Kyle’s Guitar – day 6 – complete
After four coats of High-gloss Tung oil, the guitar is looking good. Time to move on to the installation of the hardware. I measured the output jack, and drilled a … Continue reading
Kyle’s Guitar – day 4/5
I cut some more walnut to make a new back panel. I took care to try to match the sap wood on the front half. It won’t be a … Continue reading
Kyle’s Guitar – day 3
While the back panel was curing, I loaded the front panel into my CNC and started the carve. About 4 hours later it finished. Unfortunately the board was slightly thicker … Continue reading
Kyle’s Guitar – day 2
Kyle gave me the neck and hardware, that he bought for the guitar, so that I could get exact measurements. Then I drew everything up and did a test carve. … Continue reading
Kyle’s Guitar – day 1
My friend Kyle recently asked if I would be interested in helping him build a custom guitar. He had some wood from his Grandfather’s farm that had been cut into … Continue reading
Vicenç’s guitar – day 4,5,6… – complete
Vicenç applied the first coat of finish before he went home the other day. Over the next couple of days, I applied another three coats of Tung oil, sanding the … Continue reading
Vicenç’s guitar – day three
Before we start shaping the body, I took some time to figure out the wire routing. I drilled a small hole into the tremolo compartment to route a ground wire. … Continue reading
Vicenç’s guitar – day two
Before we can start carving out this guitar body, I need to finish up my design on the computer and convert everything into vectors that can be imported into my … Continue reading
Vicenç’s guitar – day one
WOW, it has been a busy summer. I haven’t put up a post in a couple of months. Sorry about that. I have a couple of new projects coming though, … Continue reading
Kid-Sized Guitar
I have been helping my friend, Hans, to build a guitar for his daughter. He wanted to be very involved with the work, so it took a few months, between … Continue reading
Guitar headstock inlay
My friend Bill started this project, but immediately ran into problems. He bought some discs with abalone patterns on them, with the intent of inlaying them on guitar headstocks. Unfortunately he … Continue reading
Reclaimed reverse Firebird – day 6
I applied the fourth and fifth coats of oil yesterday, so this morning I applied a coat of paste wax to the body, rubbing it in with a soft cloth. … Continue reading
Reclaimed reverse Firebird – day 5
I managed to get two additional coats of Tung oil applied today. Between each coat, I sand down the entire body with 400 grit paper. After a liberal coating of … Continue reading
Reclaimed reverse Firebird – day 4
I want to attach the control cavity cover with magnets. I made sure to place matching pilot holes in the cavity and on the cover. Since I drilled 1/8″ holes … Continue reading
Reclaimed reverse Firebird – day 3
I had an early Dentist appointment yesterday, so I used the excuse to blow off the entire day from work. An unplanned day off typically means a day in the … Continue reading
Reclaimed reverse Firebird – day 2
After the dye had cured on my front and rear panels, I loaded the first board into my Carvewright CNC and started the first panel. The back side ran just … Continue reading
Reclaimed reverse Firebird – day 1
My oldest son, Eric, is going back to college in a couple of weeks and he is planning on taking guitar lessons this semester. I offered to build him a … Continue reading
Baritone rebuild – day 8 complete
The finish is cured, so my last step is to apply a coat of paste wax. I let it set for a few minutes, then I rubbed it off with … Continue reading
Baritone rebuild – day 7
Bill finally got me the last piece of the project today. He wanted this particular style of input jack. I wish I had this component before I carved the rear. I … Continue reading
Baritone rebuild – day 6
I talked to Bill about the switch and he didn’t feel like looking for one with a longer neck, so before I put on another coat of oil, I need … Continue reading
Baritone rebuild – day 5
I had a lot of details to tidy up before starting to apply the finish today. I started by pulling the clamps off the headstock veneer, then taping off the … Continue reading
Baritone rebuild – day 4
With the body roughly sanded, it is time to round over the top and bottom edges. I used a 1/4″ round-over bit in my little Bosch Colt. Just a quick … Continue reading
Baritone rebuild – day 3
Ok, so I had every intention of finishing the body last weekend, but I ran into a lot of operator error, mixed with a little bit of trouble from my … Continue reading
Baritone rebuild – day 2
Interesting day today. I started early by loading the second walnut panel into the CNC and started the top half of the guitar carving. Then I unwrapped the book-matched set … Continue reading
Baritone rebuild – day 1
My friend Bill has another guitar for me to rebuild. The last one was the Jerry Jones Baby Sitar. This one is also a Jerry jones, but it is a … Continue reading
