TheCaffeinatedOne Posted January 19, 2023 Report Share Posted January 19, 2023 I've been intending to do this for the last 30 years, but life kept intervening. Recently retired - I have no more excuses. So here goes. It's a dreadnought. The sides and back materials are Lovoa (aka "African walnut" for some reason. It's part of the Mahogany family). Top will be Sitka spruce. Neck is Honduras mahogany, fretboard and bridge are ebony, and I'm toying with the idea of using curly maple for binding the body and the fretboard. I just finished binding a rosewood fretboard in maple and it came out well. I'm going slowly as each minute seems like a learning experience. I've been studying this stuff all my adult life, since the mid - 1970s when Michael Gurian and Charles Fox were both within 40 miles of my door in Vermont. Been hanging onto the wood I bought from Gurian all these years. I expect its probably dry enough now. . . Here are a few shots of my crazy small shop and progress to date. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TheCaffeinatedOne Posted January 19, 2023 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted January 19, 2023 (edited) Here are the sides together. The heel block will be substantially lightened before it's complete. The detail shows some nice flash from the African walnut. Side reinforcements are curly maple. They go right to the rim, top and back. I didn't want a weak spot at the edge of the kerfing as would result if I ran them to the edge of the kerfing but not beyond. That would become a spot where moments of force would congregate, so to speak. I used a light coat of shellac on the inside. Edited January 19, 2023 by TheCaffeinatedOne add photos 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCaffeinatedOne Posted January 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 My shooting board. Simple and does a good job with a decent plane. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCaffeinatedOne Posted January 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 A new toy arrived by brown truck yesterday. Nicely machined and just under $100. Down cut router bits for the trusty Dremel are on their way. Now maybe I can stop being afraid to work on the rosette. . . 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted January 23, 2023 Report Share Posted January 23, 2023 Looks like you're off to a flying start. I've got that rosette cutter, it's a really good bit of kit. I found it quite scary cutting the route for the rosette the first time and did get a bit of tearout on the spruce, second time round I wiped a bit of danish oil on the area which helped a lot, I expect a bit of schellac would work just as well. Looking forward to seeing it progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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