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Just finished my #9 guitar, Redwood and Maple with a 12 fret 00 body. Don't know why the pictures came out this size as I posted the same shots on another forum with the same template and they came out too small - mystery of the innerwebs

1) Martin 00 twelve fret body with a Stauffer neck. Martin did 2 releases about 16 and 22 years ago of tributes to it's early guitars and they used this body

2) Rather than the conventional tuners that are morticed into the back or front of the head and have buttons on the side, I chose to copy those that used banjo-type tuners. I found a couple of them that these.

3) A forum member gave me a tracing of a 1934 OO-28 complete with scalloped bracing schedule. I figured since the original had a Red Spruce top and this one is Redwood and they both have Red in the name, that I would use the same bracing schedule. The Redwood came from the living room wall of a friend's 1954 ranch house that she redecorated, so it was cut at least 66 years ago. Thanks John for the tracing, Lauren for the Redwood, and Fred for selecting a lovely piece for me.

4) Nicely figured Maple back

5) I did not feel comfortable trying the original ice-cream-cone heel so I compromised and got this

6) The neck is Mahogany with black dye under the finish

7) The plate is usually on the back of the Stauffer head covering the tuner mortices, but I found a handful that had it on the front. In addition, I found an early one with this approximate shape in brass on the back, so I put my Ivoroid overlay on the front using an adaptation of that neat shape. Love the way the strings continue straight through the nut up to the tuners

1) I used Frank Ford's 10:1 banjo tuners and they are very smooth and easy to use. They are pretty heavy and this instrument comes in at 3.8 pounds, but I don't play standing up so not that noticeable. That's my anchor logo above the Ivoroid buttons.

2) Burton LeGeyt (among others) showed how wonderful a self binding can look, so I cut strips off the sides before bending to get a close match. Thanks Burton

3) The rosette is taken from early 20's Gibson mandolins, complete with the cross grained Ivoroid. The rosette and Ivoroid binding on the top took some color from the Endurovar finish. The Redwood has absolutely vertical grain across its full width with 25-50 grain lines per inch

4) The bridge is Resin-Ivory from David Warther. He and his grandfather Ernest are/were remarkable carvers. The material works well and weighs closer to Ebony than Rosewood, but does not have the hardness of either. Saddle is bone and pins are Ivoroid. Mr. Warther told me Titebond works fine, so we'll see

5) The Endurovar is a wonderful feeling finish, especially on the neck. It does give a brownish tint and does not want to polish by hand like other finishes - I don't have spray or buffing equipment

6) I will try to get a sound clip after it settles a bit. It lacks a little clarity right now but has great bass

I really like the Endurovar - goes on well and sands very easily by hand. I am not so enthusiastic about the color it gives, at least in the thickness I applied it. The Frank Ford banjo tuners are wonderful pieces of engineering. Not passing any judgment on the Redwood/Maple for now, but sounds promising. This is my #9 and I am starting to think I understand some of this stuff - going to turn around and start the next one right away - Red Spruce on Ebaria, maybe a jumbo because my Ebaria is 9-1/2" wide

I measure my woodworking projects by how much they make me laugh. Guitars make me laugh even more than boats, and this one made me laugh most of any. This is really fun

Ed M

I like the anchor

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

And the guitar too!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Ed, I like that design on.The front.of.The head. Why hide it on the back? I like the way the back of the neck.blends into the head.too.
NICE clean design.
Are the banjo tuners just friction like some.ukes? They worked fine.on an old baritone I fixed up for the grandsons.
I like curly maple.

Well done!

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Why be normal?

Elegance!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Neat!

Cool guitar! I like elegant appointments a lot.

The Pegheds banjo tuners might be another alternative for the heavy peghead--a lot of banjo makers use them. They are very light weight and work very well.

Dave

I love it. The bridge looks great. Can’t wait to hear it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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These are not your grandfather's banjo tuners. Those were anywhere from 1:1 up to 4:1 and rely on proper tension of the screw that holds the button on. These have 10:1 cycloidal gearing inside and cannot back off unless you do it yourself. You can remove the buttons without effecting the tune

https://rickardbanjos.com/product/rickard-tuners-set-of-5/

They are expensive (and heavier), but I love them. Here is a giant one that Frank Ford made as a proof of concept. He later worked a deal with Rickard to make them, and I think you can still get them on the Gryphon website too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=Dfs--w3lorw&feature=emb_logo

I found them when my daughter put them on a 1930 OM that had open tuners installed at some point (brooklynlutherie.com)

Ed M

Nice one Ed! She's a beaut.
Was just watching your daughter melting scratches on SM's video.
Must be handy for tips!

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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.

She was here last weekend when I was cutting the nut. It's my best one yet all due to her. This one plays beautifully

Ed

Gorgeous, Ed! I love everything about it-the craftsmanship as well as the design.

I am especially fond of the bridge-really looks like ivory...

I might have to try that material. I would probably use hot hide glue on it as I do for all my bridges at the current time.

Very Nice!
Some nice visual contrasts between the top and sides and the black neck and white celluloid.
The bridge looks really nice and goes well with that style of guitar.

Thanks all. I like to document my design thinking so if anyone is interested, here are about 20 shots that I collected before I finalized my details:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/43855277474/in/album-72157678301955987/

Click right, text below

Ed M

Holy moly Ed!
That has to be the best documentation of a build I've ever seen. I didn't even get halfway through it yet. Not a video, but the photos, words, and descriptions are great. Lot's of ideas I've never heard of, or thought of; but then, I don't know much of anything about guitars.
I still have 2 violins, and that stubborn small baroque to finish (having trouble with the frets on the first string) but it makes me want to start another. I like planning and building better than the nitty gritty of finishing!
Nice job.

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Why be normal?

I think you've built a fine guitar, be patient as the tone/volume grows.

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Nicely done, Ed! Thoughtfully designed and well-executed. I'm a big fan of little touches.

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George :-)

Wow! That looks great. I like the clean aesthetic! That maple with the curl and rays is awesome.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

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

Thanks all. David - my last one was all Alaskan Yellow Cedar, even the neck, and it changed daily for the first couple of weeks and after 3 months it was settling. Fascinating to hear it happen, even with my old faulty ears.

Ken - none of these ideas are mine - there are some wonderful forums (hint, hint) to take advantage of. I am an experienced woodworker, so some of my boat building, house building, and furniture making habits carried over.

Ed M

I had to look really close at the back binding to realize you had just bound it with the same wood type. That was smart!

It looks great, the redwood is fine looking and there's a certain elegance to the stauffer style headstock that I love. I bet it sounds great, I'd love to hear it.

Dan

I need to improve my binding skills if I am going to use light colored wood on light colored wood. With a darker wood they would disappear

Ed M

Your photo essay was really great! I always love seeing what kind of jigs people come up with, and yours are very impressive, as is the final product of your efforts. Thanks for sharing!

Dave

Great pictures !! I used to have a couple of 78's by Lefty Frizzell.

Thanks all. I did not invent any of this, I just do what seems simple and logical. Still don't use a go-bar deck or a sanding dish

Ed M