Exotic Wood

This place is, without exaggeration, the coolest lumber/hardware store I've ever been to, and I've been to a lot of lumber yards in my 70+ years.  The interior is beyond imagination.  Every part of this store is finished in the finest of wood, and fixture.

Finding a source for exotic wood in small quantities, at affordable prices, is not an easily accomplished task.  But, the other day a friend was telling me about a lumber yard nearby that 'has everything' a guy would want, including exotic wood.

The place turned out to be Keim Lumber Company located in the heart of Ohio Amish country at Charm, Ohio.  It's only 50 miles from me, which is a short distance considering the wide-open spaces of central Ohio.

Keim Lumber is promoted to be more than 100 years old, and it probably is, but you wouldn't know it from the magnificent building and surrounding property, which includes a kiln, lumber storage, and other parts of the facility, not to mention there is a restaurant on the upper level inside the main building.  The displays are massive and go on forever . . . including the area of most interest to me.

After gawking around for the first few minutes to get my bearings, I headed for the information desk to ask directions to the purported 'exotic wood' section.  This young Amish guy (everyone working there is Amish) behind the desk said, "Let me show you. Is there anything in particular you're interested in?"  I said, "Ya, wood for guitar fingerboards."  He said, "You've come to the right place.  We have ready-cut fingerboard stock, acoustic body stock, and electric guitar blanks, and in standard wood choices and many different exotic woods as well.  And, we also have small pieces of every wood type for those craft projects."

Without boring you with further details, I'll just say that I've been back to the store several times, to quench my thirst for rosewood, cocobola, leopardwood, coconut palm, zebrawood, and numerous other varieties.  And, the great thing about this is that it's available close to home at reasonable prices . . . except for ebony . . . and, that costs a fortune.

Stella At The Swap Meet

This morning was the required trek to the monthly swap meet . . .  rainy, cold, and generally not a good day for a  swap.  But, lo-and-behold, I ventured in to see a regular swapper who always shows up with musical instruments, and what did he have, a Stella guitar in incredibly good condition.  We haggled a while about price and I finally walked out with this little jewel.  It's in great condition with no fret ware, no backside scuffs, a little wear on the lower bout, original tuners needed to be oiled is all, original strings need to be replaced, and it needs a thorough cleaning and polishing.  Action is about 1/8th inch at the twelfth fret, neck is straight, body is solid, with none of the expected problems with a guitar fifty plus years old.  Take a look at this fare maiden that plays really well.

  

What In Hell Is A Pickup Winder?

This morning I got a message from Jeri, the wife of my old friend Joe.  After reading my latest blog post, she didn't understand what a pickup winder is.

I explained, first of all, that it is not a Saturday night get-acquainted line at a Miles City watering hole for the purpose of satisfying one's thirst for companionship, thus pickup, as in the opposite sex . . . oh, goodness, did I say sex? . . . see, how confused a person can become, when discussing a pickup.

Perhaps I should have written a better explanation.  So, here goes.

Wikipedia -- A magnetic pickup consists of a permanent magnet with a core of material such as alnico or ceramic, wrapped with a coil of several thousand turns of fine enameled copper wire. The pickup is most often mounted on the body of the instrument, but can be attached to the bridge, neck and/or pickguard, as on many electro-acoustic archtop jazz guitars and string basses. The vibration of the nearby soft-magnetic strings modulates the magnetic flux linking the coil, thereby inducing an alternating current through the coil of wire. This signal is then carried to amplification or recording equipment via a cable. There may also be an internal preamplifier stage between the pickup and cable. More generally, the pickup operation can be described using the concept of a magnetic circuit, in which the motion of the string varies the magnetic reluctance in the circuit created by the permanent magnet.

A 'pickup winder' is the mechanism which wraps the magnet wire around the posts to create the 'pickup'.

OK, Jeri, still confused?  Stay away from the watering hole, until further notice!

