Chambered mahogany T-Class build

Hi guys and gals,

I will be doing a T-Class in mahogany and rosewood/mapleneck and Filtertrons.
I went to my local wood supplier AMWood Inc in Cambridge and got a big slap of Fijian Mahogany, 14.25"x3.25"x37". This will be a real nice.
I haven't decided if I will cap the top or bottom yet.

This is the guitar hardware example but in pelham blue

Subscribed, oh yes!

I'm with you all the way. Waiting for parts and some back wood for a 2" slab of another kind of wood which will take a few months. I'll be watching and learning from you. I want to chamber it as well. Please cap the back LOL.
How do I subscribe so I don't miss anything?

Here is a quick imprompto tone tap test, does it really make a difference, I think so.

B-1z51VIbnA

I've heard the plantations of Mahogany in Fiji.. planted years ago .. came from Honduran Mahogany seeds/stock...

50-60 year old stands...or more...

it could be the next place for guitar wood... some Fiji based companies are selling guitar blank size slabs...centre join 2 piece,,.. not sure of the web addy... I saw some on Oz ebay a while back.

Well Trev the stuff I got is a nice 14.25" wide. I'll be getting more.

Bill

here's one site I found.. name speaks for itself I guess..

http://www.fijimahoganyblanks.com/Welcome.html

these all look one piece/neck through blanks..





http://www.fijimahoganyblanks.com/Welcome_files/GMH%20049.jpg

Wow thats cool to see.

Bill

It's good to see the Fijians value adding to their wood stocks...

someone must have got in there to school them on guitar blank cuts for their logs to get into the instrument market... and to provide a small industry/jobs.

we may well see more guitars made from these stocks... being Plantation stock there will be no cutting of old growth forests to get Mahogany.. and being replanted as time goes on..

That's the way it should have been done all along.

Bill

When you use it to make the floors of your house or your decks, when you walk around in rubber shoes the house plays a tune.

http://www.pridemahoganyfiji.com.au/

Some see tonewood, others see a cheap building material.

I think it's great that plantation timbers are being used when others on this site endorse old-growth as the only one with any "tone". Especially since wild-harvested wood from this species of 'Hog is CITES-listed.

The plantation stuff is nice and light too. I'm thinking about making an all 'Hog dread from it.

That's the way it should have been done all along.

Bill

Wouldn't it be truly admirable if all the guitar companies would buy farmland in the tropics and plant Ebony, BRW and Mahogany?

Wouldn't that be amazing?

We could only hope. If Martin had have done this in 1920 ... we'd be sorted. Fact that they're not doing it now (they'd grow in Florida, or Lousianna) makes me sad. They say they know what "sustainability" means, but they haven't a clue and are just trying to buy green karma.

Someone in Fiji was thinking. I'd now like to know who.

http://www.fijimahogany.com/

Hey,

Not too much to show but I did get the body ready for chambering and the back cap is ready too.

I have had a one piece honduran mahogany tele body for about 20 some odd years. What will that body weigh after routing?

Clinchriver,

I suspect around 3lbs, I'll know soon enough,I dont want it too light that its unbalanced.

Beautiful, resonant wood, Bill. Thanks for the video and the build update.
(Just wish there were some way to utilize the wood we drill out for cavities--breaks my heart to see that beautiful wood go to waste, but don't know what else to do!)

Hey,

Not too much to show but I did get the body ready for chambering and the back cap is ready too.

Can I please ask what thickness you allow for the sides - I've seen varying thicknesses quoted around the traps. I made a template for the cavities and I'm a bit nervous that mine looks a bit thin. Better to work out the right thickness before I actually cut into my mahogany...

I went with 1" sides but you could get away with 3/4" maybe less. Of course it wont be as strong as a laminated rim.

So Jock wanted a cats eye instead of the traditional f-hole but I found this and he likes it. I slightly modified it so it wasn't a direct copy. I need to slim it down some its still a bit bulky looking.

Bill

I went with 1" sides but you could get away with 3/4" maybe less. Of course it wont be as strong as a laminated rim.

Thanks! I might redo my template for the chambers.

The hole design looks good btw.

I like the f-hole you came up with Bill.

Here is a quick imprompto tone tap test, does it really make a difference, I think so.

B-1z51VIbnA

If you hold the plate at a node and you and tap at antinodes you will get a much better idea of that plates resonances. All I could hear on the little mic was klack, klack. There should be a range of frequencies from very low to your klack.
While you tap pinch the plate and move your fingers (pinch point) up or down to find the point on the plate that your fingers don't feel vibrating, then bonk it and the plate will resonate like a at it's natural resonance. I think the most useful thing revealed is the sustain of the resonance and it's quality. When I do this I am listening for the range of frequencies and how much damping there is in the wood. Some guitars benefit from selective damping, because I really don't want a big peaky resonance that might boom in a finished guitar.

Thanks Ken,

Yes you guys are missing lower frequencies do to the camera mic's inability to capture it.
Also a felt mallet may help in hiding the initial hit but revealing the response of the hit.

Bill

Thanks John. You still building?

Thanks John. You still building?

