A "Mae West" style Lacote Guitar, Bending the Sides

The piano is a monster that screams when you touch its teeth.
Andres Segovia


An afternoon of bending sides for the "Mae West" Lacote. Believe it or not, California laurel bends like a dream, it took me only 15 minutes per side.

I admit that there is still alot of touch up to the sides that I must do, but laurel is wonderful wood. I just ordered an electric bending iron, I may regret doing that, I made my bending iron from a length of copper pipe 15 years ago, I have gotten so use to using it. The tip that is on the propane bottle is much easy to regulate then the standard cheap torch tip.

Here's the top all braced, I need to hurry and assemble the guitar before the humidity drops too much more!

Hunting Sequoia Trees

I am back to working four 10 hours days at the park, it makes for a tiring week but I do get Fridays off. Today, Josey the Wonder Dog and I took a hike up the old skid road and rail road bed in the Nelder Grove Historic Area in Sierra National Forest. Here you can actually walk up and hug a giant, in Yosemite NP fences politely keep you back from all those wonderful trees. I wanted to find the tree that is called the Old Granddad, I never did find it or at least the sign saying that it was.


My favorite tree on the trail, it forces Nelder Creek past its roots.


That's Josey on the old road bed and the Kiowa tree on the right. We could hear the whistle from the shay engine at Yosemite Sugar Pine.


I like to think of this as the old grand dad, but there was no trail leading to it, had to bushwhack through deer brush to get to it. There were lots of other nice trees around this one, but never did find the old gent.

Work has me swamped, I will try to post some photos of the Legnani Lacote, the top and back are braced, but making time to bend the sides and put it together is another thing. I tried to french polish the redwood Lacote and Uke #1 over Memorial Day, they look better but need more work.