Bedroom luthier

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Bedroom luthier

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lukemoon

Posts: 60
Joined: Aug. 6 2006

Bedroom luthier

Hi here are some pics of my first guitar built using Rik middleton and roy courthall´s books. I had no machines or nice ready made jigs. i got very depressed when I saw ramón´s work of art. my tools where very basic and everthing was done by hand ( which is wht it ain´t so pretty looking).

I can´t put all the stages up just a selection - note it has to be finished and strung up.

[image][/image]

My workmate and cabinet scraper where fundamental! Took me ages to thin down the back / sides and top.... First pic is my workshop inbetween the shoeracj and my pc.

[image][/image]

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_____________________________

thank you

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 9 2006 14:43:00

lukemoon

Posts: 60
Joined: Aug. 6 2006

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

Second pic is putting on the lining blocks with the clothes pegs tightened with rubberbands. And you can see the workboard and mould made from some pine and MDF.

The Fan struts are made from a santos hernandez plan from 1933.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 9 2006 14:48:22

lukemoon

Posts: 60
Joined: Aug. 6 2006

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

Here´s a shot just after gluing on the top - I started to get excited as it finally looked like a guitar!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 9 2006 14:50:19

lukemoon

Posts: 60
Joined: Aug. 6 2006

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

OK this is how I glued on my back with gaffer tape! I can only dream of the workshop Ramón had...

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 9 2006 14:53:21

lukemoon

Posts: 60
Joined: Aug. 6 2006

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

Ok you may of seen the strat in the background and I love maple necks. So I thought well why not! It will make a change to the ebony or rosewoods the only thing I´ll have to do is finish it with something that protects it. The headplate too is bird´s eye maple. Not sure if Santos would approve..

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 9 2006 14:58:28

lukemoon

Posts: 60
Joined: Aug. 6 2006

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

Last PIc for now. The back and sides are santos rosewood liked the name match with the main man hernandez and it wasn´t too pricey either - Beware though it´s a real bugger to work with and it´s the hardest and heaviest wood I´ll ever come across so I´ll never use it again. Cypress next time.

Anyway The guitar ain´t perfect but I´ve done something I´ve enjoyed immensely and it´s been one of the best experiences of my life... I had to pause it for several months cause my wife got pregnant and the dust from the santos rosewood is not good.

next Phase is sanding and finishing. I went to a fair recently and saw some guitars finished with linseed oil and they looked very nice indeed so I´ll go down that road.

I´ll stick up some photos of when it´s finished.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 9 2006 15:09:07

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

quote:

I had no machines or nice ready made jigs. i got very depressed when I saw ramón´s work of art. my tools where very basic and everthing was done by hand ( which is wht it ain´t so pretty looking).

Why would you get depressed? You think the old masters had all these power tools and fancy jigs??? Power tools and jigs help you work faster and make things a lot easier. Although I too have jigs and power tools, I prefer the more traditional approach using hand tools. This way makes you take your time and be more precise.

Great job. I didn't have a lot of the tools I have now when I first started so I built my first one the same way you did. I purchased new tools as I went along so it took me about a years time to complete my very first guitar. Give yourself a pad on the back.

I LOVE the color of that strat. Mine is a cream color. Pretty much identical to one Hendrix used often. I have also been thinking about getting a pastal pink one. Something about pastel colors on strats.

_____________________________

Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 9 2006 16:35:08

Ramón

Posts: 440
Joined: Feb. 23 2005
From: La Jolla, Ca

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

A quick note as I'm off to work, but I think she's gorgeous, and I have a ton of respect for what you're doing with what you have to work with!!

I got lucky - some might say 'cheated' in that I was walked through it, AND had THE workshop to do it in. I sincerely doubt I would have tackled this the way you have - or most likely - never finished. Very daunting! But I have also been working with wood and tools since I was 7 or 8, so that was a definite edge when this project started....

Bob threatened several times to make me 'do it all by hand' - as he did - and as Romanillos requires in the workshop, but he did realize that if I was retired, it's one thing, but to try to jam work in and have to travel to my guitar, it wasn't realistic....

The excitement does build when it "starts to look like a guitar", eh? lol!

Cheers and don't stop!

