Electric Flapjack Guitars: älgen

A Couple of Weeks in the Shop

14 Nov 2023 - action, älgen, delfinen, hästen, painting, staining, truss-rod, verkstaden

Another couple of frustrating weeks in the shop as my current trio of builds seek to put me in my place.

A photo of the light-blue offset body mounted up in the spray-booth ready to get another coat of paint.

A Few Weeks in and Out the Shop

17 Sep 2023 - Älgen, Delfinen, Hästen, Wuthering Bytes

A catch of events both out of (attending Wuthering Bytes, talking at OSHCamp) and back in the workshop (a lot of carving and sanding).

A photo of me talking in front of an audience. I'm stood wearing a guitar on a strap in front of a slide showing a CAD model of the same guitar, and I'm doing the devil's horns gesture with my hands for some reason.

A Month in and Out the Shop

17 Jul 2023 - 3d-printing, älgen, amsterdam, carving, hästen, liverpool makefest, spraying

A catchup on the work leading up to Liverpool Makefest, and how the event itself went, plus I find the largest 3D-print I've ever seen in Amsterdam afterward.

A photo of a set of tables made up to display my Älgen hybrid built guitar (part wood, part 3D-printed), with examples of prototype parts, wood off cuts, and an amplified ready to let people try it out.

A Week in the Shop

17 Jun 2023 - älgen, carving, hásten, laser-cutting, neck, spraying, verkstaden

The race is on to get Älgen ready for Liverpool Makefest, I dodge a knot as I carve Hästens neck, and I say who needs scissors if you have a laser-cutter?

A view of the 3D-printed lattice-work guitar body in the spray booth ready to be sprayed.

A Week in the Shop

10 Jun 2023 - älgen, blues deluxe, electronics, fretwork, hästen, inlays, lacquer, noel gallagher, spraying

A busy week in the shop: getting ready to spray a 3D-printed guitar body; learning to use metal rods for dot-inlays on a neck; and when copper insulation goes rogue inside a guitar.

A selfie of me in the spray booth, wearing all my PPE (respirator, eye-protectors, goggles), and behind is the over-exposed 3D-printed body of a guitar ready for spraying with lacquer.

Two Weeks Out the Shop

21 May 2023 - älgen, amp, ef1, esp32, holiday, jazz, liverpool makefest, pickup winder

A brief holiday break interrupts our normal schedule, and I have some success with analog electronics and failure with digital electronics.

The open chassis of the valve amplifier sits on a workbench, next to which sits a multimeter and a fresh cup of tea.

A Week Out the Shop

30 Apr 2023 - älgen, mighty beast, plectrums

A quiet week workshop wise is an excuse to have a loud week at home turning the amp up and trying out älgen properly for the first time.

A close up of älgen guitar being held by me, showing the chrome pickups and rosewood fretboard.

A Week in the Shop

9 Apr 2023 - älgen, harley benton, staining, verkstaden

A trip to Wales, where I get to play guitars in some amazing scenery, more practicing with wood stains, and some frustrating string breakages.

Me standing holding a guitar in the Snowdia landscape, with a hill to my left and a lake to my right.

A Week in the Shop

26 Mar 2023 - älgen, design, ESP32, pickups, verstaden

Fixing up the details on my älgen guitar build, remodeling an in-progress older build to have a fresh new look, and I curse generally about letting electronics back into my life.

The bottom end of the wooden core of älgen has a copper-tape covered cavity with all the wiring in. To close this off, there is a laser-cut cover made from frosted-translucent orange acrylic. The cover has my initials, MWD, etched into it, along with 'Älgen Prototype 1'

A Week in the Shop

12 Mar 2023 - älgen, amp, dalarna, design, fusion 360, hästen, website

A busy week, with lots of progress: älgen guitar finally becomes an instrument, I design a new guitar, and I do some work to upgrade my old amp.

Tags > älgen