Thursday 18th October '07

 It's funny that on a day when less time is spent working more seems to be achieved.. I should try this more often.. anyway, I start the day with an update on on of the pieces (when Jim is involved it turns into a piece of art!) that Jim is workin on.

This was one of the first prototypes ever built of the Robert Fripp Slimline but I've decided to use it as a platform for Jim to show off his consumate skill.. the unneccessary holes etc are filled as we won't be using the full electrickery package

a base coat is applied and then flattened down to a smooth finish..

and an Om symbol is marked off on the front..

and then masked off too..

followed by an amazing tribal design, one of Jim's prime rules is that the design has to 'fit' the shape of the guitar... this works amazingly! .. More on this project as the weeks elapse..

My day begins with Charlies next bass... I'm making a pseudo-bridge.. the saddles from a standard bridge are used.. and this chunk of perspex is marked out..

then cut to size.. after much fileing, polishing etc

we end up with this.. minimalist and pretty..

Chris brought this beastie in for some minor set-up work.. which helped to break my day up quite nicely

Using the pillar drill I drill a hole through this piece of acrylic at a perfect ninety degree angle..

This is then used to guide the drill through the body.. as the back was already carved at this point I had no good reference point to work from on the pillar drill..

still, this way works out just as well..

the bridge is installed

and the beginings of the nut are next..  made from the waste parts of the bridge..

The string spacing is marked out

and then my standard scalloping ensues followed by the now very boring polishing process..

and we have a guitar.. or at least a bass!!!  This is the most satisfying part of the job!

The strings curve nicely through the body

and from the back at least she looks stunning.. though there's still a lot of polishing to go through..

The contoured headstock also looks very nice.. at this point I realised that, mainly due to luck, I've built in just the right amount of back-bow into the neck.. the tension of the strings has pulled her into almost the perfect orientation!  Bonus!

Here's the NST Acoustic as a showpiece today..  (you can see the whole build process here.. ) .. I've been in talks with Guitar Craft Guitars and we can now say that the NST guitar will be sold alongside the Beaudeux guitars for Guitar Craft musicians.. we will be offering a range of models with different scales and body sizes along with all the custom options you are used to.. you'll be watching the developement of these guitars over the next year..

All my best,

Ben