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Ed a nice approach to mimic the headstock look.

Down to the wire

On a regular acoustic guitar, the last thing you do is position the bridge for compensation and glue it on. On a resonator, you locate the cone early on, and glue the fretboard on the neck in position for compensation.

1) Now at the end, 2 strings on - with my measured stick, I position the saddle then spin the cone a touch to compensate the saddle

2) I deepen the nut slots carefully - I still use a feeler gauge under the string on the first fret, so it takes a while, but it turns out just right

3) Remove the nut and take down the excess height so about 1/2 of each string is exposed above it,then shape and polish

So here it is. I don't have another resonator to compare its sound to, but a week from today I will get my daughter to play it for a video

1) Kluson tuners. I left the worm holes - about 8 of them - in honor of the insects that were tunneling in the wood

1) The fretboard binding is cut off from the top and back pieces. There is another worm hole on the heel

I did a lot of things for the first time on this guitar - 1) A resonator, 2) A guitar made entirely from the same log, 3) a rosette around the cover plate of a resonator, which I have never seen before, 4) carved wooden grills, which I have never seen before, 5) using cross-grained slices of the back for fretboard binding, which I have never seen before, 6) carving my first neck, complete with Martin volute.

This has been a great experience. The whole thing is made from the same log, plus some 30 year old walnut for the head and the fretboard. Resonators aren't difficult - just different, and this one sounds very sweet (but loud) to me.

I'll post a video

So here is my last entry in the building of the John Henry. I got a chance to visit my daughter and had her play it. She has her own repair shop in Brooklyn (brooklynlutherie.com) and she plays a 1937 National Duolian on stage. She said that it sounds more complex than a biscuit bridge guitar normally does and that she really likes the sound. She also said I got the set-up right this time. The neck is fat like a National and she liked the feel. This was done on an iPhone, so sorry about the quality. This is the kind of music she loves to play:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsoyGixfXao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIZ8awL__tY

So thanks for looking, and see you next time.

Ed

Very very cool Ed. I like it. Well done.

That is just sweet Ed. Looks great, sounds great, and you daughter sure plays well.
Thanks for sharing. BUILD ON.