Blackwood Guitar Company

Happy Friday! I often buy pre-made guitar linings, but it is very handy to have a shop so I can make my own. Here I am making walnut linings for a couple of guitars I am working on. Buy yourself a Blackwood guitar... See what we have for you at www.blackwoodguitar.ca. All prices are on the website, both for guitars and courses. Cheers, Ted Brown, Luthier.

I began working on this lovely Cocobolo guitar today. It got put aside during the building of our school. Today I began making the neck joint. This cutaway Grand Concert has our RIGID NECK system, that employs carbon rods inside the guitar body that span from the waist to the neck block. They shore up the neck block eliminating neck resets, and increasing sustain. . I made one like it last year, and it sounded superb. The Cocobolo is stunning, and the top is torrefied Sitka spruce with bear claw figure. It will be done and available for purchase in about 6 weeks. Cheers, Ted Brown, Luthier www.blackwoodguitar.ca

This is a lovely guitar sold a couple of years back. It is made from Honduran Rosewood, a very hard wood that rings like a bell! I love the rose hue in the back, and the sort of "barn board" look to the back panel. This guitar was an early guitar that featured our RIGID NECK system. A system of carbon rods inside the guitar body - they run from the bottom of the waist, to the top of the neck block. The idea is that the neck block is shored up, reducing the probability of the neck block moving, thus leading to a neck reset. The guitar sounded superb, with tons of overtones. It now lives up in the Ottawa Valley. www.blackwoodguitar.ca We also teach guitar making cheers, Ted Brown, Luthier.

Here is where Blackwood Guitar Making School is located. More details at www.blackwoodguitar.ca

Blackwood Guitar Making School Mallorytown - progress photo Sept. 30. Trusses arrive tomorrow morning. Truss me..

3 Walls almost done. As I said, lots of natural light was a key design feature. Each guitar maker will have a 3' x 4' window above their bench so you will have plenty of natural light. The boys are going to have the walls all in by the end of the day. Its a bit soggy here, but lots of fun seeing the workshop taking shape. Cheers, Ted Brown, Blackwood Guitar Making School, Mallorytown.

Just when you thought all I can do is build guitars... Here is my world famous fall apple crumble. One is straight up Mac apples, and the other has blueberries added. OMG, these desserts are off the charts. Once a year! My daughter and Granddaughter are coming over, so it is a special occasion. My dear Granddaughter turned THREE!! All the best to all of you, if you are a close friend, drop by... Ted

BLACKWOOD GUITAR MAKING SCHOOL The school construction is coming along well. It was a beautiful day here today, and the framers did very well. I was a key part of the team (this is a lie), and had fun! You can see one of the bench room windows already. 3" x 4" above your bench for tons of natural light. The window in the rear will illuminate the machine room. I am just bubbling about all this, it has taken years to get here!! Details: www.blackwoodguitar.ca... Cheers, Ted Brown, Luthier.

This is a Blackwood Parlour guitar. The top is bear claw Sitka Spruce. It is torrefied to give the guitar that "played-in" sound. I like the golden colour. The rosette is Macassar ebony - it looks like a night sky to me. Happy Saturday, Ted.

The new Blackwood shop walls go up this week! Here is a shot of the finished foundation and floor. Happy Friday, Ted

The "Little Blackwood" has been a popular model. It is our smallest guitar, but small does not mean small sound. It has amazing sound, and it is very comfortable to play. As a 12-fret design, it is shorter, which adds to the comfort. This example is done in Granadillo, one of my favourite woods. The top is European Spruce. It adds a crispness to the top end. A great wee guitar, perfect for finger style. ... More detail: www.blackwoodguitar.ca

Remember how much fun it was before Covid?? I think next year we will really appreciate freedom again. Here is a shot from a fantastic night at Batstone's Northern Ramble in Renfrew. In the photo is Dean Batstone, Ted Brown, Christina Martin and Dale Murray. Dean Batstone has a Blackwood Dreadnought while Christina has a Little Blackwood guitar. Good times!!

Just a nice dreadnought guitar. Indian Rosewood back and sides. Adirondack spruce top. Ebony bridge and fretboard. Happy Friday from Blackwood Guitar Making School, Mallorytown.

