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Post by lars on Dec 14, 2017 13:23:51 GMT
A minor update
The bindings have been shaped flush to the body. The body has been sanded to 180 grit:   I really hope that the hue of the african mahogany will deepen when finish has been applied. I really don't like this "raw liver"-look Work have also been done to the neck. I´ve cut the neck extension, filed the side of the heel that will meet the body and checked the fit. Here are the parts for the bolt-on sulotion. Holes have been drilled in the neck;  Here the bolts have been inserted and fixed with epoxy:  And a test fit:  
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Post by lars on Jan 5, 2018 14:56:16 GMT
Back on track...After the holidays I've returned to the octofone/octochord. Now it's time to work on the neck. First step is to profile the neck with the band saw:  And add "wings" to the headstock:  A laburnum veneer is glued on top of the headstock:  And after profiling it looks like this:  The ebony fretboard is planed in the planer/thicknessser and fret positions are marked with a sharp knife.  The fret slots are cut with a special slotting saw. I follow the original design and adds fret markers only for the 5th, 7th and 10th fret. Here it's also tapered to the final widths:  And time for the fun, but dirty and dusty part - to sculpt the neck and heel with knife, rasp and file:  And after some additional work it begins to look like a neck:  And I almost forgot that I also installed the truss rod:  And now it's easy to imagine the final instrument:   To be continued...
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Post by lars on Jan 20, 2018 14:43:16 GMT
The last steps
First I had to make another fretboard. I damaged the first one when I tried to remove a fret that didn't fit - along with the fret came wood chips. I don't know if ebony is prone to split, but now two of my three attempts with ebony fretboards have ended this way. The new fretboard is made of ebonized laburnum and here are some photos from the process:  Marking and cutting the fret slots with a special fret saw.  After trimming the sides of the fretboard so that it's tapered like the neck it's time to hammer in the frets. The special fret pliers makes the work a lot easier than it used to be when I used standard pliers. As you can see I've also installed the fret markers. Like the original octofone it's quite minimalistic with only markers for fret 5,7 and 10.  The "un-ebonized" fretboard in all it's glory!  The wood is wet with a solution made of vinegar and steel wool and starts to get darker immediately. I also spilled some on my work table, so now I know that it also works on beech wood.  And after a while it looks like this.  Meanwhile I worked on the finish. First I filled the pores with egg white, the way I've learnt on this site. After that a coat of schellac and a few layers of Liberon finishing oil (no photos)  A tailpiece had to be made. It began it's life as a sheet of aluminium...   And ended up like this.  Andl lastly the headstock got its holes for the tuners and a final shape that resembles the original octofone.
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Post by lars on Jan 20, 2018 14:53:34 GMT
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Post by Onechordtrick on Jan 20, 2018 16:00:15 GMT
Very nice! Looking forward to hearing how it sounds
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Jan 20, 2018 16:03:32 GMT
A fine looking instrument is that lars! I've really enjoyed following the build, thanks, and am looking forward to hearing the recordings once you're happy with them. Do let us know how you get on with it sessioning. Keith |
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brianr2
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Post by brianr2 on Jan 20, 2018 16:26:40 GMT
A fascinating build and fine piece of work, lars. Well done. Looking forward to hearing it in action. Brian |
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francis
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Post by francis on Jan 20, 2018 17:57:51 GMT
Excellent build @lars  - any audio yet? |
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Post by earthbalm on Jan 20, 2018 20:59:55 GMT
I missed most of these posts when first put up so it was a treat to be able to read them all in one go!
Thanks.
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davewhite
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Post by davewhite on Jan 21, 2018 10:42:39 GMT
Looks good |
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on Jan 21, 2018 19:01:04 GMT
Looks great, @lars. It’s been a fantastic build thread - and I’m looking forward to hearing how it sounds, fella. Congratulations on a successful conclusion (sounds like you may need a bit more practice on your ebony fretboard working, though)  |
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Post by lars on Jan 21, 2018 20:07:34 GMT
Thank you all for your comments and your interest in this thread in "broken english". I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! And yes, Leo - I need to practice my ebony skills!
No audio yet, but I hope to make some recordings next weekend.
I just came home from session The Octocord was a good melody instrument, that stood out in the wall of sound (at least I could hear myself clearly both when I played right and when I played wrong). Except for volume it had a clarity that I've missed with my old octave mandola. After a while the guitar players left and I was the only one left with an instrument capable of strumming. The octocord was not equally impressive as a backing instrument. The sound was too harsh - not as round as I'm used to. It might develop with time - the top is made of Europan spruce and will surely open after some time. All in all it was a good experience and next week I'll take it to another session and another review.
/Lars
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- any audio yet?
Jo whoever he is.
