More Coincidences

I have mentioned that I follow a blog by photographer Matthew Jordan Smith. He writes very positive posts about self promotion along with technical photography techniques. I made a comment under one of his posts and recommended that he check out the book The Answer because it echos the way Matthew writes - positive focusing, visualizing, organizing, working, materializing,

Recently he posts an entry about how he is about to shoot one of the Phds who is in the movie The Secret which is directly related to The Answer!! Weird!!!

I wrote to Matthew and he has not read the book yet but I'm sure he will soon.

And that's all I'll say about that.

As Fair As Fair Can Be

I have been busy with planning more promo projects and I've been loosing my mind sanding and fairing and filling and sanding and fairing and leveling and coating and sanding and triming the inside of Vicky's rim.

The twill carbon fiber looks very pretty. The inside of this axe is something to behold but alas noone will every really see it except through the f holes. Boutique is boutique and like I've said before these guitars are built to be beautiful everywhere - No Exceptions! The bar is high in this market so skimping even on the hidden details is a no no.

Where's Avery

This past weekend the wife and I took the two little ones up to the Big Smoke to spend a night at their big sister's pad. The picture is of my seven year old boy, Avery. I love this composition because Avery blends in perfectly. His age is like camouflage in the adolescent decor of Roxanne's big city apartment.

We had a great time. We went to the Ontario Science Centre and saw the plasticized dead people, aka Body Worlds. Fascinating, the human body is. At least that's what Yoda would say. The OSC has NOT CHANGED at all since I was a wee boy. I couldn't believe it! The same exhibits since forever. It's not exactly cheap to get in and there was a huge lineup. With all that revenue you'd think they would have modernized it a bit. I was hoping that there would be computer interactive stuff and moving mini theaters - NOPE, just all the old stuff from the early eighties. Still fun though for the little ones.

Hey look! There's Roxanne and I. She's my stepdaughter and no I am not a plasticised cadaver!

My Fuzzy Balls or My Noodle?

I laid in the second layer of Carbon Fiber. I custom cut a piece for a tailored fit and then though Hmmmm... what if I put tennis balls in plastic bags and clamped them into the guitar to ensure that no air gaps would appear. I made that thought a reality and my balls worked! I think a pool noodle would be bit better. I'll try my noodle on the other side tomorrow - wrapped in cellophane. My noodle and balls - Who'd thunk it?
Seriously though I think a pool noodle and peel ply would be a terrific way of doing this step. To get nice even pressure everywhere and pull the excess epoxy away would probable save a ton of time, eliminating a lot of the fairing out that I have to do.
Boutique guitars HAVE TO look finished on the inside just as much as the outside friends. HAVE TO!

Strong Like Bull

I'm about 185 lbs. I'm standing on my second attempt at a single cutaway - I didn't like it so it was never finished - abandoned NEVER to be built. BUT LOOK HOW STRONG THESE THINGS ARE!!

The neck, the neck, the neck

I have inlayed the Dagmar logo, drilled the holes for the Waverly tuners and installed the frets.

Everything is looking real nice!

Coincedences

A strange series of coincidences has been occurring. I was recommended a book by a friend who is also a new businessman. The book is called "The Answer" and it's a self help/grow your business guide that explores the law of attraction. The belief is that if you visualize what you want and have a positive focus on your passionate desires that your dreams will unfold before you.

The book mentions the movie "The Secret" more than a few times which is a movie that the authors were involved with that helps promote the law of attraction concept. At times it seems that the book is a vehicle to promote the movie. I told my wife about this and she said "The Secret? We have that movie." "We do?" "Yes, and here it is." I didn't realize it but a couple of our friends had brought it over about a year ago and they were really into it. I put the movie in and the beginning is over the top and totally hokey. It bashes you over the head with the positive focus idea in a very over dramatic way. All in all though I would recommend the book and movie because when you start up a passion driven business it is easy to relate to the concept of making your visualization into a reality. Both book and movie are full of great tips and meditations and I liken it to just plain good common sense. Of course you need positive focus and organized structure and goal setting to make it in business. I like reading these types of books every once and a while - I find them thought provoking. Any who...the writers of Chicken Soup for your Soul are in the movie along with other successful business gurus, psychologists and even physicists.

