The Steel Guitar Forum

Thats coming together great, good job Alan

Hi everyone,

Over the past few weeks the binding channel was cut using a Laminate Trimmer and over this long weekend, the Tasmanian Myrtle binding was bent and installed. The tops of the binding have been leveled and now for the sides. I used a sanding block for the tops and may make up some curved sanding blocks or try my hand at a scraper blade for the sides.

Here a a few pics. The binding really adds the finishing touch!







Thanks for looking

Cheers

Alan

Looks great Alan! Can't wait to see it finished (in double sense ). Will you use a satin finish? Keep up the great work! Looking forward to hear this one and its Tasmanian sister!

Fred

You must have purchased a lot of hand tools? The workmanship looks first class. That top bracing is incredible.

I love the way this one is coming out

Alan, a set of scrapers are very handy and are a joy to use.

Thanks everyone for your encouragement and support.

Thanks Tom, the scraper did the trick!

The lap slide guitars binding has been leveled now and she has been sanded down to 400 grit. The saddle slot has been cut, bridge has been located and the nut is fitted. BTW her name is "SASSIE". Now for the shellac finish.



Thanks for looking

Cheers

Alan

That is going to finish out sweet

Further progress the past few weeks. The bridge was glued on, nut fitted and she has had three wash coats of hard shellac. After some test runs with the shellac on some scrap pieces I new Sassie was going to be a honey blonde. Well, as they say, blondes have more fun.





I couldn't help myself and had to string her up for a few days. The tone is rich and full with nice balance. I am very, very pleased! The maching heads and strings will come off in a few days and I will continue with the shellac process.





The final pics will be coming up shortly along with a sound clip.

Hope you have enjoyed the build and thanks for taking the interest.

Cheers

Alan

Alan, that's beautiful!
The finish has really brought out the grain on the fretboard.
The reddish tinge on the fretboard & bindings against the blonde wood is most pleasing on the eye...
You must be quite proud!

Can't wait to hear it!

Absolutely beautiful Alan! You can and should be very proud of this effort! It looks so elegant with that light sassafras. I too look forward to hearing it!

And, how about "Tassie"?

All the best,

Fred

Excellent job Alan, can't wait to hear it sing

Thanks Fred, Tom and Chris for your kind remarks and encouragement! This build has been a great deal of fun and achievement for me.

Cheers

Alan

Hey everyone.

A few more progress pics for those of you who have been watching the build.

The hard shellac has been applied to the guitar. The first three coats where just a wash coat to seal the wood followed by about five coats at 2lb cut (half shellac, half metholated spirits). The finish needs about three weeks to cure now and then I will level sand with mico paper and satin out the final finish with either tru-oil, beez wax or renainance wax.

The shellac was applied using a rubber. My friend is a cabinet maker by trade and he has offered to show me how to spray paint. So the next guitars wil be sprayed. I found it very hard to achieve a consistant coverage by hand!






Thanks everone for looking.

Cheers

Alan

Looks like you went with a bone saddle instead of traditional fret wire. How does it sound in comparison?

Alan ... here is a link on French polishing you might find handy.
http://www.milburnguitars.com/fpbannerframes.html

G'day Gary. Yes I have gone with a bone saddle. I have seen a bone saddle with a thin saddle cut into the top of the saddle and a piece of fretwire glued in there. There is an edge to the tone with the wire saddle. I have seen brass used also so if I can obtain a piece the right size I will give that a go and see what the tone qualities are! Thanks for looking.

Thanks for the Milburn link Tom. It is the industry standard when it comes to the shellac process. The shellac that I have used is not made up from the original flakes, but a product already formulated and ready to apply. I applied with different shaped rubbers and have been able to get a good coating on the guitar. There are a few runs and thick areas where too much finish has been applied. Those areas should sand out with wet and dry later on. I'm hoping they will!!!!

Thanks for your interest.

Cheers

Alan

Well, "Sassie" the Sassafrass Weissenborn copy was finished this weekend. A month ago she had six coats of Hard Shellac applied and she has been drying since. Saturday I used some 400 grit sandpaper and level sanded the shellac finish. Then I went through sandpaper 600, 800 grit down to 1000 grit. The final coat was an application of wax to bring up a sheen on the guitar.

She has been strung up with some medium strings and she sounds good. I will record a few samples very soon and post.









Thanks again for looking

Cheers

Alan

Alan, I am in love with that guitar! Well done!
What I like best about it is the wood. It has such a nice vibe. As for French polish it's the best in my opinion for tone but it's a pain doing it ain't it!? I used to make classical guitars and that's what I'd use. It makes a world of difference. Great job man!
But no one ever makes ONE guitar......so.....what's next?

Thanks Jason so much for your comments! Yep, the wood speaks for itself.

The shellac process is great but sure is time comsuming but i love the way it allows the guitar to vibrate freely.

I have my second guitar almost finished too. It is a weissenborn copy built out of Tasmanian Blackwood. I built the two lap slide together. Sassie was the learner and the other guitar was going to be the smich one. They are both going to turn out ok. Watch out for some pics shortly.

Cheers for now

Alan

Again Alan - I am so impressed! The finish came out great! I'm looking forward to seeing the Blackwood one too, and to hearing both!

Thanks for sharing the pics and story of your Weissenborn build.

Fred

Thanks Fred for your support and encouragement.

Stay tuned for the sound samples.

Cheers

alan