The bodies are taking shape. The two hollow bodies are sanded and the maple top one is ready for binding. Next step is routing the access to the control cavities from the rear. The solid-body has been shaped and is ready for routing the tremolo...
Learn MoreHere is the mahogany back cleaned up and ready for the top. Courtesy of Rick Toone (he graciously gave a bottle last time I visited), I am now using Gorilla Glue for most gluing jobs and it works very well. Maple top under pressure. And the finished result. Next up: Swamp Ash back with Wenge top. Same procedure again. I am planning on rounding the edge on this top rather than using binding, so here are two samples of radii: 2 mm and 4 mm radiuses. The two bodies waiting for routing of pickup holes and control...
Learn MoreThe purpose of laminating the neck with carbon fiber as seen in an earlier post was to be able to hollow the neck out and save weight, while maintaining (or increasing) stability. I have now gotten to part two of that particular experiment. I would have made my own adjustable truss rod, but again time constraints are forcing me to use a standard solution. I had two types of truss rods available – a double acting and a Martin style. The double acting truss rod weighs 133 grams, while the Martin truss rod weighs 153 grams. However, considering how much larger volume the Martin truss rod takes, the “density” is lower, so I selected it. I also routed the channel a little longer than required. Above, I have glued the truss rod in and routed two channels parallel to it. I then shaped the contours of the neck and routed to additional channels parallel to the outside of the neck, glued on the fretboard, shaped it roughly (I use a rasp), and here it is, ready to radius the fretboard. I have left the channels empty, although I did consider filling them with some lightweight material to minimize any sound travel. Time will tell how it worked...
Learn MoreNot much progress has been made on the actual instruments – but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been busy! Instead, I have been preparing my workshop for some new additions soon to be delivered. Here, I have completed the routing and roughly cut the body shapes with a bandsaw. On one, you can see the template attached for final shaping. I used to do this kind of work with my router, but this time I am looking forward to using my newly acquired Luthier’s Friend. I will post some notes about my experiences as soon as I’m...
Learn MoreSome progress was made over the weekend on getting the three EGS builds to completion. Below, I have routed the cavities in all three. Tremolo cavity in the Strat model remains. I have added a social networking plug-in that should start posting to Facebook, and now also to...
Learn MoreI was traveling last week and happened to be in the neighborhood of Rick Toone – and I got a first look at the Simplicity tuning system, neck core and his on-going builds for the first time… Awesome stuff. Not sure what happened to the camera, but check out Rick’s site and elutherie.org for up-coming...
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