This is the "before" picture of your violin. As you can see, it is dirty, and very incomplete. My first step was to send for some basic violin repair tools, and a book on repair. My next step will be to clean it and take it apart, so that it can be re-assembled with fresh hide glue. It will eventually get a new Ebony fretboard, Ebony tailpiece, Ebony tuning pegs, and a Maple bridge. I will keep you posted as the work progresses.
Love, Grandpa
..........................................................
Dear Josh:
Some pictures on the progress of your electric bass. The first picture, with the light color wood, are the blanks for the prototype. The wood is Poplar. I will send the prototype to you, so that you can be sure that I've followed the drawing you agreed to.
The second picture, with the dark wood, is to show the wood I would like to use, if you agree. Both pieces are Honduras Mahogany, but acquired at different times. The piece for the body is a cut-off from wood I bought back in 1986 for furniture. It is plain sawn, and I would be reluctant to use it, but for the fact that it has sat in my shop for twenty-two years without twisting or warping. I think it has proved itself a proper piece of guitar wood. The other piece, for the neck, is quarter sawn, the "holy grail" of guitar makers. I went through all the Mahogany at Woodcraft in Roanoke, and pulled out all the quarter sawn pieces. I paid for them, of course, and then squirreled them away for future guitars.
The Mahogany is a dark red now, and will turn darker with exposure to sunlight. Should you want a darker red, I can accomplish that with a "toner" made of dye in the lacquer finish.
Love, Grandpa
4 comments:
grampa, the bass looks awesome and i can't wait to get the prototype just to see how it feels. thank you so much.
josh
neat! I read that maple can switch colors in different lighting, i wonder what the bridge will look like. The stain on the violin, is it dark because it's dirty? If not that violin's color looks very svelte. I kinda like it.
by the way that was rose who was talking bout the maple n' stuff.
sorry for any confusion
rose.
You have been quite the busy elf. The shop looks great, and all those different projects - my head is swooning! Look forward to seeing all of "the wonderful world of Paul the wood-crafter" this summer.
Post a Comment