Official Luthiers Forum!

Howdy folks! I've been lurking here for a few months, and have really enjoyed it and learned a lot, so I decided to join.

A brief history:

About a year ago I bought a cheap Chinese nylon string guitar, just to see if I wanted to learn how to play. I decided I did, so I played until I realized how bad the chinese guitar was.

I've always been good with my hands, and decided to build myself a better one.

I started with the classical kit from Grizzly, then started building one from scratch.

Now I'm almost finished with my second one, and I've started my third.

Here's some pics of my first one. The back and sides are Osage Orange (aka, Bois d' arc, hedge apple, horse apple, etc...)
the sound board is from an old piano soundboard, the neck is burr oak. The oak and Osage both grew in my back yard, and was sawn up by a guy I know who has a portable sawmill.

The bridge, headstock veneer, and fingerboard are also osage orange. I dyed the fingerboard black, obviously.

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Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

Hi Phillip and welcome.

I like your minimalist approach! How does this guitar balance with the oak neck? I use cedro to keep the weight down but admit that I never tried anything else on a classical.

It sounds like you are having fun.

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http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

That looks like a good start. How did it come out soundwise? You did well in the fit & finish category. Have you beat out the Chinese model?

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Hi Phillip

Looks real good. Nice and clean.

Waddy, I bet it beats out the Chinese model nicely although I have no doubt you were joking.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Greetings Philip! You are off to a nice start. For nylon string guitars, I'd bet the oak neck is a real weight. If you want to stick with domestic woods, give cherry or walnut a try - they both make nice necks. Osage is supposed to be very nice, and I haven't tried any domestic Osage yet. I do have some Locust, which I haven't tried yet but is also supposed to be a good sleeper domestic back and side wood.

Jim

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Yo, Philip,

You keep building like that you might just end up being a pro luthier ...then what you gonna do? Eh!

My "passive aggressive un humble" suggestion to you is ...

Just keep doing what you doing and don't be listenin to much to us old boys with our set ways and BS*... you just might get distracted and led down the garden path ... might take you years to rediscover what is naturally inside you and the contribution you might make to this craft.

Don't get me wrong (which me usually is, but thats another story) there is a lot of good stuff here at OFL and a few weirdos like me.

So just keep doing what you doing and enjoy as you seem to be doin it very well.

and ya, me like the minimalist clean line look.

blessings
the
Padma

*BS: belief systems

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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hi phillip
I take it you seperated those sections of that piano soundboard
did you use the same piece for a multi piece bookmatched look
it looks really clean great job

did you encounter any problems with the top along the way
and would you make another salvaged guitar top from a piano ?

theirs something really cool about old piano soundboards

Welcome to the Forum, Phillip. You did a super job on your first from-scratch guitar. I really like that you dug up the woods on your own. Hope you keep on building.

Best of luck,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Phillip your guitar is pretty outstanding for a 1st or for that matter a 10th!! You have some natural ability my friend - very impressive!

Welcome to the OLF!

I decided to keep my first couple projects simple, so no rosette or purflings or inlay. Except for the backstrip, which wasn't too difficult.

I don't have a lot of experience with guitars, but the oak doesn't seem too heavy. Do you know where the balance point should be on a classical?





It sounds a LOT better than the chinese model. I think it's even a little better than the Grizzly kit.






I think I'll try walnut sometime. Maybe use cherry for the binding...
I've been wanting to try black locust, but, alas, I don't have any black locust in my back yard.





Thanks for the advice. I'll keep it in mind.






This one I actually just cut out the shape and sanded it to thickness, so it's not bookmatched.

I would definitely do it again. I think it's cool to take something like an old piano that's past it's prime, and give it new "life" like this. We have a local paper that let's you advertise for free, and this week there were four free pianos in it.

I learned a few things along the way, so I could get a better yield next time.

I didn't encounter any problems, except that it's a pain to get the braces and pin block off.



Thanks everyone for your comments, and for the warm welcome!

Happy new year!

Phillip

_________________
Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

I love that guitar in your avatar. Is that a carbon fiber top?

_________________
Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

Thanks Phillip It's actually spruce, Lutz spruce from Shane at High Mountain to be exact.

When I was thinking about the concept for this guitar some OLF members were less than thrilled at the prospects of anyone p*inting... a nice piece of spruce. But I like black and black is also historically accurate for some L-OOs.