About 8 years ago I was obsessed with finding myself a 1947 Hudson Pickup truck. I found one in Florida on line. I Googled 1947 Hudson Pickup and saw a line from a book about a land lord that used to drive one around to his rental homes in Florida to collect. Turns out that the line was from a book by Frank McKinney called "Make it Big". I read the book and it's about positive focus and turning your passionate visions and dreams into reality. (sound familiar?) He has 49 steps to follow. It's a well writed book and I was impressed and entertained by Frank's biography. He is involved with lots of charity and community work as well as being a self made millionaire in the world of super high end ocean front real estate. His book made him seem trustworthy. He was a guest on Oprah too!

I contacted Frank about the truck and asked specific questions about it's condition. We went back and forth for a long time. He convinced me it was restorable and in fact he would buy it back once it was restored. At first he asked for $2000.00. Then without asking he dropped the price to $1000.00 only to drop it again to $800.00. I thought he was giving me a break because he liked how I presented myself and how I found his truck on line - he was not advertising it for sale. I bought the truck sight unseen, except for some pictures he had sent in the mail. The truck looked rough but together. I hired a transport to pick the Hudson up to the tune of $1500.00. When the truck was delivered it had literally rattled apart and the paint was holding what was left together. It was a mess, just awful. I felt I had been had. I immediately got in touch with Frank and told him how I felt betrayed. He redeemed himself and sent me my $800.00 back. I was still out the $1500.00 but oh well stupid me - a tough lesson.

Yesterday I found "Make it Big" in a bag that my mom had brought over from my old house that my brother still lives in. I randomly opened it and read a bit. It was a part about how Frank got his first job in Florida digging sand traps at a golf course. He worked with extremely hard working Haitians. But Frank worked just as hard as they and earned the nickname the White Haitian. As we all know Haiti has been in the news big time recently.

I jumped on line and News Googled Frank McKinney. Bam! All these recent stories about Frank pop up. A few stories of how he is organizing a Haiti relief team to fly over and help through his charity The Caring House Foundation and a few press releases of three books that he has just published. The three books are in three different genres. One is about real estate, one about religion, and one child fantasy book. Crazy I thought. I was so happy to see that he is still going hard at what he preaches and teaches. When I bought the truck from him and it appeared as if he dooped me I had no respect for the man - I was happy he sent my money back but felt he was still very misleading.

All of Franks books were published by the same house that published "Chicken Soup for the Soul".

To recap:
I was recommended a book
The book mentions a movie
I have had the movie in my house for over a year and did not know it
The Chicken Soup for Your Soul people are in the movie
I get my book "Make it Big" by Frank McKinney back - I'm reminded about our bad business together
I read a blurb about Haitians in "Make it Big"
I Google Frank McKinney
News about Frank being involved with Haitian Relief
News about his three books being released
The books are published by the same publisher as Chicken Soup for your Soul


Should I write a book?

M is for Mistakes

I have been kicking up a lot of dust in the shop and I have started in on some of the detail work. The picture is obviously the Dagmar logo. To make it is quite a process. First I rout the oval frame into a scrap piece of MDF so that it is about 2.5mm deep. Then I lay Carbon Fiber strands into this one off MDF cast mould. I bake it in the oven and then I release it from the disposable MDF by cutting it out. Next I Epoxy bond a piece of shinny thin metal to the back. As that is allowed to cure I cut out my letters from Mother of Pearl (MOP). Once the letters are ready I mix up a small batch of Epoxy and tint it with one drop of red stain. I pour the red Epoxy into the carbon fiber frame and thinly cover the metal backing. The final step is to set in the DAGMAR letters and then allow the whole thing to cure. The end result in the finished guitar is pretty cool and an original approach to inlay. The metal backing reflects light so the logo looks like a jewel. I let it pop up from the peg head a bit too for added visual impact. It looks very kitsch and kool.

