The Apprentice

[kwakatak]

yeah, some Cocobolo sets are gorgeous. I was after a lighter colour for this present one though. I have also just bought this figured Ovangkol back and side set : which is awful pretty stuff that I'll use sometime in the future

That's pretty. Another tonewood similar to rosewood eh?

I'm really starting to ache to build now. I know I have a lot to do beforehand though. Reading, doodling, knocking on boards of wood...I don't have much time though. I guess I should spend less time here. Maybe the GAS will go away. I'm sure my family would be happier! :poke:

[rickoshea]

That's pretty. Another tonewood similar to rosewood eh? I'm really starting to ache to build now . I know I have a lot to do beforehand though. Reading, doodling, knocking on boards of wood...I don't have much time though. I guess I should spend less time here. Maybe the GAS will go away. I'm sure my family would be happier!

it had to happen lol .... give in and go for it or you'll start losing sleep

I have one day before I go on holiday for 3 weeks. I badly want to get her strung up so I escaped for a bit today and set about gluing the bridge. Here are the tools of the trade - a long reach clamp, a clamping caul that will fit over the bridgeplate inside the body, and Stewmacs bridge clamping caul :



I reckon I spent most of my bloody time checking all was good with the position of the thing. One wee check was to mark the string positions at the nut (normally 3mms in from the edge of the fingerboard) :



then hold a straight edge from these marks to the pin holes for the 1st and 6th strings. The angle should look the same for both - thankfully it did.

The clamping caul for the bridgeplate is held in place inside the body with a bit of double sided tape and then the bridge is taped and clamped in place. 2x2mm holes are drilled through the 1st and 6th pin holes and all is held firmly with a couple of wee screws into the caul inside:



Yet another check that all is well with position then the screws are removed, glue applied, the screws put back and all is firmly clamped up :



and glue squeeze out cleaned up - using cocktail sticks rather than my dental instruments to avoid destroying the polish :



this has to be left overnight .... I have a few hours tomorrow to get the tuners on, the nut and saddle done and the end pin in. 6am start then

[kwakatak]

Sweet! what kind of hardware (i.e. pins, nut and saddle and tuning machines) will you be using?

 

BTW, I intend to give in eventually. I don't want to jinx it by talking about it openly just yet. I think it'd do me good to put effort into something I'm passionate about outside of my family.

[larry50]

it had to happen lol .... give in and go for it or you'll start losing sleep I have one day before I go on holiday for 3 weeks. I badly want to get her strung up so I escaped for a bit today and set about gluing the bridge. Here are the tools of the trade - a long reach clamp, a clamping caul that will fit over the bridgeplate inside the body, and Stewmacs bridge clamping caul : I reckon I spent most of my bloody time checking all was good with the position of the thing. One wee check was to mark the string positions at the nut (normally 3mms in from the edge of the fingerboard) : then hold a straight edge from these marks to the pin holes for the 1st and 6th strings. The angle should look the same for both - thankfully it did. The clamping caul for the bridgeplate is held in place inside the body with a bit of double sided tape and then the bridge is taped and clamped in place. 2x2mm holes are drilled through the 1st and 6th pin holes and all is held firmly with a couple of wee screws into the caul inside: Yet another check that all is well with position then the screws are removed, glue applied, the screws put back and all is firmly clamped up : and glue squeeze out cleaned up - using cocktail sticks rather than my dental instruments to avoid destroying the polish : this has to be left overnight .... I have a few hours tomorrow to get the tuners on, the nut and saddle done and the end pin in. 6am start then

Don't rush it. If it has to wait, then wait and find the time you need. Better that than Italy ruined with thoughts of a screwed up bridge or nut.

[gitmo]

It's really coming out great.

 

Enjoy your vacation.

[rickoshea]

Neil - I'm using a bone nut/saddle, horn pins (lets not start on bridgepins lol) and Gotoh open geared silver/brass tuners.

Larry - no chance of me rushing her at this stage .... I did however make a 7am start cause I knew my wife was going for a sleep in :



the first job was getting the tuners in. I had chosen these fellas for no other reason than I like the look of them :



I needed to ream out the holes a touch to get the collars to fit snugly :





then the tuners are positioned and screwed on :



Next came the nut. I had already trimmed and sanded it to fit so I just had to file the nut slots. Stewmacs nut slotting guide rule made this a nice easy job :



and the nut is scribed where marked in preparation for filing :



Again I had already marked the fingerboard radius onto the front face of the nut using a half pencil run over the 1st fret to transfer this onto it. The files I got are superb ... they made it a nice job filing the slots to the depth of the transferred radius. The slots are also filed to a slight angle towards the headstock :





the base of each slot is rounded off slightly with a round needle file then the back surface of the nut is rounded off to finish shape it. Finally its buffed with a ceramic polishing wheel from work to shine it .... shiny nuts are a good thing. A wee dab of superglue on the front surface and in it goes :

