Wednesday 29th April ’09

we start where we left off last week, this aluminium barb wire inlay was installed in Nicks bass neck.. she needs dots as well though.. so this aly tube is cut into bits..

so we drill each hole out..

and in the center of each dot I glue as small piece of abalone..

out comes the fret saw and the bubinga headstock cap for the bespoke hollowbody guitar is cut roughly to size

the recessed trus rod cover is cut out

and she becomes one with the guitar..

back to Nimrods sister guitar necks.. excess glue is removed from the edges..

and I start preparing the binding.. snakewood again!

after each piece is bandsawed away the edges are planed flat

and then, along with some thin maple veneers, everything is glued in place

and in the end both fretboards are polished through the grits..

rummaging through the inlay drawer I found these shells.. the fossilised nautilus shell is particularly cool!

this time round I remove the excess neck wood before fretting her.. it should make the fretting process a little easier.. and quicker!

the edges are planed flat and at the correct 90 degree angle..

and, finally, the fret slots are individually prepared for the 22 jumbo beasties..

and here they are.. I leave them to settle down for a few dats before the ends are to be nipped etc etc..

back to the custom bubinga hollowbody guitar.. the headstock veneer is rasped to shape

and then the entire guitar is routed for binding.. a rather nerve wracking experience..

the cream and black multi-ply binding is begun..

and carries on for the better part of an entire day! ..

 

because we’re using multi-ply binding on the fretboard here half of it is glued in place and the fret slots are cut through it before the final pieces are glued in..

 

then eventually the excess is removed from the fretboard

 

and the surface of the snakewood prepared for..

 

fretting..

 

in the end the hollowbody PAF is finally pretty much complete.. she just needs a sunny day spent sanding her through the grits.. I can’t wait!!

All my best, Ben

Crimson Guitars HQ