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Wilson Burnham Guitars
Made in Taos, New Mexico
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger474125
Updated: 30 min 55 sec ago
How I Make Concert Stella Steel String Acoustic Guitar
The body of the little “concert” size Stella copy is together, I am getting ready to glue on the bindings. Once the bindings are done then I can start fitting the neck to the body. I wanted to share some photos of how I assembled the body.
The top is Lutz spruce. The brace under the bridge, the sound hole and upper bout grafts are scrap pieces of Engelmann spruce from my wood cache. I used my Roarockit Thin Air Press vacuum bag to glue all the pieces on top of a work board that is scooped out under the bridge to help dome the top.
The “L” blocks are held in place by carriage bolts, the blocks help keep the sides at right angles to the sound board. This photo shows that I have attached the sides to the top with little blocks of birch and the “ladder” braces got their little pillar blocks to keep the ends of the braces from coming loose.
The small stick running from heel block to end block helps to keep the end block at right angles to the sound board.
The top already for the back. Ladder bracing was popular throughout Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, except for Spain. Sorry, I forgot to take photos of how I glue on the back!
Refining in the heel of the neck with spokeshaves that I made.
Top: Lutz spruce
Back and Sides: Black cherry from Indiana
Neck: Port Orford cedar
Body length: 24 5/8”
Upper bout width: 9 1/2”
Waist: 7 7/8”
Lower bout: 13 3/4”
Depth at end block: 3 5/8”
Depth at heel: 3 1/2”
String length: 24 5/8”
Contact me at highcountrylutherie@gmail.com if you have any questions about this guitar!S
Categories: Hand Tools, Luthiery
The Joy of Using a Spokeshave That You Made
“Traditional methods endure because they always have worked and they always will.”
Roy Underhill, The Woodwright’s Eclectic Workshop, 1991
There was a day several years ago, when I pulled out two blanks of wood from my wood cache, one was California laurel and the other was black cherry. I had two small Hock tool spokeshave blades, I made the laurel blank into a flat sole shave, the cherry blank got a rounded sole. Both have an East Indian rosewood wear plate and both use set screws to adjust the blade’s depth of cut.
I used both shaves to refine the heel on a neck for a steel string acoustic guitar that I am making, the above photo shows the laurel shave in action on the neck shaft, the cherry shave is on the bench next to a carving knife with an extra long handle. That knife I also use to shape the heel of the neck.
It’s pretty fun to use a tool that you made, and that it really works!
So, take time today to get out into your shop and make that hand tool you have always wanted!
Categories: Hand Tools, Luthiery
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Merry christmas!
Though there is no snow
for northern new mexico
this christmas,
i hope you have a wonderful time
with friends and family!
Categories: Hand Tools, Luthiery
My Latest Guitar - A Concert Size Stella Guitar
He played a Stella, and I had a Stella. Charley had a Stella.
Son House, bluesman, 1966 interview, mentioning Willie Brown and Charley Patton
Stellas-they all played the cheap old Stellas, across the board.
H.C. Speir, owner of Speir Phonograph Company. He recorded many of the great blues singers and musicians during the 1920’s-1930’s.
My first guitar was Harmony made Stella guitar. My mother played guitar, my father played the harmonica and at the age of four, I wanted to play the guitar in a bad way. My mother bought the guitar from one of her nephews, he wanted a better guitar and was willing to part with it for $5. It was painted black with white paint binding and a white pick guard, I thought I was in heaven as I banged away on that guitar until my mother showed me how to play some chords, the G, C, D7 chords and then that really tough chord, the A7. Those steel strings were hard on my fingertips, and I kept at it. The one day, an older cousin who stopped by to visit my parents, seeing that I had a guitar he asked to borrow it and proceeded to played a flamenco “bulería” on it! I was amazed and immediately demanded that I needed a classical guitar so I could learn flamenco. If you have read my other posts, you will know that I went on to study the classical guitar.
I gave that old Harmony Stella to a friend who said she really wanted to learn how to play the guitar. She did become rather proficient on it and because she played it so much it was amazing to hear a great sound come out of that guitar. Unfortunately, the arthritis in her hands became so bad she quit playing, and the guitar was put into storage. Several months ago, I asked if she and her husband could ship or bring the guitar to me so I could make a copy of it, they are still trying to dig it out of storage. I figured that since I am a guitar maker, I can make a guitar based on that old Stella.
All the parts for this guitar are made, they are waiting for me to assemble them simply, on an open work board with the intent to create beauty.
The top is Sitka spruce, the back and sides are black cherry from Missouri and the neck is Port Orford cedar.
Just like the original guitar, this guitar will have ladder bracing!
Unlike my old guitar, this guitar will have a slotted head stock, I have made too many classical guitars to make a neck any other way! Cutting out the headstock slots with a vintage coping saw.
A very simple rosette adorns this guitar top!
Now, go listen to some Son House, Charley Patton and Skip James!
Categories: Hand Tools, Luthiery