I'm building furniture at the moment. Oldest boy is going off to university in September and he needs a few things (table, bookshelf, night-stand).

I've got 2 guitars in process but they are on the back-burner for a while.

Good for you on the chambering. I'm pretty much all-in on the "lighter is better" theory.
At least it is for my aging back. My chambered & carved-top Tele came in sub-8lbs with
all the hardware and I was very happy.

Looking forward to watching the progress.

I'm building furniture at the moment. Oldest boy is going off to university in September and he needs a few things (table, bookshelf, night-stand).

I've got 2 guitars in process but they are on the back-burner for a while.

Hand built furniture for a university student?? Lucky guy. I suggest you make him use pine planks spanned between concrete cinder blocks for his basic Uni furniture, like I and my friends had to back in the day...

LOL,
Rex

Here is the roughed in F-Hole with and without pg cutout for proper location.

Here is an update on that body. She's ready for final thickness sanding, then onto routing and binding channel.

Bill

Here is the body as of today, I still need to do the dbl binding channel then install binding then onto finish.

Great looking guitar, Bill. Love the stylized F-hole. What material/color is the pickguard going to be?

Great looking guitar, Bill. Love the stylized F-hole. What material/color is the pickguard going to be?

Thank you. The pg blank will be single ply black from WDMusic. Because of the filtertrons Ill custom make it

I'm loving this!

Noe I'm on to bindings. Fronts done next the back tommorrow.

Well the binding work is basically done, just do small filler on the dragons eye nothing major. I simply mix shavings in acetone and do the touchup with a toothpick. This body weighs in at 3.5 lbs perfect.

Here is the neck with inlays layinog loose, 3 & 5 need to be switched yet.

Here is some more work done. Body is getting clear coats now and neck is almost ready for frets. I still need to mix up filler with rosewood dust to fill in small cracks.

I have the neck to the pre-finishing stage. Frets are in flushed and beveled.
She's turning out real real nice.

WOW! I love it!

Well were into the final stages of assembly. This is one very light guitar. 3.5lbs body less h/w. The nut slot is machined, the pg fits super nice and now I can pay attention to final sanding and buffing.

Here is the T-Class all done.

EXGh5UVHWBw

And also Jock's review when he got her.

"The eagle has landed! I picked it up a few hours ago.

Total honeymooner here, so excuse the school girl gushing. 8)

Holy smokes this is a light guitar!
When I to went pick it up, I wondered if I should have pulled the truck up closer to the depot.
Not necessary, under one arm, off to the truck at the far end of the parking lot.

Bill packed this like it was going to Afganistan.
A nice SKB case, wrapped in bubble wrap, again wrapped in a black fabric sheathing, nice touch.

The reveal...WOW!
I love the colour. Bill nailed the subtle trans finish, just a bit of grain showing through.
Fit and finish is wonderful. The body is flawless and a nice snug neck pocket.
The neck is spectacular. Especially how I kind of left the details up to Bill.
I just told him what I liked in a neck and what I didn't want. He took it from there.
It's a chunky "C" shape, not a baseball bat, and far from anything slim. The "Goldilocks" neck, I like to call it.
The frets are dressed to perfection and no sharp edges.
Even the nut is shaped so that there's nothing uncomfortable against your hand. Really comfy neck!
The headstock looks so badassed in black and the CB logo looks great against that background.
Bill had to specially source that logo, as the previous builds were on a natural headstock,
with some of the lettering in black that wouldn't show up on this guitar.

The tones...WOW again!
I can now hear what the Gretsch guys have a love on for in the TV Jones.
Nice, clear articulate tones, free of mud, even in the neck position.
This is always something that draws me to a guitar.
The way I see it, is if the guitar is bright, you can always adjust your tone knob.
If the guitar is too dark, well, you're changing out parts to remedy.
This guitar sounds so good clean, just sparkles.
It actually has a useful tone knob, not the case on a lot of guitars.
Most that I've played, once you roll the tone right off, it's like a blanket was thrown over the amp.
Not so with this guitar. You get around two thirds in and it just starts to warm the tone, not bury it.

All in all, this experience was phenominal, from start to finish.
Bill is so easy to deal with. We had a chat on the phone at the initial stages of this build.
You can tell that Bill is just a good guy and he loves what he does.
I'd highly recommend this route if you're contemplating a something new.
Reasonable rates, for what you get. The price of mine compares to a Fender American Deluxe.
The biggest difference, I chose every spec, piece of hardware, colour, etc.
Not to mention constant updates of the progress and Bills availability,
you can contact him anytime and you get a prompt response.

The only problem that I've found, is that I want Bill to build me another one"

Love it!!!

All in all, this experience was phenominal, from start to finish.
Bill is so easy to deal with. We had a chat on the phone at the initial stages of this build.
You can tell that Bill is just a good guy and he loves what he does.
I'd highly recommend this route if you're contemplating a something new.
Reasonable rates, for what you get. The price of mine compares to a Fender American Deluxe.
The biggest difference, I chose every spec, piece of hardware, colour, etc.
Not to mention constant updates of the progress and Bills availability,
you can contact him anytime and you get a prompt response.

It's because he's Canadian. :mrgreen: