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An OM for Danocoustic


Freeman Keller

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I've agreed to build a guitar for forumite Danocoustic. I've explained to him all the reasons why this is a bad idea (for him) but he insists that some things just aren't logical. So, after some back and forth messages we've agreed on some basics and I've started on the guitar.

 

What Dano wants is a basic Orchestra Model (OM) sized guitar with a Sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides. If Martin was building this it would probably be called an OM-18 with some other letters after the name. I happen to have a very nice piece of Sitka that I picked up some time back and some pretty good Honduras mahogany, plus a couple of neck blanks and lots of other pieces of wood. I wiped some naphtha on the wood, sent a picture to Dano and he approved

 

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The piece in the foreground is some Brazilian rosewood left over from a previous project, I told Dano that I thought I could get a rosette, head plate and butt splice out of it. I don't have enough Braz to do all the binding but I did have East Indian and it would be very hard to tell the difference.

 

I got an OK from Dano so we have a basic plan.

 

 

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In the past I have used a plunge router base for a dremel tool to cut my rosettes and the channels but it has always been marginal. One of the things I do each time I build a guitar is think about a tool or device or jig or something that would have made the last one easier or better and add that to my tool box. Well, the rosette on the last one was a b*tch so I decided it was time to upgrade my rosette cutter. I had seen the one John Greven used and it was available from LMII so there is now one in my tool box.

 

Its a pain to set up and actually had some issues the way it arrived, but after spending the day fooling around, er, practicing, I was ready to trust my piece of Brazilian rosewood (you don't just run down to the lumber yard and get another piece if you screw up)

 

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Whew

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Just to keep this moving, I started cutting up pieces of mahogany to make a neck. First was to clamp the stick to a big fat block so it wouldn't tip over and sawing off a piece to be the head

 

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If you look closely there are two toothpicks sticking thru the wood (right next to one of the orange clamps - that holds them in alignment while the clamps are applied. Otherwise you have a cool high school physics demonstration - a 16 degree ramp lubricated with some yellow glue and some tangential forces means it wants to slide all over the place.

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In my early morning fuzz brain I thought "somebody wants to trade an Om for a Danocoustic?" (thought like fender telecoustic or that junk). What a relief to see this build thread. Oms are good, esp for yoga practitioners.

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In my early morning fuzz brain I thought "somebody wants to trade an Om for a Danocoustic?" (thought like fender telecoustic or that junk). What a relief to see this build thread. Oms are good' date=' esp for yoga practitioners.[/quote']

 

You could probably get four or five of them for a good OM ;)

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This is so cool to watch! Thanks' date=' Freeman for posting this and future updates. And congrats to you Danocoustic - I'll bet you are brimming over with anticipation.[/quote']

 

Nabisco, I am very enthused about this! Thanks for the congrats. A long-time dream coming true.

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Some progress over the weekend. Continuing with the neck, I glued the heel blocks together yesterday

 

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and routed the truss rod channel today

 

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Also plugging away on the back, here is the reinforcing strip going in

 

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Insides of the back and top, and the neck

 

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And the outsides

 

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You're next in line but I need to get some left handed spruce.

 

Speaking of spruce, I picked out the straightest grain and cut some braces.

 

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Sanded a little arch into them

 

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and put them in the old go bar

 

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You're next in line but I need to get some left handed spruce. . . .

Well, then, t_e_l_e's probably out of luck. We all know how rare left handed spruce is. Any chance of using ambidextrous cedar? ;) Seriously, it seems to be coming along nicely. I always love seeing your build threads even if I usually don't reply. Can't wait to see the finished product.

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Fired up the old cider press

 

 

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Got a couple of sides and some binding

 

 

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Put them in the mold overnight

 

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and glued the end blocks on

 

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