Helldunkel

Hi guys, I recently had the idea to take some pictures of a project I'm currently working on and since I'm always sending new members over here I thought I would post the pictures. This is my stripped down model, as usual no compromise I am using premium grade timbers, in this case Sapelli Mahogany neck and body, Indian rosewood fingerboard, enjoy

yes there is, I'm using my exlusive material which only comes in braun and black, no compromise... disagree, the new owner wants to put some black felt arround that aera, a chrome retainer would look mightly stupid blent with felt. Indeed I would have put some chrome in the other case... I would not well thank you..... .... and finally the flame maple rings are installed! I finally received the flame maple pickup mounting rings! Some more Hipshot porn? Some more sapelli porn?

Nope, the entire idea was to build something more traditional (loving all the emails I receive from people who tell me that I must build something more tradiotional with more curves.... also the binding on the f would be overdone IMO but you can try. not at all, I'm simply sharing pictures... It needs a belly cut, I know its realy thin but I think it would work well with the heel carve as a visual thing. I disagree, that would not look nice and also would be pointless on a 35mm thick body...

Nope, the entire idea was to play on the various colours from white, beige, light braun etc... Now you know why its ot chrome.... you will never see a bone nut on a hufschmid, never....

Obvioussly you are not reading my post... sapelli specie is probably THE most bright and tight sounding wood you can get depending which boards you select I find funny that little trolls like Our Souls inc. enjoy making fun of this, however what is paradoxal is that this same troll will tell you that the sound will change depending on the density of the wood which is exactly what I am trying to explain to you... I'm sorry to bother you so much and that you find more logical to believe in stereotypes like "mahogany sounds warm and muddy" and "maple sounds bright and snappy", indeed that all makes perfect sens, but in some ways, I am delighted and very happy that you enjoy that romance and poetry. And since to your eyes, "mahogany" sounds warm and that you have so much experience about the subject, then why create a topic? I'm also loving the way you compare an african specie to a specie from Honduras. Laugh as much as you want mister "I know everything".... Its really a hilarious experience to watch guys like you who pretend to know everything and dont even know the difference between what they call "mahogany" and "sapelli"... Funny that now that I've mentioned acclimatisation, you now start to think and mention it, because without me, you would be talking about "mahogany sounds warm and muddy type of conversations", which are indeed very constructive

a good month of hard work...

....and everybody telling me to do some more traditional guitar builds... haha I would never build a heel like on those Hubers, that's really not my cup of tea at all and really my design is totally different as you can see: That is a HUGE heel and HUGE body thinkness on their builds.... Dont forget my build is only 35mm thick, super thin... Hubers Me lol

The F-hole is routed... I've only built 8 guitars with a killswitch and now everybody thinks that I only build guitars with a red killswitch LOL That caution about open tuners is a stupid stereotype, I dont know who generated it, but these are by far the best tuning machines in the world, hipshot are simply the best! - period

Here are some pics of my new baby specifications are: -one piece premium grade sapelli mahogany body quatersawn -excentered body design -one piece premium grade sapelli mahogany neck quatersawn -hard rock sugar maple fingerboard with white binding edges and brass side dots -25.5'' scale, 24 frets, compound radius -high quality hipshot bridge and tuning machines chrome -pickups = SP Custom CHAOSLAND II et un BOOM LEACH with special wild finish -mounting rings will be flamed maple sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znZbbdr3YV4&feature=channel_video_title http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvoDGNL58tE&feature=channel_video_title

