Clavin Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Hi guys. This is a custom humidor top for a client. I have more to do (a little) but it's basically done. This is unfinished, but when wet the walnut gets a nich rich dark tone. It will look WAY better when finished. Getting good pics of this one was very very difficult for some reason. Thanks for looking! It's about 80 pieces total. Craig Lavin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taurus Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 thats real nice, was it hard to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Thanks. The hardest part for me these days is design. The mechanical part just comes naturally for the most part. I spend many more hours drawing than cutting/engraving. That's a tough question. They are all challenging in their own way. The hardest ones to do for me now are the boring standard inlays. I just can't seem get the energy to be excited about fret position markers. Craig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Excellent stuff as always Craig. I really must start trying to inlay - It looks like fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Great job again... I don't know if I like the wood choice, but that inlay would had looked at home on a AAAAA quilted maple with black/sanded/blue stain job. Just like floating on the ocean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 (edited) I just can't seem get the energy to be excited about fret position markers. I respect that! True tell tail of a real artist, nothing wrong with it what so ever! The flipper is mind blowing. Great and inspiring work! Edited August 31, 2004 by Gorecki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Thanks guys. I agree about the wood choice, but for the price point I didn't want to spend the many extra hours working into bright white maple. The walnut will look nicer when it's finished. I do plan on doing something similar with a quilt and teal blue stain later. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Doyle Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Christ...thats just beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a bicycle made of anarchy Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Mr. Clavin, do you have a website or something anywhere else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a bicycle made of anarchy Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 wait, i just found it! if others are looking, check out his profile... hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Executioner606 Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 WOW dude thats nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky1 Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 (edited) Edited September 19, 2004 by lucky1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Any pics of it with the walnut wet? That marbled looking abalone is friggin AMAZING!! Where'd you get it, and what's it called? I have an inspiration! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Any pics of it with the walnut wet? what the heck for?so the wood could swell and pop something out? i don't KNOW that would happen...but it seems like a bad idea great work clavin..i mean really...i think this is my favorite of yours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Thanks again everyone. None with the walnut wet yet Skibum. Believe me, I'm waiting to get new pics for my site until after it's got a finish. The wood tone is so different wet that it's unreal. It looks like a different inlay. Rich browns, and it really lights up everything. These pics are really horrible, and don't do it ANY justice at all. Normally photographing inlays is tough, but for some reason this particular one, maybe it's the neutral tones, is just not happening. I just tried again and they still lack any appeal at all. The marbled abalone your asking about is red abalone heart. It's the part of the abalone shell where the adductor (closing) muscle attatches to it. It has that amazing burled pattern. Few people carry it, and it's very expensive, almost limited in availablity. I pay more than you want to know for it, and I hoard just about as much as I can get The only good source for it is Chuck Ericson, the "duke of pearl" He has a $1000.00 minimum order. I order all of my main shell supplies through him. He supplies most luthiery suppliers in the country. It is available in an abalam sheet, but I try to stick to the real shells. I think the sheet in .05" stock is like $250.00 a 1/4 sheet. I may be off a bit, but it aint cheap! Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiefletcher Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Hi guys. This is a custom humidor top for a client. I have more to do (a little) but it's basically done. This is unfinished, but when wet the walnut gets a nich rich dark tone. It will look WAY better when finished. Getting good pics of this one was very very difficult for some reason. Thanks for looking! It's about 80 pieces total. Craig Lavin Walnut definately isnt the easiest wood to work with but I agree looks amazing when completed and finished. The inlays look great, but next time try yew, I just think it may end up a little darker than the walnut. I've made many a grandfather clock out of both and have to say my fave is yew. Congrats though the work is stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 Craig, fantastic as always. What do the characters mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted September 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 I was waiting for someone to ask that question! The Kanji ( started out many years ago as Chinese symbology, then adopted by Japanese) is Sea Turtle. The upper symbol is sea, the bottom turtle. You can tell by the shape of the bottom one it even