01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Just for fun over a weekend, I made this functional sculpture. It's an 1890s Lyon and Healy 5-string banjo that I found at a craft fair for $10...severely broken, and simply not worth repairing. Trust me. Vintage instruments are sacred to me, but this was a lost cause! Taking off the head, I decided to fill it with copper tubing, valves, spigots, gauges and gears. A working steampunk clock! (Steampunk is a design genre which evokes the steam era tech in a modern world...think Jules Verne with a desktop computer, and what it would look like!) I finished it off with vintage watch faces for the 12 number indicators.
It is complete with a wind-up manual alarm on the neck. (The pressure gauge is always in the red, to encourage people to set off the alarm!) So, is it really steam-powered...of course not! It looks pretty cool however with the water feed appearing to come out of the wall like a real pipe. It also keeps perfect time! This now adorns the wall in the office of my guitar shop. Click the photos for bigger shots! Enjoy the video at the bottom, where you'll see the alarm (and hear it).
05:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I'm reproducing an old Martin bridge here by hand, and with the the help of a wonderful old Clausing 8520 vertical mill. By mistake I say 100ths when referring to the dial's increments...itis 1000ths! Talking, working and filming all at once...easy mistake! The video says it all! Happy holidays, Scott
please visit my website for more on guitar restoration, repair, and building!
06:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
This Martin came in with a clunky, non-original bridge that had been put on by a bad repairman at some point it its life. There were several problems with the bridge; it wasn't a real Martin bridge, it wasn't the right shape or height, the saddle slot was in the wrong place for correct intonation, and the bridge pin holes were in a different place than the holes through the top from the original bridge. Yet, none of these deterred the repair person from installing this bridge! To make matters worse, when the orig bridge was removed, the top was splintered substantially, and a SECOND set of holes was drilled for the new location of the bridge pins, causing 12 holes through the soundboard and bridge plate instead of 6. This extra set of holes was left unfilled. This weakens the bridge plate, in addition to being just plain bad repair work. I called my friends at Martin, and had them send over the right bridge; one that was just a tiny bit longer and wider, to cover the footprint damage from the replacement bridge.
I then filled in and leveled the damage to the soundboard, and the "new" set of holes, so that the correct set of pin holes would be utilized again. Once the bridge was reglued, the guitar not only looked right, but its voice was back, it intonated correctly, as was more stable structurally. The photos show what was lurking under the replacement bridge, and the repaired area with new Martin bridge prior to gluing. Please visit my website for more on repairs and custom guitar making!
05:47 AM in Custom guitars, Guitar repair, guitar restoration, guitars, Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I built this guitar for artist Mark Yodice, a visionary instrumentalist who asked for a nine string guitar, all single course strings, no doubles like in a 12-string guitar. It was a wonderful project, as I really respect Mark's talent and passion. I knew he would treasure this instrument and take it to places none have gone before.
Woods: soundboard is western red cedar, sides and back are claro walnut, fingerboard is ebony, bridge is Brazilian rosewood, neck is a five piece glue-up of mahogany, maple and rosewood. No adjustable truss rod, two carbon fiber rods integrated inside the neck. The carbon fiber rods and lack of a standard rod with a channel makes for a solid stiff neck that pulls right into the correct relief under string tension.
08:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
I LOVED making this guitar. My client is a big Yellow Sub fan, and wanted the inlays to reflect this.
09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
I recently purchased a Gemini carving duplicator for the shop. This is an amazing machine for making exact copies of bodies, necks, and other parts. I put it to the test on the other day to see how well it would handle the fine contours and details of a Martin bridge. I was blown away at how quickly, effortlessly, and cleanly I was able to make an exact copy! The photos below show the process, and the rough sanded result before slotting and pin-hole boring on the milling machine. If you're looking for a carving duplicator, this is it!
06:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I made a cool little fixture this week that allows me to quickly, easily, and accurately contour a variety of curves on the bottom edge of my braces, whether I'm arching my backs and tops to a 25, 30, or 15 foot radius. Because the hollow forms (concave forms) used in arching tops and backs require the braces to have a matching curvature on the bottom, it is critical to really nail the curve on the brace, and make sure it is perfectly perpendicular. This fixture is simple to make; Mine is birch plywood, with two handles. It only took about half an hour to make, and saves so much time, with perfect results. It also gives me another opportunity to use my new custom made router table!
08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I finished this one yesterday, and got the photos done quickly as it will soon be with its new owner!I'm very proud of this guitar. The body is a stack of two woods; black walnut and flamed maple.The tone is full, powerful and clear. Lindy Fralin made the brushed nickel high output humbuckers custom for me, and they put any Gibson PU to shame. No muddy mids with these babies. I also used maple mounting rings for the pickups to honor the natural look of this guitar.
02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)