Organic Soundports

[whitespruce]

Well, I was mostly busy today doing odds and ends, but I woke up this morning thinking about bindings and knowing that the old bloodwood or ebony just wasn't gonna cut it.

Several things went through my mind, such as strips of buffalo ribs and such (since I had already cut some of these a year or so ago), but nothing really seemed appropriate. Then towards the end of the first cup of coffee I remembered something....

....so after I got dressed, I went out and dug through the snow in a pile of odds and ends of various sticks and logs. We had grown this stuff in the house and it had gotten about 25 feet tall and an inch and a half or so in diameter and then a couple of years ago it started to die. So we cut it all down and saved the fatter stems. That's what I was looking for in the snow.

I figured that if it could be used for flooring, cutting boards, and other things, It certainly should be useable for guitar bindings.......and it would be appropriate, too.

So I found one of the nicer pieces, brought it in the shop, cut off a 3 foot long piece, and ripped it in half on the table saw. Then I ripped one of the halves into 4 strips













So here is what I had to start with

Yah, bamboo. Who woulda thunk it

A closer look at the strips


After a few trips through the thickness sander, it looked like this


I cleaned up and squared the edges with a block plane and got it down to just a bit oversize for bindings

trued up the edges on a sanding board.

This is still a tad thicker than it needs to be and there are a few slight kinks in some of the pieces, but it is very flexible and should be real easy to bend. I should be able to change the color a bit if I don't like what it is now. Need to see if I want to add side purflings, but I am thinking maybe not. I will probably use a very narrow strip of the spruce bark and a b/w veneer line for top purfling.

So, that's where I am at.

G

[whitespruce]

Way too cold to do much else, so I will update this with a few photos.

I did a bit of work on the fingerboard now and then over the past few weeks. I put in the bone fret markers. These are that partially fossilized whale bone. I had routed the openings and just had to clean up the corners. Then I cut out the bone pieces and got them to size with small files, tapped them into place and hit them with a couple of drops of CA. They fit quite well, so no filling around them. Just filed them flush and then resanded the fingerboard. Here is what they look like



Then I started on the copper bar frets that I had made. Putting them in is a rather involved process.

First I cut a fret to length and filed the lower edge flat and square. Then taped off the fret slot and fit the fret in the slot. A bit of touch up with a file on some to get a not too tight fit. Then I ran a sharpie marker on one side to mark the approximate curve of the top. Took the fret out and filed the top roughly to shape, but a bit oversize. Then I lightly hammered the top edge to further work harden the copper, followed by burnishing for the same reason. A dab of white glue in the slot and tapped the fret in. A bit more filing to get it closer to shape and then burnished it again.

Here are the first 3 frets roughed to shape with the ends kinda cleaned up


When all of the frets are in, they will be leveled and crowned and then burnished again.

G

[Dennis Leahy]

Grant,

I'm loving watching this guitar be born! Those butterfly/keys following the cracks look great as fret markers.

I noticed that the typical fretwire on most guitars ("nickel silver" or "German silver") is 60% copper (60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc.) Bronze can be up to 88% copper, so your idea that the copper - especially work-hardened copper - should be hard enough to do the job, seems correct. It sure looks cool.

Dennis

{edit} At least -24°F (-31°C) tonight at your place. That is mighty damn cold.

[Eben]

VERY cool, G - I love Nakashima's work and legacy - He'd dig this for sure.

E

[DennisK]

How's this thing coming along? Got 'er boxed up yet, or still dreading the fitting of all those bar frets?

Love those position markers. Functional in two ways, and decorative at the same time Actually I love everything about this build... except for the mahogany neck. Mahogany is so mainstream

[whitespruce]

Dennis, I have been slacking again. Actually, I have been busy trying to put a website together...which is taking more time than I had hoped.

The box is closed and the end graft (bamboo) done. The bamboo bindings are bent and I put a black lam on them. I have about half of the bar frets in....no problems with that process, but it is slow.

So, next I have to route the binding channels, actually I have 4 boxes ready for that, so I plan to do them all at the same time.

I am running a bit low on firewood, so I don't heat the shop every day. Supposed to warm up in a few days, so will try to get back at it.

Thanks for asking....I need a kick in the pants now and then

G

[chrism]

Grant,

Looking forward to more pictures as this one develops. Any progress since you last posted?

Thanks!

[whitespruce]

I have not had time to work on anything in the shop for about 2 months. However, I will get back at finishing this one so it will be playable in time for Stringfest.

G