Guitar Pickup Winder

The recent trip to Mississippi Delta Blues country has raised serious havoc with my guitar building.  My free time has been centered around creating a pickup coil winder from the almost antique portable Singer Model 99 sewing machine that Roger Berry gave me.

There is no way to describe Roger, you gotta meet him to fully understand the kind of man he is.  I don't really know Rog well, but I have developed very keen instincts over the years, and my instincts tell me he is one very kind, sincere, and generous fella.  Roger is the only person I know, outside of my wife, who actually lives the credo, "It is better to give, than to receive."  And, he is at the ready to provide people with abundance, thus the treasures he insisted I accept, without allowing me to pay him for anything.

So, with all this said, Roger, I hope you like what I have done with a few of the gifts and ideas you shared with me.

After studying the pickup coil winder that Roger uses for his creations, I had a fair idea where to begin, but I didn't want to copy what Rog had done.  So, I set out on a path that included finding an antique treadle sewing table on which my little creature could rest, and to design some of the options to complete the project.

The table was for sale from the back of a guy's pickup, and I didn't bother to inspect it carefully, I just loaded it up and hauled it home.  On looking it over, I discovered a really cool old Rousedale machine inside, but that will be used for another winder later, to be given to another builder . . . ala Roger Berry's generous example.

I tore the thing apart, and removed all the unnecessary stuff, so that all that was left was the table as you see it in this photo.

The lid serves perfectly for a rest for the Singer.  The adjoining fabricated mount for the revolution counter display and light dimmer switch, which controls the speed of the wheel, is tucked up tight for a very compact unit.  You'll notice a brass bar sticking out on the right near the display, which is there to control where the wire falls on the spinning pickup (PUP) bobbin, which will be attached to the wheel when ready to spin out a PUP.

The little red knob is actually a small magnet stuck to a large washer.  It serves to temporarily hold the hair-fine magnet wire used in the creation of a PUP.  Yes, it's that fine.  For you techno geeks out there, it is 43 ga. wire, so damn fine that I have to call on the assistance of my 10-year-old granddaughter Maggie to thread it through the eyelets on the bobbin.  I'm old and cain't see well.   q;-)

So, what's a bobbin, you ask.  Well, it's the foundation for the PUP, and in the world of home- wound pickup coils, it is a couple pieces of material  ---->
(wood, fiberboard, plastic, etc.) with holes drilled for metal posts to match the guitar string separation.

After the PUP is wound to the proper resistance, and soldering of lead wires is complete, and the PUP sealed, the posts are magnetized with a homemade doo-dad (bottom left), by passing the PUP back and forth through the space between the magnets on the re-purposed 'c' clamp.

Everyone does this stuff differently, but the basic concept remains the same.  For ease of use and to keep things compact, I chose to mount my idea on the table surface.

It's necessary to figure out a way to handle the magnet wire that will be transferred from a spool to the bobbin. If you're using small spools it's a little more simple than what I had to think about.

Because, I'm a tight ass and I don't like to give my money away, I looked around locally for a wire source, and stumbled onto a five-pound spool for slightly more than I'd have to pay Stewart MacDonald for a half-pound.  It's 39 ga., but the boys at StewMac told me it would work fine . . . just would need to use less wire to reach the desired resistance.

So, that's it!  Thanks to Roger, I am now in the business of creating my very own guitar pickups with the TotalRojo Mojo.

One last look.  It ain't store bought, but it works great, and I think it's pretty damn cool.

Marvelous Mississippi Delta Blues

There are times in one's life when opportunity knocks, and the result is amazing.  Recently, I had the opportunity to meet Roger Berry, a cigar box guitar maker and blues man from Hazlehurst, Mississippi.  Roger ask me to create a guitar case for him that would accommodate my 'LaGloria' guitar, which Roger wanted as well.

Hazlehurst is a small town in south-central Mississippi in the heart of Delta Blues music heaven, the birthplace of America's music, and the town where Robert Johnson was born, rich in history and very long on hospitality.

