We join this project already in progress.....

I have several excuses:
I had the flu TWICE!
Couldn't find the damn camera.
I forgot.

When my son was a baby he had a computer game (I know, crappy parents) called Road Construction Ahead.  If you tried to do the levels out of order the grizzled foreman would say "finish one job before you start another".
Anyhow, a few weeks back I was looking for ideas on a Jazzmaster project I want to build and I found a maple drop-top strat body on ebay.  I got it for $28.00, shipping included!  I figured worse-case it could be a good practice for finishing.
It turns out it's a StewMac body.  It came with a "Blue burst" finish on it.  Cool effect but not my style.  I had intended to paint it Daphne Blue or Surf Green but after stripping the blue off the maple still looked good.

Normally I'm somewhat ham-handed with sanding, but with the thin veneer of the drop-top I really tried to go slow and not screw up. 
I ended up using Amber and Mission Brown dye on it.  The maple top just pops!  The ash body tended to look darker, which was ok too.

I ordered a MoP pickguard and gold hardware from Guitar Fetish.   Sounds garish but it does look cool against the dark maple.

While looking on-line I saw some examples of counter sinking the jackplate and trem cover. I thought since it's kind  of a "fancy" body I would do some "fancy" upgrades (?). 


Very nerve wracking routing buffed and waxed body, but it turned out ok.  I plan to sink the neck plate as well, but I want to have the neck ready first....



On that, I ordered some body/neck templates (for the JM project) .  Not here yet but I got 900 other things I should be doing instead.

First I positioned it and lined it up with the existing screw holes.  Masked it off.  This provided some scratch protection an gave me a nice line to route too.
I routed almost to the line then used a sanding block to finish it.  After, some brown dye on a q-tip.  I'm going to let it dry for a day or so then seal the edges with some clear lacquer.  Yes, I do wish I had found out about this before....

I like the cleaner line of the sunk trem plate.  I like the MoP against the brown.  I was thinking black would be nice too, but I didn't want it too dark.  Besides, I can always cut another one later.






The Mandocello is crawling along.  I didn't like the binding at the neck joint, so I've been re-thinking it.  There are no photos because it looks like crap.  Not that I haven't posted that kind of thing before.  But I am trying to slow down and be careful. 
Also, still trying to find a good tailpiece for it is rather difficult.  They're either too small or too big.
I may have to build one.

Last weekend I have ripped out all the summer veggies and planted the winter crop.  Here's the last of summer stuff! Nothing better than home-made veggies.


Now that the camera has been located, I'll clean out the memory card and get some more photos going.

mondo mando

Well, summer is over and Joel and I are back at school.  Joel to 8th grade and me to 2 schools this year.  I am supporting our 2 largest schools.  I like the staff at both places and there is tons of projects to keep me busy.  I will be doing classes too starting next week!
The pond is now finished except for some landscaping around it.  Last month, the pump shut off, combined with the heatwave we had all our fish got poached.  So we decided to re-do it.  The main reason it overheated was it was 7' across and only 18" deep.  So I dug it out to 8x8' and 3.5' deep.  I have a bigger drain to the filter and all seem good.  Our good friends Kim and Mike gave us some koi too!


I finished Marilyn's Selmer Maccaferri Concert model.  Nylon strings, so that means glued on bridge and fan bracing.  I'm still fiddling with the bridge to get the action right but it sounds great.  I did a french polish on this one and not sure I want to do that on the next.  It looks ok but....


I love the lacewood rosette.  When the light catches it right it glows.
And of course Doogie approves of the case.  Marilyn has found a book of duets so we can play together.



Ev's Mandocello is coming along.  Because of the way the neck fits in I had to rout and bind the top before I could attach the neck.  The differences in the profile of the carved top make routing very exciting to say the least.  My normal router attachment is too large, so I got the Stew-mac dremel guide.  Very helpful.

The neck is in and the back is glued on.  It's sounds cool when you bang on it.  Sorry, Ev I meant tap on it. 

The next big task is routing the back.  The heel/back area is proving the most challenging. 
I'm still waiting on the design for the headstock inlay but there is plenty to keep me busy.
I need to practice the finishing on some maple scrap too.  I should have the bridge and tailpiece figured out soon.  Sorry for the lack of photos.

Mid-summer update

So far this summer has been a whirlwind of activity.
Marilyn and I went to Las Vegas for our 20th Anniversary.  We saw Penn and Teller and took naps by the pool.  Fun stuff.

The tomatoes and cucumbers are finally coming in.  They're late because it's been so cool this summer.  The other day Marilyn made a salad of Tomatoes, cucumber, onion, dill (all from the garden) and yogurt.  Yummy!


My elbow is healing and I am finally able to get projects around the house done.  I finished up the 12 string!  Well, got it put together and put the strings on.  I haven't done a proper set-up yet as I'm both busy and lazy.

Soundhole and logo with diamond brace

It sounds cool.  I had a Yamaha 12 Dreadnought back in the '80' and loved the sound.  But, I had forgotten how different they are to play.  My wimpy hands are out of shape for a 12 string--especially with giant action.  After about 20 minutes of playing my elbow was starting to throb.  Hopefully both will get fixed soon.  Still, it sounds cool.  Mark, my guitar teacher gave his approval too!


