"An Torman Mòr" - Baritone Acoustic Lap Slide Guitar
Jul 9, 2013 11:38:51 GMT
Phil Taylor likes this
Post by davewhite on Jul 9, 2013 11:38:51 GMT
This later year I’m going to be the youthful age of sixty (or fifty plus VAT as I prefer to call it 
) and want to make myself a “present”. After some deliberation I’ve decided to make a Baritone Acoustic Lap Slide guitar which I’ve had in mind for some time now. I’d selected some Claro Walnut for the back and sides and a European spruce top but after some debate with Shubbs (Earwighoney) on Jonny’s Flamenco thread I had another think deciding that an as much as possible English wood theme would be more appropriate and had another look in my wood stash at a European Walnut harp guitar back and sides set I got from David Dyke. A little lateral thinking later I realised I could get the back and top of the lap slide from this set with careful layout and as one end of the set is quarter-sawn this would work for the top and the other rift-sawn end would work for the back.
Those of you that know me know that the most important thing for a new instrument is to find the right name and after much head scratching Mark Thomson came up with the Scots Gaelic required – “An Torman Mòr” – “The Big Rumbling”. The second important thing is to find a case that the new design can be made around and I got this dreadnought case where the neck support compartment can be unscrewed and removed and a custom neck support for the hollow neck made:
Now I could make the plans. This took several iterations of drawing out on lining paper and leaving it pinned on a wall to contemplate over a few weeks and change as necessary. It went through several iterations – Jonny saw one on one of his visits – and has lots of rubbing out and re-drawing and after a final “Eurika” moment moving the soundhole up the body slightly and lengthening the neck it changed from a tubby looking “cygnet” into a more elegant “swan”:
Here’s the English Walnut harp guitar set:
And here’s most of the other stuff I’ll need:
It will have a 724mm scale length (28.5”) designed for Bb to Bb; an English Walnut peghead; the binding will be English walnut side off-cuts; the fingerboard, bridge, peg head veneer and end graft will be Bog Oak together with black/whit/black purfling. I have a lot of finishing work to do but will then be starting this one in earnest in a week or so and will document progress here.
) and want to make myself a “present”. After some deliberation I’ve decided to make a Baritone Acoustic Lap Slide guitar which I’ve had in mind for some time now. I’d selected some Claro Walnut for the back and sides and a European spruce top but after some debate with Shubbs (Earwighoney) on Jonny’s Flamenco thread I had another think deciding that an as much as possible English wood theme would be more appropriate and had another look in my wood stash at a European Walnut harp guitar back and sides set I got from David Dyke. A little lateral thinking later I realised I could get the back and top of the lap slide from this set with careful layout and as one end of the set is quarter-sawn this would work for the top and the other rift-sawn end would work for the back.Those of you that know me know that the most important thing for a new instrument is to find the right name and after much head scratching Mark Thomson came up with the Scots Gaelic required – “An Torman Mòr” – “The Big Rumbling”. The second important thing is to find a case that the new design can be made around and I got this dreadnought case where the neck support compartment can be unscrewed and removed and a custom neck support for the hollow neck made:
Now I could make the plans. This took several iterations of drawing out on lining paper and leaving it pinned on a wall to contemplate over a few weeks and change as necessary. It went through several iterations – Jonny saw one on one of his visits – and has lots of rubbing out and re-drawing and after a final “Eurika” moment moving the soundhole up the body slightly and lengthening the neck it changed from a tubby looking “cygnet” into a more elegant “swan”:
Here’s the English Walnut harp guitar set:
And here’s most of the other stuff I’ll need:
It will have a 724mm scale length (28.5”) designed for Bb to Bb; an English Walnut peghead; the binding will be English walnut side off-cuts; the fingerboard, bridge, peg head veneer and end graft will be Bog Oak together with black/whit/black purfling. I have a lot of finishing work to do but will then be starting this one in earnest in a week or so and will document progress here.
I shall be following this with interest, Mr White ... have you a timescale? Ready for Halifax?
Some old Weisses are stable and a lot are very much not. As long as they don't implode a higher action isn't a problem for slide playing though.
Oh, your flamenco 
Jo whoever he is.
