I’m the lucky guy on the phone with these two fellas. A little personal back story, I have owned hundreds and hundreds of guitars in the last 20 years. As an honored owner of a Showalter guitar, I can WITHOUT QUESTION tell you this is THE GREATEST guitar I have ever owned. To top it off, I was able to buy from THE Guitar Hunter. I’m blessed to be included in the Showalter Guitar family and geeking out over being able to talk with you both! Cheers Gentlemen!!
growing up in the outskirts of Cincinnati, OH, we had a number of Osage orange trees (Maclura pomifera) out back, behind the house, adjoining the woods. The climate here in Basle Switzerland allows for them to grow here as well. Being a (retired) nurseryman, I came across one or two them, one was taken down due to construction, the other grew in a hedge like setting. I'll have to go and check if that one is still around. Greetings from the sunny climes of Basle, Switzerland. P.S. I love watching Steve and you, and the joy that brings across, encompasses. What a gift to be in possession of an insrument, built in that manner, environment.
Awesome! I want to meet you and Steve. A labor of love of guitars and the beautiful music they make; but also the aesthetically pleasing piece of art that they are.
That's fascinating and how tedious the details are, but oh, they're so important. I find myself continually learning every episode and hopefully one day I'll be able to do it myself. Again thanks Steve & Jeremy.
I am really enjoying watching the guitar building series with you and Steve. I like all the native hardwoods that Steve uses in his guitars. Steve is a wealth of knowledge and a mater of his craft. Cant wait till the next episode.
Another great episode! Just amazing the endless subtle details required to build a guitar! It has really given me another level of appreciation for the many processes that have gone into my guitars, at every level, even if most of those are assisted by technology and done in a factory setting. The result is still amazing! But it also shows why handmade, boutique guitars are as expensive as they are, and should be!
After watching all of these videos and seeing how much work goes into this it baffles me how some companies can sell acoustic guitars for so cheap. I know they’re mostly machine made but still I feel like there’s a ton of manual labor that goes into it regardless
mahogany fretboard? how interesting, then add to that it's "the Tree"....dang, so cool, Steve's creativity is unmatched and he makes guitars in flipflops.
So cool what you and Steve Re doing together. I have always dreamed of building my own. I’m one of those that played as a youngster. Garage band and all in jr. high and high school. Was never very good simply because as a kid I wasn’t willing to put the time into practice. I haven’t touched a guitar in 25 years. I just turned 65 and am fairly serious about buy an acoustic/electric. Love that OM cutaway look. 2 things- do you have an opinion on what the single best guitar-for-the-money is in the $500 to $1000 range? Second thing- Dude, you have to wear eye protection when using the power equipment in the shop. A splinter in the eye is much more life-altering than the finger burn you got on the belt sander. Thanks for the videos and this series. Really great stuff.
Really neat router jig! I also enjoyed his explanation about glues he uses. Those old hide glues were finicky and almost impossible to soften with steam or heat. Be interesting to see if the new protein glues eventually get universal use for some of the assembly.
Is that true about hide glue? If so, that suggests they added something, maybe urea formaldehyde for water resistance. But I'm not really experienced with old guitars. Furniture factories used hide glue for a long time.
@@carlosreira2189 Hi. I am not the glue expert, per se, but hide glue was pretty much the standard woodworking glue until after WW2. My guess is that formulations were not exact at that time. There are threads that question the transferability of sound through aliphatic resin glues (more “gooey”) but I think it’s like claiming to hear 20,000 HZ through a stereo. Mr. S is correct that planning for a neck reset is a good idea and heat is best , and really only, way to loosen the glue. Factories (and amateurs) use titebond because it has a much longer set up time. Hide glue doesn’t store and if not bonded and clamped in a minute or so, it is worthless as adhesive. Not sure what the comparison is to the new fish glues like Taylor uses. Traditionalists want the closest thing to the original and they will argue all the needs for the exact materials used pre WW2. And then there is the whole bolt- on versus dovetail neck argument…..
@@rzh3443 Yeah, thanks for that reply. These days, even Elmer's white glue is really hard. I don't think it's a make or break sonic issue, but I've made a few guitars, some with hide glue neck joints and some with yellow, and I've taken some of them apart. Neither is great, but yellow glue was a steamy mess. They suggest no moisture soldering iron methods now. I'm a believer in the bolt on neck, though I have yet to make one. It's smart and proven at this point. Fish glue is interesting. My understanding is that most if not all is made by one company and I have a bucket of it. It dries hard but is very reversible. The best is Sturgeon bladder glue and that's super expensive. Violin makers use it. There's some other options, though untested, like dextrin glue or other carbohydrate based glues. I often mix wheat flour into my Elmer's to make a thick paste. It dries rock hard and is fairly resistant to moisture. So...yeah adhesives, fun. Blessings of success with your creative endeavors.
Looks like you gentleman are using all domestic species, and locally available at that. I notice the sycamore top, very cool. I'm sure tulip poplar would make good tops, but maybe not the most exotic looking. How do you thickness a hardwood top, same or less than spruce? Or thicker?
