Photo Essays

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Photo Essays

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TANúñez

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

Photo Essays

I really have enjoyed Per Hallgren's photo essay on his construction of a flamenco guitar. It's been very informative and interesting.

I think it would be a good idea if all the builders here could do a photo essay,if time permits them, of their guitar building process. A lot of things are done the same way but there are also many ways of achieve the same result. It would be nice to see everyones methods.

I'm nearing the end of a 'Santos' flamenco I'm building. As soon as it is completed, I'll put up my essay. If anyone wants to join in, please do so.

Doesn't have to be a flamenco guitar. If you build classicals or any other type of instrument, we'd love to see it as it comes to life.

_____________________________

Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 19 2008 8:06:10

HemeolaMan

Posts: 1514
Joined: Jul. 13 2007
From: Chicago

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to TANúñez)

agree tom. i agree.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 19 2008 10:27:56

Per Hallgren

Posts: 241
Joined: Jul. 1 2006
From: Sweden

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to TANúñez)

I guess you have to search long before you find a guitarmaker who has "spare time" in his life. When I made my photo essay it was with the goal that I should show the Swedish guitarrists the overwhelming amount of work and different details it takes to build a fine guitar. It has really worked to judge the amount of e-mail communication I have had to handle since then. And since I already had the pictures uploaded on Photobucket, ready to post here, I did that too. What takes time is not so much taking photos but to write something useful about the pictures, at least when one doesn't write in ones native language...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 23 2008 18:01:19

Ailsa

Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to Per Hallgren)

Yes it was great Per, a real eye opener. And your English is perfect - you should hear my Swedish. The only thing I remember from my visits some years ago is to ask 'how are you?' I probably couldn't even understand the answer!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 24 2008 0:03:48

TANúñez

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

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to Per Hallgren)

Per,

I would say the amatuer builder would have more "spare time" than the professional. Still, regardless if your a pro or novice, I think it would be nice to see your work in progress if time permits you to show it.

_____________________________

Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 1:00:21

Per Hallgren

Posts: 241
Joined: Jul. 1 2006
From: Sweden

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to TANúñez)

Tom, I think it is a good idea with photo essays. Let's see what will happen.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 2:42:53

r0bbie

Posts: 160
Joined: Feb. 11 2007
From: Holland

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to TANúñez)

quote:

I would say the amatuer builder would have more "spare time" than the professional

Well, I have to work for a living as a engineer (9 to 5) just as a guitar builder would. After that I can build, if I had the room for it, and there goes the spare time :-)

But I have to build from plans and books, and building one every two years does not result in new techniques, I just follow the book we can all read. The biggest advantage of seeing a master build is the things he has learned over a long period of improving methodes and the tricks he has found to solve a problem.

Once I have have a place to build again and finish my guitar I will upload the pictures here.

Cheers,
Rob.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 5:01:57

steve

Posts: 103
Joined: May 6 2004

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to TANúñez)

Tom,

For your Santos, are you using plans or taking measurements off an actual guitar?

steve

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 6:16:01

TANúñez

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

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to steve)

Hi Steve,

I'm building off measurements from my former teacher's newly acquired 1943 Santos.

You should see this thing. For being so old, it has only one repaired crack along the back and still sounds amazing. I don't like building off plans, even though if you want to learn to build you have to start somewhere. I prefer to build off an actual guitar so that in the end, I have something to reference it to. In this case, I was so blown away by this Santos, I wanted to try and copy it and learn from it. This Santos has inspired me greatly. It been unlike any of the guitars I've had pass through me.

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Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 7:31:15

r0bbie

Posts: 160
Joined: Feb. 11 2007
From: Holland

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to TANúñez)

Tom,

Did you take pictures from the inside of the guitar and would you be willing to share them, with the measurements as well?

Just being curious about the differences between the plans I have and the measures you took. In the plans the fanbracing seems to be triangular and I wonderd how they look like on a photo.

Rob.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 8:13:13

TANúñez

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

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to r0bbie)

Hi r0bbie,

I didn't take photos of the inside of the guitar. I actually tried buy attempting to stick a camera in there but since I couldn't see it in the view finder, I wasn't able to adjust it and all the pics would come out blurry and distored.

If you have the plans from that 1933 Santos, the measurements where the same for some things but a few differences. The braces were mostly triangular but I did notice that a few of them on the treble side has flat spots. Almost as if Santos fine tuned them through the soundhole.

The neck is cedar but it appears to have a mahogany heel block. Either that or the cedar is just very dark compared with the neck.

