Neck Set
 

I just received a load of pics from Larry. There will be several posts.

In this sequence Larry is setting the neck. The angles are dialed in via very fine sanding of the cheeks on the heel. These angles will be double checked at later stages of the build.

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pshuoknhl1.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps8fvwkk04.jpg


"Flossing" the cheeks with sandpaper
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psfjfhtl5m.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psm2svv4ty.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psutwzc6x4.jpg


Lateral adjustment
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pscxikeann.jpg

Installing the Truss Rod
 

Here Larry is installing the truss rod.

The fretboard position is set
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psrjl9yuil.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psfixwbp8p.jpg


Now the truss rod, with the mahogany glue shield attached, is glued into place. Larry is using a gasket maker along with white instrument glue. I've asked Larry for an explanation. Will post when I receive it.
Larry Replies: "The red is silicone rubber to bed the end blocks and pad the middle of the rod. Insurance against truss rod rattle. The white is to anchor the wood liner to the top of the slot."
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psy1i1xqdx.jpg


http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psrosmkphk.jpg


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http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pseoxvazv2.jpg

Prepping for Gluing the Fretboard to the Neck
 

In this sequence Larry is squaring and leveling the fretboard binding and the neck surface prior to gluing the two together.


The top edges of the binding are taken down
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psfqycdoqp.jpg


http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psafwldgzr.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pscqetwysn.jpg


The binding edge is checked for square and the FB marked
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psafroqhkg.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps25xb5fdt.jpg


Now the neck surface is leveled
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psrfu5zfx6.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pskizqu5yb.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psqnt6baii.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psupxaarzw.jpg


And voila! The fretboard and neck are flush
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psmsx3v0ya.jpg

Fretboard and Headplate Glue Up
 

Now Larry attaches the fretboard to the neck. He also attaches the headplate.

The nails ensure correct positioning. Then a spot of glue and a few feet of rubberband.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psru2uvrlr.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pswhvg9d1g.jpg

The headplate is positioned and glued. A nut blank is used for proper positioning.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psjayk8woe.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psalu98bw7.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps00xzgeod.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pshfv2aohc.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psmj4ok1x4.jpg

Tail Graft and Binding Routing
 

Here Larry is installing the tail graft and finishing routing the binding channels.

The tail graft is a straight piece of binding offset with some BWB purfling.

The slot is routed.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pscgjnajoc.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pszcemx6al.jpg

The binding strip, some purfling and glue
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psfqsurjq3.jpg


Cleaning her up...
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps1vbrwts1.jpg


http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psvhspnu6i.jpg

Here the fur from the top edge of purfle channel is being cleaned up
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps3miyenzi.jpg


The dual-level channel for the top purfle and binding.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pssp8naurk.jpg


The back is routed for binding.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pslpj2xyol.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psprbqvyqu.jpg

Gluing Up The Binding 1
 

Now the binding and top purfling are glued into the slots.


First things first...protect the guitar from rabid luthiers with implements of destruction.

Yellow paper to protect the surface
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psizzd6na3.jpg


Plus some blue tape
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psdowarlp1.jpg


And a bit more blue tape
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pscvujzyut.jpg


Oh, holy blue tape
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psjkk6yw1g.jpg


Binding a herringbone purfling, with binding tape and glue (see it in the background?)
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psoqobzuqa.jpg


Here is a test fit with some dummy binding and purfling, with Larry demoing the real thing next to it. Note the difference in the herringbone patterns.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psjykkekrc.jpg


The ends are set in position with clamps
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psarno3hzk.jpg

Binding tape is deployed
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps9ymnn667.jpg

Gluing Up The Binding 2
 

Now many feet of industrial grade rubberbands are put at the ready
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psmtbtbm9k.jpg


A few s-hooks for good measure
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps8oxdw655.jpg


A bead of glue is laid down in the channels
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psrtze14bk.jpg


The binding and purfling are placed and fixed with tape
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pskv0qexin.jpg


Then the guitar body takes on a gang of rubberbands and s-hooks...and loses
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psvkjmj1st.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psw0tjlhe2.jpg


The body binding and purfling are glued up, ready for sanding...
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psr8h2tgyp.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psval1cfgk.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psqsyr3owa.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps5luls4n9.jpg

Neck and Head Carving
 

Larry is now carving the neck and head. There are several posts.

