Starting my Martin Dreadnought Christmas present build...

[justrfb]

Hello All,
It is started... When we went on the Martin tour last month, my wife got talking to the lady in the "parts" store and she was so nice and explained so much to us that she went to her to buy the kit for me... I opened my kit and here we go. It is for my son Willie. I started with the sound hole Rosette... Came out OK. Also, shaped some cauls for the neck and tail blocks. My wife also bought the mold. I was going to make it but she surprised me with that also. Wish me luck.
Sincerely,
Rich

[tippie53]

looks good
don't whistle when you build a guitar you will have wolf notes

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Hey way to go Rich! Good start, keep the pics coming!

Kevin

[johnnparchem]

Good luck and happy building,

Do you have any other instructions or books other than the Martin instructions? I have a copy and they are rather terse. John's video are very good.

[Ben-Had]

Have fun. You'll find lots of help here.

[justrfb]

Hello.
I have seen in a recent post the the extra part hanging off the neck block is actually a caul to clamp the finger board onto the body when attaching the neck. Do I cut it off flush and save it for later or do I leave it and it becomes part of the structure? I can post a picture later. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Rich

[tippie53]

I cut them off personally.

[B. Howard]

looks good
don't whistle when you build a guitar you will have wolf notes

That made me howl! LOL

[justrfb]

Hello All.
More pictures and a quick question. We want to put our identifying information on the neck block before we glue it on so when you look in the sound hole you see Willie's name and the date or something similar. How do you guys do this so it looks nice and lasts for a good long time? Thanks.

Sincerely,
Rich and Willie

[tippie53]

I use a stamp set. You can also use a wood burning kit.
Sharpie pens tend to look smeary.