Following the old adage "there's never time to do it right, but always time to do it twice"; I finished the guitar. Again. I didn't like the way the top turned out, so I sanded it down and re did it. I made sure I got a good level base with the Z-poxy. That helped bring up the grain of the wood. The mango really pops and the I got the medulary rays in the sitka top to look more 3-d.
Also, I had noticed some buzzing in the 12-13 frets, so I did a re-level on them.
Now the buzz is gone and it looks and sounds way better. I figure the epoxy made the top stiffer. There is a lot less "honk" now. The Selmers can produce a nasal sound sometimes because of the way it's braced. That said, it's not a bad thing.
Especially if you play it harder than you would a regular guitar. It was designed to be heard over jazz bands so the sound is big and piercing.There's a hundred things I'm going to fix on the next one, but overall I'm happy with it.
I started on building one for my wife today. She hasn't settled on what wood she wants, so I got the neck started.
I cut the mahogany billet and cut the 11 degree scarf joint on the bandsaw and glued it up.
This one went a lot easier and nicer than the last.
I got the grain to line up and the glue line disappeared!
Next, I need to plane it to thickness and laminate the heel block.
