Building the Back Porch'r

[Ted Crocker]

Back Porch'r

Crafted for Sidewalk Bob (Bob Harrison)

Progress

Bobert, I made you a sandwich today. Purpleheart on Mahogany. 

Mangia' 






some home cookin' and spices and luvin' in the oven and here's what we have to work with






Bobz - that's your instrument...

All I have to do is remove the wood that isn't your instrument! 

Our journey begins.


- - - - - - - - - -


Friday December 29, 2006

Today I listened to the slab of wood tell me how to shape it into Bobert's new git-fiddle.

This is what she told me: 


then she said "HOT ROD ME!"



So I did. 
(in PhotoShop)

Bob, that's the kind of organic bling that will have you doing Wilma 
AND Betty backstage at the Bedrock Lounge between sets.

Try not to look at the grain too long, you'll start to see how she's gonna sound.
These pics don't show off this wood, the purpleheart doesn't shoot well at all...

I did a mockup of an all adjustable bridge, then built a wood bridge to go over it. 
I roughed out a 2 & a 3 string pickup and a control cover. 
When I'm done there won't be any sharp edges, I'll smooth everything. 
The pickups will sit in a well.










I machined a 5 string bridge and made it tunable. I used aluminum today but the final will be brass - more resonance. 

The brass bridge and making it a string-thru will let her growl deeper and meaner and longer. 

I built a wooden bridge to go over the bridge. The wood bridge makes a fine palmrest,
it'll hide the metal of the bridge and it'll look great with age.




Well Bobz?

I figure I'd place the 3 string 'bass' pup up a bit toward the neck.
 It'll mellow and deepen the 3 strings you mostly strum with your 3 fingers for rhythm. 
You do a sorta lead flourish with your pinky and next finger, 
and I think you still have a 'gee whiz' smile every time you do it. 
That 2 string pup should be a little closer to the bridge and be more articulate and flavorful.

I think.

Back to work... 


- - - - - - - - - -


Sunday December 31, 2006


Well Bobert, ya old hillbilly, I made some more sawdust today. 
I cut the body, cut the neck pocket and mounted the neck. 
I smoothed all the sharp edges and gave her a bath in Linseed oil. 
She drank it up... 



Startin' to look like something...

I really wished the color showed up right. Here's one without the studio lights that shows it off better.

 Still a long trail to ride before the sanding is done. 






What do you think?

H A P P Y * N E W * Y E A R  ! ! ! !

- - - - - - - - - -

Thursday January 11, 2007

She's getting there!  The parts I ordered are almost all in.

(still a lot of work to do...)

She sorta took on the name 'Back Porch _____'. 

Oh, I forgot to mention - she has strings and a voice.  

You should have been here when she said her first words...











Gotta run, I'll fill ya''ll in and put up better pics later.

Ted 

- - - - - - - - - -

Sunday January 14, 2007


Bobz, not a lot to report. 
I did a lot of figgerin' - like how to drill all the holes for the wires 
and how to solder 'em to the knob so when you pull it up it controls tone. 
Oh, and I got a step or 2 closer to finishing the headstock. 

I avoided talkin' bout the headstock, cause you jus ain't ready to see it yet. 

HINT: Moo...

For now she's got 13 to 52's,,, skinny compared to the strings I ordered 
that'll be here any day...

I did do something Back Porch Guitar related today. 

I made you a matching flute. 

Out of the piece that I cut off the bottom of your git. 

It's got one hole, and I haven't been able to get any sound out of it yet,
 but it matches your guitar so I'll toss it in the case. 
  


Taxi spent some time on choosing the right feather to add. 
Bob - he donated a head feather - first time. They're the cherrystone clams of feathers... 
Tell him thanks. It's the little one down by the bridge. Dude, he gave you a head feather.!.!.!. 

Most of the time crafting this thing I've been listening to 
Sidewalk Bob/13 Shades of Blue. 
It's something that takes all day to realize you been listening to the same 13 great songs 
and B) cause your mojo will mix with the linseed oil and get into your git.
I can't wait for the Back Porch'r to inspire your next album...

Hey, look at the can of linseed oil in the pic. To make a long story short, 
it's from a yard sale where a guy was selling everything in his shop to retire to the sun 
and I scored a ton of great stuff. The linseed oil can has a date of 1950, and a 1 digit zip code!

It's all part of the adventure... 

- - - - - - - - - -

Tuesday January 16, 2007

Hey Bob,

More progress today.  I assembled and wound the pickups.  
The output measurements are right where I want them. 

I designed the specs to take advantage of how you play and by the heavy strings I'll put on.  
The bass side 3 string pickup will be acted on by the 3 thicker, wound strings.  
The 2 string pickup will hear the thinner, unwound strings.  

By having seperate pups for the wound & unwounds, 
I can fine tune the signal that goes to your amp, taking advantage of the string properties, 
pickup placement, output and how you play.  

Almost sounds like I know what I'm talking about, huh?

Here's a shot that shows you why they're called 'Stonehenge' pickups.





The exposed windings & wiring of the pickups LOOK GREAT in the well.  
Gives a little bit of sparkle when you look at them at the right angle,
 but the delicate windings are protected inside the well.  
There's a little bit more gold if you look at the bridge under the 'bridge over the bridge'. 
 The tuners are gold, too but the tuner knobs are a root beer color.  
All the other hardware and screws on the rest of the guitar are black.
(The 3rd, single string pickup above is for a one string instrument I'm making.

I completely disassembled everything.  
I drilled all the holes that the wires will run through.  
It's a pain in the butt using a 15 inch long bit, but it worked perfect.

I also got another step closer to finishing the headstock.  
I'm still not ready to show or tell you about it, you'll have to wait and be surprised..  
Still a few steps to go before it's finished.

I'll sit with the body & neck and final sand them for a few hours on the couch 
for a couple nights then after applying a finish, it'll be time to start putting it all together.  


Almost time to create some music...

- - - - - - - - - -  

Thursday January 18, 2007 

Bobert, we officially put production into RUSH mode tonight to get her to you in time 
to jam with Ben Prestage next Friday on your vacation in Florida.

I'm going to be putting in late nights to get her finished,
so don't expect to see regular updates here.

I'll keep you updated by phone and over at Tweeds

- - - - - - - - - -  

Thursday January 25, 2007

Well Bobert, you old hillbilly, I can't keep up with which day of the month (every month) your birthday is,

but this month it's gonna seem like FRIDAY IS THE BIG ONE! 
Tomorrow, Brown picks up the box, and the next morning it's at Tweeds door.

Tweed will deliver it the final leg and get it to you in time for Ben in Cocoa Beach
& then naked at Burning Man Saturday....  

It occurs to me that within a few minutes of you tearing off the wrapping paper,
you'll be up on stage and making music for a crowd of unsuspecting folks.  

And taking them to church!!!

You know what, I'll bet good money that minutes after you open the box,
you'll be out on the sidewalk, strummin' and tunin' and smilin'...

You know what, minutes after that, Ben will get a live lesson.
 And you'll get a lesson from Ben, too.  I wish I could be there...

Brother Bob, I know you got it in you, I just hope the Back Porch'r has it in her.
For what it's worth, (and not to sound corny or gay), I created all of this for you
with all the love I could ever put into something.

You've been a good guy all these years and stuck by me when I went
through some rough times.  Plus you're always good for a grin...

Bobz, I am truly honored that you trusted me to do this for you.  

I hope I surpassed anything you imagined.  You're gonna love all the extras...

I'm wiped out from 6 days of 4AM, so I'm just gonna put a teaser pic here for now.  
I have a ton more but I need some ZZZZZZZZ's.



The Back Porch'r





There's even more stuff in the box, but I'm just gonna leave it at that for tonight.

I'll talk to you tomorrow, and then after you get to tickle her.

Congratulations buddy, good luck and thanks for letting me play this role in helping you find a tool to help you grow as a musician...


Y O U ' V E  *   B E E N   *   C R O C K E R I Z E D ! ! ! ! !

- - - - - - - - - -  

Friday January 26, 2007

Well Bobz, the Back Porch'r is in Tweed's hands and ready for the final leg of the voyage to Cocoa Beach.  

She'll be yours about 8.
























The Back Porch'r actually stands up by herself, but I wouldn't trust it - easily knocked over.
Before the UPS guy got here, I made that stand seen in yesterday's photo.  

It's a poplar base with 2 pieces of red oak.  I lined the insides of the track with leather 
and put leather feet on the bottom.  The guitar is very stable when it's cradled in this thing
 It breaks down easy by removing 6 screws and it fis inside the tweed case.  





I had some wood cutoffs and wondered what else I could make for you.  
The result is the 'toe-bourine'.  It worked great in my living room, let me know how it sounds on stage.  
I'm thinking of putting them up for sale.

There's a few other extras in the case, let me know what you think.
I'll bet that your guitar is the first one to come with spare feathers & leather...


Here's something else you might like...

(my foray into jewelry making)




You said you wanted organic, I think I came as close as it gets with this project.

I can't wait to hear some Sidewalk Bob & the Back Porch'r stories.  

AND SOME MUSIC!!

Send me a quote, some pics and an MP3 or two

Good luck!!!!

Specs:

‘Back Porch’r’

Crafted for: ‘Sidewalk Bob’ Harrison
Build Date: 1/25/2007
Body: Original Back Porch’r (#1)
Mahogany, Purpleheart, Mahogany Sandwich
Neck: Maple/Rosewood
Scale: 24.75
5 Strings - 16, 24, 32, 42, 54 - bF#bbF#
String Through w/rear ferrules
‘Sidewalk Bob’ Tooled Leather Headstock Cap
Tuners: Grover Gold Mini with Root Beer Knobs
Pickups: Crocker Stonehenge
(1) 2 String, (1) 3 String - Scatter Wound by Hand
Optimized Output for Sidewalk Bob
Purpleheart Bobbin Tops - Leopardwood Bobbin Bases
Alnico V Magnet Poles -42 Gauge Shatten Coil Wire
Hand Crafted Fully Adjustable Bridge
Purpleheart ‘Bridge Over the Bridge’ Bridge Cover
Purpleheart Cavity Cover - Hand Shaped Tulipwood Knob
Taxi Head Feather

Accessories: Vintage Tweed Hard Shell Case
Custom Red Oak/Poplar/Leather Guitar Stand
Vintage Tweed Cable - Vintage Leather Guitar Strap
Handmade Copper Slide
‘Toe-bourine’ (#1)
One Hole Flute
Mini Cigar Box Guitar (for rear view mirror)
Hand Crafted Ebony, Tulipwood, Buffalo Horn & Purpleheart Guitar Picks
Personalized Case Key Fob
Hand Crafted Back Porch’r Necklace
Spare: feathers, leather pads, screws, etc.
Extra Mojo
A Box O‘ Sawddust & Shavings (I even sprinkled some in the case
while thinking good thoughts about Sidewalk Bob & the Back Porch'r)

You could say it's the deluxe package, but it would have been deluxer
if it wasn't a tight deadline to make tonights gig - I still have some wood left...

Here you go Sidewalk Bob, your Back Porch'r

(a bluesman in a box)




SHOW 'EM HOW IT"S DONE...

[Michael R Cossey]

Well that took me back a few centuries ... and that's a good thing!

[Ted Crocker]

YO  SIDEWALK BOB, 8 years and still no video, WTF bro?  Post something...