Thursday 18th June ’09

the eight string guitar is nearing completion..

the bobbin sander is used in the cutaways.. rather obvious name really..?

the side dots are installed

and finally the sanding process begins in earnest..

and, by the time the light fades, she’s pretty much ready for finishing..

next up Jason’s 45rpm.. straight from carving and looking just a little rough..

but after a day of sanding she too is ready..

the back plates are drilled and all the edges are slightly rounded over.

and she is stained..

for the first time you really see just how great this top is!!

the back and sides are left natural but recieve their first coat of oil..

and now she really looks great!  two or three coats of oil a day for a week or so and she will be ready for hardware and strings..

now on to my current favourite.. I’ve always had a real soft spot for hollow bodies.. and the teak oil finish looks amazing!!

these custom wound Novatron pickups were designed by Wizard pickups specifically for this type of guitar.. and are also the reason that I decided to build this beast!

because of the nature of the guitar the switch has to be wired in before we install the pickups.. it helps to mix things up, keeps life interesting!!

the pickups, bridge and tailpiece are all installed

and she recieves strings for the first time!  Always the high point of any build!

the wiring begins.. and is fairly simple in this case..

the strap buttins are held in place with machine bolts and threaded inserts.. this one will never have a loose strap button!!

and in the end here she is.. all she needs is some custom hardware and she’ll be ready to go..

now.. even through a 10watt practice amp this guitar is the best sounding instrumemt I’ve ever built!!!  I want one!!!

All my best, Ben

Crimson Custom Guitars UK