One of my favourite guitar designs, the Little Blackwood. This guitar is made of Granadillo, and it has a Euro Spruce top. It absolutely sings! The guitar is a 12-fret design, meaning the neck is joined at the 12th fret rather than the 14th. This makes the guitar shorter, and very comfortable to play. See more: www.blackwoodguitar.ca Cheers, Ted Brown, Luthier, Blackwood Guitar Co. Mallorytown

The floor of the Blackwood Guitar Making School gets poured tomorrow! Details: www.blackwoodguitar.ca

We have a Blackwood model for everyone! www.blackwoodguitar.ca Cheers, Ted

A guitar I made in 2019, this is the Blackwood "Friday Night" guitar. It is a 12-fret design, made from lovely curly Sapele Mahogany. It is a very comfortable design to play. Finished with French Polish. Have a great day, Cheers, Ted. For more guitars: www.blackwoodguitar.ca

This is one BIG guitar. It is Blackwood's Pro Super Jumbo! It is designed specifically for someone looking for a guitar with a big voice. Best played standing up, with a strap. It has amaZing bottom end. The body is African Ovangkol. A beautiful tonewood that gives you a full tonal range. The neck is multi-ply for stiffness and sustain. Internally, you see the carbon rods that are part of our RIGID NECK design. The idea is to eliminate neck resets, while making the mechanica...l connection between the neck and body more robust to enhance sustain. for more info: www.blackwoodguitar.ca Cheers, Ted.

This is a special guitar. It is our Grand Concert model, with some upgrades. First of all, the body is made from the much coveted Brazilian Rosewood. In this case, the wood is a brown colour. Brazilian has a wide range of colours from blonde streaks, to brown, black, and red. This guitar has a special double top as well. The top is made as a sandwich, which greatly increases the stiffness of the top. The effect is to add more immediacy or attack to the way the top responds. ...The resulting tone is full and complex. The rosette is done in beautiful spalted maple. For this and other guitars, see www.blackwoodguitar.ca Cheers, Ted Brown, Luthier.

This is our Honduran Rosewood Grand Concert with cutaway. This is lovely wood that also produces amazing overtones. This guitar was done in a traditional way using herringbone inlay around the sound board. To see more guitars for sale: www.blackwoodguitar.ca Happy Friday, cheers, Ted Brown, Luthier.

BLACKWOOD GUITAR MAKING SCHOOL Here is what is going on today, infilling the foundation. We hope to have this baby up and running before snow!! Cheers, Ted.

This is my friend George Tierney (no it's not Red Green), proud owner of this beautiful 1918 Gibson arch top guitar. George brought it to me for finish, I ended up doing a refurbishment including neck shaping, completely sanding down the body, adding colour and french polishing, followed by installing and dressing the frets. George will now complete the job by attaching the rest of the hardware and setting the action. Happy Friday! Cheers, Ted Brown, Blackwood Guitar Co. Mallorytown.

This is Blackwood Guitar Making School in Mallorytown!! The foundation is mostly done. An entrance is left at the front to get the materials in to do the floor. Cheers, Ted.

A valued client dropped off this 1918 Gibson arch top about 6 weeks ago. It had been rescued from a trash pile as the story goes, and was in bloody rough shape. The owner asked me to French Polish it for him. Turns out, it needed a bit of TLC, so I set to work. I had to sand it down significantly to get rid of fiendishly deep rotary sander scars. I then set to work on re-shaping the neck that had been "adjusted" with something, probably a machete. In about 3 days I was satisf...ied with the new neck shape, new heel shape, and the condition of the body. It became apparent that the instrument was crying out for some new colour. After chatting with the owner, we decided on Ox blood as a reasonable colour. I hand mixed shellac and colours until I came up with a tone that worked. If you have ever done French Polishing, you will understand how hard it is to add colour. It works in reverse essentially, the more you try to apply, the more it comes off onto your rag. :( So, your technique has to combine coloured shellac, and a light touch to slowly build the colour. That was followed up with several coats of clear shellac to protect the finish. We decided on a "worn" look, in keeping with the age of the guitar, and its owner (lol). I removed finish here and there in the typical wear spots, and then completed the French Polish. The gloss was flattened somewhat using fine steel wool. I then installed a new set of frets, and dressed them for planarity, proper crown, and comfort. I added a nut, that I had to glue in place, because there is no slot on this old beauty to hold it. So, the nut is butted up against the fretboard end, and held with CA glue. I am very pleased with the results. I spent time to make the guitar "friendly" - soft to the touch and very smooth all over. Here are a few shots of the (almost) finished guitar. The owner will now re-install the floating bridge, tuners, and other hardware. Cheers, Ted Brown, Blackwood Guitar Company, Mallorytown.

Blackwood Guitar Making School Construction, Mallorytown. Two guys laying block today, the walls are moving along nicely. These guys are great workers!