The M, this time around, was my arch nemesis. I broke the first M while cutting it out then the second along with the third and then gave up for the day after the fourth one snapped. I kept my cool and managed to only wake up one member of my house hold with my sailor like rant.

The next day, when I was fresh as a Daisey, I successfully cut out the fifth M. Upon completion a little bird flew to my window sill and sang a gay little tune, the sun shone down just a little harder and my happiness was restored.

A senior work mate of mine used to comfort us young bucks with a great old saying; "If you haven't made a mistake then you haven't made much." I'm proud to say that I have made a ton of mistakes and consequently I have a large body of work behind me. Oh and by the way, A lot of my work will be featured in not one but TWO coffee table books and was also featured in a documentary film called "String of Genius". Please pardon my indulgence but I am proud of what mistakes have done for me.

I look at mistakes as the very middle of the learning curve - the center. The middle of a curve is called the apex. When you're in the apex hit the gas and motor through. Don't get hung up on the frustration of making them. Mistakes are the price of admission to bettering your skills sets, gaining intimate knowledge of something and becoming wise. Mistakes add depth to your eyes. Chicks dig guys with deep eyes. Oh ya...Oh ya....

The Hands of Dagmar

Ladies and Gentlemen it with great pleasure that I introduce you to "The Hands of Dagmar". These are the guys that build the guitars. My three year old daughter, who is also one of my marketing gurus, loves talking to these two characters and has recently named them. The nice looking guy wearing the gold is Bill Loon and the angry looking one is Naughta Table. They have big dreams and seek massive fame this year and knowing how busy they like to be they'll get it. They're also great company for my daughter.

See that cute little face up there? She's the author of the apple joke. They say if you hug and kiss your kids often that you bump up their IQs. If that's true than this little girl's future is blindingly bright. I just hope with all the smothering hugs and kisses that she gets that her brain is not too deprived of fresh oxygen.

I'm happy to say that I have been tremendously busy writing letters and sending off pictures and text about my guitars to a few important people that are helping me make Dagmar Custom Guitars a notable icon of innovation in the world of boutique calibre guitars. I have a very positive feeling about 2010. There are many high impact promotional projects that will soon be launched and I know the effect will help grow my company.

I will be published in two upcoming coffee table books, the documentary "String of Genius" is going to hit the film festival scene soon and Vicky will be the world's first Photonic guitar. I am so thankful for all of these opportunities. It's hard to believe all that has happened in such a short time. Positive focus works.

Visualize

The neck is bolted on and 85% finished. Just a touch more shaping and sculpting to get the lines flowing just so and she's done. I'll get back to finalizing the shaping after I install the frets and inlay my logo.

I'll put the neck aside for now and I'll finish up the tailpiece tomorrow.

My three year old tells me the same joke everyday. Now that I have heard it a million times I get it and it's hilarious. It goes like this:

Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Apple
Apple who?
Apple Joke!

Genius! I'm so proud of my kids!

Opa's Potato Salad Oh My GOD!!!

Look deep into this plate of heaven. Know that this is a rare capture of the most sumptuous, gorgeous, glop of earthly joy, ever there was and ever there has ever been. Know that it took every ounce of my strength and will power to lay down my fork for the camera, to get this rare and fleeting moment on film before I slaughtered it and sent it to my stomachy grave. For you see this is my ambrosia. Ladies and Gentleman what you are gazing upon is, the one and only, the incomparable, often imitated never duplicated, Opa's Potato Salad. I have tasted God!

Pinup Poster

My graphic design team at www.spiralcreative.ca did this poster up for me as a surprise for my debut at the 2009 Montreal Guitar Show. It's amazing because if you look really hard and blur you vision you can actually see my guitar, Mary Lou W. Brilliant! How the heck did they do that?!!?

I have been working on Vicky's neck and it's turning out smashingly. I will post pictures of my progress soon.

Rasping the Neck

I also started to shape the neck. The neck will be my main focus for a while.
Tomorrow I would like the get the Basswood heel glued to it before I shape it to it's final dimension.

