Guitar No. 10 (aka, Honey)

Materials:

Style: Dreadnaught

Soundboard: 3A Bearclaw Sitka Spruce

Back/Sides: Sapele

Neck: Honduran Mahogany (made from scratch from stock lumber)

Headstock Veneer: American Walnut with racing stripe

Fingerboard: African Ebony

Bridge: Indian Ebony

Rosette: Koa

Bindings: Flame Maple

End Wedge and Heel Cap: Blue stain pine!

This is my first Sapele guitar, and probably my last. Sapele looks similar to mahogany, but with a bit more “dance” to the grain. It is a nice, abundant substitute for the more popular woods that are becoming harder to obtain. However, my sides were a bear to bend and I fought long and hard to make them look like guitar sides. As stiff as they were, they did not crack, and ultimately created a beautiful medium-colored instrument that has a balanced, warm tone. This is another nice dreadnought that will fill a room with sound.

I did have one happy accident while building this guitar. While routing out the slot for the truss rod, my router malfunctioned and routed right through the neck and out the back side. But disaster turned into success as I removed the damaged center section of the neck and replaced it with a 3-tone stripe that makes the neck pop!