[rickoshea]

next came the saddle. Again - the fingerboard radius is transferred onto it with a half pencil run over the last fret :



The saddle is sanded and filed to this radius continually checking the action at the 12th fret with a straight edge. The corners are rounded off and then its given a back to front radius so the strings will break over the front edge. Finally its also polished up with the ceramic polishing wheel :



Then onto the bridgepin holes. No shaky hands allowed for this step .... a drill bit the same size as the base of the pins is used and (carefully) the holes are drilled through the bridge, soundboard, bridgeplate and bridgeplate caul. The holes are then reamed until the pins fit nice and snugly :



At this stage my anticipation was reaching fever pitch lol. There was still one thing to do though. The end pin. This was unfair as it involved drilling through the end graft with a bloody big brad bit. One slip and you'd have heard me screaming in America :



No slips though .... and the Oak end pin fitted fine after a tiny bit of sanding :



I did some fret dressing which went nicely and so .... she was done. A final photograph in the workshop before a very shaky handed string up :

[rickoshea]

and she's finished .... and has had her first venture out of the workshop for some pics. I know some of you dont like pickguards but I do - this one suits the rosette and my French polish finish is precious to me :

















and finally with a bottle of Champagne. I bought this in January when I started .... now it can be drunk :




Now obviously I'm a weeeee bit biased lol but damn she sounds magnificent. Very Yamaha LL series which is what I was after. The balance is incredible and the mids and highs beautifully defined and shimmery. I attribute this not to my building but to more than a slice of good luck as I really didnt know the intricacies of what to look for when voicing the guitar. I've no time today to do any sound clips as my wife is already "a little frustrated" with me (those of us who are married will know what I mean lol). I will do clips in a few weeks when I'm back though.

One thing - without Garys help theres no way I could have got his far. He's written me a bloody "Lord of the Rings" book-sized worth of e-mails, drawings, plans etc that have enabled a completly handless arse like myself to build a guitar. Cheers mate - BIG time.

So - if you're interested in building a guitar .... GO for it. Its great fun and immensely satisfying.

..... she's probably not shiny enough for Knock though - bastard.

[Greymuzzle]

Let me be first...

[Greymuzzle]

To say "Fekkin' Magnifique!"

I have to go the dentist






and a get a great big bib to catch the drool.

Get you unto Abbey Road to make the sound clips, everything else has been done to the highest standards!

Sincere congratulations on a guitar which money couldn't have bought you.

[katopp]

Congratulations and if she sounds only half as sweet as she looks - you've got a bloody stunner!

 

Are you taking orders?

[garthman]

Mucho congratulations, mate

Was it only last January when you started? LOL :poke:

Have a great holiday. Heading South?

[rickoshea]

Thanks all ... Abbey Road eh Grey? lol .... I wish

katopp - it would be a long wait judging by how long this one has taken me . I have one to do, scarily for a professional guitarist. If he doesnt like it sod it, I'll have another to play


Garthy - cheers mate , I'm off to the coast of Tuscany for 3 weeks via Chamonix and the Mont Blanc tunnel tomorrow. I fully intend to give Florence, Rome, Siena and San Gimignano a good whirl and the rest of the time - beach, sun and sea. Can't be bad

and yes, it was January you git :poke:

[rickoshea]

forgot to mention Garthy .... I actually bought the stuff from LMI in November 2009

[knockwood]

Congrats!



Holy crap, that thing is just exquisite. I may have missed something at the outset, but who did the marquetry for the rosette? If you tell me you did that yourself, I will jump out my window, so think carefully. I live in a first floor apartment, but still...

Your thread has been bookmarked in my "Lutherie" folder for reference in the event I should grow the gonads to begin. I've been looking around for instructional DVDs on building. Very difficult to tell what's good vs. what is just overpriced out there. In the "free" section, there is this one random dude who's been video-documenting a complete build project on YT. Pretty fascinating {censored}, I have to say:

[meandi]

ou la la...very cool!

[HarleyGator]

Rick, I, like many here have been following your build with great interest. You have done a magnificent job on the Git! I do some woodworking and have thought of doing a build myself, and you have inspired me to do one.

Also, as you are going on vacation I have a suggestion!

Don't leave that new Git all alone!!! Just fly my wife and I over to France and we will happily house sit and I will happily "Git Sit" your new baby for you!!

It will be broken in nicely for you when you return!!

Have a great vacation and once again, well done sir!


Mike

[gitnoob]

Congrats! Best looking Yamaha clone I've ever seen!

