a sound clip one of these days, if I can figure out how, and learn to play something that has more than one line (ensemble playing does that to you).

Yes Dave - On to the finish after some play in. I actually took a FP class last weekend at Woodcrafters here in Charlotte. The guy was pretty good, and took some of the mystery out of it. I'm thinking of doing the egg white filling process, just for fun. I don't know, though, that's still in the air.

Thanks again everyone.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Great looking build Waddy!
I like the wood combos!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Great job Waddy!

Looks like you're going to finish before me. I'm just starting to carve the neck on my first. Hey, did you notice your rule isn't parallel to the fingerboard, so the measurements are off by a little?

What kind of finish are you going to go for?

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Waddy,

I was wondering about your zebrano wood classical build, as I was handling a chunk of said timber yesterday in my favourite ever store just across the Welsh Border.

In my opinion, I think you are lying to us. This isn't your first build, is it?

May be your first classical, and you've built 20 acoustics already, haven't you?

Absolutely stunning, and thank you for taking the time to describe the build process in such beautiful, inspiring detail!!!!!!

Waddy that is a beautiful guitar and fantastic first effort.
Job well done.

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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

Outstanding first build, Waddy! I'm very impressed with your care and methods.
Keep up the excellent work.

Congrats,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Waddy, what can I say, you have come up trumps on your first guitar. I have liked your studied and thoughtful approach to this build it shows that you are thinking about the process rather than just gluing bits of wood together. Let it settle in and then give us a sound clip, that after all is what a musical instument is all about.

Very well done.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Waddy,

Well done. It looks great and it will sound great too!! I've loved watching your progress.

This is the first step on what will hopefully be a long and fruitful journey - enjoy it!!

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Waddy,
That is a pretty amazing guitar, first or one hundredth !!
I think you have a real knack for this!
I like your headstock very much. The rosette
is superb and the Zebrawood is gorgeous.
I can't wait to see your next one.Congratulations.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755