my creation's

[guitarcrafter]

Thought I would share some pic's of my creation's .

As the story go's,... I met an elderly luthier 12 yr's ago ,..visited his shop and was instantly called to craft musical instrument's . Spent as much time with him as possible , and the rest is history .
I was an HVAC mechanical contractor by trade . But not anymore ,...I get up in the morning's , sip coffee on the porch , go to my shop ,..and create ,from the gift of a tree .

Hawian curly Koa , with old american chestnut binding trim , exotic ziocote heal cap and fretboard .

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/rod03/123_2359.jpg

Curly Maple Dobro , squareneck resonator guitar ,

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/rod03/blondefinish.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/rod03/7yes.jpg

[OzarkMtnDaredevil]

Hey there, guitarcrafter. Welcome to the forums!
That's some beautiful wood and craftsmanship. I wish I could do something like that everyday. As it is, I'm lucky to be able to spend three hours a week with my guitars. :'(

[guitarcrafter]

Hey daredevil ,...I'm a dobro player as well ,..so we just might have to call together the BWH musician clan ,.... for a week of picken ,eaten , and laugh's .

i hear a banjer in the distance ,...

[mike82934]

Beautiful work. I've always been kinda partial to the look of spalted maple, but I have to say that the curly maple that you used is equally nice.
Wanted to get into it myself- I think it's just a natural inclination once you gain respect for a truly great instrument. Like things sometimes do, it fell by the wayside, but I'm glad you were able to pursue it.
Do you do much inlay work? I've always found that to be one of the most interesting parts of custom guitars (after the wood, of course).

[guitarcrafter]

hey Mike

I do limited inlay ,.. but for the most part ,..I usually farm it out . There are some very gifted inlay artist out there ,..that blow my inlay abilities out of the water .

[woodsman1031]

Guitarcrafter,

Those are awsome! 3 or 4 years ago I built 2 solid body guitars from scratch. They were neck thru style. The first one I managed to get a fingerboard that was already fretted and on the 2nd I actually bought a slotted/radiused blank. Man installing thos frets and leveling them out is a chore. I could not imagine installing the last 8 or so frets on an acoustic :o I would be so afraid of crushing it. I remember also what a pain it was to get the bridge left to right placed just right so the strings were uniform down the fretboard. I used an adjustible bridge so the intonation was not a problem, but there is not much room for error on an acoustics intonation. I had a blast building those guitars because I actually made them from rough local lumber. I think shaping the back of the neck was my favorite part.

I know alot of solid body guitar builders call themselves "luthiers", but I think tru luthiery is the creation of acoustic instruments. I have MUCH respect for your craft!

Tommy

[OzarkMtnDaredevil]

Hey daredevil ,...I'm a dobro player as well ,..so we just might have to call together the BWH *musician clan ,.... for a week of picken ,eaten , *and laugh's .

* * *i hear a banjer in the distance ,...

Sounds like a plan to me, GC. Maybe we can call ourselves the Ozark Mountain Daredevils! Ooops! No, there's already an OMD. I play guitar, bass, harmonica and mess around on the keys. I've messed with banjo and dolbro too but, the tuning messed with me more. :-[
Tommy and Mike! Dudes! I know that song! ;D
I love woodworking. I used to gunsmith and stock-making / checkering was my forte.

Should I bring a ham and pickled okra? ;D