Starting a new Dred build

[John Reid]

Looking really nice.

Question from a few posts ago: How does one bolt down the fret board extension?

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Thanks John.
Well I just lost what I wrote about the screw down fretboard. I was logged in, wrote it and went to post and it went back to the login in screen and then my post was gone. 😭

So.....look back at my last guitar posted earlier this year, an OM. I show what I'm doing there.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

This morning I was able joint and join the top plates and cut out the shape. Thinned it to .120". Once the rosette is in I'll sand it flat and take it to .115"

Then I carved the back braces. The back is ready to fit to the rims!!

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Time for the rosette.
I decided to do a D28 type using purfling I made from .020" wenge/holly/wenge. It looks pretty good but that wenge is splintery. I won't use that again for this purpose.

So I first cut the 4 channels for the purfling strips.
Then I coated the channels with shellac and installed the strips, coming back with wicking in some CA. One the two center purflings I only wicked the CA in around the outside. Once dry I leveled all the pufling to the top.
Next I routed out the material between the two center purflings creating a channel for the abalone.
After installing the abalone about .005" lower than the purfling I flooded CA over the top. I did this twice to fill all gaps and fill the space over the abalone. Once dry I scraped and sanded the whole area flush again.
Then cut out the sound hole.
I turned out okay. Not my best install. That purfling was tricky to work with and had to be bent to fit into the channels. Overall I think it will look okay.

Next will be to brace the top

[Kevin Sjostrand]

In process
Gluing the top bracing in the gobar deck

[Kevin Sjostrand]

All the bracing is now on. The bridge plate is Indian rosewood. Time to start carving.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I got the top braces all carved....dang forgot to take a pic.
Scalloped X braces and lower bout braces.

I got the back and top glued to the rims yesterday and today. I have a nicely ringing box now.

Installed abalone dots on the fingerboard and put a 16ft radius on it with a sanding block.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

All trimmed flush today with the palm router. Now I need to level the sides. I have some areas with low spots....from the bending. I use a scraper and a flat long hardwood block covered with 80 grit paper to do this.

[nkwak]

That looks really nice, Kevin. I like the rosette!

[Kevin Sjostrand]

More progress.
I did route the binding channels and installed maple bindings with purflings top and back that match the rosette, end wedge and back strip.

I had glued up some curly maple bindings with SIDE purflings, but they cracked in the bending process. I used no moisture (because I'd used Titebond when I made the purflings), and I did nit wrap them in foil.

So I bent plain maple, no side purflings, spritzed with water and wrapped in foil and tgey came out perfect.

Anyway I taped them all in and wicked in the CA, a way I like doing it. I seemed to forget to take some pics of this.

After scraping all the bindings flush and sanding to 220 grit, I masked off the bindings and did some pore filling on the rosewood using Timbermate ebony. One application and the pores are near filled. I'll do one more.

Then I inlayed my headstock MOP logo, cutting the pocket on the CNC machine, and filling in around it with epoxy mixed with ebony sawdust. It turned out nice.

Then I made up a plate for the back of the headstock using the last piece of Macuaba rosewood left over from a guitar I made with it back in 2011. I glued in a piece of my purfling down the center. Should look nice with a .020" piece of Indian rosewood veneer under it.

I also hand cut a channel in the neck blank for a Stewmac double action truss rod. Guys....these rods are great and the are inexpensive. Check them out and give them a try.

So I'm getting ready to thickness the headstock and glued on the headstock plates next.