Because of a long career in newspaper and television, I've met a lot of very interesting people, but Roger Berry is one of the most sincere, likable, and generous people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.  I only wish we had met many years ago.  But, at least we've met.   And, I know we will be friends for a good long time.  Thanks Roger for the opportunity!

I built the case, enclosed the guitar, loaded my car, and off my wife and I went to hand deliver Roger's new toys.  I could have shipped the stuff and been done with it, but something told me that I would be missing an experience of a lifetime . . . making and great new friend, and experiencing a musical adventure that cannot be explained, only enjoyed first-hand.

I cannot write about our trip, there,just isn't enough space or time, but I will add some photos and brief info, which I hope peeks your interest enough for you to explore the Blues on your own.

The case personalized with the 'RB' and the 'Maverick' logo.

You gotta be a bit of a maverick to do what we do.

The inside, complete with a collage of Delta images and 'LaGloria'.

An on-board amp to blow sound around, and a compartment for 

the little stuff completes the case.

Roger with his new gear.

Roger's shop -- Yes!, It's that clean and comfortable, and yes, it's where he creates wonderful instruments.

Juke joints where locals play outrageous blues.

Murals such as this decorate many buildings in nearly every town along highways 49 and 61,

commemorating famous area blues musicians.

Notable blues greats from 'Pinetop' Perkins to Muddy Waters played juke joints like these,

and B.B. King continues to make great music here on a regular basis.

The Poor Monkey Lounge outside Merigold, MS only has music on Thursday nights, 

and we missed it by a day.  Darn!

Ground Zero Blues Club and The Delta Blues Museum, are just two

of the many cool and interesting places in Clarkdale, MS at the 

Crossroads of highways 49 and 61.

Because blues music is so connected to the Mississippi Delta, it is easy to overlook the other venues that make the place famous -- Country, Rock 'N' Roll, Soul, Jazz, R & B, Classical, Gospel, and musical recording.

If you haven't been to the Delta, you are missing something very special.

Thanks Roger!

They Say It's Art

As I've said before, I don't consider myself an artist, but my friends Jerry and Judy Francil are slowly convincing me that I may be wrong.

I recently stopped by the art center to show Jerry my latest creation, 'Curley'.  After he explored every surface and declared it was 'beautiful', he suggested I enter it in the soon-to-be-held Fall Members Show, which is a juried exhibition with art hanging from September 30 until October 28. Each artist is allowed to enter three pieces for consideration.  Two of my three were selected by the judge for exhibition. How's that for being lucky?

My son Joe coined the phrase 'art with strings' to distinguish my creations, but until now, I wasn't quite sure he had it right.  Us old timers really can learn from our kids and friends.

'Bigfoot' and 'Curley' were the selections, and it will remain to be seen how they are received by attendees to the month-long event.

'Curley'

'Bigfoot'

Montana Time Out

The workshop has been dark for a few weeks.  No guitars on the bench.  No music playing.  No sawdust clogging up the sinuses.  Just a little time out.

Living in the mid-western rust belt (normal rain fall, humidity and cloudy days with no sun) makes one rust, not tan.  Although, this summer has been pretty dry and sunny for a change, so I needed relief from it.

We decided it was time for a change of scenery. We headed west to see the relatives, and to take in the usual tourist attractions along the way.  A fella cannot see Rushmore, the Black Hills, the Badlands, Wall Drug, or Yellowstone Park too many times.

I forget how desolate it is when leaving the rolling hills of Indiana and drift into the flat land of Iowa and points west, which stretch all the way to the Montana border.  But, the one redeeming factor is that for all those hundreds of straight line miles, you drive in a huge blue bubble.  At least that's what it looks like . . . 360 degrees around and straight up forever, it's blue sky.  Geez, it's so cool.  Nothing like it, until you hit Big Sky Country, and then the cool turns to fantastic!

Three weeks of unbelievable weather . . . every day was sunny, temps in the high seventies to mid-eighties, no rain . . . just the big sky to enjoy.  The only downside was the heavy smoke conditions caused by forest fires all around us, but, even with that, it was beautiful.