Back Carving the Top

I started to remove material from the back side of the top plate. I like to do this part in stages over time so that the wood has time to adjust to the ideal humidity of about 42%. This guitar will have lots of time to season properly. I'll let the plate sit over the next week while I go back and forth between the other parts of the guitar.

To do this task I built my own overhead router. There is a pin that the top of the plate rests on while I rout out the back. I rout out 1/8" of wood at a time. This is easy fast work - way better than drilling holes and chiseling the material out or hand hogging it. Tighter tolerances, less elbow grease and more speed are the advantages of this little outfit.

Carving the Top and Falling in Love with FUN

I snuck some time in the old shop today. I released the Sitka set from it's clamps and like a demon processed started carving her up real nice.

I carve my tops completely by eye. I do not check the symmetry with patterns or calipers because I like taking a relaxed "let the wood guide you" kind of an approach. I let my intuitive take over, I trust my instincts and rely on my experience. I pick up the plate and spin it around, constantly studying the curve and visualizing the lines. I tap the wood near my ear and find the node. Sometimes I close my eyes and I touch both sides at the same time to detect the difference in curve from left to right. I'm even aware of the smell of the wood as I work it. The luthier develops a very deep relationship with each and every part of the guitar.

We luthiers really push the romantic ideals and the intimate process of making wood sing. We usually show pictures of little thumb planes with micro thick curls of wood streaming out of them like tiny fountains. Or write in a fashion like I have above trying to "poetesize" the art.

I'm guilt of being a romantic but I like to break free of these kinds of images too in an attempt to expose a different side of custom guitar building. The fun side. The look of my guitars and all the images behind them, like my logo and website, were intentionally to evoke a vintage fun vibe. Guitars are FUN!

NEW YEAR GOALS

I follow a blog published by a well known photographer named Matthew Jordan Smith.
He writes about self promotion, achieving your set goals, and dreaming big. I highly recommend you check him out. He seems like such a genuinely cool guy - a jet setting photographer, yes, but still completely down to earth. I dig his focus.

In his latest entry Matthew writes about making a plan, setting goals and making them happen within a set time. I am going to carry out this exercise. I am going to visualize and realize my dreams.
http://matthewjordansmith.blogspot.com/

2010 will be a another great year for DAGMAR CUSTOM GUITARS!


Here is a list of what I accomplished in 2009 - my first year out

Invited by world renowned luthier William Laskin to his shop to talk shop

Built five world class Archtop Jazz guitars

Received the official invite to display at the 2009 Montreal Guitar Show

Photographed by many Guitar Magazines while in Montreal

Premier Guitar Magazine interviewed me for their Youtube segment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoOfMVZdUkQ&feature=channel

Submitted photos and text to two upcoming coffee table books one of which will be published in French, German and English with global distribution

Commissioned by Queen's University to build a guitar to debut their new acoustic pickup technology on

Featured in two local magazines - one of which was a cover story

Written about in five newspapers

African music legend, Andre Marie Tala, played my guitars in my living room

Was chosen as the subject for a documentary film by Sheridan College

Nominated for a Manning Innovation Award

Workin' the Rim

I love this part of the build. I rasp off the extra thickness of the wood and start shaping the rim to it's final form. I fall deep into a la la land zen like state. Even though I get lost in the motion of this task I still have to be very aware of what I'm doing. I take the rim down to 5mm with the rasp and then with various sanding techniques I finish it to the final goal of 4.5mm. I have a digital capliper mounted in a simple jig (top pic) that helps me achieve extremely tight tolerances.

With every motion of the rasp Maple wood falls to the shop floor and it's a beautiful thing. Weight is dropping off the rim and I am coming closer to achieving my goal. According to my notes Vicky's rim is 8 ozs lighter than Mary Lou W's. I'm amazed by that! Right now the rim tips the scales at 2 lbs. I still need to laminate a second layer of Carbon Fiber twill in, which will bump the weight up a bit. I'm still on target to get the guitar's final strung up weight to 5 lbs 9 ozs