Last weekend I visited Martin Simpson and saw and heard the African Blackwood New World guitar he collected just a week or so ago. He used it (along with both MS Models) at his Queen Elizabeth Hall gig in London last Thursday.

Here is Martin trying to remember how to finger C major in standard tuning.

The African Blackwood sides on this Douglas fir topped New World guitar were a little too short.
So I fitted a panel (also of African Blackwood) at the tail, edged with maple and black/red/black purfling to match the rest of the trim.

At the moment I have four instruments under construction, an unusually large number for my shop. Two are New World guitars (one with a Douglas Fir soundboard, the other standard Italian spruce) and two are citterns, one four course and one five course.

And Angie, yes, the four course cittern is yours.

Citterns under construction.

After a long period building only guitars, I’m now working on citterns again. I hope to have two ready for spraying in the next few weeks. I’ll post pictures soon.

Double-decker guitar.

I’m also working on my first dreadnaught in several years, and my first ever 14 fret dreadnaught.

Here it is ready for its fingerboard, after which I’ll shape the neck, camber and fret the fingerboard, make the bridge, and shape it to the soundboard.

After final sanding it will go to David for lacquering.

The African Blackwood New World model (see News item 13 Feb 09) has now beem finished and strung for several weeks. It sounds excellent, and makes an interesting variation on the rosewood NW sound. I like both very much .

It’s been admired by everyone who’s played it and will be going to Martin Simpson to join his two MS models and his Model 1.

Highland pipes in Hexhamshire

Highland piper Duncan McGillivray called recently on his way to play at a wedding in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He checked his pipes before setting off, not impressing the dog but greatly interesting cattle in the field behind.

Duncan is a champion piper known to many in the folk world as the piper with an early line-up of the Battlefield band.

Here is the neck, shaped and with the fingerboard levelled and cambered. and position markers inlaid. I checked the fret slot depths before fitting the frets.

Next I’ll make the bridge and shape it to fit the curve of the soundboard, then I’ll scrape down the sealing lacquer and final sand the whole guitar before giving it to David to lacquer.

Spring is finally on its way; here is morning sunshine in Slaley Forest, some leaves out and more to come.

I shape the neck first with a draw-knife (sometimes called a spoke-shave), then with rasps and files before finishing off by sanding down through the grades.



Here the neck is fully shaped, smoothed and sanded. This is a Martin Simpson model neck so has the shallow C profile; the New World neck has a gentle V profile.

Here I’ve fitted the neck to the body, having driven in the main wedges and added more small wedges between neck extension and soundboard.

Below the neck is ready for its fingerboard, with clear tape protecting the truss-rod from glue and a dummy nut in place to locate the fingerboard lengthways.

Below right the fingerboard is glued in place. I use so many clamps not to clamp it tight but to spread pressure over the full area of the fingerboard.

A visitor this morning looked at the fingerboard glued to the neck and also the rough block glued to the other neck He commented how ‘brutal’ it looked, meaning compared with the finished guitar.

I see what he means. If you’re not used to seeing partly made guitars, the contrast with the finished instrument is striking. But in fact, the rough stage is an essential part of getting to the finished instrument. For example, the two pictures here show the rough heel block attached to the neck, and then the same piece just a few hours later.

Now the block is attached to the neck, I can cut the slots to fasten it to the body. Here the slots have been cut at the correct angle on the table saw.

Below are the neck with heel and block shaped (the block is shellac lacquered and stamped with serial numbers) and the body ready to receive the neck.

The necks started a couple of days ago are now ready for bodies, heads thicknessed and drilled ready for tuners, and rough heel-blocks attached. The heel block will be slotted and shaped ready to fit the body only when the correct angle has been determined from the body it will be joined to.

Behind are a set of New World sides just bent to shape and being left to settle, and in the go-bar jig are struts glued and clamped to a back.