henrim Posted June 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Just to recap the last five months or so.... First, thanks everybody! Bukoffsky, congrats for the GOTM! I'l have yet to see the build, but will check it out as soon as I'm done with this post. Anyways good to hear there are other people with the same background One of my teachers builds guitars: http://versoul.com/ . He was teaching me back in -94-95. I reckon we had a brief discussion about the subject back then... What has happened in last five months. First off all I did finish building my paint booth. Other that that, this pic pretty much summarizes it: 1. The build number one (one that will get it's own thread once it is compleately ready) has been re-finished. Nice white water-bourne paint job is done. Still waiting for few coats of clear (KTM-9). 2. The build number two has gotten numerous goats of shellac been applied and scraped. So the top and the headstock are grain filled and it is almost ready to be clear coated. It has new pups too... 3. The build number three has it's fingerboard fretted (oh, I'll show you the details. It is nicely done!) and the headstock is painted, once again waiting for the clear... Oh and the baby is fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post henrim Posted April 4, 2022 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 It’s been a while Life happened, got busy with other things. Started new projects unrelated to guitars. As my son has started to play guitar and has taken my only playable electric in his use I dug out the projects from cupboard and started to work on them again couple of months ago. The so called number three is now pretty much ready. Reworked a few details and the whole color scheme changed. I wanted to keep the grain visible. Ebonized the swamp ash body with iron oxide (iron vinegar solution). Iron oxide reacts with tannins in wood and turns wood to black. Ash is low in tannins so I first had to treat the body with tannin solution. To finish the body I applied Osmo wax-oil on it. Swamp ash body, ebonized with tannins and iron. Osmo oil/wax on top. European maple neck. Treated with boiled linseed oil. Bolt-on with M6 bolts and inserts. Ebony fingerboard. Ebony headstock plate Heat treated titanium emblem. Dual action truss rod Jumbo frets Tuners: Schaller M6 Back mounted pickups Neck pickup: EMG H4A Bridge pickup: EMG H4 Bridge: Schaller Hannes 6 One volume and one tone + a 5-way rotary switch. I’m currently using only 3 positions (N/B/Both). Possibly going use the remaining two positions to split the pickups (or change to 3-way switch). Alpha 500K pots and currently a 33nf greenie capacitor. Custom jack assembly with switchcraft jack. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 Clean and clear! Very cool, and late is always better than never! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 A perfect example of "How to build a Comfortable Guitar without Arm and Body Contours"! That thing looks like it could swim through wavy notes like a loon, maybe that impression came from the first photo where I first though about a lakeside dock. There's something very organic, like in the stones or driftwood on a beach, ground against the bottom by waves and ice until all rough edges have disappeared. Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted April 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 Thanks guys! Here's one pic from the gut side. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 Slinky. The top reminds me of a laminated top semi and the back an Ibanez Radius. Very comfy no doubt. Does it anchor over the thigh or can it be a little slide-y? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted April 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 (edited) 29 minutes ago, Prostheta said: Slinky. The top reminds me of a laminated top semi and the back an Ibanez Radius. Very comfy no doubt. Does it anchor over the thigh or can it be a little slide-y? A bit slidy yes. I don't have strap buttons on it yet so I don't really know how it balances when played in standing position. If UPS is kind enough to deliver my parcel I should have them today though. Here's a couple of pictures of test piece I made to try out how to back mount the pickups. It was also to test waterbourne white paint to finish the guitar. But plans changed and the guitar became black instead. This is a solid body "Jouhikko" with cello strings. Made of aspen. I have never played a real jouhikko in my life so obviously I didn't have a clue what I was doing. As an Instrument it may not be great but it was fun to make and learned a few things. Edited April 4, 2022 by henrim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 Haapa is an interesting choice of wood. Matchsticks! The tension isn't huge on that though of course, plus it's not like a small cross section in a guitar neck. Very minimalist design you've got going on.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted April 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 28 minutes ago, Prostheta said: Haapa is an interesting choice of wood. Matchsticks! The tension isn't huge on that though of course, plus it's not like a small cross section in a guitar neck. Very minimalist design you've got going on.... Yes not the most obvious choice but a traditional wood for all kinds of utensils in Finland. Pärekori for example. I actually like aspen a lot. It has beautiful light color and this should not be painted. I store birch, maple and aspen, so I guess it was not very carefully made choice. I just had a suitable slab to make this thing. Esthetics come from my background as an industrial designer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 Very cool Henri. I've been working designing and fabricating in the shipbuilding and public space industry over here in Raisio the last few years. What's your own design area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 Lol. Are there other members here apart from finnish engineers? That's beautiful looking design. From what I've understood kantele is trad. made from aspen too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 I'm not an engineer, I'm a blue collar PC repair guy. No university level studies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 Truly Finnish problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted April 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 1 hour ago, Prostheta said: Very cool Henri. I've been working designing and fabricating in the shipbuilding and public space industry over here in Raisio the last few years. What's your own design area? My day job is in the field of service design these days, so mostly immaterial stuff. 