And here's the finished instrument in the hands of its new owner. Does your current guitar make you this happy? Can you reach three octaves like Paul now can?
Go, Paul! Play this instrument in good health and with much satisfaction for many years!
Here's the body fresh from the finisher, showing the shipping crate, and Tony Ferguson's flawless finish. Notice the perfect reflection of the ceiling light in the top.
A shot showing just one of the reasons Cocobolo is so desirable: rich, deep, glorious color. Good call, Paul!
Attaching the neck.
Gluing on the bridge.
Ryan installing the frets, and trying not to go deaf in the process.
And here we are, ready for strings. It won't be long now!
Neck being fit to the body. This stage is exciting--the project really begins to look like a musical instrument.
Preparing the rosewood bridge blank. Here the shape has been cut, the string holes have been drilled, and the saddle slot is being routed to final depth.
The nearly finished bridge. Wings have been profiled, and the contours finely sanded. Before being glued on to the top, it will be buffed and waxed to a nice sheen.
Bridge is now pinned in place. We'll mask off the bridge's footprint before sending the body off to our finisher. When the body returns, we'll remove the masking tape and glue the bridge to that protected area.
Refining the shape of the head. The crest is finished, and here I'm blending the head into the neck shaft.
Peghead shape is finished. Binding is applied, and tuner holes are drilled. The rat tail file is being used to clean the cavity that will house the truss rod nut.
This cyborg is cutting the inlay pocket that will house the mother of pearl logo.
Head is now completed. Inlay is seated and leveled, and the nut slot is cut. What remains is to fit the neck to the body, and apply the finish.
Neck construction underway. Here you see the different laminations that will make up Paul's neck. Mahogany outer lam's, Cocobolo center, with b/w/b veneers separating the three main pieces.
A view of the neck laminations being glued together. Clamps are alternated to even the clamping pressure.
Gluing on the "ears" for the peghead. This builds up the head to proper width, while strengthening this potentially weak area.
Gluing on the peghead overlay. We've chosen Cocobolo offcuts from the back, which will match the guitar's body perfectly.
Time to rout for the binding and purfling channels. This shop-built jig holds the router perpendicular to the back or top, giving a constant depth to the channel.
Bindings and purflings installed on the top. This strong brown tape is useful in pulling the ebony bindings snuggly against the sides.
Mitering the w/b/w purfling at the end wedge. The polished back of the chisel is used as a mirror to indicate when the angle is correct...then the chop is made. This is an elegant touch that adds a subtle distinctiveness to the instrument.
Bindings and purflings installed, ready for scraping and final sanding.
Gluing on the top. Can't have too many clamps.
Once the box is closed, it's time to start the trimming process. First we rout the tail area for the wedge inlay. Paul chose Macassar ebony for the bindings, so we'll install a matching wedge of ebony.
A little hand fitting with our favorite file will make the fit perfect.
Band clamps and a spacer add sufficient clamping pressure to hold the ebony wedge in place while it dries.
Finished tail wedge, bordered with w/b/w violin purfling. The purfling scheme on the entire guitar will be done in this simple, but classic way.
Singer-songwriter Jason Harrod after our demo concert at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival. Jason did a fantastic job, making the guitars sound great. Check his site out at www.jasonharrod.com
Starting to inlay the rosette. This guitar will sport an abalone ring, with black/white/black inner and outer bands.
Rosette scraped, soundhole cut out, and the guitar's rough shape cut in the top. It is starting to look rather guitar-ish.
Gluing braces to the top. Paul's guitar is being built for light gauge strings. 1/4" Sitka spruce braces will both stiffen the plate and discipline the top's response to string vibration.
Braces finished and top voiced. The bridge plate is African Padauk, a hard, musicial wood. It imparts its own "zing" to the tonal palette. We sign and date the top when it's ready to glude to the rim assembly.
Ronnie Sheeon