It's true, "You can take the boy out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the boy!"  Damn, I miss the mountains of Montana.

Oh, well, as a real Montana native (Blackfoot heritage), I got to live it, while others just get to visit.

I thought my readers may like to see what life in the Big Sky is all about, so I'll share a photo or three to temp you, and to make me homesick once again.

Antelope checking me out

My first wife, of 49 years, Roxie near the top of Bear Tooth Pass.

Atop the Bear Tooth Pass at nearly 11,000 feet.

It's smokey, but it's still beautiful.

This ol' fella was coming over to check out our car on the Bear Tooth highway.  He was just one of a heard of about 400 that stopped traffic, while they moved across.

This is a smoke filtered sunset that welcomed us on our first night 'home' near Yellowstone.

A cow elk taking it easy on the lawn outside the resort hotel at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Life is good in the Big Sky.

Sacajawea Inn at Three Forks, Montana.

Some of the best fly fishing in the world is here, where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin rivers join. This is our home on the road.  Quaint, quiet and comfortable, and the restaurant is top shelf.

These little friends greet us for coffee in the morning in our mom's back yard.  How's this for city living?  Tell me Montana isn't cool!

We had to run the deer off to get a shot of the nieces and nephews and their children.

This is a shot of what was my folks ranch at the western foothills of the Bitterroot-Selway range.  It's a little smokey that day, but you can see why I keep Montana in my heart.

If you haven't been out west, this is a good reason to go.

Gotta Have A Cool Guitar Stand

I saw a guitar stand in Acoustic Guitar magazine a while back that I thought would be really cool for a couple reasons -- to keep the guitar off the floor, and to also serve as a perfect place to hang one for photos.  But the price of the advertised stand scared me off.  So, off I went to the wood shop to create my own version of the 'perfect' stand.  What do you think?

It's made from pieces of poplar wood with the legs stained walnut, the main shaft golden oak, and the hanger itself is walnut stained.  Pretty simple build and a helluva a lot less than the price in the magazine.

'Curley'

I've gotten away from creating guitars from cigar boxes the past couple months, but I haven't abandoned that side of my hobby, just got a little distracted.

After 'Bigfoot', I had the urge to do something a little different, but still in the carving realm.  So, here is 'Curley' the latest effort.  Let me know what you think.

It started out as a chunk of bass wood 1.75" x 14" x 22" (again supplied by Art Richey at Carousel Works).

I drew the outline of the body I intended to create, and transferred it to the wood block.  Once that was done, I was on my way.  All the openings and cavities were accomplished with Forstner bits, then roughed out with a small hand saw, rasps, and files.  Final work was done by hand with carving tools, small files, sandpaper, and a lot of elbow grease.

The scratch plate is a piece of really cool looking maple sheeting cut to accentuate the design, while covering the electronics cavity and abutting the through-body bridge and bridge pickup.  Pickup surrounds were made from pieces of scrap Spanish cedar.  Very thin walnut veneer was glued to the tops of the pickups to help them blend into the overall look, I think it looks better than a couple black objects in the middle of the design.  You'll note the shape of the surrounds are angular, while the overall body design is softer and more flowing -- which was by design.  I wanted the contrast in shapes to bring the overall design to life.

I selected a really straight and nice Harmony neck from my inventory, modified the headstock to eliminate the sharpness of the original, and laminated a small piece of walnut veneer on it to carry on the body designs on front and back, tying it all together.

To bring the wood to life, I chose a base stain of golden oak, then washed the non-recessed areas with diluted walnut, and highlighted that with red mahogany to create a little depth in the finish.  Then came six coats of poly, each sanded with 500 sandpaper.

I chose to use neck screws with bushings instead of a large chrome plate to attach the neck to the body so as to not distract from the flame-like carving on the back.  For the same reason, I chose to use small string bushings opposite the bridge.

After 27 hours, not continuous of course, 'Curley' came to life, and she sure does play nice.