Randy Roberts Ancient Kauri 000-12 efficiency is the key

[Randy Roberts]

OK, so I’m cruising along completing a guitar about every 9 months or so, when it dawns on me: most of my time is spent setting up for, and taking down and cleaning up from each step, rather than actually doing the step itself.

If I were to build 2 at a time why, I would be so much more efficient I might nearly double my production output. So, back in 2009 I started two at the same time.

I’ d crank along, oh so efficiently, then suddenly something shiny and sparkling would flutter by, and off I’d go… Rebracing and tuning the top three times after spending a little time with Al Carruth… Getting curious about “seeing stiffness” after Healdsburg and reading Ervin Somogyi’s books: http://www.mimf.com/library/Randy_Rober ... -2010.html … Thinking “there’s got to be a better way “ of dealing with fret ends http://www.mimf.com/library/Randy_Rober ... -2012.html…

But the cherry on top was having the ingenious idea of trying to toughen up really soft back and side wood without ruining the appearance, by impregnating with epoxy… then taking it back to bare wood (Can’t test on scrap when you’ve run out of scrap) … then thinned epoxy …then back to bare wood… then thin CA … then back to bare wood… then screw it and on to French Polish. You name it, and off I’d go on a tangent because , don’t you know, I was just so darn efficient now doing two at a time.

Well, having now finished one of the two (actually still needs a pickguard and lable) and apparently having lost the other one, I felt I should post what a builder can do if he’s really efficient.

Sitka top

[Randy Roberts]

Ancient Kauri laminated to Osage Orange due to the Kauri being weak and soft.

[Randy Roberts]

Heel cap, bindings and purfling are ebony and yellow heart

[Randy Roberts]

End graft ebony

[Randy Roberts]

Neck is cherry, with flamed maple logo in ebony

[Randy Roberts]

Peghead is amboynia burl with gold lip pearl and gold “customers” logo inlayed into ebony. Once I start binding and purfling I can’t seem to stop, so the headstock and fret board got bound , and the dog would have been bound and purfled if he’d been a little less alert.

[Randy Roberts]

Rosette is Amboynia burl, Brazilian Rosewood bridge, Paua fret markers, French Polish finish.

[Jason Rodgers]

Sooo many things I like (your high-efficiency work process being just one)! The neck and headstock alone have so much going on. And the button graft is pointing in the right direction! Great work! How's she sound? Any pics of the guts (or is that classified)?

[Chuck Tweedy]

Wow, that is beautiful Randy.
The Kauri has a fantastic silky look.

[Michael Lewis]

Very nice looking work Randy. Bearclaw in the top is a nice touch too.

Your thinking about efficiency is good as far as it goes. If you start with six and loose two in the process you still get four. Maybe do the Jim Olson method ans start a batch of 30 or so. That would take a lot of room compared to six or less.

[Charlie Schultz]

Nice work Randy! And I see you got those links to the new archives working too.

[Mark Swanson]

Good job Randy! You pay attention to the details, that's for sure! I bet it sounds great too.

[Steve Senseney]

Beautiful meticulous work!

How did you manage the bonding of the osage and the Kauri?

[Dave Hooper]

Stunning work Randy

Excellent build I love the headstock

All the best
Dave

[Clay Schaeffer]

Lovely guitar Randy,
Being a perfectionist, experimentalist, and a guitarmaker you are thrice cursed. <g> You should continue to build two at a time - one to perfection and one as an experimental test mule (to a much lower standard). Part of the joy for us "amateurs" is to squander our time going off on experiments the professionals can't afford the time to do.
As Chuck mentioned the Kauri has a very nice appearance. How soft is it - and would you recommend it as a back and side material?

[Nate Scott]

That is great work - headstock is a knockout!

[Randy Roberts]

Thanks for the kind words. As you can imagine, she sure heard a lot of the other kind while being built.

Jason,
No secrets just plain old X bracing but the pictures must be with the other guitar because I can’t find them either. It seems to sound pretty good for being new , but nobody that can really play has tried it yet, and until the pickguard’s on I’m not passing her around.
And come to think of it, I don’t recall having any of these completion problems until after meeting you at GAL…<g>

Steve,
For the laminating I used LMI’s all wood epoxy and a strip of wacky wood (the plywood that is all parallel grain so its flexible), and just clamped the two pre-bent sides in the bending mold. If I was going to do it again I think I’d just use vacuum, but the wacky wood and a bunch of clamps worked fine, no gaps etc.

Clay,
As far as soft goes, this board was kinda like cedar or a pretty hard balsa. The biggest problem, and the reason for laminating it was that it would chip off perpendicular to the long axis, as if it were a cross cut slice of cedar. Even though the grain can be seen to be roughly flat sawn, it was like there was a completely different tubular orientation vertically that split apart with little stress at all. Like a top with a perfect 90 degree runout. Maybe all that time sitting in a bog?

I have no idea if this board is at all representative of kauri in general. I called the guy who I believe has the rights to importing for North America, and who wholesales it to wood dealers etc. to ask him about it’s characteristics etc. He asked what I was planning to use it for and when I told him he said ”I just happen to have a board with quite a bit of whitebait and movement in it behind my office door” and apparently that’s what he sent me.

I think LMI has started selling it as a back and side wood, and I can’t picture them doing so if it had the same characteristics as mine had but at least the pictures of LMI’s didn’t look like they had much figure in them, so maybe that is why mine was like it was. It definitely would not be something I’d use for a guitar that would be out earning it’s living.

[Jason Rodgers]

I don’t recall having any of these completion problems until after meeting you at GAL…<g>

Perhaps there is only so much efficiency to go around. Not much around here, though, so I can't be held responsible!

[Matthew Lau]

Nice!