Friday 4th July '08

..in a bid to catch up with the lost month's worth of work we start again with Tim's Robert Fripp Slim...

the wax and sealer finish means that at this late stage the binding is scraped clean

and then on to the final fret-work.. you've all seen this done many many times before..

so I give you the view from the workshop window.. very pleasant ths time of the year.. and the best thing is that since I quit smoking (on the news of Tania's pregnancy) I can actually smell the flowers!! Bonus!!

after profiling all the frets the fretboard is cleaned with ligghter fluid and then re-oiled and buffed..

the final coats of wax are applied

and our new polishing brush is brought out for the second time.. much easier than buffing this up by hand!!

in a new move I'm mounting the sustainer driver (pickup) directly to the guitar body.. there will be access holes for the adjustment through the pickup surround..

the compensated ebony nut is begun..

and ends up looking something like this.. the scalloping is purely ornamental.. but worth it anyway..

in the end everything is installed.. and she's ready for wiring..

the backplates are also fitted.. I just love this eclectic mix of timbers..

here she is Tim..

the first (and very important) job is the shielding of the entire cavity..

and, several hours later, she recieves her first test drive... a guitar is born!!  (Giles didn't stay next to the amp for very long.. testing the sustainer's harmonic mode made him run out of the room barking!"!)

without the MIDI system it looks rather spacious in here..

finally the battery compartment is cut to size

and is fitted..

the guitar will now sit in the office for a week or so 'til she's ready for her final setup and shipping to the States..

I think this pilot is a little confused.. he's landed in the field behind the workshop twice this week..??

the last bits of work need to be completed on Paul's Baritone..

the MIDI and stereo jack output plate is cut to size

and carefully polished and fitted..

the battery compartment is fitted at the end and that is another guitar ready for final setup and finishing!

Have a great weekend  .. and happy 4th of July...

Ben

Crimson Guitars UK