Monday 21st May '07
Today we have two days worth of phot's to go through.. lack of computer time on the weekend has conspired to bring this plethora of pics to your screens... enjoy!
I begin with the re-working of the inlay for the Vee Mark II that's currently being built.. the inlay script is printed out
glued to the abalone block and then the letters are cut out with a jewelers saw..
the recess is cut out and checked prior to
glueing the inlay in place..
the letters are filled with red dust mixed with glue and left to dry
we move on to fretting the RF Slimline being built for the American market..
after some glueing, hammering, nipping etc the edges of the frets are filed to a comfortable angle.
and then profiled over with a rounding over file.
the headstock veneer will be made up of multiple layers, the first is prepared here..
and glued in place, the plastic foam material evens out any air bubbles under the thin veneer
onto the neck which will be on the Gibson Modern almost-guitar..the fret slots are all filed with a triangular file which helps reduce the risk of tear-out when refretting the guitar and also makes it easier to get the frets in in the first place..
nearly there...
the Vee's inlay is filed flush to the fingerboard
and sanded and scraped to the appropriate finish..
all three necks are complete and ready for
a few applications of lemon oil..
each neck is buffed up on the grinder
and there we have it.. this process will be repeated several times before the guitars are completed..
a slightly out of focus photo of the inlay. this Vee Mark II will have a three colour chameleon flip/flop finih which will match quite nicely with the abalone used for the inlay..
the side position dots are glued in place
I move on to a job which has been occupying my mind for a while now.. this timber store looks like shit..
and now it doesn't.. (bear in mind this is after a lot of choking on a lot of dust.. fun fun fun!)
and then the aliens landed!!!
this PAF is back from the sprayer and is ready for a good vibrating!
lots of oil is applied to the fingerboard for starters..
tuners are installed
followed by the bridge and string ferrules..
here you see the ground wire from under the bridge..
pickups are installed.. custom wound Wizard humbuckers!! the best I can get!
the bone nut is cut, filed, sanded and fitted..
and the control plates put in place.. the strings are on and will be left for a week or so to settle..
a view of the solid rosewood neck... very pretty??
On to this RF Slimline ready for the same treatment...
bridge and wires in place..
the nut is cut from a large bone blank.
and everything is in place.. except the strings, which go on next.. same as before this will settle for a week or so..
a view of the headstock, I love the multi-laminate look.. plus it's stronger than your average neck..
All my best,
Ben
crimson guitars - redefining custom | 
