Wednesday 24th September ’08

..back to the wax finish on Dave’s bespoke guitar.. any uneven bits are flattened down with wet and dry paper

before adding more wax and buffing…

and more wax..

and buffing.. finding the right combination of waxes has taken a while but I think I finally have what I want!!

the front of Fabio’s seven string was stained and sunbursted last week..

but the back was left natural..

but not for long.. the stain sets off the flamed pearwood neck quite nicely!!

the join between the stain and the neck is eased in with some sandpaper

and the first coats of lacquer are applied!!

Jason’s custom superstrat has had a figured Myrtle veneer glued on..

which is cut to size prior to redrilling the tuner and truss rod holes..

she’s desperately in need of some sanding!!!

all through the grits till she too is ready for finish!

..she’s going to be very very fun!!

Fred’s custom slimline model recieves a few more coats of lacquer.. I’m very happy with the way she’s coming together..

and the seven string is looking good too!

on to the first stage of the next round of custom guitars!!

Giles sleeps in his corner while I mark out the side profiles of several necks.. symaltaneously avoiding stepping on the dog!!!

Andrews 8 (yes I said 8!) string beauty begins on paper..

the design is cut out

before being transferred to the template material!

the bandsaw is brought into play the necks are seperated

truss rod cavities routed out

and then the profile is roughed out.. multiply each process by five times..

the 8 string looks huge in comparison to the others!!

the edges of each neck are planed to size

and the truss rod access hole is also routed in

and finally the fingerboards are glued in place..

Once dry we start on Thomas’ neck.. the excess fingerboard wood is bandawed and planed away

and then, in stages, the radius of the fretboard is planed in..

the fret slots are marked out and cut

and frets are glued in place..

eventually the edges of the frets are filed flush with the neck profile and rounded over so that in the end she will be a very comfortable guitar!

oil is applied and buffed up

and we’re ready, at least with this one, for a body!!

All my best,

Ben

Crimson Bespoke Guitars UK