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1) Run 100 grit paper on a block down the edge to make enough sawdust (is that what it is called with Richlite?) to fill the open fret slots below the fret tangs, then apply a drop of thin CA - do both edges

2) I put a small drop of acrylic caulk at each end of my Blanchard truss rod to stop vibrations

3) My cauls for gluing on the fretboard have a 16" radius in one face to apply pressure at the board edges

1) Apply glue and clamp it up

2) Reshape the edges to the board, being sure to include the edge of the board in the roundness of the shape

3) Reshape the neck itself

Read your build in total today, it's good to see how others do things, somewhat different but similar to what I have been doing. It's good to hear a story behind the build and some of the thinking that went into the decisions that were made.

The headstock isn't my cup of tea but one has to respect the work that went into making it happen and coming out so well. One great thing about building these things they don't have to all be the same to be a successful instrument.

BEJ

One of the most enjoyable parts of this is the design stage, so I like to write it down. I was given 2 sets of crazy grain Brazilian Rosewood, and for one set I have designed an L-00 with Red Spruce with a inlay of rope going around the rosette, up the fretboard and tying onto my anchor logo. And yesterday I bought the piece below at a local garage sale (first of the year for me) for $1. It is 76" long, minimum 9-1/2" wide, and 1/4" thick. On another forum it was tentatively ID'd as Ebiara, a cousin to Zebrawood. I don't have a clue what I will do with it, but I think it has great potential - maybe a jumbo because of the width of the piece.

Ed

ruby@magpage.com wrote:BEJ

One of the most enjoyable parts of this is the design stage, so I like to write it down. I was given 2 sets of crazy grain Brazilian Rosewood, and for one set I have designed an L-00 with Red Spruce with a inlay of rope going around the rosette, up the fretboard and tying onto my anchor logo. And yesterday I bought the piece below at a local garage sale (first of the year for me) for $1. It is 76" long, minimum 9-1/2" wide, and 1/4" thick. On another forum it was tentatively ID'd as Ebaria, a cousing to Zebrawood. I don't have a clue what I will do with it, but I think it has great potential - maybe a jumbo because of the width of the boards.

Ed

Nice piece of wood, maybe you and that board have been on a journey to this meeting for along time, sorta like the flipping coin the nut job hitman in "No Country For Old Men" story with the gas station man.

Bruce,

1) the heel came out nice - straight along the heel edges where they meet the body

2) spent a lot of time looking at various transitions between the neck and the head, and decided to go with simple because of all the gingerbread it has there

3) sanded up to 220, ready for black dye

I got ready to cut the nut slot, but could not find the bag with the half-dozen each of saddles and nuts, so I had to order some more. On hold for a couple of days during which I am sure I will find the ones that are here

Got the order of nuts and saddles from LMI - a little expensive, but the shipping is now free. Never did find the bag-o-bone I know I have in the shop somewhere

1) Since there is no head plate to hold one in, I have to cut a slot for the nut. I use a fine saw for both edges, then a chisel to remove most waste, then a file to refine

2) Using my 1/2 pencil, I run it along the fret tops to mark the nut, then cut off waste length and height

3) I want the neck to be black like the originals. They were tinted varnish and looked like black lacquer with a smooth finish, but I am not going to fill the mahogany pores as I like that look. I have raised the grain and sanded again with 220 to keep the grain under control with the alcohol based dye I will use

1) I used Fiebing's black leather dye and it turned out great - I understand Martin uses it to blacken their ebony bridges

2) Couldn't resist bolting it on to see what it looked like next to the Maple

3) And the combination of the Redwood, Maple, and black makes a very attractive guitar - hope it sound as good as it looks

Been almost a month - yow, time flies when you aren't doing anything.

1) Couldn't resist putting the tuners and the head plate on

2) The head plate is just card stock and will be ivoroid with about the same color

I have decided to make my own pyramid bridges. Never done one before and I am going to do a lot of it by hand just to test my mettle and see what happens

3) I had some blanks laying around so why not do some steps on all of them. I have weighed them for comparison - these weights are the blanks at 1 X 6 X 3/8". First are 3 maple for trials (24, 24, 24 g), 2 Corian (62, 62 g), 2 Brazilian Rosewood (29, 28, g), an Ebony (44 g), and a faux Ivory (42 g). At the bottom are 2 pine ones just to get the process down. I am going to do the machining on them and do the handwork as needed later.

1) I have measured my 5 pyramid bridges that others have made and designed one consolidating the details I prefer. Now for jigs

2) First a jig for string spacing. I lay out the spacing on a scrap with my super-pointy dividers. Mark the two ends points at 2-1/4" apart, fiddle with the dividers to get 5 spaces between, then push the points in for a marker

3) Then drill the holes using the marks and dimples to carefully move the jig down one hole at a time. The fence is 5/16" from the center of the bit