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  #76  
Old 01-16-2018, 03:52 AM
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Oh my, this is looking schweet! Rodger, you have to be stoked!
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  #77  
Old 01-16-2018, 06:21 AM
Neil K Walk Neil K Walk is offline
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Yes, that is turning out really nice - and I'm amazed at how quickly it's coming together! As my mother is still fond of saying, I'd love to be a fly on the wall in order to witness the process!
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  #78  
Old 01-16-2018, 12:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Neil K Walk View Post
Yes, that is turning out really nice - and I'm amazed at how quickly it's coming together! As my mother is still fond of saying, I'd love to be a fly on the wall in order to witness the process!
Well mr fly, the build came to a screeching halt this morning when my quality control manager told me that her washing machine was down for the count. So we had to visit our local Lowe’s store to solve our life altering problem. Not to worry though, after lunch we are returning back to the shop. I love life’s curve balls...or not.
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  #79  
Old 01-16-2018, 03:02 PM
yukonkornelius yukonkornelius is offline
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Can't build guitars in dirty drawers!!!
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  #80  
Old 01-16-2018, 06:09 PM
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Washing machine crisis averted, the build must go on!! Thanks for all the comments! I am incredibly stoked!! I've delayed some acoustic recording to see how my mics like this one.

Good you hear from you Craig (Coldshot). How are things in OZ? Looking forward to our annual McJam Skype!

And now.... on with the latest pics and the running "Mary Mary Commen-tary." (How do you like my poetry!)

When the entertainer removes the tape he tends to make tape balls to toss into the basket. Quite often he proves there are very few basketball skills in our family.



Sanding the sides with the roller sander...





Some areas are best handled on the flat sander...





Hand planing the binding edges...





Hand scraping the flat area...



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  #81  
Old 01-16-2018, 06:24 PM
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Routing the sharp edges to soften them...



This is still loud and shrill, but there is far less sawdust to deal with...









Hand sanding will remove all miniature tips that might need knocked off.



Never ever leave your guitar alone with a man who has a saw in his hands. (NO TIM!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!)



Well, unless it is the luthier who knows you don't just want a box to pound on. Here Tim is getting the initial steps done to attach a neck.





There's a hole in Rodger's guitar! (For the world's smallest guitar neck)



Let's watch Tim make the hole even bigger.





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  #82  
Old 01-16-2018, 06:37 PM
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He doesn't seem in the least bit concerned.





He will clean this up and soon we will never see it again.



Oh, yes. By the way, the end wedge looks great!





Now we are ready for the neck to be applied...



The neck is ready for the peg head shaping.



This router table will cut the laminate cover to fit the peg head...



I'll save a piece of this for you in case you want to see how thin it is later. (Thanks Mary!!)

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  #83  
Old 01-16-2018, 06:45 PM
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Tim is dancing around our shop with the guitar neck in hand as the broom waits for a turn.... While my guitar gently weeps. Beatles fans are softly singing now.



The original shape is not Rodger's desired shape so a little removal is necessary.



Small cut here and another there.





The rotating roller sander will clean this shape...



The pattern...



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  #84  
Old 01-16-2018, 06:56 PM
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Tuner hole placements..









Tim inserts the holes from the back first.



Experience reminds him to stay close to his projects...







The peg head gets turned over and the drill is inserted from the front...



Great job!



The McKnight head material is mother-of-pearl...



The knight head MOP is glued to walnut and will set over night.

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  #85  
Old 01-17-2018, 03:56 AM
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Thanks Mary and Tim for an in depth look. Love all the photos.

Have to admit, I still have a chill come over me when I see Tim take a saw to the freshly finished box (for the neck). Yikes!
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  #86  
Old 01-17-2018, 07:27 AM
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I like the direction arrow on the binding router, will put one on mine when I finally work out which router gets that duty. And I broke down and picked up a bottle of SuperSoft. It bothered me that shipping and duty was more than the cost of the bottle but there are some times you really need it. The guitar is looking great.

I often write little notes on my tools as reminders. As silly as it may seem it has saved me a lot of grief and mistakes, which I learned the hard way, if you get my drift? BTW, I always climb cut (in reverse of the normal direction of cutting) when routing binding channels. I also climb cut when flush routing the top, back and peghead veneer too. There is less risk of blowing out chunks of wood, which would ruin one's day.

I hope you ordered the SuperSoft 2 Fred? It works much better than the original formula. For those inquiring minds, SuperSoft is a liquid wood softening agent that allows difficult to bend woods a chance of greater success during the bending operation. Somehow SuperSoft allows the wood to be more pliable.

Highly figured woods [usually] pose the most risk when bending them. As you can see, the curly walnut bindings broke in several pieces during the first attempt bending them. I did not use SuperSoft 2 in the first bend.




Since I learned [the hard way], the second batch of curly walnut bindings got a healthy saturation of SuperSoft 2 and they did not break during bending.


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Last edited by Tim McKnight; 01-17-2018 at 07:36 AM.
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  #87  
Old 01-17-2018, 09:11 AM
Neil K Walk Neil K Walk is offline
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Thanks for the update, Rodger. I'm always amazed at how quickly and efficiently Tim works. I feel that much lazier now!
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  #88  
Old 01-17-2018, 05:41 PM
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Everybody is lazy compared to Tim, Neil...

New pics have arrived! Mary said some are out of order. We'll see.

The CNC machine routes out the McKnight Knight head...



MOP knight head completed...



Traced and placed...



Dremel router is used to remove the shape of the head for inlay...





Tim has a nice steady hand to create a great fit...



Glue is applied below and above the knight head...

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  #89  
Old 01-17-2018, 05:51 PM
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The neck won't fit snugly until after Tim uses the bar sander several time...





Checking the neck setting. He will repeat this many times...



Sandpaper is taped to the guitar and the neck is slid back and forth to assure Tim they can 'marry as one.



Holes are drilled to fit properly the neck block later.



I don't think I should show you this picture yet! (I don't think you should either Mary!)



This picture will show you how the knight head was made.



The knight head is soaked in H20 to loosen the MOP from the background...









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  #90  
Old 01-17-2018, 06:06 PM
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The fret board will be measured to fit the neck. (Hey! They spelled my name right!!)



The radius will be completed by the CNC machine...



More manual labor...



Tim does this to guitars yet he never chooses to dress the Christmas turkey. Hmmm..



Measurements are taken to assist Tim with neck placement. Drawing on your guitar wouldn't be such a good idea so painters tape is perfect for this procedure.



These measurements are taken two or three times until the neck is centered...



The metal bar also shows where there are spaces that should not exist...



BRW is glued for the heel cap...



Where you might think there is a trim line on the heel cap it is actually thin cut maple glued to the back of the BRW...



Manual pressure is applied using this piece of pressed wood so Tim's fingers are not glued to your guitar. How do you think we know that can happen?



Super glue is used to secure the heel cap BRW...



It's a bit difficult to comprehend this picture, but the pressed board helps to keep the BRW straight...



This is another angle of the heel cap...

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