220510

Saturday the 22nd day of May 2010

we still have James here this week working on his ergonomic guitar design.. there is however no igor around unfortunately..

while Caroline is working on making templates for our reinvigorated headstock design..

rather pretty no?

James marks out his fret slots positions.. several times.. :)

and I take a moment to get some more primer on a few guitars.. it’s now getting a bit hot in this spray-booth!

this gorgeous ibanez semi-acoustic has come in for repair

the gentleman owner cracked a few ribs and, despite doctors orders to the contrary, tried to have a play on her.. needless to say pain and a broken guitar resulted..

we’re not trying to be pretty here due to budget constraints, a glue and dust mix rebuilds the damaged ply

next up a rosewood jackplate is made and carved to fit the curvature of the side

it matches the rosewood tailpiece and could have been a stock part of the design..

now, James uses his template to mark out the padouk wings for his guitar.. tentatively called the ‘Delta’..

I cut his fret slots..

and he prepares the padouk..

while treakle takes a well deserved rest in the sun amongst the padouk shavings..

now, the theory is that we should be able to wire this custom humbucker up in stereo..

the height adjustment bolts are positioned..

and add a certain something to the feel of the instrument, I do have a thing for stainless steel parts..

now, the padouk wings are glued in place, in this heat it only takes an hour for the polyurothane glue to cure fully!!!

the next step for James is to install his stainless steel position dots..

while Caroline has been making a real version of the new headstock, complete with bubinga veneer!

a neck pocket routing jig..

while james planes the curvature on his new wings..

it turns out there is too much cross talk in the humbucker for a bass/treble stereo split.. but we will be able to achieve it using the piezo saddles!!

mmm.. I like!

and Caroline has been very busy.. her first guitar and it’s turning out rather well indeed!

ishe takes time off inbetween to apprehend  the odd house martin that finds it’s way through the workshop though..

now, a few rough bits in James’ fretboard are filled with an ebony dust and glue mixture..

while I prepare a few veneers..

with this particularly stunning piece of walnut for the top!

these are glued in a makeshift press..

while James does some final sanding..

and then takes time out to critique and offer advice on Steinar’s extended range bass.. he likes her a lot.. and that’s coming from a Stick player!

the high quality ply is prepared..

the fret ends sorted..

double checked..

and the glue finally makes an appearance.. I love the look of padouk under a finish.. crimsonish hey?

just a few clamps.. bear in mind this top is being glued on a curved surface..

ok, next day and the excess glue is chiseled away.

she’s still looking a bit.. uncomfortable, though..

so let the dust rain down!

she has a wedge shaped carve with a slight internal dip and this will help both weight distribution and comfort..

I set off on some more wiring with Nick’s 45rpm..

while James marks out and then predrills his control layout

each of the cts pots are cleaned with switch cleaner before being installed

using gold plated nuts and washers of course..

we’re also going all vintage in the wiring,.. cloth covered cables.. mostly

and a 50′s les paul wiring circuit..

James is in love!

and even more so when he sees her damped down a bit, we can’t wait for lacquer!

and I test play the 45rpm.. the combination of incredibly high;y specced, and expensive, parts has paid off!  I love her!

All my best,

Ben

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