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Finished! A Guitar Bouzouki - yes, quite!

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  • JayGeeJayGee Frets: 1254
    I have no conceivable use for this instrument and no idea how to play it but with every update I covet it a little more... :-)
    Don't ask me, I just play the damned thing...
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    JayGee said:
    I have no conceivable use for this instrument and no idea how to play it but with every update I covet it a little more... :-)
    I do know what you mean.  I keep thinking, "Do you know, I might make one for myself!"  Until realising what folly that would be on SO many levels   ;)

    Anyway, the varnish stage has started for the body.  I won't do regular posts of the progress because it is literally like watching paint dry, but probably worth a preview in terms of the first coat.  As usual, I use good old fashioned Ronseal Hardglaze Polyurethane Varnish brushed on with an artist's water-colour fan brush.

    Here's the front after its first sealing coat:


    And the back and sides after their first coat:



    It's going to be pretty :)

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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    It's going to be pretty :)

     It's going to be stunning!
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    paulnb57 said:
    It's going to be pretty :)

     It's going to be stunning!
    Thanks.  It's certainly going well so far.  Still time for me to b****r it up, of course ;)

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  • normula1normula1 Frets: 639
    Fabulous 
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    edited August 2020
    And to the neck carve.

    Although I use a spokeshave and microplane to get much of the bulk out of the way, I do most of my neck carving with a humble cabinet scraper:



    It is very controllable, it is gradual - and with neck carves it is very easy to end up with a dip or a thin bit where you didn't intend one to be!  And - while there is a lot of confusion about scrapers and they are only a couple of £'s each - they are planes in their own right.  Here are the shavings:



    I had sent P a profile gauge to take the neck profiles from his present bouzouki.  While I can't replicate these exactly because he has asked for the fingerboard to be wider but no deeper than his present one, I will be replicating the 'soft V' at the lower frets (still a bit more to do here!)...  :



     ...progressing to a more 'C' shape further down (a lot more to do here!):



    Ah - that's a bit better... :




    Now I'm a bit odd.  I always have to 'air guitar' a build to see if the profile is right - even if I've never played a particular instrument.  While I have never played a bouzouki, I can tell if it feels as I would expect based on P's profile measurements.  Besides...it gives me an excuse to do a quick gratuitous mockup with the 2-coats-done-2ish-to do-body

    Bear in mind that the neck will darken and amber up a touch when the finish is put on:







     The neck actually feels great even though it is significantly deeper than a guitar or bass.  The relative slimness and that V at the lower frets makes fretboard access a breeze.

    So, so far so good....
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    And a lot more done.

    - lots of trial string fits and neck angle tweaks  to get the action in the right region
    - final heel and neck carves
    - magnet-attached trussrod cover fitted
    - luminlay side dots fitted
    - temporary saddle fitted to determine final action height and intonation

    Here are the luminlays ready for the final neck and heel carve:


    And here is the bouzouki, fully playable, prior to tomorrows disassembly and the start of the final varnish stages on the body and the start of the neck finishing process: 


    So, all being well, it should be ready to pass over to P in a couple of weeks once the finish has fully hardened :)


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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    That is so nice, I particularly like the soundhole and its rosette...
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • PeteCPeteC Frets: 409
    That’s such a handsome instrument - very nicely done indeed Andy 
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  • normula1normula1 Frets: 639
    that looks super Andy
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    Looks really lovely, I never knew I had Bouzouki GAS  !
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    edited August 2020
    Thanks, folks. 

    It sounds great.  I've done another couple of soundclips now the fretboard action is in the right place but since a recent Windows 10 update (Microsoft - the company that seems to have a unique mission of bringing out great products with regular updates...with every update giving you something worse than you had before!), my modern and good spec'd PC is now having trouble reading an SD card.

    I shall battle on and try to extract the data.  Tish...what was I thinking to record something onto a recorder that uses something as obsolete as an SD card!  That's sooooooo 20th century!   


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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    edited August 2020
    Final coats of varnish are going well so far and the first few coats of oil have been put onto the neck, which has turned it a nice light amber:



    Finally managed to get the soundfile out of my little Zoom mic recorder.  Given that 2 months ago I didn't even know what a guitar bouzouki was, I was going to call this little demo piece, "A Tune To Play If You Are Playing Something You Don't Know How To Play" but it wouldn't fit in the Soundcloud text box.  So, instead, I've called it "Ignorance is Bliss".

    As always with acoustics, best heard through headphones:

    https://soundcloud.com/andy-rogers-6/ignorance-is-bliss/s-XWxXhI6MwvF


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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Those who have seen my previous builds know that, with the way I apply gloss finish - polyurethane varnish brushed on - I add and sand back coats until I judge I am unlikely to be able to do another one any better.  I can't replicate top pro finishes, but do try to get something that is fit for purpose and 'looks OK'.  So when I get a coat that I think will achieve that after final polishing (done after a week or so of hardening) then I STOP...because I know that further coats are more likely to be worse rather than better. :)

    And I'm stopping here.  There are bits where the finish has sunk into previously invisible hollows, there are bits where the grain ripples are a little more pronounced, but I don't think I can do any better than this however more sand backs and coats I do:





    So it will now sit for a week to harden and then will be polished up and reassembled :)
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  • And...pretty much finished :)

    I say pretty much because I still have to replace the test saddle with the final one, replace the 'working strings' with some new ones and polish it, but none of that will change the basic look.  I'll do some arty-farty photos when the light is right, but here it is:





     

    To my ear, it sounds lovely and it is very easy on the playing hand...even with my progressing arthritis (which has pretty much stopped my 6-string playing) I am SO tempted to build myself one.  And through the Pure Mini played through my little Vox valve amp set clean with neutral EQ, it is exactly the same sound as played acoustically but simply louder :)

     

    And P picks it up next weekend! 
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  • PhilKingPhilKing Frets: 1473
    Looks fantastic Andy.  A beautiful looking instrument.
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  • It looks fabulous ! Great skills and effort 
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  • PhilKing said:
    Looks fantastic Andy.  A beautiful looking instrument.
    Thanks! :)
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  • That's incredible work, sounds beautiful too! So good. 
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  • Thanks, folks :)
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