Purpleheart & maple bass guitar – day 7 complete
I had a little more time this evening, so I wired up the controls and closed it up. I added the control knobs and wired it up. Adam … Continue reading
Purpleheart & maple bass guitar – day 6
I got up bright and early yesterday to put the sixth and final coat of Tung oil onto the guitar body, before I went to work. After each coat, I … Continue reading
Purpleheart & maple bass guitar – day 5
The dye is dry, so I got up bright and early this morning to get the first coat of finish on. The dye is water based, so the grain got … Continue reading
Purpleheart & maple bass guitar – day 4
I intend to make a lot of saw dust today, so I moved my small work bench outside and clamped my guitar body to it. I put a 40 grit … Continue reading
Purpleheart & maple bass guitar – day 3
Today I am working on the back panel. Since I try to learn new techniques with every project, I am going to attempt to re-use the piece that I cut … Continue reading
Purpleheart & maple bass guitar – day 2
My last couple of weekends have been busy with graduations, so I haven’t been able to work on the bass guitar at all. I decided to blow off work today … Continue reading
Purpleheart & maple bass guitar – day 1
My friend Rick gave me a bass guitar neck. Now that I have the neck, I have to build a body to go with it… I did some searching on … Continue reading
Another 72 thinline telecaster – day 3
I was getting ready to glue up the two halves of the guitar when I noticed a small problem. The pilot holes for the neck screws were off on the … Continue reading
Another 72 thinline telecaster – day 2
The second half finished its run in the carver. I flipped it over and cut away the tabs. With both halves freed up, I assembled them in a dry-fit … Continue reading
Another 72 thinline telecaster – day 1
I built a 72 thinline telecaster a few months back, and I have had a request for another one. The first one was made for a friend of mine and … Continue reading
Baby sitar build – day 6 – complete
The last coat of tung oil has dried, so I applied a coat of paste wax. After 15 minutes or so, I rubbed it off and buffed it out. It … Continue reading
Baby sitar build – day 5
Five of the six coats of tung oil have been applied. Before I add the final coat, I want to drill out all of the holes for the hardware. I … Continue reading
Baby sitar build – day 4
The upgraded sitar seems to have met with the owner’s approval so far, so it is now time to pick a finish. I did a bit of additional sanding to … Continue reading
Baby sitar build – day 3
I finished running the carve last night. It turned out nice. I pulled off the tape and cut the tabs that held the body in place. It requires a … Continue reading
Baby sitar build – day 2
I pulled the clamps on the steam-bent crooks that will be used for a leg rest on the baby sitar. They did spring back a bit as I had planned, … Continue reading
Steam bending kit
I purchased a steam bending kit from Rockler and it arrived this weekend. I have a piece that I want to bend up for the Sitar that I am building, … Continue reading
Baby sitar build – day 1
I got a new camera for Christmas. It is a Canon PowerShot SX510. It is not the latest and greatest, but it is perfect for my needs documenting my builds. … Continue reading
Headless guitar concept – day 4 complete
I gave the body of the guitar, and all the wooden hardware, four coats of low-gloss Tung oil, then let it sit for 24 hours. Yesterday morning I applied a … Continue reading
Headless guitar concept – day 3
Third day into this build, and I will have all the parts done today. My focus today was to get all the trim pieces done. I started with the cover for … Continue reading
Headless guitar concept – day 2
I had a few little details to accomplish today, before glueing up the front and back halves of the guitar body. Yesterday’s epoxy has dried, so I sanded it down … Continue reading
Headless guitar concept – day 1
So I don’t play guitar, but I really enjoy building them. I have been collecting bits and pieces while building other guitars, and I have been kicking around the idea … Continue reading
72 thinline telecaster guitar carve – day 3
The glue has dried, so I pulled the clamps. I set the larger spindle up in the spindle sander and sanded all of the larger curves. I stepped sown to … Continue reading
72 thinline telecaster guitar carve – day 2
Spent the day packing my oldest up and taking him back to college. I did squeeze in a bit of time to get back to the guitar body, that I … Continue reading
72 thinline telecaster guitar carve
I had a request for another guitar body. This one is a little different from the solid body guitars that I have built before. This guitar body is modeled after … Continue reading
AJ’s custom Stratocaster – complete
I got to finish up AJ’s guitar this weekend. The guitar body has been done for nearly a year, but due to some personal issues, it had to be put on … Continue reading
