Catch- on some recent 2024 builds....

Healless Acoustic   – 2024 – s/n 00100

I was given a beautiful 2”x7”x10’ mahogany board by my son for Christmas.   Wood has become very expensive, so this was a nice gift. I took half of it and made this acoustic guitar.  Recently I saw a new design by Martin for SC13E which has a unique neck joint design where there is a bevel which allows easier access to upper fret positions.   I did something similar with this instrument, allow I used a different method for attaching the neck.  Also I leveraged several features form the Martin 000 and added a Florentine cutaway vs a rounded Venetian cutaway.   Used a slot headstock design.  Back, sides, neck, kerfing, and mounting blocks all from the mahogany board.  Fingerboard, bridge, endpin, tail joint, and headstock veneer all Brazilian rosewood.   Fingerboard bound with flamed maple, Top is quarter sawn Douglas fir with walnut and maple bindings.   Inlays are abalone.

 

“The Les Paul” – 2024 s/n 00101

Many years ago Gibson made a limited series run of approx 100 special guitars called “The Les Paul”. I’ve always wanted one, but could never afford one (selling now for 40,000+), so I made my own close copy. The top, back, sides, and neck are flamed fiddle back maple with rosewood binding. Fingerboard, pickup rings, pick guard, head plate, and cover plates on back are Brazilian rosewood. Inlays are mother of pearl and abalone. Gold hardware with locking tuners. This is s/n 101 that I’ve made and it turned out well. Even found a vintage case which was in excellent condition.

Pirate Uke – 2024 – s/n 00103

Made this for my cousin Sam, who had expressed an interest in learning to play   I like making these tear-drop shaped tenor ukuleles because bending the sides is so easy.  The body on this one is a little thicker than I usually make (about ½”), to help increase the volume.   I like doing some little personalization on my ukes, so this one is ‘pirate’ motif.  I based it on the enclosed painting by N.C.Wyeth for a 1921 life magazine cover – I wood-burn the art into the wood, then use acrylic paints.  The finish is polyurethane. 

The body is made of poplar, the top is quarter sawn spruce.  Back is a carved arch.   Not sure what the fingerboard and bridge are made of (I had the wood for so long I forgot what it is, but searching on-line I came up with 4 possibilities – honey mesquite, black locust, santos mahogany or amendoim -  It is hard, but a little brittle, so the bridge is also a little thicker).  Nut and saddle are bone.   Trim is rosewood.  Sides are 0.10 inch, top is 0.09, back is ~0.20 

 

Finished another ukulele project s/n 0099

.  A tear-drop shaped tenor ukulele.  This one is figured cherry back and sides, with a maple, walnut, and cherry neck.   I really like the art of the late James C Christensen, so copied on the back a work entitled "Touching The Hem of God", and on the headstock a work entitled "Outside the Box".   Art added with woodburning pen and acrylic washes.    Copies of originals included for comparison.

Guitalele

Earlier in the month I picked up a cheap Yahama GL-1 guitalele and thought I could make one of these, (although in a tear-drop shape which I favor in my ukuleles that I make) so the project of the last couple of weeks has been making a guitalele.  Most people don't realize that a tenor ukulele is the upper 4 strings of a guitar with a capo at the 5th fret.  A guitalele is the same, but with 6 strings.  It is tuned ADGCEA just list a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret.   This one is S/N 0098.   The art is a copy of a Greg Hildebrandt painting of Hyde from Jekyll and Hyde..   The back, sides, neck are maple.  Top is douglas fir.  Fingerboard, bridge, and head stock is of Brazilian lacewood.  Strings are Aquila Guilele Red Series 133C

  

 

 

Baritone Ukulele - s/n 0097

Finished project for April.  A baritone ukulele with a body shape of an F style mandolin. S/N 0097.  I like ukuleles and they are fun to play.   I usually make tenor ukes (scale length 17 in), but thought a baritone would be a fun addition (scale length 20 in and tuned lower DGBE like the 4 stings of guitar).  The carving of the top and backs plus the scroll is always a challenge on mandolins, so I thought I'd apply the same to this uke.  Made from scraps of wood I had laying around.  Maple, pine, with cherry fingerboard, bridge, and head plate. The "points" on the body are blood wood because I wanted something very hard.   I like how it turned out. Included a couple of pictures of wood in the raw before the finish.

 In the past I've made several electric guitars with what has now become a standard body shape.  I got thinking I'd try to make an acoustic guitar using this body shape.  The back and sides are mostly flamed maple with black walnut trim.  The back is carved (not flat). Notice the re-carve around edges.   The top is quarter sawn Douglas fir.   Sound holes same as holes on electric guitar models..   If you look closely you can see that I carved an old man who is peering out of one of the sound holes - LOL.  Neck is a sandwiching of hard maple, cherry, flamed maple, black walnut, flamed maple, cherry, hard maple.   Fingerboard is some of the last Brazilian rosewood that I've had stashed away for years.  Abalone and pearl inlays.   Really happy with the finish.  This is S/N 0096  One photo of an previous electric guitar included for comparison.

 From September...

Project for August was a mondolin (s/n 0095).   Wanted to apply some voilin building methods like having the top and back overhang the sides and a neck joint similar to a violin.  Also did a shellac French polish finish.  Style is a modified j"F" style..

 June Project - Another Irish Bouzouki - s/n 0094.  Maple neck, back and sides, spruce top, everything else - fingerboard, trim, bridge in black walnut.  7.5' radius fingerboard.  Raised vine and flower pattern on top is of stained maple.    I tune is DGBD because that makes an easy tuning for several favorite Led Zeppelin songs (like Wonderful One, and That's the Way etc)