Ryan LOVES the side braces...I have been assured that those are his favorite job!!!!

Dennis, this is amazing - a work of art taking shape before us. Thanks for letting us join you on this journey. Makes me want to stop in MD on summer travels just to behold it live...

An absolute stunner.....this build will be a joy to follow.

That is some beautiful Madagascar, Dennis! Gorgeous color, and very tasteful figuring without going over-the-top. Of all the rosewoods, I like good Madagascar the best, in every respect--even over Brazilian...

WOW, Dennis that is some GREAT eye-popping Madi!! I love the "thumbprint" in the top also...gorgeous!! This should be a stunning guitar to hold and play. I'm super envious!! Can't wait to see it done!

No 4-leaf?

Nice! St. Patrick's is just around the corner! :up:

And yet he does it with such grace and style! ;)

Thanks Andy! You are welcome anytime. Call ahead or just stop by, there is always a guitar stool waiting!

Talk about stunner ... someone should have told me I needed sunglasses when checking out your Josie back from the finisher. Wow!

Well, thanks Dale! I was won over by that set the first day they showed it to me. Could hardly think of anything else. Yes, I like me some Madi!

Glad you like it Mike and glad to have you watching. Enjoy!

It's that little bulbous thing at the bottom ... still growing. Give it time ... it will get there!

Yeah, the next thing you know they will be offering green paint. Wait ... green sunburst ... now there's an idea!

Darn that USPS !!!!!!!
 

Steve is back and work on my OM has geared back up. The unfortunate thing is some of the work is rework.

USPS lost our our initial tree-of-life fretboard and the neck/headstock Steve had finished so that Larry could accomplish the torch. Gasp!!! How disappointing! After exhaustive search, nada!

So the our artists extraordinaire have begun to recreate the fretboard TOL and Steve has begun work on the second neck and headstock. Just goes to show life happens. But these guys are good! They just pull up the bootstraps and move out again.

Laying out the new neck.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3685/...8a4dc5_o_d.jpg

All the laminate pieces are ready.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/608/3...c66927_o_d.jpg

Glued up and clamped.

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2934/...f10cb9_o_d.jpg

Ready for wings and head/back plate veneers.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3859/...73861c_o_d.jpg

Side braces are in place and notches for back braces are cut.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/628/3...b0f3a9_o_d.jpg

This coming week Ryan is back and next up, the soundport and the back gets attached to the sides. Depending on how Steve moves along on the neck we may see some designs for the rosette begin to flow. Exciting to watch!

This is really shaping up to be (another) stunning instrument. I agree with the ebony binding letting that gorgeous Madagascar do all the talking ... it'll look very very classy. I can't believe the neck was lost in the mail ... ugh!!!

Wow, that set back truly sucks Dennis (and Steve)...:( Hopefully, insurance will cover the value of both Steve and Larry's work.

Bummer!
 

Jeez, that is so disappointing! I find shipping really nerve wracking, even though I insure with Heritage and double box obsessively...

Do your best and insure up the wazoo and then pray!

I am sure we all send our condolences!

And good thoughts for the replacement to be even more beautiful. Though How that could be is unclear to me... haha

Cheers

Paul

Wow--total bummer, Dennis.

Glad the boys are back at it. Looking forward to seeing the neck (and the entire guitar) come to life and in your hands soon.

Thanks for checking in David! I am very excited about this guitar. I agree, that Madi is off the charts gorgeous. It is quite sad to see these folks work so hard only to have the USPS lose our neck and fingerboard. But Steve and Ryan are still pumped about our build and I am really happy for that.

Thanks for following Bob! Have to agree it sucks! But stuff happens. I'm sure time will make this all a distant memory. Steve assures me everything was covered but that doesn't make recreating any easier.

Congrats to you on your new 0 Sexauer! Has to be great to be playing that baby!

Thanks Paul for the kind comments. Let's hope it is soon behind us.

And congrats to you on your new Kinnaird. Looking good my friend!

Thanks Kevin. I'm beginning to get those butterflies again. It is so much fun to watch the masters at work.

And the second neck is nearing completion ...
 

Here the second neck has been trued to its angles (flat top/peghead angle). The truss rod and carbon fiber channels have been cut and the ears are on the peghead. Next up, the veneers front and back of the peghead and cutting the string slots.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3666/...36a608_o_d.jpg

Steve tells me the second fingerboard with tree-of-life inlay is finished. The second neck/peghead will be off to Larry soon for the torch inlay (no, they are not using USPS). We are going to add the Kinnaird logo on the back of the headstock in the same green Maple as used in the TOL.