Official Luthiers Forum!

Rodger I did not fill the pours. I was thinking about it but I don't want gunk in the fret slots either. The pours on this old white oak are actually not too deep but I guess the oil would never fill..

I put two coats of Minwax ebony stain on it thinking it would darken and seal it, I think I will leave it at that but as always am open to suggestions.

Cool build, jf! I can't wait to hear how it sounds.

You could fill the pores with walnut oil, but it would take a lot of coats (maybe 30 or 40). I wouldn't recommend trying it.

_________________
A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

Ok, making some gains here. In fact I'm right about ready to pore fill and French Polish.

Building the bridge. This is actually the third one I built. First one I determined was a bit too narrow. The second one the wrong string spacing


making the pyramids was a bit tricky, never done one before.


Ready to ebonize


After ebonizing


I really love this blackening oak process so much so I want to incorporate it in the finish of the guitar as a sort of sunburst. I've never done a sunburst before and this is very different since the blackened process is a chemical reaction rather than just a layer of stain. So I tested it first. The left panel was trying to blend color. The right was to see how it looked if it was totally blackened and then sanded out.


Here is the blackened panel sanded out. This looks a lot better and gives a more natural fade. Color was added to that to blend in. I used Stew Mac's water based dye's.


Now on to the guitar. A bit intimidating because this stuff really stains black. First I added a coat of amber to get the whole thing wet. The black stain seems to run a bit if applied wet. Then I apply the black stain to the edge and then after that dries I sand it back to get the fade. Then I rub in some mahogany stain to fade in the black and then more amber in the middle fading in the mahogany. This one is just the black edge


and then with color added and a Naphtha wipe


And that's it so far. Getting pretty close now. I think I like the way the finish is coming out. At first I was hesitant because the naked oak looked so beautiful. But this gives it a patina that makes it look old and after all the timbers from which this was made is about 90 years old now so it's fitting. One thing I am going to have to live with is that for some reason the blackening process stained the scarf binding glue joint at the end graft. Not sure why that happened really.

Wow! That is amazing. Nice job on the bridge. Did you free-hand the faces of the pyramid after filing the trough?
I LOVE the burst....it really looks vintage!

I like that burst a lot. It fits the project well. That bridge looks good. Are you going to buff it up or anything? A project or two down the line will have an osage orange FB and bridge. I like the look of osage when it it very finely sanded/polished. I'm thinking about boing black and am curious what it looks like. I'm seeing in my head an open grained ebony look; it could be really cool.

_________________
Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Yeah I cut the faces with a 1in chisel. not too difficult really. But I had to place a shim in the trough when cutting the adjacent face so as not to damage the trough with an errant chisel stroke.

Yeah that pic shows it right after blackening. After that I wiped on some Minwax ebony stain which gave it a warm glow and then buffed with steep wool so it's got a nice satin look. I probably won't French Polish it as I like the dull look it has.

I really like the burst!
Using the chemical darkening was an excellent idea.

_________________
A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

Wow! Excellent job! I dig the burst!

_________________
http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

What they said

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Thanks for all your comments. I'm in the slow dog days of finishing now. A few more French Polish sessions and one good glaze session and she should be done, or at least good enough. The white oak was incredibly difficult to fill and there are still a few pits here and there but I'm gonna chalk that up to a good old timey rustic look. Also after filling with pumice the abrasive action really cut down on the sunburst look. I still think it looks cool but if I do it again I'll make sure to add a lot more black or maybe just fill with epoxy since it probably won't be as abrasive.

It looks fantastic!

_________________
http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

I agree with Tony, I think it looks great! Like a guitar from the 30's or 40's.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Very cool! I love the grainy top and the knot holes.

I should have said in my earlier post, how much I love the top!


Posted using two tin cans and some string.

_________________
http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

I have to agree, all these things you've done work together very nicely.
It looks great!

_________________
A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

That's exactly what I am going for. Trying to make it look like it's already an old guitar. I used a scraper for most of the finish work and the top has some chatter from the scraper in parts. Instead of sanding it out I left it like that because it just looks old.

Should have the bridge glued on tonight and then fret and set up this weekend. I've got some one who's really good to perform on it for the video. Maybe a ragtime number or some old school blues.

The sound box sounds pretty good when voiced into and it's a nice tapping drum but I guess I won't know till the first strings are on if it has tone.

Crossing fingers.

Anyway it's been a lot of fun to build and I can see myself doing this again.

And finally she's done.

Cost:

Bone nut - $4.00
Bone saddle - $3.00
Kerfed linings - $6.00
Frets - $4.00
Tuners - $10.00
Abalone dot - $0.50
Bridge pins - $8.00

Total = $35.50

Now that's a cheap guitar!

I'll get a real camera and try to take some better pics and then get a video to post as well. I strung her up with Silk and Steel but plan on trying bronze as well to see what is better. My first impression was... Wow, this thing has bass. Which I was surprised given the small body. But the top was also very thin and flexible. Since the board was so thin when I resawed it by the time I got it finished it was .85in thick which is not necessarily unheard of but this is also not Sitka either. After one day of playing it I'm amazed at how much the guitar has already played itself in.

Anyway it sounds like a guitar.

Gluing the bridge


Fretting, the oak board actually fretted pretty well I was worried it might be too soft


Peg head


Bridge


End Graft


Heal


Top


Guitar leaning against the barn from which it came


Back


Thank you all for looking and for the tips and tricks along the way. I had a lot of fun on this project and hope to get a video up after Thanksgiving and it should be a real treat too.

A real beauty! The multi piece top with converging grain, and the medullary rays on the heel are just stunning.
I can see many more builders following your lead, and giving oak a try.

Alex

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

I absolutely LOVE it! I love that you used old, reclaimed materials to build an instrument that might have been built 100 years ago. Can't wait to hear and see it played. Nice job on staging those pictures, too. You made it look so easy.

Well executed. It all ties together nicely. I can't wait to hear it!

_________________
Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

It came out great! I like the way the top came out. I'm looking forward to hearing what it sounds like.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

That looks great!

_________________
Greg Hatcher
North Carolina

It's sure got lots of character! Nice!! How does it sound?

Dave F.

_________________
Cambrian Guitars

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

I love it! It must be amazing to see it standing next to that barn and see something so beautiful come out of it.

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars