Finished!

I completed the 12 string. How exciting! The process was fun. I learned alot about guitar making. It brought new perspectives to the process. Painting was tough. I just couldn't get that perfect gloss that I really desired. It came out great in totally, but I learned that I should not dream as big as I do. I have these visions of the perfect thing, and I leave out logistics until I realize that logistically, I am incapable. Dont try and make a spray gun finish, if you dont have a spray gun. Which is why I wont be building anything from scratch. I will only be building kits cause i dont have a bandsaw, which is a vital tool in luthier tool box. If I could do it again, I would keep the sides and back and do something different with the front paint job, something a little more organic feeling. All in all I am very satisfied with it. After I took these pictures I ran to the guitar center and bought Martin strings for it. Martin strings are great, I advise any one owning are martin, or a guitar in general, get Martin Strings. When I got my martin and replaced the strings on it. I got the martin strings, and I am not going to lie at first I said "well that doesnt play like it did before." And I meant that in a bad way. But 2 days later, after the strings got some air, and play time, they were the best! They made the 12 string sound like gold as well! Ill post more detailed and better pictures of the guitar and the dulcimer soon. I will also run through my lap steel project as it nears completion, and I will also be tackling a banjo kit this week, so check back soon. 

Instruments

Instruments. I decided to take some snapshots of my collection. Nothing crazy just a few pictures with the lights turned low. Anyways, I enjoy them alot, building them, and playing them. Here is my 2008 Martin DX1 and my Reid and Sons basic guitar kits and my Folkcraft Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer Kit And Harmonica Neck brace. The Dulcimer is a 6 String Northern Cherry. The black 12 string is Spruce top, with Mahogany back and sides, Rosewood bridge and fingerboard, and nato wood neck. The DX1 is Sitka Spruce top, East Indian Rosewood bridge and fingerboard, Mahogany. The harmonica neck brace is metal. More instruments on their way. And plenty more pictures and videos.

Acoustic 12 String Guitar.

Thursday evening I got my 12 string guitar kit from ebay. I won it for $130.00. It came quickly, less than 7 days. I thought all of the hard work was done. All I had to do was attach the neck and bridge, paint it, and attach all the tuning pegs. Easy right? Well the neck was a big challenge, I couldn't get a clamp to hold the bottom of the neck down, I could only hold where the fret and truss rod meet the body. Thank god I got the quick dry wood glue. I had to hold the neck in place with all my strength for 30 Minutes straight. (that was yesterday and I feel it today, can barely lift my shoulders.) The neck was in place. Next step was attaching the bridge to the body. Again, my clamps were neither adequate nor quantiful. Without enough clamps and not the right sized clamps, I was unable to get the edges of the bridge to stay down without putting all my weight on each edge. 30 minutes later, I was able to let go and had a bridge, that wasnt perfectly glued down, but all I could do. After that I took some photos to show how far I had come I threw in the pick gaurd I bought for 3.99 at the Rinquon Musical Store. Its near some projects, in a slightly less comfortable area to walk by yourself. Ive been there a few times before by myself and the cops always look at you like they need to protect you cause something bads going to happen to whitey. So Antonio asked me to accompany him to his eye doctors appointment in that area, while he got his eyes examined, I went to the music store. I also got cheap tuner heads for the lap steel! Which I really need to blog about as well. I am really falling behind. Anyways, to your right you will see the wood colored version of the 2 string guitar, with the bridge being glued down and the pickguard hanging out. I personally really liked the tan with the black pick guard. But I decided to change it. My dad had a black acoustic 12 string guitar, and for some reason, I have always felt acoustic 12 strings should be painted. I would have left this if it were 6 strings, but 12 string=Black! I went to the hardware store and purchased black gloss stain. And of course began staining. Coat #1, looked like farts. I watched farts dry for 6 hours, sanded and then Coat #2 looked like a litter box, I watched a litter box dry for 6 hours, sanded, and so on and so forth. I have 5 Coats of paint on the front, 1 coat on the sides, 3 on the back, and as I write this I am sanding and putting coat #2 of maybe 3 or 4 on the neck. Who knew that this painting thing was going to be that big of a pain in the ass. See the problem was, I was doing a black gloss. The gloss showed everything. It was extremely easy to push the brush a little bit to the side and be able to see it on the gloss. Everytime the front coat dried, there was a new flaw that I didnt know about. Finally, I got a good coat, good enough where I said, if I do this again, I will probably only get worse. So I put a trash bag over it with a fan in there and kept the dust off while it dried. I laid the pickguard back on top and snapped this one after it dried a little bit. Now, while I painted the top, I was putting coats on every other surface of it. Now I really loved the grain on the wood on the sides, and I wanted to show that off while still matching the front. So I painted one coat of paint on, let it dry, sanded it about 75% of the way off, just leaving certain areas at my discretion, and then I put a really thin coat of the stain on. And what do you know, I got a really cool paint job. Its a keeper indeed.Now the neck for some reason took 1 coat of paint really well, I sanded it down for the 2nd coat and it did not take paint well at all. So I will be spending today, sunday, working the neck paint and putting the first coat of tung oil on. The back also needs some touching up. The back matches the sides cause i like that look alot. Anyways, today will be lots of painting and sanding and tung oiling, and hopefully I will get back on this blog in time to show more pictures etc. (I have the electronics for the lap steel, and the pieces to a banjo in the mail. So I have a full plate as soon as I finish this guitar. Starting with the lap steel completion and actually making blog posts about that, then the banjo. Then I have to record all of these instruments, maybe even to one song. Have a big payoff besides the enjoyment.) Stay tuned for a completed guitar and the beggining of the lap steel!

