Critical Bits
Wood Almost all of the wood used is from Orcas Island Tonewoods. Well seasoned Alaskan Sitka spruce and big leaf maple for most of the builds. Beautiful stuff! I also have Engelmann and red spruce, ancient Doug Fir, ancient redwood, and some Port Orford and western cedars for top wood. I'm sitting on some Euro, red and sugar maple for backs. All necks are sugar. That's Bruce on the top of his Island, in the middle of a ten mile hike! He's been harvesting tonewoods for around four decades, and every trip up is an amazing learning experience!
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Hide GlueI use hide glue throughout, except for gluing kerfing to the ribs (Titebond) and binding (Duco).
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BracingI've experimented with forward and centered X-bracing with great success! I've learned a few new things about tone bar bracing. I'm reeling in the X's & focusing on the tone bars for a spell. X-braced instruments will still happen sporadically.
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Finishing with Aniline Dyes & Spirit Varnish
I tested a few options, read quite a bit from many other builders, and this is my route. Rubbing water-based, Aniline dyes can do a lot for a piece of maple! The spirit varnish is a variation of an old recipe, mixed in pure grain alcohol and boiled a few times.
After rubbing sunbursts, I scrape and round the edges of the binding, spray a shellac sanding sealer, sand, spray varnish coats, sand, and French polish. This is a rather delicate finish, but the best for tone in my opinion. I go as light as I can get away with on coats. If you can stay away from extreme heat and water, you should have no problems. It is also eternally repairable if you find you need a touch-up down the road. I can button things up for a reasonable price. For my health and many other reasons, it is my choice for finish.
After rubbing sunbursts, I scrape and round the edges of the binding, spray a shellac sanding sealer, sand, spray varnish coats, sand, and French polish. This is a rather delicate finish, but the best for tone in my opinion. I go as light as I can get away with on coats. If you can stay away from extreme heat and water, you should have no problems. It is also eternally repairable if you find you need a touch-up down the road. I can button things up for a reasonable price. For my health and many other reasons, it is my choice for finish.