Official Luthiers Forum!

Finally got this one off the bench. It was supposed to be done by may 2012 so I could take it with me on a two month trip to Spain, but when it didn't get done in time, it dropped to zero priority since there is no flamenco community around here to speak of.

The guitar is built according to the GAL 1952 Marcelo Barbero plan. This is a little unusual for a flamenco guitar as it has very heavy top and back compared to the norm. I think Barbero knew something about reflective backs and projection that other flamenco builders may not have bought into - this thing is a canon. (I think it was at OLF that someone told me to build it the way the plan said rather than lightening it up to more average flamenco standards. They were right!)

I learned some hard lessons along the way. (This was my first in Spanish Cypress)

(1) cypress tears out easily.

(2) cypress and CA should never be in the same room together (hard realization for a dedicated CA binding installer). CA goes right through cypress and leaves an orange blotchy stain that also goes right through.


But what the heck, it sounds good.

Cypress from Akustikwood in Turkey, Carpathian spruce from Art Royter (Eurotonewood), cedro from Hibdon, FP technique thanks to Robbie. BRW headplate and bridge.

No sound sample unless you want to hear me do lame strumming of Soleá chords.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Oh yes !!!! Its a beauty.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I like the binding scheme but I've been told that the self-binding in cypress won't hold up. I'd love to hear suggestions about alternates that would be close enough in color that you couldn't tell the difference.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Very nice, Jim! You might have gotten away with Maple bindings, though I might have preferred a dark binding, like EIR. or Cocobolo.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Dark bindings would be standard, but I was shooting for something different. Maple too light. canary wood?

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Yellow box?

It will start out too yellow, but the cypress will catch up - eventually.

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

Nice nice nice!!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

nice job jim, vy traditional.

Yellow box? I don't recognize the name, that must be one of those Australian woods Any pictures?

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Great looking guitar, Jim. What's the thickness of the back?

Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Max,

2.5 to 2.6 mm for the back. Heavy for a flamenco, as is the top at 2.25 mm, but that's the way the original was built and I'd be the last to say now that it isn't right.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

That's really nice Jim!

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

A lovely blonde guitar. The way you carried the center detail on the back up through the heel cap is just one of many touches that make this instrument so pleasing to the eye. Well done!

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George :-)

Nice, nice! I like the simple visuals. Elegant.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Thanks everyone. It makes me want to leap right into the next one, but it will be a while as two requests for regular old rosewood classicals are in line.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Great job Jim! I can't wait to get started on mine from the wood you sold me! It looks very similar to your set here!

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Jim, I know everyone has different tastes, but I really, really like the binding , and the cedar makes for a light weight guitar. Good choices all around IMO.

Ah, sorry. I can see how that could be confusing.

Yellow Box is a Eucalypt, Eucalyptus melliodora, grows locally, not bad for estate work, limbs used for firewood (heats my place), makes for delicious honey, but that's not what I meant.

What I meant was (yellow) boxwood Buxus sempervirens, typically used for the "white" pieces of old chess sets (when the black ones were ebony) and school rulers, if you're old enough to remember those.

Pic here. It varies in the intensity of the yellow, some being fairly blonde, some being quite yellow. It tends to hold its colour well. It's hard, works well and bends well.

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

Thanks martin.

Trevor, thanks for the clarification and link. I'm thinking maybe Osage is another candidate. I wonder if Bob C has any stray bits lying around.

Tony - yes, it's a set from the same shipment. Can't wait to see how yours comes out. In the picture of the butt end of mine, note the tear outs on the right side of the picture. Careful with denting, careful with scraping. I think I'd mainly stick to sanding. It's gorgeous when done though. Makes you wonder how it got a bad rep. as a classical wood (Well, cultural of course.)

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Nice once Jim. I like the clear bindings. In fact i seem to prefer it on a blanca.

cheers,
Miguel.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

Thanks Miguel. I still like it even after having looked at it enough to have fully absorbed it's novelty. I don't think I'd go back to a dark binding unless a customer said I had to.

I did just pick up an Osage stick (a bow stave, actually - nice because it's split for it's entire length to get zero runout) and I'm going to try this for binding and trim on the next one. That ought to solve the concern over fragility, and hopefully the color will be close enough.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

If it's the same as my old Marples chisel handles, it's wonderful stuff.

I love it Jim!
The color is amazing.
The number "9" must be lucky or have some mystical power.
Dan

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

You could try Ceylon satinwood.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Thanks Dan.

My osage orange bow stave arrived, and I think it will do just fine as a source for the next generation of bindings.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu