Archives
April 2008
April 11, 2008
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Building guitars by hand is a somewhat solitary venture; a stark contrast to the the world in which those instruments are meant to perform. Most days, we go about our business quietly, almost secretly. Ok, occasionally, we have to let the world know we exist in order to remain in business, but for the most part we're really quite happy to follow our hearts and stay focused on what really matters—doing great work. Other times, we're thrust into the spotlight, like when we're interviewed by a magazine or filmed for television. When I go on the road to visit our dealers I literally take the stage for Hamer. But sometimes, it's a customer who swings the white hot beam of light into our workshop, and puts the guys center stage. |
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That's what happened this week when one of our good customers, a guy who has a nice little collection of super-customized Hamers, asked us to autograph his hat. Of course we were happy to oblige, but the guys in the shop were almost embarrassed about it. We like to let the work speak for itself, and believe me, it's a team effort. So, in that spirit, we all signed the cap as a team. It's just a way for us to say thanks, and connect with a "fan." A good way to end the week... |
Dave takes the first swing as the rest of the crew watches. |
Todd puts his mark on the back while Gary, Tom, Mark and Mike wait their turns. |
Mark, Jamie and Todd loom in the background as Mike D. wields the pen. |
April 15, 2008
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Girls in uniform! We got a little note today from one of our customers who received the custom airbrushed "flag" Standard. I'll just fast-forward to it: I'd like to thank you guys for makin' this possible. Yes she cried when she saw it like the last one haha. I'd like to tell you how much I appreciate you making guitars to my specs. I may own a few other brands but I always play Hamer!
Randy and Lisa, thanks to both of you for helping to keep ALL our dreams alive! |
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April 24, 2008
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Here in the tiny hamlet of New Hartford, Connecticut, it feels finally feels like spring. My morning "commute" along the Farmington River provided a glorious sight as the sun rose over the mountains. When I rounded the bend and caught the first glimpse of New Hartford, I was compelled to stop and take this photo. The entire town can be seen from this point—the bank, the barber shop, Hoffman's Hardware store (where they know us all by name) and the pizza restaurant (where they know us by name too). Just beyond, our workshop is by the right side of the river. Inside the shop, things are moving along as usual. Plenty of custom guitars to be completed, and lots of new ones being laid out as well. Regular readers of this blog will recall that we used about one half of our stash of "earthen" maple billets to build twenty-five beautiful guitars. So, with the rebirth that is springtime, it seems appropriate to begin the genesis of another limited run with the remaining pieces. |
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Several weeks ago the seeds had been sown for a Talladega-based Earthen guitar. If you look closely in the post about Monday Morning Guitar Builders you'll see Tom building one of the necks as the first step. Now that the necks have had several weeks head-start, it's time to begin the body construction, so my first stop today is in the mill area to consult with Enrico. Here he is at the small bandsaw, making a rough cut on the maple top. He's already routed the internal chambers and finished the inside carve of the top. After pinning and bonding the maple top to the back, he brings the top down close to the final shape. |
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This is the rough blank, ready to be shaped and routed. As before, each top is completely different from the next with its own special character. I can't wait to get a little further along so that you can see where this is headed. |
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In the other room, Dave is binding the headstocks. Here he is with the trusty heat gun, softening the ivoroid material so he can bend it around the curve. Because of the added brightness of the mineral saturated maple, I've decided to use mahogany for the necks. I think this will help balance the tone of the guitar as well as make it a little different from the "stock" Talladega. As always, the headstock faceplate has been sliced from the exact same piece of maple that will be used on the body, so Dave has to keep track of all the necks as they move through the room. I'll be checking up on the progress of these guitars over the next few weeks, so if you have any specifics that you want us to cover, say hello and leave a suggestion! |
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April 30, 2008
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Our hollow-body bass project for Jack Blades is proceeding quickly and is just about ready to hit the paint booth. Here's Dave at the belt sander bringing the string nut down close to final height. He starts with a tall blank that has been cut and sanded to a wedge shape, then he will make a pencil mark where he wants the top to be. Using a belt sander, Dave will take the top surface down to the mark, rotating it to create a curve that matches the fingerboard radius. He'll finish it up by hand, smoothing the edges and corners. |
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Careful Dave... that belt is aggressive! Here I am checking the selector switch fit. Mike has done a beautiful job "Frenching" in the nut, as the hot-rodders say... It's a little detail that makes us happy. We make our own switch-nuts, distinguishable by the two little grooves in the front surface. We've built some special tools (seen lying on the table) that are used to tighten the nut onto the switch. In this case, with the nut sunk flush to the top of the bass, it's the only way to get it tight. |
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The body is sanded and ready to accept the neck. As with all of our instruments, the socket for the neck has been cut undersize and will be opened up by hand at the last moment before the neck is fitted. |
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Now the neck can be snugged into rout for one last dry fit before it is bonded to the body. At this point we check for alignment and neck pitch with a special fixture that allows us to mock up the clamped piece and put a straight edge on the top of the frets. Now it's a matter of waiting for the glue to dry overnight before prepping for finish. It won't be long now! |
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