Comment

Comment by gary sheldon on July 12, 2015 at 6:22am

Hal, that is interesting about the box joints.  Perhaps I should glue in some glue blocks inside.  I won't have your problem because I have neither a power planer or jointer.

I have found one box that is both bigger and better sounding.  It is a JFR.  They made 2 identical sized boxes, one is plywood and rattly and shitty.  The other is solid wood, except the bottom, which is the top on mine.  It has a massive, sliding top, no box joints.  Mine is the only one I have ever seen. 

Comment by the anonymous pick on July 12, 2015 at 6:05am

nice 

Comment by Habanera Hal on July 12, 2015 at 5:53am

Looks good, Gary!  BTW, one of the things I like about the Undercrown boxes is that the sides are solid cedar and they are thick enough to run through my jointer to remove the stamped in labeling. Unfortunately, I found out that the box joints are not glued (just a real tight press fit) and ruined one when the planer's blades caught the edge and pulled it apart!

Scared the sh#t out of me, too!

Comment by gary sheldon on July 12, 2015 at 4:57am

Hal, I also think arching the top is a neat idea.

Comment by gary sheldon on July 12, 2015 at 4:56am

Thanks for all the information Hal and UJ.

No, I haven't tried Pandora yet.  I use Youtube a lot.

Here is my Undercrown 3 string.  I just flipped the box over and it sounds good.  I like it a lot.  It is the only 3 string I have built.  Also another, even larger Undercrown box I haven't used yet.

Comment by Habanera Hal on July 12, 2015 at 4:30am

Thank you, Gary.  This was my first with an Undercrown box.  Yep, they are nice boxes to work with.  I discard the the thick top and replace it with a nice tonewood, suitably thinned and braced.  I even worked a bow into it to make a sort of "archtop" that helps it resonate better.  It is truly fretless.  I marked the fret position reference points by cutting slots into the fingerboard and filling them with white Plastic Wood, then sanding it smooth.  Same for the position dots on the side.

Mance Lipscomb was a blues "songster" born and raised in Navasota, Texas, the official Blues Capitol of Texas. His life was detailed in a short film, "A Well Spent Life", and  his autobiography, I Say Me for a Parable: The Oral Autobiography of Mance Lipscomb, Texas Bluesman, narrated to Glen Alyn, which was published after his death.  There are also several YouTube videos of Mance playing in his unique style.  This year marks the 20th Annual Navasota Bluesfest dedicated in his honor,

I sell my guitars, amps, and ukuleles in Blues Alley, a store on the main drag that has a museum dedicated to Mance, the Blues, and Navasota history including Frank Hamer, the Texas Ranger who tracked down and killed Bonnie & Clyde.  Hamer was City Sheriff in Navasota from 1908 to 1911, bringing law and order to a lawless boom town where at least a hundred men died in shootouts on the main street over a two year period.  

So far, there haven't been any shootouts since I've been there.

Comment by Uncle John on July 12, 2015 at 2:10am

Gary, have you tried the free internet radio, Pandora?   You can choose a genre like classic rock, classic blues, Delta Blues, etc. 

You can choose a band or artist like Mance.   They will not play all Mance, but stuff they think is similar. 

Comment by Uncle John on July 12, 2015 at 2:08am

Love it.  I have been listening to some Mance lately.

Comment by gary sheldon on July 11, 2015 at 1:09pm

That is beautiful work.  Especially the headstock.  I like those Undercrown boxes a lot.  They sound and look good.  Would you say Semi-fretless?  BTW I don't recognize the name Mance Lipscomb.