Seriously, that's an outrageously good first build. Mine will more closely resemble a packing crate, if I ever do one.

In the "free" section, there is this one random dude who's been video-documenting a complete build project on YT. Pretty fascinating {censored}, I have to say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4_M5PcJQmU

Heh. That's no random dude. World class.

[bigald18]

Well Rick,

The guitar looks magnificent, especially for a first try. Congratulations to you on a job well done. Enjoy!

BigAl

[gitmo]

Done already? Seems like we just started the other day.

 

 

 

 

Tuners and bridge pins were a nice touch among many others.

[Gary Palmer]

Rick,

May I be the first from the Palmer clan (We've all been following your progress intently) to congratulate you on the end results of what may well be your first build, but certainly not your last. Definitely proof of your abilities and what can be achieved. Brilliant stuff and I love the pic's! The end results defy the fact you'd never carried out so many of the steps you'd undertaken.

Sound-wise she'll continue improving throughout her lifetime and I'm delighted you're happy with the instrument you've produced. The shimmer to her tone (Overtones) and overall sound are the end result of your bracing, thicknessing of soundboard and backplate, as well as soundboard and backplate timber choices. The list goes on.

Bracing -wise you've applied a totally different bracing pattern and style to the one supplied, so nobody else with an LMI or any other kit has or could produce the same. It and the resulting tonality is as indivual to a builder as a set of fingerprints. You voiced her and are reaping the benefits of the time and effort you've placed in your work. The resulting tonality is yours and yours alone and you've now produced a dreadnought with "The Morrison Tone" and not a copy of someone else vision of what the same style of instrument should sound like. Tone can still be tweaked at any time if need be and certain aspects of the build process will be further contoured, refined and enhanced as you progress through the various other body styles you touch upon as each aspect becomes your own and your experience expands.

You're more than welcome to any help I've given and can ever give, but the work and end results are all your own and you deserve a resounding pat on the back for your achievements which range through timber choice, materials manipulation, voicing, learning how to use the tools involved, finishing and set-up. Quite a list and most certainly a resounding success for someone who self admittedly couldn't erect shelving before this project ever began.

Kudos to you for putting so much work and effort into building this instrument.

The time spent actually building - if you deduct the jig making, reading up on information and study time where you've actually been learning how to use and work with hand tools - will prove nowhere near what may seem like months spent in the workshop.

Again, well done mate. You've walked the walk.

Gary

[Gary Palmer]

Congrats! Best looking Yamaha clone I've ever seen! Seriously, that's an outrageously good first build. Mine will more closely resemble a packing crate, if I ever do one. Heh. That's no random dude. World class.

No Yamaha clones were used, harmed, or made at any stage of this production.

[rickoshea]

Knock .... worry not you eejit lol, you're safe. The rosette was pre-installed by LMI. If I had tried that this thread would still be in its infancy . Interesting link you provided by the way, but sadly his talent doesnt match that of the original (you utter swine). You could however have a gander at this guys vids :

all good stuff and some good tips etc

Harley .... you're more than welcome to come guitar-sit lol. She's going to be a bit lonely for 3 weeks - no musical instruments are allowed where I'm going but I have my photographs of her . I'm glad you're going to try building. Gary and I were hoping that this may inspire some people to give it a shot. I cant recommend LMI's woods/products highly enough, and their kit builder is a great place to start.

BigAl, Gitmo and Meandi .... many thanks. If anyone is interested in seeing some really beautiful builds have a wee look at some of meandi's threads. Damn those archtops are something else.

Gary .... well, theres no way I can thank you enough. Some (no - many lol) of my questions to you must have been like someone asking me "what is a tooth" . You've also saved the build (and my sanity) several times, need I mention greaseproof paper when gluing in the end blocks? and of course the fact that you spotted that the bracework was too fine and needed laminating for the design we chose. If I had continued there then Knock would have been a happy chappie as she would quite possibly have exploded and blown my pecker off on string up lol. I didnt know (yup - yet something else I didnt know lol) that the shimmering was "overtones". Its a beautiful sound, and one that I can feel through her when I'm playing ... I love it

One thing this whole process and all Gary's help has taught me is just how much knowledge Luthiers have. The theory of building/voicing/crafting a guitar is something I will only ever touch on, not to mention what goes into building other instruments like Violins, Cellos etc etc, Holy God the headstocks alone on those are true works of art. As I've told you mate - if I had my time again theres no way I'd be working on bloody teeth

you know my next "adventurous project" Gary .... aye, its time to get the cellar doors done when I get back or divorce will be swift and sure (of course I'll get the Walnut sides bent at the same time )

[DeepEnd]

Awesome!

[missedmyexit]

Looks fantastic!