160810

Monday the 16th day of August 2010

 

Good evening all, as you’re aware we’ve just had a new baby, he’s now three weeks old and all is proceeding as expected, he’s healthy and hungry and Tania and I look and feel like death warmed up!  I truly had forgotten how bad it was possible to feel after a few weeks of drastically reduced sleep! ..anyway, I have been managing to get some work done and the diary will, once more, be coming much more regularly! ..

we’re working on the new double cut guitar.. and since she is new she needs a template..

the disk sander comes in useful here.. the concave curves are then shaped on the bobbin sander

here it is.. this will be with me for years and years now!

this is a good way to ruin the new template, but I trust myself not to slip!

igor get’s back to work on the bespoke control knobs.. they each need polishing

 

while i plane flat the jointing surfaces of the mahogany body wings..

which are then glued to the neck we were working on last week

the wenge top is bookmatched

and jointed in it’s turn

while igor gets on with some anodising

now, while the wings dry the headstock wings are also glued in, a judicious use of time methinks?

now, on to other jobs while the glue dries.. the twins headstocks are prepared for inlays.. and I then notice a distinct lack of mother of pearl in it’s proper place, after an hours search I just order some more.. it will no doubt turn up two minutes after the new stuff gets here!!

a new set of Wizard pickups go into this Tokai, along with new strings etc etc..

testing time.. you can make some very very fun noises with MIDI and a synth!

..ker-knob!

this guitar has caused no end of problems while wiring and in the process the finish has become.. well, not good enough..

she is stripped..

and stripped.. it’s hard but we can’t have sub-standard work going out the door!

the double cut is dry..

and it’s time to remove excess glue

 

and to level the top of the body.

the wenge top is also planed perfectly flat

and is then fitted around the neck..

and glued..

after curing over the weekend the excess top wood is bandsawed away

and the headstock alignment and design marked in place,.. and checked!

we need more templates..

and new, tighter, pickup cavities.. these pups will be loaded direct to the body with no surrounds so we need to be extra careful at this stage

a recess for the fretboard end is cut

and then I move on to the pin router to remove the rest of the excess top wood and match the body outline

the headstock is shaped

and the guitar is really coming together now

finally the wenge headstock veneer is cut out

and glued in place.. next up the routing and carving.. i do love dust!!

 

All my best, 

Ben

Crimson Guitars HQ

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