_____________________________

Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 9:17:14

r0bbie

Posts: 160
Joined: Feb. 11 2007
From: Holland

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to TANúñez)

Tom,

I just thougt it might be nice to see some pictures from inside, I miss them in the book from Courtnall, one picture can say more then a 1000 words :-)

It seems I was on the right track with the triangular bracing and it is good to know that I can take off some wood if I would feel like doing so.

To bad I had to stop working on the guitar as I dont have the space to for a workplace anymore. But there is a small chance I can build two rooms to my house so I can continue on the guitar.

Cheers!
Rob.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 10:23:04

TANúñez

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

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to r0bbie)

As the ladies say....it's not the size of the workshop that matters, but what you do with it....uh, I think that's what they say. Maybe they're talking about something else. Like the size of your chisels

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Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 10:30:05

r0bbie

Posts: 160
Joined: Feb. 11 2007
From: Holland

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to TANúñez)

LOL, well if they dont like the size of my chisels, I can always fold them

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 11:01:29

TANúñez

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

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to r0bbie)

Wow. Impressive

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Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 13:53:57

Per Hallgren

Posts: 241
Joined: Jul. 1 2006
From: Sweden

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to TANúñez)

How would you describe that Santos guitar Tom? If it made such an impact on you it must be a hell of a guitar, or at least something different from what you see everyday (and looking at your website you seem to see some guitars passing through).

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 25 2008 18:04:00

TANúñez

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

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to Per Hallgren)

Sorry for the late reply to this Per, I missed this one.

The impact it had on me is hard to describe in words. It was surely different than what I see on a usual basis. It's not every day you come across a Santos.

I had never seen a Santos in person. Only in photos and sound clips. Once it was in my hands, I played a bit of Siguiriyas. I suddenly got chills. Not because of what I was playing but because of what the guitar was giving back to me.

It was a surreal experience. It's the first time I felt such emotion from an instrument. Almost as if I could feel where this guitar has been and what's it's been through. Sounds cheesy but it's the only way I can explain it.

As I began to examine it, again I got chills because I was placing my hands on a guitar that Santos had placed his own hands on. Shear excitement for me. For a while, I got a bit depressed, I kept telling myself that I could never do this. Build like this. As I played it some more and inspected it some more, I got excited and told myself that I could at least "try" to do this. If anything else, it would be a great learning experience. To be so inspired by this instrument and not attempt make an equally gratifing guitar would be a sin.

So, my quest has begun. I'm applying the finish now and will do a photo essay soon.

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Tom Núñez
www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 6 2008 16:06:20

Per Hallgren

Posts: 241
Joined: Jul. 1 2006
From: Sweden

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to TANúñez)

Of course you can do it! Just build an extremely fine guitar and let someone play it for 80 years and you get the same result...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 6 2008 17:39:32

prd1

Posts: 206
Joined: Jul. 11 2007

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to TANúñez)

Hello Tom,

Not really an essay - but here's a few images of my guitar coming together. I made this last year on a course with Stephen Hill.

This is a cedar neck with ebony reinforcement strip...

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 10 2008 22:43:55

prd1

Posts: 206
Joined: Jul. 11 2007

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to prd1)

...the carved heel...

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 10 2008 22:46:54

prd1

Posts: 206
Joined: Jul. 11 2007

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to prd1)

the Madagascar rosewood headplate...for some reason I found this bull-nosed plane the most dificult tool to use?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 10 2008 22:49:02

prd1

Posts: 206
Joined: Jul. 11 2007

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to prd1)

Inlaying the rosette...suprisingly I found making the mozaic tiles and the herringbone really enjoyable

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 10 2008 22:52:09

prd1

Posts: 206
Joined: Jul. 11 2007

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to prd1)

Rosette nearly prepared...once ready it was taped up and carefully removed before being glued back in...can't say I was full of confidence but the method worked

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 10 2008 22:59:03

prd1

Posts: 206
Joined: Jul. 11 2007

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to prd1)

Bending the cypress sides - wonderful smell..

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 10 2008 23:04:42

prd1

Posts: 206
Joined: Jul. 11 2007

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to prd1)

The assembled box - finally starting to look like a guitar

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 10 2008 23:07:10

prd1

Posts: 206
Joined: Jul. 11 2007

RE: Photo Essays (in reply to prd1)

Profiling the linings ready for the back fitting...

Hemeolaman asked a question regarding this profiling a while ago on another thread...you can see here that I used a radiused sanding board to do the job