Castelluccia by Bumgarner

Heretic

Craig:

Thank you for your detailed and very well written explanation of the differences between these guitars and Selmer types. That clarified things, and made the topic all the more interesting, at least to me.
Congratulations on the creation of your own species of this genus of gypsy guitars. We can only benefit.

noodlenot

Craig, a little luthery question, if you do´t mind me asking... do you saw or split the wood for the braces?
i ask because in my two (only) builds i split the billets, but on a classical guitar the longer brace i have to get is just around 11", i imagine it would be tougher with such a wide lower bout and transverse bracing without a lot of wastage. on the back i just use cedro sawn from the neck blank.

thanks in advance,
Miguel.

edit: consider this as bump!

Craig Bumgarner

Miguel,

Splitting is a good method to insure straight grain and minimize runout. My source for top bracing splits the billets I buy. I, in turn, saw and plane to size, being careful the grain is straight and vertical. I like Sitka spruce for the lower top braces as it is has the highest stiffness to weight ratio of any wood and is tough stuff. For the upper braces and back, I use Sitka or WRC. Even within a specific spieces, density can vary. I save the lightest for the tops. For me, most anything works for backs as long as it is straight, vertical grain, stiff, light and stable (is that asking too much? :P ). Cedro should work as good as anything.

Thanks for the bump! I put a new post up on my blog about a Selmer style guitar I made in 2011.

All the Best,

CB

noodlenot

thanks for the reply!

what is your bracewood supplier (if i may ask)? have you ever tried lutz (sitka and white hybrid) for bracing? - supposed to be really stiff (if well quartered) and lighter than sitka.

my bracestock comes from many sources, but i´m yet to find the ideal one. i wish i could find split stock here in the EU... i have some swiss spruce stock coming that i have high hopes for, fingers crossed...

all the best and good luck with your future guitars!
miguel.

Craig Bumgarner

Miguel, I sent you an email about sources.

CB

noodlenot

Thanks Craig!