23 minutes ago, nakedzen said: Lol. Are there other members here apart from finnish engineers? That's beautiful looking design. From what I've understood kantele is trad. made from aspen too. I studied in University of Art and Design so I'm not a proper engineer. Aspen is used for making kantele as well as traditional jouhikko. I believe it is because of availability and because it is easy to work with hand tools, rather than it's superior sound qualities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 super cool build above. love the smoothness of it all. also... if I'm not mistaken... something pretty cool about an idea that started when a kid was born... and finished when that kid was old enough to play guitar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 It's a pain in the arse for blunting tools though. It takes up silica from the ground, so it's gritty stuff. Poplar is an easier alternative, even if it isn't as commonly available. I love the pistachio type mineral staining in Poppeli. It would make a nice top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 Sleek is the word that comes to mind.....for both of those. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted April 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 1 hour ago, Prostheta said: It's a pain in the arse for blunting tools though. It takes up silica from the ground, so it's gritty stuff. Poplar is an easier alternative, even if it isn't as commonly available. I love the pistachio type mineral staining in Poppeli. It would make a nice top. That is the reason it is not used (that) much commercially these days. Bad for saws and planers. Aspen likes to be sanded though. In the home shop I don't like to put aspen through the planer, but I plane it with hand plane as it doesn't take much time to re-sharpen the blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 A side note about aspen, something I heard from a friend who had heard it from a carpenter: It rots or doesn't rot easily depending on the ground it has grown in. It's because of how it takes silica from the ground but don't ask me which way the silica content should be for rot-resistant wood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Woozle Posted April 4, 2022 Report Share Posted April 4, 2022 I like the way you've done the control knobs on this build, it makes me think of top-end hi-fi kit. I also am not a Finnish engineer, these days I test software for a living but by education I'm an archaeologist and have also worked as a blacksmith - gives you an odd perspective on the world, but there you go! One of these days I will get enough maple in to build myself an old English hearpe, based on the Taplow and Sutton Hoo remains, since I have photocopies take from the Sutton Hoo excavation reports of the reconstruction plan... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 5, 2022 Report Share Posted April 5, 2022 That's a very laudable project. If you'd like to open a discussion on that instrument (remember to @ my user name in) then I'm certain that there's a lot to discover and learn. If there's one thing I enjoy, that's a puzzle....and as I'm sure you'll agree, having one isolated example of a historical item is not representative of the wider varieties of them from that time, or indeed where it fits into the evolution and development of that instrument. I'd dislike very much for alien archaeologists to dive beneath the waves, only to recover a Gibson Corvus and state that it represents our highest point in instrument making. I can't say that I have heard of a hearpe before....a Google Image Search using the term "English Hearpe" only produced images of cold sores and a tr-ex.me image translation from English to Finnish for "I have herpes". Clearly not research grade. Wikipedia was more forthcoming on their Anglo-Saxon Lyre page. The first thing that struck my eye was the (decorative?) inlaid spots around the edge, the second being the join around the peghead. I wonder what form of joint they used in that time.... I digress and am in danger of derailing this thread.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 5, 2022 Report Share Posted April 5, 2022 40 minutes ago, Prostheta said: I can't say that I have heard of a hearpe before....a Google Image Search using the term "English Hearpe" only produced images of cold sores and a tr-ex.me image translation from English to Finnish for "I have herpes". Clearly not research grade. Funny. In the morning I searched for "Hearpe" for the same reason and found articles, images and videos, all relevant and on the first page. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted April 5, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2022 1 hour ago, Prostheta said: I digress and am in danger of derailing this thread.... While I think the subject deserves its own thread I’m happy I reopened this age old thread that ignited discussion about the matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Woozle Posted April 5, 2022 Report Share Posted April 5, 2022 Since I seem to have got some interest in the hearpe, I'll start a thread over in the non-guitar build section - I can scan what I've got and see what I can find in the way of links. @Prostheta to quickly answer your question, mortice and tenon joints were used for the peg arm, and the decorative bits (usually referred to as escutcheons in archaeological literature) are hiding the joint. More once I've got a proper thread going... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted April 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) So this guitar. Now that I've played it a bit more I think the passive EMG's need to go. The good thing about the design is that it's really easy to change pickups without removing strings I will install EMG 57/66 TW pair to it. Since they are active some rewiring is needed though. At the same time I'll do some refining to the cavity area. And actually I need to take the strings off too to fix the nut. I filed it a bit too low. Before making a new nut I'm going to try putting a 0.1mm shim under it and see if that works better. Other than those fixes it's an ok solid body. (Maybe the neck is going to see some shaving at some point too...) I was going to put some cheap Fleor pickups to my 3-pickup rebuild guitar but now the EMG H4 and H4A will go to that guitar. Edited April 17, 2022 by henrim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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