Wednesday 19th September '07

 Well, finally some work on some guitars today!  .. we've had several problems with the server the last few days and I apologise for any glitches you may have seen.. thanks to all of you who emailed to find out where we had gone!

the workshop is now tidy and much easier to clean

and better organised too..

which should translate into more guitars coming through.. which will keep this tome interesting..

Sandra's NST Acoustic is back after her tour and apart from the damage to the fronts finish she blew everyone away.. in fact I've been told that as well as being lighter than a Parker Fly she may be just a little TOO resonant!  Can you believe that?

anyway, I will be trying my hand at a French Polish which is still light and resonant but is much harder wearing than the sealer originally used

I'm meeting with Mr Fripp tomorrow and will be taking both the NST and this Hollow model for him to peruse.. both are set up a bit to counter the climactic variations that have recently occured here

the Baritone has all the clamps taken off (the bookmatched spalted beech cap was glued on last week)

and excess beech is bandsawed away.. after tomorows meetings with Robert and then my bookkeeper I will push ahead with this beastie!

the tone chamber template for the leftie Helmet guitar is not thick enough..

so two more are cut out

glued together

to give a meaty chunk of MDF

this will be the cap of the Helmet guitar.. I mark out where I want the joint to be so that the flame is at a down angle

cut..

joint everything by hand... this can take anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours.. it really depends on how competant I'm feeling on any given day..

evntually it is clamped and glued

the Baritone has her tuning holes drilled

as does the rosewood necked Helmet guitar

and back to dusty work... after clearing out the workshop I promised not to make dust for a few days.. my lungs just can't cope... but it has to be done..  the new thicker template i routed to size with a small bearing cutter

the tone chambers are predrilled

then routed

and we have an almost guitar that is now ready for a top.. good going.

Just thought I'd feature the back of this Vee Mark II.. I just love wood..

Have a great day!

Ben