DocFMF Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Well all I am ready to start on my next two project lap steel guitars. I am going to build two concert ukulele size Les Paul style body's. cherry square necks (ala dobro), book matched walnut bottoms, cherry mid body's, one will have a book matched spalted maple top and the other a book matched flamed maple top. One will have an 18 fret 23" rosewood fret board and the other maple. The nut and bridge will be of the roller style, Grover tuners, and the pickups will be P 90 style connected to a Les Paul style wiring harness. But even though they will have Les Paul style body's. They will also be semi hollow body with carved walnut inlayed F holes. I am going to call them buffalo nickel guitars and true to the name, they will have an actual 1910 to 1930 buffalo nickel mounted in each head stock. Oh yes.... a two piece 1/8" binding of cream and black. I have started receiving parts and I am ready to get started. I can't wait. I'm open to ideas, comments, & opinions.... Pictures to come..... Doc FMF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Ohhhhhh I'm looking forward to this! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocFMF Posted October 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Here is where I am so far. How's that for a preview? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 15 hours ago, DocFMF said: How's that for a preview? Tantalizing....... SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocFMF Posted October 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 I have an approximately 60 year old elm tree in the back of my rental house that is ready to fell. I cut one of the large branches from the crotch of the tree then quarter sawed the wood. The wood has an amazing amount of spalt (sort of like what's found in box elder but with around only half of the red hues). The spalt does not appear to be bad enough to destabilize the wood. So I am going to quarter saw as much of the tree as I can then let it age for a year or so. Elm has about the same hardness and ease of use as soft maple and makes pretty much the same tone. The base is a huge burl about 2 feet in length right down to the root ball. the trunk is approximately 2 1/2 feet in diameter. It looks as if I'll have enough guitar/project wood for years to come. Yay me..... Time to rent the portable saw mill from the lawnmower shop Hehehehe... Doc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocFMF Posted October 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 (edited) Bad news.... The inside of the trunk was pretty ugly. I will be able to salvage some of the wood but it looks like Dutch elm disease and ants seem to have rendered much of the heart wood to a semi sponge consistency. The burl seems to be intact and is going in trade to a guy near me with a small saw mill operation who is going to cut my 3 china berry trees and whatever he can salvage from the elm into boards for me.. It's not what I was hoping for but better than nothing. China berry trees have an interesting grain pattern but are very heavy wood. Maybe I'll make some tables and thin guitar tops out of them. Ah well..... Back to the project at hand. I just received my new router bits and it's time to make sawdust. Sorry for going off topic. Doc Edited October 29, 2016 by DocFMF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocFMF Posted November 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 (edited) I finally got all my parts in and it's time to start making sawdust. Start with some lovely cherry & walnut. Add both figured and spalted maple. A red oak fret board. then add the stuff.... I really like the buffalo nickels on the knobs. Next step.... I will stain and then remove the tape on the fret boards to reveal some good looking fret markers. I really wish the pictures would do the wood justice. Edited November 11, 2016 by DocFMF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 11, 2016 Report Share Posted November 11, 2016 You've got some mighty tasty raw materials there Doc. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocFMF Posted November 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2016 (edited) Since I have nothing new to report on the project today. I figured I would give you a laugh. I started this project when I was still building dulcimers.... I had suddenly started Jonesing to add a tenor & concert ukulele to my collection . I saw a show on PBS and was hooked. But I was in the middle of a custom dulcimer build. Somehow I think I got confused. With that said, I give you the 4x4 string double neck Dulcelele or the Conjoined concert/tenor Ukumer..... Depends on which side you sit on. The top is white pine, the sides are cypress, bottom is yellow pine, the necks are mahogany, the fret boards are rosewood and maple (respectively) and the binding is walnut. You can say it's nothing more than a scrap lumber pile Frankenstein piece , but I can tell you that it has lovely tap tones that seem to echo on forever. I going to tune one neck to G and the other in D on nylon ukulele strings. They should give it a plinky bluesy sound. I never render wood to the BBQ without squeezing everything I can out of it first. LOL Edited November 12, 2016 by DocFMF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocFMF Posted November 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2016 Maybe nylon guitar strings.... Not sure yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 13, 2016 Report Share Posted November 13, 2016 That's cool as hell. I can see ZZTop playing bluegrass and spinning that end for end just like their fuzzy explorers. Where's the bridge going? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocFMF Posted November 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 To be honest I'm not sure. I have been playing with ideas to complete this project for almost 5 years. I could just cut it in half and add a flat end to each piece and make a pair of ukuleles. Or I could install a dulcimer fret board and head stock and make it a dulcimer. I could add a violin fret board, strings, and bridge and create a bowed dulcimer. or I could just turn it upside down and use it as a bongo Cajon drum or add a piezo pickup and make it a kick box drum. I know it's silly but it makes a great conversation starter just as it sits now for when someone comes into my work shop. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 14, 2016 Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 I think you should put two bridges on it wherever the scale lengths dictate and a sort of tail piece right in the middle to give the bridges a break angle. Then run the strings all the way through from headstock to headstock. That will mean one side is strung in reverse order, but you ought to get some wild sympathetic vibrations. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocFMF Posted November 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2016 (edited) Or I could do a re stringing, add a 24.5 hollow chromatic scale 22 fret board, and make every other string a drone string from the one that comes before... Kinda like a mandolin but instead on a very unique dulcimer. The possibilities are endless. LOL As for my project at hand..... It's starting to take shape. The first one that is.... Doc Edited November 19, 2016 by DocFMF 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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