Rand

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 9 2006 16:39:19

JBASHORUN

Posts: 1839
Joined: Jan. 23 2005

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

Hey Lukemoon,

It sounds like you're working in a similar fashion to me. I did virtually everything by hand, with only the most basic jigs on occasion. I too was slightly depressed when I saw Ramon's masterpiece. But remember that Ramon was a master craftsman in wood before he started making this guitar, unlike the rest of us. I myself, had never even touched a plane, cabinet scraper, or even a saw until about 10 months ago when I started making my guitar. Right now, its about a month or so away from completion. It ain't as pretty as Ramon's, and I did make a few mistakes, but it still looks like a guitar- and hopefully will sound like one. I think anyone who makes a playable guitar (even just the one) should really be proud of themselves- you included!

By the way, I love the maple fretboard idea... its those unconventional things that really make one guitar stand out from another. Some may not approve... luthiery (especially in Flamenco) tends to have many purists. But, what the hell, go for it!

Keep up the good work!

Jb

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 9 2006 17:44:33

ykabban

Posts: 251
Joined: Jan. 11 2006

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

Hey man, I have a lot of respect for what you're doing. I love the way you glued up the back! As they say around here, if you can't duc' it, f@%* it!

Looks great man, keep at it!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 9 2006 18:46:07

Garyw1960

Posts: 91
Joined: Nov. 13 2005

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

Well done Luke.....it looks great and I like your deviation from the norm with a maple neck. Inspiring stuff.

Best regards

Gary

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 9 2006 19:50:52

Francisco

Posts: 879
Joined: Jun. 13 2005
From: SW USA

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

You're my new idol, Luke. I've been toying with the idea of building my own, but wasn't sure due to the potential expense for tools. Seeing your build is very inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 10 2006 0:57:46

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to Francisco)

It doesn't say anywhere that you MUST HAVE all your tools and jigs before you can start building a guitar. Just buy a few things that you need to get started. Stop when you have to until you can get a few more things. Start again and keep doing this. Before you know it, your guitar will be done. It may take some time but the finished product will make the wait worthwhile.

Another route to take is a kit. You can get a good (serviced) kit from LMI for $446.50. It comes with AAA grade Engelman Spruce top with rosette installed. The sides and back are 1st grade Monterey Cypress and the neck is a pre-carved Spanish Cedar neck with a traditional Spanish heel and Indian Rosewood headplate. The fingerboard is African Ebony and the pre-shaped bridge is Indian Rosewood. The bindings and backstrip are Indian Rosewood. B/W purflings are supplied for body trim. The kit also includes: gold Gotoh™ tuners w/lyre, fretwire, kerfing, bone material for the tie block, all internal bracing materials, end block, and bone nut and saddle blanks.

They also sell just the regular flamenco kit for $268.50 This difference between this one and the service one is that the service one comes with a lot of the work done like rosette already installed, the bridge and neck is already pre-carved and well as some other things.

Both will require tools but you'll probably need to buy more tools for the un-servied kit.

There's nothing wrong with kits. They are great for first time builders. Just an idea.

_____________________________

Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 10 2006 1:50:04

Francisco

Posts: 879
Joined: Jun. 13 2005
From: SW USA

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

I hear ya, Tom. I have actually had my eye on that seviced kit at LMII. The sides are already bent, etc. It's becoming more of a possibility all the time.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 10 2006 2:28:00

Phil

Posts: 382
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Rota, Spain

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

Luke,
That is very very impressive. I guess this means that those of us who've always dreamed of building a guitar, but haven't because we don't have a proper place to do it no longer have an excuse.

. If you have time someday, I wonder if you could list the tools you used and jigs that you had to make.
Phil

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 10 2006 4:14:51

lukemoon

Posts: 60
Joined: Aug. 6 2006

RE: Bedroom luthier (in reply to lukemoon)

Thanks for all the nice comments guys.

I´ll put up some photos of the next stage and when I get time I´ll post details of the tool list but I do recommend Rik Middletons book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/186126707X/sr=1-1/qid=1155235629/ref=sr_1_1/103-1124208-3535007?ie=UTF8&s=books

also they sell some nice kits at www.madinter.com and you can get a pre-built neck if you don´t have the time or energy.

I keep looking at your guitar Ramon it´s so nice..