looks like a turtle. Typically the holes in the Kanji are open, but I wanted to make it a little more organic looking, like it maybe had scales, by adding silver in the holes. A Japanese reader would slam it as not being text, but art has to has some freedom. It's not for a Japanese client anyway. If it had been I would have kept it as pure as possible. Even slight variations in the Kanji font (swoosh angle, etc...) can mean a whole different word. I researched the text relatively heavily before starting the art. Craig L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www Posted September 1, 2004 Report Share Posted September 1, 2004 I made some bells out of gas cyilnders used from welding gasses; and used japanese (chinese) characters for earth, wind, fire, and rain (made from brass). And then brazed them on the cylinders. I really like the idea for the sea turtle. I have shown your work to a lot of my friends who I think will be interested. All are pleasently stunned at your work. And now another great piece of work. I'm looking forward to the next fine piece of your work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted September 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Thanks www Future projects include a full neck grizzley bear scene, another spider web scene for fingerstylist Don Alder, and my Living sea -3 guitar- all the woods are purchased, now I just need to find a luthier with the skills and time.. I have a few worked out, but they may not have the time. First I need to live through this hurricane. It's probable that it may go right over me! Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 that...that's...well...a work of art. very beautiful! i checked out your website man...all of your stuff is beautiful. if you dont mind me enquiering, how much would that cost a client? i understand if you dont want to divulge that info. that's just some great work you do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted September 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Thanks once again. I'm always flattered and honored by your (the groups) generosity! You guys are critical, and have seen many things, so I enjoy being regarded highly on this forum As for pricing, I won't get into details, but it depends upon each piece. Each requires different levels of materials, engraving, and design, each step which requires different amounts of hours to perform. The cutting on this one took maybe 6 hours (most likely a bit less) , the engraving took maybe 4 or so hours. The design and research took maybe 8 if I had to total it up, so it really depends. Sanding it took 3.5 hours for some dumb reason. I work on a one price final quote, not an hourly rate as most inlayers do. I like to know I am not too limited on time, given the price. I need to see my pieces come to full fruition, not half-done, so I try to get the amount I need to make it all happen. I normally do way more work than what I charge for, just because my name being pristine means so much to me, and if I need to add something to make it look good it means more to make it look good than go for price. The original quote for this piece did NOT include the corner reef scene. It just looked to empty without it, so I added it in. I can't do that all the time, but the price point should leave a little room for artistic freedom. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted September 3, 2004 Report Share Posted September 3, 2004 Craig, beautiful work. Makes my wooden humidor sort of humble. I was especially interested in the kanji. I'm making a guitar for my son, and he requested a single character to be inlaid centered on the 12th fret of an ebony fretboard. He cut the character from pearl. Neither he nor I have ever worked with pearl before, or any inlay for that matter beyond fretboard dots. The character is big enough so it will extend across a fret. Here is a pic. Any special tips for this type work for a beginner. I've done the basic reading and have begun to practice the routing on scrap, etc. Thanks Craig. Truly an artist. Hunker down during Frances. Luckily, my other son moved from West Palm last week so no worries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clavin Posted September 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Hello Johnsilver. Thanks . Francis will be upon me by tomorrow, so don't expect any replies. I'll do the best I can, but I fully expect to have no power by noon, until??? If the inlay is going into something dark, like ebony just scribe it and route. Otherwise if you have the original cutting design you can take a copy of that and glue it down with 3-M tack cement ( found in a spray can) in place, and rout to the edges of the paper. It gives you a better routing pattern. It's a little more detailed then just that, and I don't have time to go into it. Sorry. As far as the inlay goes, it looks a little rough. I would get a set of the smallest needle files you can, and clean up the edges with those until everything looks smooth. Until ou get your cutting technique, you may want to file things. I still do, just to be perfect. Noones cuts are so clean at first on every piece that they don't at least have a little smoothing of the edges to do. Best of luck. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 Craig, hope Frances wasn't unkind to you. Thanks for the tips. You are right that the inlay is rough. It was just cut and hadn't been smoothed yet. Hopefully, I won't break my son's work when I do. It is going into an ebony fretboard so I plan to use the techniques I've read and studied and will practice. Just one specific. For a piece that extends across a fret, do you suggest using two pieces or one then cut it at the fret slot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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