Next time (oh yeah?) I'll put 2 truss rods rather than one and 1 c/f rod in the neck.

Finish stripped for bridge gluing

I learned a lot on this project.  Mostly where I make mistakes due to rushing through a step or not planning ahead.  But that is part of the journey.

Ta-Da!

Marilyn's guitar is coming along.  I didn't like the way the neck was shaping up so I re-did it.
Much happier this time.  Yesterday I was able to get the frets on and will hopefully be done by the end of the week.  I'll get some pictures of it posted....


I've been doing a lot of work on Ev's Mandocello.  It's starting to look like something.  It seems like most of the time goes into making the molds and forms for bending.  Once that's done it goes pretty quick.  Yesterday, I got the sides bent and glued together.  I'm still playing with the top and back.  I need to remove more material from the insides.  I also need to prep the headblock and heel.  Maybe tomorrow....

Maple sides being clamped into submission

Sides bent and glued to headblock

 

Getting back to it.

Things have been wacky-busy of late.  Since last post, my job changed dramatically (for the better), I had elbow surgery to fix (?) a detached tendon, and bunches of odds and ends to do around the house.  So, not much writing.
The guitars have been making some progress.

I re-did the top on Marilyn's Sel-Mac Concert.  I got a great cedar sound board from Fraiser Valley woods.  Super ringy tone.  I wish I bought a dozen of them.  Marilyn cut out a rosette of Lacewood and the top got stuck on.
I got the ebony bindings installed.  I need more practice/patience....


I pore-filled the back with Z-poxy and it's now baby-butt smooth. 



I've started the french polish of the top.  It's a lot of work, but It's easy to fix mistakes and it's very zen-like.  There is a learning curve to it, but it's not bad. 



 
I decided to focus on getting Marilyn's guitar done, then Ev's mandocello, and fit the 12 string in along the way rather than try to do all at the same time.  I'm working on that ADHD thing.














The other big distraction (other than family and work) has been the garden.  Here in SoCal, we can grow veggies pretty much year round.  I've ripped out all the old winter stuff and re-planted both the front and back yard gardens!

We had tons of artichokes already and I cut them back to make way for tomatoes, celery, peppers--bell, sweet, hot, courgettes, squash, carrots, radishes and onions.  There's even pineapple and peaches towards the back.
OBTW:  The string you see is to keep the herons from eating the koi in the pond just to the left.

 

This is the back of the house.  Tomatoes, Basil Peppers, Squash and a dwarf apple tree.

Bananas!


Now, back to building!

Guitar building

12 string update

I haven't updated for a while.  Because, well, I don't know.  Just haven't felt like writing. 
Maybe it's the thinking that comes with writing...


Anyhow, the 12 string is coming along.  I cut a sound port in the upper bout and got the back and top glued on.  You can see the precision measurements used to do this. 

For the back graft I used spruce squares.  I saw this used online, and thought it looked cool.  We'll see how well it holds up...

I bound the finger board with koa to match the bindings and rosette.  It looks great.  





Ev's Mandocello is coming along too.  We settled on a shape and I started ordering the wood.  I got a stunning piece of flamed maple for the back.  and have gotten it cut an profiled--I need to get a current shot of that.  It's sexy.  The shot is the graduations for the rough gouging before sanding it smooth inside and out.  When you tap on it I swear it rings!  I've also profiled the outside to be more "form-fitting"  Luckily, Ev and I are about the same shape (out of shape?).  He's very excited.

Marilyn's guitar is on hold.  I didn't like the rosette, so I ordered a new top and routed the old one off.
rrrrrgh

I'm getting another Cortisone injection in my elbow next week.  I'll be able to get some work done and maybe even actually play a bit too.

Getting closer

The neck is done.  Well, sort of.  I need to adjust the heel a bit, but it's close.  It gets frets this week end and i need to tidy up the rosette.

I'm waiting on a router part.  Once that gets here I can do the binding then move on to the finishing!

Mounting the bridge is worrying me.  I need to read up on placement and all that before I do anything.
I started on the forms for the 12 string body this weekend.  I hope to get them done next week so I can start bending.
Oh boy!

End of vacation update

Having been off for the last 2 weeks has been good for both my psyche and the guitar.
I was able to get lot's of stuff done.
I have the neck for the 12 string ready to carve. I'll cut the tennon tomorrow on the new table saw!

I know you're thinking, "Hey that wood looks just like the counter tops in the kitchen". Yes. I had some left over out in the back yard for the last decade or so. It's about 30" long and 1.5" square, laminated Rock Maple! Insanely hard. I ripped it down to 1" blanks then laminated it with 1/8" koa/maple/koa sandwich between them.

I bent the ebony binding with minimal scary noises. I just soaked it in the bathtub for a few hours then let it heat up for about 20 minutes before starting to crank it down.  
Marilyn made the label for her guitar!

Bridge is ready!

I was able to get Sel-Mac/nylon body glued up.  Rosewood back and sides, western cedar top and spanish cedar neck.  Fingerboard ready to fret (well after I finish setting the neck angle on the heel and glue it to the neck)