Friday/Saturday 17/18th August..

 Well, the weekend is here and I'm feeling much more positive, the suicidal despondency brought about by this last weeks unwanted interaction with the 'we've lost it, it's only a guitar here, have a claim form' department of the local (global!!) courier company has been overshadowed by the amount of interesting projects people are now putting our way.. 8, 9 and 10 string baritones and basses have been discussed at length as well as tesla coils and LCD dvd screens.. just the sort of thing I love doing!!

anyway, I started yesterday playing around with glue, perspex and wood.. three samples..

and while they are drying every piece of binding I have ordered over the last six months arrives and is uncoiled and hung..

1 out of the 3 works.. which was pretty mch what was expected..

the successful piece is cut down and sanded and then polished

using a thicker bit of perspex could create some really interesting multi-lam necks... oh.. you can see part of my much vaunted and very neccessary (I have to force myself to forgo work sometimes, and when plants have to be watered they HAVE to be watered) Veg patch..

The man, the machine, the one and only Charlie Jones comes down to chat about furthur mod's to his prototype sinature model..

including some more radical carving to get the weight down by another half stone or so..

fire... I'm still a kid really!  .. various combinations of perspex, glitter, alcohol and glue are combined in the flames.. just to see what happens..

here is one effect..

On to the original Vee Mark II.. the oil has unevenly penetrated this beauty due to the rush coming up to this years London Guitar Show..

it is all stripped off, the 'fake binding' masked off

and a stain applied.. most show guitars will now be red.. it'd be a shame not to really..

adding the sealant to the top attenuates the colour somewhat.. we'll see what she's like buffed up.. I can always change it later if neccessary.. (I love my job!)

the Mark II version of the Vee Mark II... the control cavity is shielded

and wired... I love using a mass of silver wire.. it just lookas so cool!

an ebony truss rod cover is cut, shaped, sanded and oiled

and installed

and the template used to route the control cavity recess is used to mark out the gloss plastic backplate. 

I just love this flip flop finish!!

so here are a few photo's to show her off..

On to an Eros.. she needs a bit of shaping and routing..

a veneer is added to the headstock of this bass..

trimmed to size with files and knives

and sanded to a lovely sheen prior to finish being applied..

here is the modified horn outline.. just to make the guitar a little more aggressive!

bandsaw

bobbin sander..

router... the three most commonly used tools in my workshop.. the fourth is common sense.. though that only comes out rarely!

the third pickup is routed and the cavity enlarged enough for a sustainer system..

A very very happy customer arrives to take possession of his Vee Mark II..

and here's a pic just to show you how different from the Gibson Flying Vee she is.. much slimmer, shorter and sexier.. not to mention half the weight!!

Our featured guitar of the day is this P-90 equiped Descendant..  This model was one of the first I ever designed and I still love it today.. with but a few mods such as deep set neck tenons, belly carves and the best pickups you can buy.  These P-90's are a bit special.. the bridge unit is coil tappable to give a truly versatile tone!  The figured poplar top is also a thing of beauty!

All my best for the coming weekend,

Ben