Construction Details
Below are a few details about how Wicklund Guitars are constructed. The philosophy behind the design and construction of Wicklund Guitars focuses on the delivery of uncompromising playability, responsiveness, and tone. Also considering that a well made acoustic guitar is expected to be enjoyed for decades and consequently has to endure a variety of physical and environmental changes, Wicklund Guitars are constructed to provide ultimate serviceability.
Neck Construction
All of the necks are hand carved. Honduras Mahogany is the preferred wood for building most of the guitar necks; however, for the Maple OM-14 an African Sapele was used as a very good substitute for Honduras Mahogany since that wood is getting more scarce and expensive, and for the OM-13 a very nice birdseye maple was used for the neck, matching the back and sides. In order to conserve wood, Wicklund Guitar necks are not cut from a single billet but instead are constructed from a quarter sawn board with a 15 degree head to neck-scarf joint and a laminated heel block reinforced with a carbon graphite rod. The heel laminations are cut from the end of the same board resulting in good color and grain match when glued up.
For neck reinforcement, two 1/8" x 3/8" carbon graphite rods are embedded on either side of a two-way adjustable truss rod that is adjusted through the sound hole. The truss rod is installed so that it can be removed for repair or replacement if necessary. As an exception the Maple OM-14 and the Mahogany DR-7 necks were built with a non-adjustable, permanent 1/4" x 1/2" carbon graphite reinforcement rod. Prior to 2009, several Wicklund guitars were built with this type of non-adjustable neck reinforcement and they have been found to have excellent long term stability. The first Wicklund guitar built in 1985 has been strung to pitch for 35 yrs and the neck relief has changed only a few thousandths of an inch and the guitar still plays very well.
Neck / Body Joint
The neck is joined to the body using a very simple, flush mount, two bolt system, with the fretboard extension not glued to the guitar top. This allows for the easy removal of the neck if necessary for neck set adjustment or truss rod repair or replacement.
Top and Back Bracing pattern and Brace Shape
All of the guitar models available are braced with a slightly modified, traditional X-brace design. The tops are braced to a 25 ft. radius, and the backs to a 15 ft. radius. The top braces have a tapered profile instead of the commonly used scalloped profile. This top bracing profile evens out the tonal response of the guitars -- especially the dreadnought models -- tempering the bass slightly to let the mid and treble tones come through more clearly. To maximize the responsiveness of the top and back plates, animal hide glue is used for joining the plates and gluing the braces.
Final Finishing
After 30+ years of experimenting with different finishing products and application methods, a process was developed that produces a thin, glossy, durable finish that enhances the natural appearance and feel of the wood, and we feel also enhances the acoustic response of the guitar. The same finish is used on the neck resulting in a very smooth, fast feel.
The finish is hand applied starting with several coats of a clear, water based pore filler for the back sides followed by several coats of a shellac sealer with light level sanding between coats. The guitar top is also sealed with shellac sealer without the pore filler. The sealer is followed with multiple coats of a shellac based product called Seal-Lac. It is a natural shellac product formulated with synthetic resins and has the look and feel of a shellac finish but has the durability of synthetic finishes. Level sanding is done between the finish coats. For the final finish an oil-based varnish called Tru-Oil is hand applied in several thin coats producing a glossy finish that is then hand polished to a high gloss. We feel this method of finishing enhances the responsiveness and projection of the guitars and for some of the more highly figured woods brings out a three dimensional depth or chatoyancy and produces a visually beautiful affect.