Music to My Ears Part 1

I don't know about you, but to me, there's really nothing to compare to good string music. Be it a cello, a violin, or a guitar stringed instruments hold their own appeal. In fact, it has been found that cellos have a tonal quality and range similar to a human voice making them all the more appealing. I own a guitar and even though I'm not very good, I still enjoy listening to the sounds it makes. I'm blessed to be able to say that my parents bought me a guitar and books on my last birthday. Since then, I haven't progressed much, but lately, I've felt inspired to try a bit harder.

If  you've ever looked at a guitar, you might notice how incredibly beautiful works of art they are. Even cheaper guitars have a certain beauty. Mine's very nice with mahogany and rosewood. Some guitars are better and some lesser. Mine's really only a beginner's model, but it's beautiful. A few steps below it is this little guy. It's a half-size (or child size) guitar made by the Santa Rosa Folk Guitar Company, Model K55. The best word to describe this guitar is cheap. It's not very nice; the sound boards isn't even spruce; the finger board is painted black, not natural; the bridge broke off; the strings all snapped. My Dad got this for my oldest sister a long while back. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world back then. Now I see it with different eyes. I can tell it's not somethings special (or even good), but I see potential. Through the family process of hand-me-down lineage (a more complicated system than the British Monarchy) the guitar passed to my little sister. She hasn't touched it. For obvious reasons.

Its cracked neck and absent bridge and strings were daunting, but I drove into it head on.

First I looked at my own guitar bridge to get a general feel for the construction and did research on important factors.

So I started drawing and imagining a simpler version of this. I don't know how much sense the drawings and writings make, but that's the first block of maple.

I had to restart after I messed up the first one (one the right). I didn't mark my drill holes accurately enough so when I went to trial fit it, it wouldn't screw on.

Here's the second piece drilled and with the lines for the saddle drawn out.

Next, I countersunk those holes with a slightly larger drill bit.

I scribed the lines for the saddle groove with a sharp knife.

Then carved it part way through with a chisel.

Then using a hand crank drill, I drill eight or so holes in the slot.

Then, using a coping saw, I cut out the shape of the groove.

Cut out the edges with an xacto knife and finish it out with a file.

Finish contouring by filing the piece to shape.

Here it is fitted. The lines you see on the inside of the edges of the slot are the angle of the fret board continued with a straight edge.

Next, I made the saddle to sit in the groove. It's a piece of white oak. There's a reason for that.

Making this piece was especially difficult. Besides formfitting it to the slot, I had to slowly shave it down with a razor until it was the proper height. Here's where the magic comes in. The scrap next to the piece is oak as well. It has been treated with Iron (III) Acetate. This creates Iron (III) Tannate when applied to the oak which contains high concentration of Tannic Acid. It's called ebonizing This works on other woods too but only ones with a high level of tannic acid. I'll do that to the saddle.

The next step was fixing that crack in the neck. Know that would be a high stress region, I consulted my dad to see was he thought. I suggested putting wood glue or epoxy on one side and using a vacuum to pull the glue through. My dad just suggested using super glue since it would wick into the crack. I took his advice. First step is to tape off the area so that I won't get unnecessary glue on the neck.

I laid the guitar down on two stacks of blocks (one under the head, the other under the soundboard) with a towel to prevent scratching. (that streak is just glare)

I used this.

Then I just put some books to keep the neck crack shut while it dried.

I still have to drill holes in the bridge (and sound board too? maybe?), make pegs, and string it. I didn't include this, but I already tightened the tuning pegs for more precise tuning. I'm up in the air about refinishing this, but if I choose to, this project could get a lot more interesting. I'm interested in carving the neck and head with Celtic knots. We will see what happens over the next month.