Hatcher Piña 0 model Green Mountain Series

[Mark Hatcher]

Here is my latest start on a Green Mountain Series Piña 0 model. It will be tri-color bear claw Sitka floatwood on Bavarian Plum. Doesn't that sound delicious?


The Plum wood species is Prunus Domestica. I say Bavarian because that is where I got this wood from.


Plum wood is a nice middleweight wood coming in at about 50lbs per cubic foot.


The colors are fantastic!


I'm matching the Bavarian Plum with this multi colored bear claw Sitka.


This Sitka is salvaged from a disassembled floating Alaskan lumber camp.


They float these camps on these giant Sitka logs which they can then move around with tug boats.


The blue color in the Sitka comes from these rusty cleats that are used when lashing the float logs together. These rafts last about thirty to forty years before the cables start to rust out.


I think these two are a great match both for tone and looks.

[TomB'sox]

I think I am quite familiar with a certain guitar with similar color pattern and it is might purdy.

[Treenewt]

I love the wood choices in this one, Mark. The Bavarian plum is going to be absolutely amazing under finish!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

I think I am quite familiar with a certain guitar with similar color pattern and it is might purdy.

I thought you may be familiar with that top

Originally Posted by Treenewt

I love the wood choices in this one, Mark. The Bavarian plum is going to be absolutely amazing under finish!

Thanks, I expect you’re right!

Mark

[Zandit75]

Good looking start!
Are you using that black marble looking material for binding/rosettes, or is that just your table??!! Either way, I'm down for it!!

[Loggerenguitars]

Your work always makes me smile...so inspirational!!!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Zandit75

Good looking start!
Are you using that black marble looking material for binding/rosettes, or is that just your table??!! Either way, I'm down for it!!

Thanks Zandit75, that background material is just one of the photo backgrounds I use.

Originally Posted by Loggerenguitars

Your work always makes me smile...so inspirational!!!

Thanks for commenting. I’m glad you find my work inspiring!

Mark

[Guitars44me]

I am in for this thread!!

Following for sure

That Plum is mighty tasty

Paul

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

I am in for this thread!!

Following for sure

That Plum is mighty tasty

Paul

Thanks Paul! I agree.

Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

Well let's get started! I usually start with joining the plates



Then it's thicknessing and prepping the surfaces


My preferred method of surfacing wood for gluing is using a smoothing plane. I was having difficulty planning because I kept getting small surface checks. So I resorted to using my cabinet scraper


Planning is the best surface for gluing. Scrapping is a close second. With all those braces being glued to the inner surfaces of the top and back sanding should be avoided


This came up clean and saw dust free


No problem going back to the smoothing place for top thicknessing and surface prepping


I love the symmetry I'm getting with the bear claw figure



Thanks for following along!
Mark

[canuck7]

Beautiful wood combo...love the bearclaw symmetry...really looking forward to watching this build!!

[Mark Hatcher]

Originally Posted by canuck7

Beautiful wood combo...love the bearclaw symmetry...really looking forward to watching this build!!

Thanks Jeff, I’ve been planning this guitar for a long time. It’s great to get going on it!

Mark

[Mark Hatcher]

With the plates joined and thinned it's time to get going on trim. The back center strip and the rosette need to be put together and I've picked the elements to make that happen.


I'm starting with Snakewood. I've got a lot of it and it is super hard, has hardly any pores, it reacts very little to changes in heat and humidity changes. This is an excellent wood to start with


Snakewood makes for great binding, fretboard, bridges etc.


Next up is Blue Stain White Pine. This is from my own woods and is the result of the Mountain Pine Beetle that introduces a fungus into the dead wood which creates this awesome permanent blue green color


I've been hoarding the foraged pieces, slicing it up and stickering it to dry


I've been selecting out the most interesting pieces for a lot of my trim work since I've moved here in the Green Mountains

Those of you who regularly follow me here know I've been incorporating a lot of stonework into my guitars. I prefer it because it is a natural material and just offers some much to see.
The closer you look the more there is to see. On this guitar I am using stone called Rhodochrosite. The color contrasts the Blue stain and accents the Plum wood


This is a pretty large slab and offers a lot of variation for me to choose pieces from


The first thing I have to do is test it out. How hard is it to cut and shape? This picture shows a test piece all slathered up in CA glue so I can be sure it doesn't loose its color when saturated with glue.




I love how this goes with the woods.

Now that I have everything in hand it's time to make something:



Thanks for viewing!
Mark

[TomB'sox]

That is a pretty darned impressive inlay on that back. Perfect blend of colors and a diversity of materials to create a perfect blend of all.

[redcrow]

Let me second Tom's observation. That inlay is absolutely stunning!