What a crazy world.

I had alot of fun last night at my friend corys house. We had some beers and played music a random group of people. There were a few people there who were really talented guitar players, especially this one kid who played folk music like no one i had heard. It makes me really want to learn the guitar better. Good thing I am unemployed as of yesterday and will have all the time to play music, make instruments, and write songs and scripts. I was exhausted after an 85 hour work week last week. And friday i finally had a free hour before I left work. I was in the office browsing the internet on my computer for good kits to build for les pauls. I saw a 12 string acoustic guitar online, for 130 dollars. It was just a body and a neck and hardware. Not completed or finished or anything. I said wow thats a great deal. The cheapest 12 string at guitar center is $300. So I bid my 132.50 thinking oh someone will outbid me but for this cheap screw it. Badda Bing Badda boom an hour later I was the winner of the guitar. THe more I thought about it, I was like I shouldnt have done it. I should have looked for a full kit to build. All i do is glue the neck to the body. sand and finish it. No cutting, no challenging things. I am still extremely excited. I got a deal on it. Its from a company called Reid and Sons Violins. Which is the company I was going to buy an electric les paul kit from because apparently those kits are on the high end of Les Paul kits. Anyways, I have a shape and am waiting for a router from my dad in the mail to finish my lap steel shaping. Then I will buy electronics and paint, and try and finish it off. I really need to slow down on instrument building. I am doing so many so fast, soon I will not have any more instruments to build. I should try and stretch it a few years, and not all the instruments I can build as fast as I can. So after the 12 string is finished and the lap steel are finished I will take a brief instrument making hiatus until I get a long term job again, then I will attempt to build an electric guitar. Ill post pictures of the lap steel as I get closer to finishing.

Not that anyone reads it, but just so you know...

I did not complete the banjo. I started it, and then said, no, not making this banjo like this. Instead of doing the ghetto banjo that looks crappy, I will be attempting build a beautiful banjo sometime soon. And my luthieing (not sure how to spell the act of being a luthier) will not end there. I will be starting my 2nd dulcimer, this time from scrap wood I find in my apartment, as well as a simple lap steel guitar. Now all 3 of those projects I intend on doing, will be completed as best as i can without spending money, due to my upcoming unemployment. So I will post as I make those, but I cannot say that any of them will be complete in the immediate future due to lack of funds. The banjo requires the cow hide base as well as a complex wood bending project which I will attempt buying no new stuff but cannot promise it will work. The steel lap guitar requires, pick ups, and various electronics. All 3 will require tuning pegs, fret wire, and various other expenses. None of them will cost less than 20 dollars to create, the most expensive, but the one I want to complete first is the steel lap guitar, which I have not figured out how much that will cost me. Keep your eyes peeled for a picture music video set to the tune of my dulcimer and guitar. Check back in 2 weeks!

I havent Post in Nearly A month.

Again, My bad. This is the worst blog ever. But just for you information, I will be attempting to build a home made banjo, as well as another mountain dulcimer. This time the mountain dulcimer will be a tear drop shape that I will be building from scratch. No template. No pre planed anything. It will be full on out of nowhere dulcimer building. So I may do some blogs about the banjo, and most likely will blog about the dulcimer. Im off to home depot to get my supplies.