Starting #23 OM model

[Stray Feathers]

It's looking good Kevin! I too make my headstocks tapered like yours, and the strings do come very close to the posts, especially on the centre tuner. I've recently discovered (not sure how I missed it) that some commercial guitars, including at least some Martins, have the centre post inset slightly from the other two, as you are suggesting. A friend is going to try it on his current build, and I will do the same on a Black Locust OM I am working on. Thanks for sharing! Bruce W.

[phavriluk]

It's looking good Kevin! I too make my headstocks tapered like yours, and the strings do come very close to the posts, especially on the centre tuner. I've recently discovered (not sure how I missed it) that some commercial guitars, including at least some Martins, have the centre post inset slightly from the other two, as you are suggesting. A friend is going to try it on his current build, and I will do the same on a Black Locust OM I am working on. Thanks for sharing! Bruce W.

First guitar I ever made was in Dave Nichols' lair and when time came to lay out the tuners on the headstock Dave told me to move the A and the B tuners an eighth of an inch inward from a straight line drawn between the other tuners on their respective sides. Somewhere I've seen a CFM layout of the very same thing.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Bolt on neck with system to screw down the fretboard extension is almost complete. This my own take on a few different systems I've seen.
I just make sure my neck fits correctly and on center before I start routing pockets, etc.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Frets are in. Not yet leveled and recrowned.
Next on to the neck carving

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I've begun the finish process.
I used CA to prefilled the walnut and I used it to level the redwood top to eliminate the the high/low look between the soft and hard grain lines that often happens once the lacquer shrinks. I left a thin flat layer on the surface. I did test this idea on scrap first and I didn't find any issue or incompatibility between the CA and lacquer so I believe it will work.....we shall see. The CA was easy to spread with a credit card and easy to scrape flat with a razor blade.
The walnut got the same treatment. An experiment for sure.

The cedar neck got pore filled with shellac and wood dust. Ebony headplate also got the CA treatment.

So all was scraped flat, or as in the neck sanded.
I applied two coats of vinyl sanding sealer. And then two coats of nitro lacquer. I'm anticipating needing only 6 to 8 coats of lacquer to have enough build to sand back flat on the body and headplate with perhaps a couple more on the cedar neck.
This is at least 4 coats less than what I usually do.

So tomorrow I'll do probably 3 coats.
I'm spraying in my driveway instead of setting up my spray booth.
Temps are perfect and wind almost nothing. I take it straight to the shop for hanging after spraying.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I'm trying something new, never done this before. The light bulb came on when I was scrapingvthe CA pore fill/sealer layer.
I'm scraping the lacquer flat with a utility razor blade instead of sanding it
This is working great. It comes out nice and flat and will only require wet sanding probably starting with like 1500 and tgen 2000 grit before it will be ready for buffing.

I'll probably try buffing an area going straight from the scraped surface and see how it comes out, perhaps no sanding will be necessary???

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Wet sanded and buffed. The neck is fit and bolted down, and o. center. Frets leveled, recrowned and dressed.
What's left is glue on the bridge, install the saddle, install the nut, install the end pin, install the tuners. Do a set up and put on some strings. Install the pick guard once it arrives. Make music.

I guess I need a strap button on the heel too.
Stay tuned.