And so it begins...... AND ENDS!!

davismanLV

davismanLV

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Re: And so it begins......

Well, Joe... you know at the beginning it was just a bunch of parts. Glue this to that.... pretty simple stuff. Then as it's progressed, the steps become more complicated and ..... everything matters. Not that it doesn't matter in the beginning, but gluing two pieces of wood together is pretty mundane stuff. Now everything is critical and technical. I think we're pretty close to worrying about strings. And of course, with it being a Martin Guitar kit, it came with Martin 80/20 strings in light gauge. I figure those first strings will be on and off and on and off, with little adjustments and changes being made.... but in the end, if it sounds decent, I'll want my usual.... GHS Bright Bronze or GHS Vintage Bronze. Those are my "go to" strings.

In the end it's Don's guitar..... however, I have all the strings!! :twisted: :twisted:

:lol: :lol:
 
taabru45

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Re: And so it begins......

In the end it's Don's guitar..... however, I have all the strings!! :twisted: :twisted:

:lol: :lol:[/quote]

Now I get the picture.... :lol: :lol: Steffan
 
davismanLV

davismanLV

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Re: And so it begins......

So since all the clamps are off the bridge, I figured I'd stand it up on a guitar stand and take a picture. Now the saddle gets sized and adjusted and the nut gets its grooves cut and the bridge pin holes get drilled and ..... then I think the tuners go on. The thing is filthy from all the handling and gluing and clamping but once it's got most of that stuff done I think it will clean up just fine. When you tap on the bridge, it makes that big, echoey wooden box sound!! That put a smile on my face!

onstand.jpg
 
taabru45

taabru45

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Re: And so it begins......

Were gonna need a family portrait soon, the guitar and its makers...you guys deserve lots of credit, its beautiful, now for the case... :lol: Steffan
 
davismanLV

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Re: And so it begins......

Steffan, you shoulda seen my face last night right before I clicked out the light. It suddenly hit me, "Holy CRAP!! We don't have a case for this thing!!" First time it had ever crossed my mind...... :lol: :lol: Of course, if it sounds horrible, it'll probably never leave the house. But if it sounds good, it may need to take a trip or two, you know? :wink:
 
taabru45

taabru45

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Re: And so it begins......

Yeah, those case kits are really hard to find. :!: :!: Steffan
 
davismanLV

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Well, other than some clean up and detail work, it's been strung and set up and the action adjusted. The neck angle seems good and there's plenty of saddle. It's an actual guitar and you can play it. If y'all remember, it started like THIS:

martinkitw.jpg


A pile of parts delivered in a box. That was back in October and now smack in the middle of April, we've got Don playing his guitar that he built!!

donplaying.jpg


The guitar is brand new and sounds kinda stiff but the sound is good. It's fairly easy to play but today was a day of adjustments and tweaking to get the action right. I think it needs a tiny truss-rod tweak but Martin requires some really weird long-a$$ tool to get in there and make adjustments. Never seen anything so awkward, but I'm sure Stew-Mac has a truss rod wrench that'll work.

Anyway, it's done for all intents and purposes. What a journey!! Who knows what comes next. I hope everyone enjoyed this little project and the ongoing chronicle. I've learned a LOT and it's been great fun sharing this project with everyone here at LTG!! :D :D

Once it gets all cleaned up and polished I'll take some good photos with an actual camera and share the result.
 
taabru45

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Re: And so it begins......

Thanks for sharing the journey, admirable conclusion. :D Steffan
 
zulu

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I've really enjoyed following this journey, thanks so much for sharing with us. very nice looking guitar. Way to go!
 
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