Category: Miller Guitar Shop

Fall Update

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I’ve had a busy Fall, with helping run the bike shop and improving my shop, playing lots square dances and getting really into Red Allen and Frank Wakefield’s Kitchen Tapes.  Two guitars are nearing the home stretch, and my shop has been vastly improved with a thickness sander, increased bench space, storage, and a new sharpening station that I am very pleased with.  I don’t have pictures of everything that has been getting done, but I’ll post what I do have now and try to be quick about showing all of the other cool stuff.

I am currently building a J-35/Roy Smeck 12-fret dred and a little O-18 I’ve taken to calling the Ranch Hand.  The Smeck is Adirondack spruce throughout, built in the Kalamazoo fashion (though cleaner, I should hope), while the Ranch Hand is sitka, with reclaimed back and sides, and a lovely aromatic spanish cedar neck.  Next up will be a pair of F-5 mandolins and a J-35 14-fret guitar.

 

Meanwhile, I have a lovely visit to Lopez Island in the San Juans, and made some new friends at Kestrel Tool.  They craft the finest traditional American carving tools I’ve ever seen.  I’ve put in my order, so we’ll see the knife they make me in the not-to-distant future.

 

Kestrel Tool
 

El Dubble Oh

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Progress! Fingerboard is glued, fully fretted, neck is carved, and the body bound. Home stretch! Tomorrow I’ll level and dress the frets, and finish sand the whole deal. I’m excited to put the new Festool sander into action, and I’ll need to do some sunburst tests before I commit dye to spruce. This guitar will get a circa-1934 sunburst. Stay tuned!

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New Build, Old Build Update

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Adirondack Spruce Soundboard, before thicknessing and jointing.

Adirondack Spruce Soundboard, before thicknessing and jointing.


I’ve begun on the first Portland-made Miller guitar! It’ll be Adirondack Spruce top and bracing, with Claro Walnut neck, back and sides. The fingerboard and bridge will be a very Brazilian-esque Palisander Rosewood, and the headstock will be very 1930s: black lacquered rather than veneered, tapered, and possibly with a stenciled logo. It’ll be very close to 1937 specs, with fresh hot hide glue, a through-saddle, and celluloid galore. Stay tuned!

This past weekend, Joanna and I performed and taught at the Olympia Old Time Festival. Plenty of fun, music, and guitar-geeking was achieved. You can check us out at http://www.facebook.com/coupe.duet

Here is the Coupe Duet playing at a local breakfast joint. I am playing the Miller F5, and Joanna is playing an awesome x-braced Harmony conversion.

Here is the Coupe Duet playing at a local breakfast joint. I am playing the Miller F5, and Joanna is playing an awesome x-braced Harmony conversion.

Because the spruce has beautifully ambered, I figured that I would post some updated photos of the Roy Smeck Dreadnought. I’ve received a commission to build another one this spring; this will be a (late 20s) hand-rubbed sunburst with maple back and sides. Exciting!P1100965P1100975P1100977