Monday, November 21, 2011

playing and a little bit of surface work


Well it sure is a joy to have a nice instrument to play. Even given my limitations as a player, an open string or a chord can give pleasure when it is clear and nicely pitched. So practice is more pleasurable even on repetitive work.

I've spent a little while on the finish, removing some blemishes and polishing some edges, and quite a few little details that could be accomplished without removing the strings....it's not that I'm lazy about that, but I'd rather be playing at the moment. The curly maple bindings have a little more 'zing' now, and the overall finish has had some of the gloss knocked off. One day I'll remove the tuners and re-level the finish of the headstock. It looks very satisfying from most angles in most lights, but there is just that one angle of light that shows my characteristic impatience...

At the risk of boring my few readers, I've included more pics of details here, mainly to show the effects of different lighting on the timber. These details reveal the limitations of my digital camera though because, for example on the bindings, it is very difficult to show the sparkle in the grain without over-exposing it's shine.






4 comments:

  1. Do you use a tradition french polish?

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  2. I used a similar process over the varnish. Just a wee bit of shellac applied on a cloth ball with a mineral oil for lubrication to buff the surface, after 000 steel wool used with the same type of oil. But the base coats here are an oil based varnish.

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  3. Blimey... a bloke turns his back for a few days and suddenly the instrument is finished. more or less. Simply gorgeous Rob. Pleased the intonation is working out as you hoped. Have learnt so much about strings & wood out of this journey. Thanks heaps for sharing it.
    AJ

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