The orders are coming in, two traditionals and a lattice all in the last week. I have 1 spot left in my build schedule for this year if you want a hand made guitar by Christmas.
It has a been a busy time in the workshop in the last two weeks. The Smallman style lattice frames are finished, balsa will be cut, sanded and routed this week for the current lattice build. The balsa lattice is a very important structure in my Smallman style instruments. The balsa I use is of medium density that is both strong and light. Carbon fibre is epoxied to the sides of the lattice which sits under the bridge area, the lattice is then glued together. Once this is done I sand the lattice to a 25 foot radius and then apply carbon fibre to it. This is not a pretty process, the epoxy stinks (thank goodness for my protective mask that saves my lungs) and sticks to everything but it is the best product for glueing the carbon fibre to the balsa as once it all dries it is incredibly light and strong. The lattice is then resanded so it is has a perfect bonding surface to the soundboard which are glued together using a 25 foot radius dish in my vacuum press which applies an even pressure over the lattice. By putting a 25 foot radius to the soundboard you are adding a little strength which helps counteract some of the forces around the bridge area. If none of this made any sense, it doesnt matter as it’s all hidden beneath the soundboard to keep that very traditional look of a classical guitar.
I build one main guitar at a time and generally while I am waiting for the glue to dry for one process I will work on constructing the next part of that guitar and french polishing the preceeding guitar. Each guitar I make takes over 140 hours and this is usually spread over a two month period. Finishing a guitar with French polish takes me about a month with daily french polishing sessions taking about 15-30 minutes each.
My contact details are email: info@lodgeguitars.com or phone +61 2 6931 6950