Guitar assembly

Here are are a few pictures of Johns guitar coming together. With all the parts completed, the transformation from kit to guitar is very rapid, but it is a process that takes the uttermost care. It is at this point that precise final fitting takes place, and checks are made to ensure that the geometry and tensioning is as required. This is my more traditional instrument and the strutted soundboard would be familiar to Torres and Hauser. Behind the ribs in this picture are the tentellones ( the small blocks that hold the ribs onto the soundboard), the endblock and the neck wedges. On this guitar all these internal details have been made from salvaged mahogany. Old Victorian drawer fronts have been the donor in this case; when I cut into them there was a wonderful and indescribable smell of dry, aged wood, quite unlike sawing fresh timber.
On this model of guitar I use the Spanish method of building, with the integral neck. The ribs are held into the neck by wooden wedges which, when correctly fitted, push the sides firmly against the heel. I polish the inside of the block, for no other reason that it looks fine and finished.
Finally, all the parts are assembled, the last job is to individually glue in the tentellones with hide glue. This is the the last opportunity to study the inside of the guitar as soon the back will be fitted and glued, and the instrument will be a step nearer completion. Many makers have lamented the fact that all this detailed and precise work is lost from view!

Headstock work

The first winter storms are here with strong winds and lashing rain. Before getting into the workshop today I ventured down to the beach and was exhilarated by the waves. A dry, warm workshop is the place to be today.
Here are some pictures of a headstock I completed a few weeks ago for John's guitar. The back and ribs of this guitar are made from perfectly quarter sawn Amazon rosewood which is simple but elegant to look at. As such I felt it needed a few exotic details such as the use of snakewood for the headstock facing. This really is a special timber and the mottled figuring really is unique. A snakewood tree yields very little precious timber; usable trunks are rarely more than 20 cm in diameter. It has been used for turned decorative items such as walking sticks and lace bobbins and for the ribs of lutes and early guitars. It is very hard but polishes beautifully. I have carved round string ramps on this head. It gives me the opportunity of using a small mallet that was made for me many years ago by fellow guitar making student Nick Swann. The head is made of Lignum Vitae, an incredibly hard and resilient timber.
This a view of the side of the headstock just after the holes for the tuner barrels have been drilled. I use a stepped drill for this. This ensures the end of the barrel is held accurately and securely, but the barrel at the plate end does not bind. I like the fine lines of veneer between the cedar of the neck and the snakewood head plate.
The machine heads on John's guitar are Rodgers, held by many as the finest tuners in the world. They are indeed magnificent. David Rodgers has been making these tuners for years now and the wealth of experience he has is phenomenal. His great work is being continued by his son Robert. They are of course beautifully made and classically elegant to look at, but most importantly they work supremely well.

1916 Manuel Ramirez/Santos Hernandez

This guitar came into the workshop a few weeks back and really fired me up. It is a Manuel Ramirez, built in 1916. The Ramirez workshop produced many instruments, some built by Manuel Ramirez himself; the others built wholly or partly by craftsmen employed by Ramirez. Some of the notable Ramirez craftsmen were Modesto Borregero, Domingo Esteso, and Santos Hernandez. It is this last name that creates real excitement as Santos went on to become one of the greatest guitar builders of the first half of the 20th century, and his instruments are still revered by makers and players alike. Manuel Ramirez died at the age of 52 in 1916 and the label shows that this guitar was completed after his death. If you study the picture above, you will notice that the initials S.H. are stamped on the label, showing that this was a guitar from the bench of Santos Hernandez.
The picture above shows the signature of Santos Hernandez on the underside of the soundboard.
Shot through the soundhole, this picture shows some internal workmanship.
This picture of the inside of the guitar shows some rather heavy handed repair work. Glue soaked material has been used to support some of the splits in the soundboard.
Andres Segovias first great guitar was a Manuel Ramirez guitar from 1912, that was built by Santos Hernandez. It was a source of great frustration to Santos that Segovia refused to acknowledge that this fine guitar was built by him.
The back and ribs of this guitar are made of Spanish cypress, a wood almost exclusively used for flamenco guitars, although I for one would be very happy to use it for classical guitars. This guitar is definitely a flamenco and has what Stefano Grondona has described as an 'explosive vitality'.
Although showing signs of age and considerable professional use, this guitar is in good, and largely original condition. When you look closely at the workmanship you can see that it is fine indeed. The simple but effective rosette illustrates the crisp and accurate work.

