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This is my first mostly scratch build. I bought the neck rough shaped.
The action is a bit high, but I think I learned from the first two guitars I built that I should not try to dial in the action 5 minutes after I put strings on it because it will change a bit over the first few days or so. I also need to polish it up a bit, but I am pretty pleased with how it sounds. Not incredibly different than a spruce topped guitar honestly. Different yes, but not so much so that it sounds like another type of instrument.
I would like to thank Steven Kinnaird who I emailed with about the thickness the top should be. He helped me to not make a big mistake. So thanks Steven!
The specs are:
000-14 fret wedge body
Curly Koa top, back and sides
Bloodwood binding
mahogany neck with .25" bloodwood strip
Abalone rosette
b/w/b purfling all around with mitered tail wedge.
Bloodwood tail wedge and heel cap
Koa head plate veneer made from the cutoffs of the top, or back, I forget.
I pore filled with Z-Poxy (thanks Todd Stock for the videos on Youtube!) the brushed Deft Gloss Lacquer. It took a lot of sanding to get it smooth, but it was worth it!
Here are some pics:


I didnt even get the bridge pins fully seated! I was too excited about stringing it up! Note my cat is checking out the goods.




Heel cap with purfling and binding to match the rest of the body. There is still some compound on the neck in this shot. I will fix that soon.


The inlay on the headstock looks much, much better in person. Really. Those are my cousin's initials. It is tough to fill the gaps on lighter colored wood. My cousin is going to flip when he sees it. I am supposed to deliver this on May 7th so I have a little time to dial things in. I also need a pick guard. I think I will go with a clear one.
Thanks for looking!

Here is the link to the video:
http://youtu.be/EkTKJzX8JJ0

Tony

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

it came out REALLY nice Tony!!! Did you buff by hand?

Thanks Brian. Yes and No. I used a random orbital buffer to do the heavy lifting and touched up some spots by hand. I sand to 2000 grit, then I use Wizard's One Step Finish Cut (not 100% sure of the name, but I can look if you like) which is a compound to polish out the minor sanding scratches left by the 2000 grit. THen I follow with Wizards Something Shine (again, cant remember the name!) It works great!

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

I like the bloodwood binding, did you have any problems bending it?

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Jason Moe
LaCrosse WI 54601

Just beautiful!
I regret never building in koa.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

To be honest Jason, I did not have any problems bending it. I am sure the person that bent it did however. I opted to buy prebent binding after speaking to another builder about the problms they had with bloodwood. The guy broke a bunch before he got it right. I have the LMI bender now but I did not have it at the time. So, but I bought the bindings prebent. I did bend the binding for the heel of the guitar and that was a real pain. It would crack at the slightest hint of runout. In fact, once it cracked when I thought about runout! I had to thin it pretty good to get it to work. Thinner than I wanted the body binding to be.

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Looks great, nice job on the wedge.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Hi Tony,
The koa and bloodwood binding looks stunning. You did a pro job on the bindings. I think a clear pickguard is a good idea, you don't want to cover the Koa.

-Ron

Very nice, Tony! What wood is the fretboard...is that also Bloodwood?
You've come a long way, mate!

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Ahhh, another OOO. My favourite guitar.
Nicely done!
So... How thick DID you make that top? Enquiring minds want to know... I am building my first all Koa guitar. An L-OO.
I've been doing some comparative stiffness testing, but your (or Steve's) input would be gratefully received.

That is one sweet guitar, Tony!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations!

Thanks for the compliments!
Steven Kinnaird, the fretboard is indeed bloodwood, here are a few closer pics of it going together and my 12th fret marker:
Just the maple strip with cutouts for the side dots:


12th fret marker:


Close up of side dots before scraping everything flush.


I also used the cutoffs from the back to make the back seam reinforcement strip. I put a little lacquer on it to give it some contrast and look nicer. THat was also a suggestion of Mr. Kinnaird, so I should thank you for that too! Thanks!

Daniel Minard, the top ended up at a hair under .115" and I think that was just about right for this piece. Like I know anything!
If you use deflection testing, let that be your guide. I do not, and even if I did, my sample pool would be the three tops before this top. Not much to go on.

Alan, Fred, Ron, and anyone else I missed, thanks so much.
I will be taking more pictures in the next week or so. I need to take the neck off again and repair a chip I made when putting it on along with a few other odds and ends, final buffing, pick guard, etc, but all in all it came out pretty good in my opinion. I really appreciate the compliments. I love the mitered purfling around the tail wedge. I have done it on all but my first. I have another completed body of curly Claro walnut and cedar that has bloodwood binding as well as mitered purf on the tail wedge. There is a big brother to this Koa OM going together right now. The wood is from the same billet and is the next set cut from it. It is just as nice.

I would like to post a video, but I really do not play that well. If I make one, it will be me strumming some tunes. I will do my best.

Tony

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

sweet axe tony (but your 'side dots' as you call them, did not come out very round. you may want to consult a dictionary next time). congrats!

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If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. - Jack Handey

Well I'll be a monkey's Uncle! I just Googled "dot" and this is what I found out:
dot n. A tiny round mark made by or as if by a pointed instrument

So it turns out you are correct! From henceforth, I shall refer to these thingies (technical term) as side position markers.
They are still cool as hell no matter what I call them though, no?

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PMoMC

Yeah, those side position thingies give some ideas.
Thanks for the inspiration!

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

I would be very interested in seeing what my side position markers inspire you to do! Please keep me posted.

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

It may have inspired me to throw mine out and start over.

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

Link to YouTube video is at the end of my first post.

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Very nice Tony! Your cousin will be blown away!

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Hi Tony,
I just finished watching the youtube video and the guitar looks even more stunning than the pictures. The finish looks excellent. It sounds really good strummed, and will probably sound equally as good fingerpicked too! Your cousin Is going to be a very pleased. You should be proud.

-Ron

Thanks Darryl and Ron.
I am a worse photographer than I am a player!

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

You're right, Ron - I had overlooked the video but when read your post I went back and found the link and watched it. The guitar looks even nicer in the video, and sounds very nice as well.

Nice work, Tony!

Wow. Thanks again everyone. Nickton, I appreciate the compliment, but dont throw away your guitar!

I was very hesitant to post the video. I was worried that my poor playing, combined with the poor sound quality of a flip camera would not do the guitar justice. I am glad I posted the video. The finish is pretty good on this guitar. I am not a pro at finishing yet, nor will I ever be, but I have gotten a decent finish on all three of my guitars. I should shut up before I jinx myself.

I really appreciate the compliments. It is humbling to have people whose work I admire compliment my efforts.

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Tony I love that detail in the heel cap with the purflings matching up, Waddy T, did an awesome job on that recently too. Its craftsmanship. A lady at work brougt in a wooden box her grandfather had. Its over 100 years old. Its all inlaid with maple, black walnut, etc. local woods. The joining was awesome. Seeing binding so nice reminds me of turn of the century craftsmanship. Nothing you can get from martin, taylor, or mcpherson.

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Jason Moe
LaCrosse WI 54601

Wow. Such high praise, I do not know if I can live up to my own hype!
I really appreciate all of the nice things you all have said!!

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC