Wednesday 23rd April '08

The week begins with Tim's totally unique Slimline.. she needs just a little bit of carving

while that begins the rain pours down and I have three very depressed 'nimals..

the control cavity cover recesses are routed

and she is ready to carve..

the most important bit of ergonomic carving to be done is the easy access neck joint.. 

followed swifttly by the belly carve.. what's the point in having a bespoke instrument that doesn't fit like it was built for you!!!

and here she is, rough carved and ready for the final sanding process..

.. the front is carved too, of course.. and both of these beasties are really very nearly complete

the frets of the classical have been glued in and the rough ends are carefully filed flush with the fingerboard.. obviously the top of the guitar is protected from the file..

the Mother of Pearl side dots are glued in place

and this lovely 1986 Warwick bass arrives.. the finish has been slowly eroded over the years and various dents (which to my mind just add more character to an instrument) need to be sanded out and the beastie should end up looking spanking new!

more inlay/binding work on the left-handed custom..

black/white/black binding is run around the base of the maple binding.. 

and left to dry..

the bass takes most of a day to sand down, the problem is that using the random orbitals changes the shape of the instrument.. on my own custom guitars this is used as part of the carving process.. here I need to keep the instrument as close to original as possible.. which means doing it by hand!

in the end the first coats of oil are applied.. over the next week much more will be applied and buffed up.. after a while it builds up into a very dyrable permanent finish..

Wednesday... and the sun is out!!  ..it has the bonus of making everyone feel better about life but the temptation to spend the day in the veg patch is unbearable!!

the rear contouring of the horns on the lefty are softened with a rasp 

the side dots installed (better late than never!)

and the final finishing process begins.. with a very sharp scraper!

the sides are the first thing to be sanded right the way through the grits..

more inlay work.. another abalone star is cut into the end..

the 'nimals are also loving the sunshine!

the neck joint of this classical (a project started by someone else) was glued using epoxy.. not the right glue.. it does not seep into the wood like other glues it just forms a very thin layer between the surfaces being glued.. anyway, the excess epoxy is scraped out and titebond is pushed in using spatulas...

the joint is held closed by hand while the excess glue is cleaned off with a damp bit of rag..

and she is then clamped up in the dogs.. and left for a day!

the excess material from the inlay is filed off

and it's on to the final sanding of the back..

after a few hours you can finally see the lovely figuring in the English Walnut

the control cavity depth is set by drilling out to a specified depth

and then carving it out by hand.. internally matching the carving of the top..

the rest of the guitar is then sanded through the grits and she is very neary ready for the finish.. this is one beauty that I cannot wait to hear!!!

'Till Fridays update.. Ben

Crimson Custom Guitars HQ