Now that was fast!!!! These items are no longer available, thank you

Trust me it's African Mahogany. He is talking about the figurine which you see on your blank (like flame, quilt, etc.), not the wood specie. There are several species from the big "mahogany family" which come from Africa, Sapelli is one of them In this case, its a bigger bee's wings figurine, bee's wings would usually look like this, like little bee's wings Yours it more like this: I really like that wood blank man but sending it over to switzerland would be crazy... Somebody must grab that board its gorgeous Types of Figure Burl: Burl figure is one of the rarest and most beautiful figure patterns. Burls are balloon shaped growths composed of swirls of grain laced with eyes. They are often sliced into veneer but can also be produced into solids. As with birds eye, burl figure shows up on flat sawn faces so the veneer is rotary sliced and lumber should not be quartered or the figure will be a pin instead of eye. Traditional uses for burl figure include car dash boards, furniture drawer fronts and tops, and gunstocks. Contemporary uses include electric guitar tops, table and counter tops and sculpture. Burls are considered by many to be cancers but I believe they are more similar to benign tumors. They are definitely cell structures growing out of control but they do not seem to kill the tree. Many burls are found in the root structure but they also occur on the trunk and branches. The pins will sprout new branches when exposed to light. Cluster Burls: Cluster Burls are small burl formations randomly found on the skins of logs. They produce figure similar to bird’s eye in both lumber and veneer. Veneer logs must be rotary sliced to develop the eyes. Lumber should be plain sawn or you end up with a claw scratch. Birdseye: Bird’s-eye is the name for a figure pattern most often associated with hard maple (acer saccharum) but I have found it in many other species including koa, black walnut, cherry, Tasmanian blackwood and a few rosewoods. The size of the “eyes” varies from small salt granular sizes to large ostrich skin eyes. The density of the patterns varies from an occasional eye to a rich galaxy of eyes a mile deep. The highest incidence of figured bird’s-eye maple occurs in regions with severe winters and short growing seasons including Maine, the eastern peninsula of Michigan, Canada and a few other areas. Sawyers in these regions tell me they find bird’s-eye figure most often on the north side of a dense woodlot. If at some point these wood lots are thinned they usually stop producing bird’s-eye. This leads me to conclude that the eye is a form of epicormic budding, or dormant buds that when exposed to light will grow a new branch. The eye figure only shows up on a flat sawn board or veneer – therefore, these veneers are produced on a rotary slicer. The grain is very complicated so it takes a skilled craftsman to work with it using hand tools and high quality sharp power tools to avoid tear out. Curly: One of the most common figure patterns is curl, also known as tiger stripe, and ripple. Curl is compression grain perpendicularly crossing the face of a board producing alternate stripes of hard and soft board fiber. This phenomenon creates a chatoyantcy in the board varying in strength depending on the degree of compression leaving the viewer with the illusion of a three dimensional surface. The indication of the figure in a log can be apparent under the bark of a log by the prevalence of waves or rolls on the log’s skin but the absentness of these rolls does not necessarily preclude the figure being present. Some species such as butternut and walnut logs hide their figure well. The figure will appear in flat sawn, rift sawn and quarter sawn lumber. Quarter sawn curly maple is also referred to as fiddle back maple (some people erroneously refer to heavy figured flat sawn curly maple as fiddle back, but violin makers only use quartered lumber for the back and sides). Curly figure can be present in many species among them koa, all maples, walnut, ash, oaks and even ebony. The trees that are figured tend to be rare mutations as I have found woodlots with trees from the same seed stock, soil, water supply and sun exposure where one tree is curly and all of the rest are plain. Most trees have a little triggering at the base of the trunk which is referred to as stump curl, but this disappears within a few feet from the base. Many trees also have a little triggering under large branches but again this does go far. The working properties of tiger grain are similar to most figure patterns, it takes sharp tools and a steady hand to achieve smooth surfaces from a complicated grain structure, but with patience and experience extraordinary results can be achieved. Tiger Stripes: When one hears the word tiger it conjures up images of a spectacularly striped animal stalking through the jungle. Transpose this image onto the face of a board and you now know why this word is associated with the tiger figure pattern. Tiger is a compression figure of stripes lying across the grain of a board. The compressions can vary in density and spacing from one log to another. This is what determines the degree of figure with the greater the variance between soft and hard texture the more striking the figure. The degree of figure is often rated 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A. This is completely relative rating system with one persons 2A being another’s 4A. Tiger and curl are similar and sometimes the terms are used interchangeably. We refer to a board as being tiger stripped when the stripes are long and bold while curl figure are shorter often overlapping “squiggles”. Tiger figure is found in many species, soft maple, big leaf maple, black walnut, koa the list actually goes on and on. Some of our favorites are Tasmanian blackwood, Swiss pear, soft maple and koa. Traditionally tiger maple was used by the colonials for fine furniture and Kentucky (Pennsylvania) rifle stocks. Tiger figured lumber today is prized throughout the woodworking community for all fine applications from musical instruments to jet airplane interiors. It can be used for a whole piece of furniture or for just the featured panels. As with any figured lumber it takes a greater skill level to use, sharp tools and a steady hand but with a little patience the spirit of the tiger will be loose and the results will be spectacular! Ropey: Ropey figure is a diagonal striping crossing the face of a board. It can be found in both quarter sawn and flat sawn lumber and veneer. The intensity of the figure can vary from mild to wild and can be extraordinary. We find beautiful rope in some of our Pennsylvania Cherry! Flame figure is harder to describe but someone once remarked that it looks like a topographical map on the face of a board. quilt: Quilt figure is one of the rarest and most valuable of all figure patterns. One way to describe quilt is wooden eggs compressed into the face of a board. Another is links of wooden sausages weaving through the grain. Quilt only shows up on the flat sawn grain so veneer must be rotary sliced and lumber must be flat sawn. An inexperienced sawyer can saw a quilted log and not see the first piece of figure. The figure can weave through portions of a log and it is not uncommon to have to reposition a log