First, Larry brings the head near its final shape. The top edge will be trimmed down a bit more.

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psfy3vnnl8.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps3kt8v8ba.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psczr5j87j.jpg

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http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pszkrejx2f.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psi8vapkjq.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pszlenwbzw.jpg

Volute and Heel
 

Larry now shapes the volute and heel.

First the full width volute
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps05s3kgn6.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psxyjksd4o.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psu9pd4lxf.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps4gi3m7ra.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pse7wjvryq.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps7rq8buir.jpg


Now for the heel...
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pssaaowb4o.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psbcuwrvlw.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pswqeevmpe.jpg

Rough Neck Carve
 

Larry then brings the center of the neck into rough profile. The neck will be honed to the final profile in the near future.

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps2vku2caf.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psqru783mn.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psdnwhknkt.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps1tvfzyxe.jpg


The Dragon Rasp...that will remove some serious wood. For skilled hands only...
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psex7hbtbw.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pskbq86iwu.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pspixiyrlg.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pslrtgaagy.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pslpz0gc06.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pspezn3nxn.jpg

The Guitar Thus Far
 

Just a couple of pics of the guitar thus far. She's comin' together! :up:

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psfyvgquuz.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psuljpdwuu.jpg

Fine Neck Shaping
 

Larry does the fine shaping on the neck profile and hones the bottom and top of the head. Larry interpolated the profile from the 12-fret neck on my guitar "Curly" (see my sig), a C profile based on a Larrivee neck. There's not a lot of visual change since this is pretty fine sanding.

I will be visiting Larry tomorrow morning to wrap my hands around the neck for a final check.

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pssyqlyrki.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps4afulx3v.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psqp4vs8ga.jpg

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http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pszlmsg3hp.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psevtkruqc.jpg


Here Larry used a flat line to ensure the corners of the rounding top line are square, and the apex is at the midpoint.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psv1trisis.jpg


http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps47u8phat.jpg

It's amazing how luthiers can hand carve necks, bridges etc. so precisely! While I can't even cut a cake in equal slices...

Looking gorgeous by the way. You're one lucky fella as you get to be physically there during the process. Makes it that tad bit more personal and refined.

Agreed...both on luthier's skill and on the slicing of cake (and that's how the cookie crumbles).


Thanks much! Yes, I feel very fortunate to be given the opportunity to have these experiences. It does make the process much more personal. Many, many thanks to Larry for his kindness and generosity! He really has a heart of gold.

A few more pics and a video...

An interesting day today. I went to Larry's to give him some feedback on the neck profile. The neck was feeling a bit on the large side. The depth and width were very close to the specs on the model neck being used. The curvature above and below the center line were a bit larger than the model, so Larry concentrated his efforts there. He also worked on the hollowing the heel a bit more.

I also got to choose the pearl logo, the bridge pins and decide on a heel cap.

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psjap5ddxv.jpg


The neck after which the current neck profile is being modeled.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pshmwl3hrx.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psf1x7xx4x.jpg


For the heel cap, we dug up the bookmatched offcut from the back. A great match if I do say so...
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psl5fpu25a.jpg


A brief video of Larry shaping the neck, plus assorted silliness. To clarify what I did not articulate well in the video, the material being removed from the neck is visually subtle, but significant to the feel of the neck in the hand. Also, this is the 2nd neck taken from the maple neck in the video, the first being my 12-fret dread.

Choosing A Pearl Logo
 

A choosy guitarist choosing a pearl logo...

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psqc5lpn1h.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...pscnvahtnx.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psnffvjzgd.jpg


Two generations of the Tahoe logo. The one on top is the one I chose, and is the latest version. The lower logo is the older version. Both nice, the top one being a little finer. I chose it to have something a bit different.

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...psdrtzjzq3.jpg