I was delighted to see this headstock as by chance I had used this design for the first time a few weeks before. I was copying a Hauser 1 headstock for a guitar I am building. Herman Hauser saw Segovia's Ramirez/Hernandez and occasionally adopted this design, although he is usually associated with the 3 lobed design of Torres.
The hole in the center of the headstock is for a cord or ribbon that can be used to hang the guitar on the wall.
This repair label shows that the guitar was repaired in the Jose Ramirez workshop in 1929. The picture below shows the label on the original case.

This is how my workshop has been for most of this week and I have a suspicion that it is going to be like this for a few days more. The picture above is part of my stock of Rio back and sides. Once this is used up then that's it; I'm not buying any more. Most of my material has CITES certification although a few sets do not. (That was some timber that I bought years ago from a retired cabinet maker up in Essex.) I had all my Rio rosewood out to select a couple of sets for 2 guitars that I am going to built in 2011 and at the same time to photograph each set.
One of the reasons for sorting through all the Brazilian was to select some wood for a guitar that Julio ordered last week. It was good to meet up at last. I'm very much looking forward to making his guitar and hearing him play it.

I have just finished a couple of rosettes and I have another one to finish tomorrow. I like making these although it would be far cheaper and efficient to buy them as some makers do. This inlay is such a personal touch that I cannot imagine using a shop bought one. Although my rosettes have similar elements, each one is nevertheless subtly different and this year I am going to introduce a couple of new designs. This week I shall be dropping these rosettes into the soundboards I have selected and also continuing to work on the current guitars on the bench. Oh, and I will spent a bit of time each day polishing, naturally!

The memory of the hot summer is receding now and the workshop is returning to being a snug refuge from the cool seasonal weather outside. Looking out to sea the other day I saw a flock of brent geese fly westwards to their winter feeding ground, at Pagham harbour perhaps. They have spent the summer high in the arctic.
As the picture above shows, I have been busy making necks; there are a number of different headstock shapes here including Torres, Hauser, Friederich and Whiteman. Included here is the neck for Johns instrument, and a short scale guitar that one day I will finish for my children. I have also finished some bridges including this rather colourful rosewood one.
There have been many visitors to the workshop over the past couple of weeks. Most unexpected was Kai Heumann and his partner travelling back to Germany from Scotland. Kai, a fine professional guitarist also runs a guitar shop and a fabulous looking cafe. This looks like somewhere I would like to visit, drink coffee and listen to music...

It is a pleasure to be able to see one of my guitars again and last week Vic dropped by with his 2008 Whiteman guitar as the tuners needed some adjustments. I took the opportunity of taking a few pictures as this guitar was really striking. The back and ribs are beautifully patterned although for once that isn't the main focus of attention. The top is what really catches the eye as it is covered in the most spectacular bear claw figure, which gives the most sumptuous texture to the top. This guitar is bound in curly koa which adds a really rich detail. This guitar is maturing nicely which is something I don't always get to experience. I hear the guitars when they are new, so I get to hear the potential in them. Playing this guitar I could feel the roundness in the notes; the filling out; the quickening of the response. I would like to see this one again.

The pear tree outside the workshop is heavily laden with fruit and I am planning a campaign of harvesting, storing and baking. After a hot summer the transition to a cooler autumn is welcome. I always find the change of season inspiring and my energy levels lift dramatically. So, it's been a busy week in the workshop with quite a few projects coming together, and lots of detailed list making taking place planning out the work ahead.
The 2 new guitars for John and Richard are progressing well. I have nearly finished the neck for Johns Hauser guitar- I must post some pictures of that soon. Running alongside that is some polishing (there is always some polishing to be done in my workshop) and the ongoing restoration work on the Davis and the Lacote.
I recently acquired some more salvaged mahogany in the form of old Victorian drawer fronts. Not big enough for backs and ribs sadly but I have converted some of it into back bars. Wonderfully dry and stable stuff and a pleasure to reuse. I have also purchased some blocks of Adirondack spruce from RC Tonewoods in the States. This spruce was used on many old Martins and is a strong, light timber. I am going to use this very selectively in my top strutting.
Finally I have been rosette making and the picture above shows a selection of inlays to be used. I am frequently using a small quantity of shell these days and it can provide a sparkle to a traditional design.