on the carriage many times to stay with the figure. This process is known as chasing the quilt. We have only found quilt in a few species, most notably maple, mahogany and bubinga. When finished a quilted piece is like a hologram changing its image from each different perspective. Quilt can be used wherever the finest woods are used, musical instruments, airplane interiors, yachts, dashboards, etc. The most famous all figured logs was a large catacalea mahogany from Belize harvested during the 80’s still known as “The Log”. Remnants of this log are bringing unbelievable prices. The quilt from this log was outlined in black giving the impression of tortoise shell. Pomelle: Pomelle is a small bubble like figure usually associated with species from former French West African colonies such as sapele, bubinga and mahogany. The beautiful sound of the word Pomelle resounds in the appearance of the figure in the board. It resembles a miniature quilt, bubbles suspended in the surface with light reflecting in all directions. Pomelle is used for musical instruments, jet airplane interiors, yachts, dashboards and almost any other application where the most beautiful wood is desired. It is more common to find pomelle in veneer than lumber, the veneer log dealers are very keen at spotting pomelle in the log and diverting them to the veneer mills. As with quilt, the figure can weave through a log, therefore it takes a great deal of experience to produce the figure from the log. Beeswing: Bee’s Wing is a figure pattern very similar to pomelle (see pomelle) and is most often associated with the mahogany, most notably Cuban and Genuine mahogany. The little bubbles of figure resemble thousands of little bees fluttering their wings through the grain of the board. There are many fine period antiques that feature bee’s wing mahogany. Bear Claw: Bear Claw is a term usually associated with the spruce tops of musical instruments. It runs across the vertical grain like scratches from a bear’s claws and offers a beautiful chatoyantcy as lights reflects off the finish. Waterfall Waterfall is a term someone, somewhere came up with to describe quilted (see quilt) bubinga, one of the most beautiful figured lumbers. Unfigured bubinga by itself is a world class hardwood as it’s nickname “African Rosewood” implies, but combined with a quilt or “waterfall” there are few other species that compare. This is a figure that shows up on the flat cut so veneers are commonly rotary sliced and lumber is plain sawn. crotch: Crotch figure is a figure that develops when a tree knits a trunk to a branch or two branches together and is often described as a plume or a feather. Almost all hardwood trees have crotches although not all crotches are created equal in splendor. Some species such as cherry tend to have ingrown bark inclusions and “nervous” pith cracks. This is often characteristic of trees with hard bark such as cherry, oak and hickory. In these species sometimes it is necessary to cut ten logs to get one series of high quality crotch sets. Other species such as walnut and mahogany have much friendlier natures and produce high quality crotch sets more frequently. Once a crotch log is cut and good quality pieces have been produced then extreme care must be taken in the drying process. Crotch grain is very similar to end grain and dries at a different rate then the face of the rest of the board. Waxing the figure pattern on the face of the board helps as do slow kiln schedules but even then grain separations are not uncommon. Accomplished wood workers can correct these defects using combinations of wedges of wood, sawdust and glue. When done properly it is almost impossible to see the correction. Uses for crotch grain range from gun stocks to featured panels. spalting Spalting is a figure pattern caused by fungus growing in trees and logs. It produces black streaks usually growing with the grain and can result in a beautiful marbling. Some species are more prone to spalting such as maple, birch and beech, while others such as walnut rarely spalt. The fungus enters the tree through an injury and starts to spread. The trick is to get dense spalting before the lumber turns to punk. It is not uncommon to find a log with spalting penetrating the end grain for a short distance but this can be little more than a distraction. What every wood worker wants is a spalted board where the black lines weave over the face like a spider web. This is enhanced when combined with other figure patters such as burl or birds eye. Some individuals have been able to get logs to spalt by storing them in a fungus prone environment. We have had mixed results trying some of these methods, one time getting good spalt and the next time a rotten log. Respirators are essential when working with spalt in that it is a fungus that can grow in your lungs. Keep your work area clean at all times and be careful where and how you dispose of the dust. fiddleback: Fiddle back is a figure pattern specific to musical instrument builders, in particular luthiers. Classical stringed instruments, violins, cellos, upright basses etc traditionally are built of quarter sawn European maple also known as English Sycamore or European Sycamore. The billets that the backs and sides of these instruments are made from are hand rived with a froe, a hand tool similar to a draw knife that is pounded with a mallet to produce stress free perfectly quartered lumber. Student models are often made from non figured less expensive lumber but the better instruments are built with curly quarter sawn sets. This figure is known as fiddle back. North American luthiers have expanded the definition of the term to include quarter sawn curly lumber of any of the species that are used to build stringed instruments. Image number two is an example of fiddle back ovancol, a lumber used by more contemporary builders.

I have these bridges here which I am not using. They are brand new, never used them: - Wilkinson/Gotoh Adjustable Bridge/Tailpiece price paid new = 44$ - Gotoh Standard four string Bass Bridge price paid new = 23$ And one top of that I've of course also paid international shipping / TAX But I cant stand the sight of those bridges anymore and they must go so.... This is obvioussly an interesting situation in which I am looser if I sell them because of the shipping costs So I'm up for a trade: this against a new 8 FL OZ (240 ml) bottle of TrueOil finish. This is how it comes, sorry no more screws...

All things can NOT be equal because like I've mentioned, every guitar is unique and every piece of wood is unique I'm happy that you can say that "hard maple and ebony will usually sound brighter and tighter than Honduran/African mahogany and Indian rosewood; all other things being equal." To me this makes total non sens and is just bruhaha The Mahogany family, especially the sapelli specie is probably THE most bright and tight sounding wood you can get depending which boards you select, and I think that I would certainly not be using it if it sounded "warm and muddy" like most people who have no experience using it tend to believe because of those general guidelines that you mention, in fact I was one of the very first to build full "mahogany" 8 string guitars But of course this is my opinion which is of course subjective and based on my personal experience as a builder.