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New Construction

Each new instrument was built one-at-a-time in my shop. Wood comes from a variety of sources; Luthier supply companies will let you see high resolution photos of guitar sets on line before they are purchased, and I'm always looking for local sources as well.

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I like mahogany for necks, with a quarter-sawn maple veneer sandwiched in the center for stability and strength. I cut my necks to a pattern and finish them by hand with rasp, file, paper and scraper.


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An arched back is standard. The laminated tail block (photo below) is laid in extra wide for body stability and stiffness. Alternating the grain resists cracking in all but the most unfortunate dropping accident.


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I've used cones from Quarterman, Paul Beard and Tim Scheerhorn. Number 14 cast spiders, bone nuts and maple / ebony inserts are standard.

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Waverley is my tuning machine of choice and all my plated hardware is the best available. Fretboards are ebony with wire frets. The Pearl logo on the tongue of the fretboard like the one shown above is standard.
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