Latest in progress from AHG

[AcornHouse]

After an unexplained delay in the Columbus post office, the correct tuners finally arrived!

Although, careful readers might note that I had said I had ordered ebony buttons. That’s true, but when I was checking the website to see if they had those back in stock (they did), at the bottom of the page, what did my curious eyes light upon? The same line of tuners with brushed brass engraved plate, but with ROSEWOOD buttons! I thought those were more complimentary to the rosewood head plate and Pau ferro (aka Bolivian rosewood) binding. So, I dashed off a quick email asking if I could switch and managed to catch him before he’d shipped off the ebony ones.

So, without further meandering…

 

[GGJaguar]

Good call on the buttons. They look great!

 

[davismanLV]

When that headstock darkens up with finish it's gonna look soooo good with those tuner buttons!!

 

[JohnW63]

Before you hand it over to the person who asked for it, can you record a few chords and strums?

I know the forum statement is " Pictures or it didn't happen. ". I would like to add " Post sound clip or it was never played. "

 

[AcornHouse]

After test fitting, adjusting, test fitting, adjusting, test fitting, adj….(well you know where this is going), the cauls were made and laid out with care…



…in the hope that enough clamps soon would be there.
The glue was squeezed out, and evenly brushed,
and then Nica came, and had to be hushed.

The back was put on, and the clamps one by one,
and tightened and tightened, until it was done.



And now let it rest, and the glue time to dry,
and dawn comes the test, from the mold it will pry.

And now, gentle reader, I’d drink if I did,
for glue times are stressful, especially the lid.

 

[Stuball48]

What is the Chord progression in that description?

 

[AcornHouse]

What is the Chord progression in that description?

No chords. (Think ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas)

 

[AcornHouse]

The cats out of the bag! (Seriously people, STOP PUTTING CATS IN BAGS!) or, rather, Puck has been unmolded.
I am well pleasespd with how light she is. 1168g (about 2-1/2 lbs) as she stands. Next up is flush trimming the top and back and preparing the sides for binding.

 

[GGJaguar]

I forgot to ask, did you do any "tap testing" of the top?

 

[AcornHouse]

I forgot to ask, did you do any "tap testing" of the top?

You always tap top and back in the process of thinning and bracing. Even in the selection process, it’s important to know. That and flexing to gauge stiffness.
If you’re asking do I attempt to get a certain pitch, then no. It will all change when it’s glued to the sides and neck. If a builder thinks there are certain “ideal” pitches that they need to get to, then more power to them. Personally, I think it’s a bit of overcomplication for little to no gain, but it keeps them off the streets. What’s important is the rise and fall of the pitch, and the timbre and distribution of the pitch.

 

[GGJaguar]

I know with my Osthoff SD 12-fret, John (Osthoff) did all that plus used Chladni patterns to help "steer" him to what he was looking for. I think that's why single builders can optimize the final design based on the quality of the woods rather than just building to a spec like Martin, Guild, etc. Not surprisingly, the Osthoff is my favorite acoustic and it's the one I'd keep if forced to offload my other acoustic guitars.

 

[AcornHouse]

I am posting a giveaway contest in the LTG members only section. See there for details. (No, I’m not giving away the guitar. Sorry!)

Contest thread is https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?threads/acorn-house-guitars-giveaway-contest.213720/

 

[AcornHouse]

Trimming the overhang. This box is LOUD!

(And, yes, I’m doing it by hand. It doesn’t take that long. If you’ve ever had a router bit grab and pull out a chunk of tonewood, you’ll understand. I’ll use a router for routing the binding channels AFTER I’ve scored them with a gramil.)

 

[davismanLV]

Routering for the purfling/binding was one of the hardest things I've ever done!!!

 

[GAD]

Damn beautiful instrument.

Can we talk about that workbench top? Wow!

 

[AcornHouse]

Damn beautiful instrument.

Can we talk about that workbench top? Wow!

10 or so years ago, I bought 2 live edge maple slabs locally for not much $$. I knew I wanted to use one for a workbench top. The other I thought maybe a coffee table, but I think I may save it to chop up for guitars.
Incredibly hard stuff, but beautiful curls.

Here‘s a full shot (in just room light).

 

[FNG]

Amazing stuff...thanks for letting us come along for the ride!!!

 

[jp]

You always tap top and back in the process of thinning and bracing. Even in the selection process, it’s important to know. That and flexing to gauge stiffness.
If you’re asking do I attempt to get a certain pitch, then no. It will all change when it’s glued to the sides and neck. If a builder thinks there are certain “ideal” pitches that they need to get to, then more power to them. Personally, I think it’s a bit of overcomplication for little to no gain, but it keeps them off the streets. What’s important is the rise and fall of the pitch, and the timbre and distribution of the pitch.

Very interesting. I didn't know that, but I'm wholly ignorant about guitar building. My romanticized visions of luthiers of stringed instruments always included images of them tap testing with black sand.

So exciting to see your build getting so close! Beautiful wood choices, Chris!

 

[GAD]

10 or so years ago, I bought 2 live edge maple slabs locally for not much $$. I knew I wanted to use one for a workbench top. The other I thought maybe a coffee table, but I think I may save it to chop up for guitars.
Incredibly hard stuff, but beautiful curls.

Here‘s a full shot (in just room light).

That is crazy cool. Really give that old world artisan vibe.

 

[AcornHouse]

After getting the overhang trimmed flushed (even beveled a little. It’s going to be routed away for the binding channel anyway), the sanding commenced. This gets rid of any micro-bumps, the kind that you can feel more than see, and gets the surface smooth for the router bearing to ride against. Any imperfection will be mirrored in the binding channel.

Oh, and the blue tape? It does two things. Keeps the dust out from the inside, and keeps the noise down while sanding! The headstock also gets boxed in cardboard to protect against accidental dings.