Stephen Kinnaird SJ BRW/Italian Build just for me! Chapter 2...
 

The first thread on my guitar build is basically full in terms of the 300 posts. Thank you all for making it so much fun and following along. I welcome anyone that wants to post to do so and I don't care if we stray off topic to have some fun either....

Also, THANK YOU so much to Steve and Ryan for sending me these pics of the build. I know I am certainly not partial, but I think they have done a great job of not only showing progress, but in how they do things....I think it has been great!

To continue on with chapter 2, I thought posting some of my favorite pics of various parts of the build would be a good way to summarize chapter 1 and lead into the next section of the build.

First and foremost, the woods: Italian Spruce top:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...ruce%20top.jpg

And Brazilian back and sides:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...d%20back_1.jpg

Eccentric rosette construction and final result:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...20channels.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...%20rosette.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...%20rosette.jpg

Back braces, Ryan hard at work::

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...0/image3_1.jpg

Bracing the top:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...%20bracing.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...g%20braces.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...shed%20top.jpg

Sides bent and clamp city gluing in the linings:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...0installed.jpg

Brz bridge blank, shaping bridge, hand carved finished bridge:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...ge%20blank.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...g%20bridge.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...d%20buffed.jpg

Sound port:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...0cut%20out.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...t%20sanded.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...l%20shape..jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...20work%20c.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...20work%20d.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...20finished.jpg

Gluing on back:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...0on%20back.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...2010/label.jpg

On goes the top:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...op%20glued.jpg

The alien is back!
 

I love that BRW back set--I'm still seeing an alien there though! :D

Arm bevel construction by Steve:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...%20cutting.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...e%20rescue.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...ing%20chan.jpg

Purfling lines in, bindings being glued:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...glued%20in.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...glued%20on.jpg

And lastly, which is pretty much up to date: Scraping the purflings and bindings. I asked Steve how he keeps from damaging the top when doing this and I was glad to hear that the two layers of brown tape act to keep the scraper off of the top, two layers, that should give plenty of clearance!!!!!

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...gs%20flush.jpg

Thanks so much for watching.

And I appreciate your vision and see a little Klingon (sp?) in there as well!

Good golly gosh! That is gonna be one spectacular looking (and I'm sure, sounding) guitar. Wow.

I'm gonna stop the superlatives now but I could easily come up with many more.

Very considerate of you to recap, Tom : )
This is going to turn out terrific.

Thank you very much, I agree on both points!!!

Thanks for stopping by again, I was a little disappointed that we had to close that thread so I just thought it would help with some continuity....Thanks for following along and your kind comments!

OK, I have some really great and exciting pics to show tonight. Steve got a bunch of stuff, great stuff, done today. I hope you like it as much as I do!

First, after the tape was removed from the arm bevel cap it looks like this. Granted, it does not look very good at this point right? Way too big etc. The small plane is to be used to bring it down flush to the top:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...glued%20on.jpg

Now that the top is flush, Steve uses different tools to get the bottom where it needs to be:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...of%20bevel.jpg

Next up, the finished bevel, unbelievable, look at that figure!!! Looks a little better than that first pic eh?

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...ed%20bevel.jpg

After this was done, they glued on the koa bindings on the back:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...20bindings.jpg

Still more work was done today.

This post is for my cyber friend Dennis aka Cigarfan: Thought you might like the finished purfling my friend:

All I can say is wow and thank you to Steve and Ryan...

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...0purflings.jpg

Close-up:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...close%20up.jpg

Really awesome Tom! The summary is perfect.

Even though I've been following along, I never subscribed to your previous thread.

Perhaps I'll subscribe to this one!:D

Mighty nice looking guitar

Well come on and join in then!!! As a fellow Kinnaird owner trade or not, we're all family although I don't technically own mine yet...there is a check yet to be mailed to make that official!!!

Thank you sir.

Back bindings are done, scraped level and the back has been sanded to 120...final sanding done right before going to finish...

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...k%20sanded.jpg

I really like it that you left the center joint unadorned

Thanks bro. That's one of the areas where we deliberated about which way to go. You know the temptation to gild every lily... But it seemed a shame to interfere with that grain display at the center.

Steve

Here are a few more pics for those who are interested. Now that the back binding is all set, time to turn to the butt design, yeah I said it....

Steve cutting out for inlay:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...tt%20inlay.jpg

Inlay done...looks like Koa, but it is actually Australian Blackwood (arcacia melanoxylone). This gives us wood from every continent other than Antarctica!

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...elanoxylon.jpg

Well, work has continued on a Saturday down in Texas.

Here is continued work on the butt inlay....this is Ryan routing the inlay area for more paua:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...%20routing.jpg

Here is the result of said routing and paua....

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...20progress.jpg

And worked today involved inlaying the paua for the final touch...

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...lay%20done.jpg

Thanks for looking, hope you enjoy it as much as I do...

So, I'm guessing no end pin

Correct, no end pin and there is a little more to come with the design of this aspect of the guitar...probably tomorrow.

Your so called "butt design" in centers of sophistication such as like Nacogdoches is likely known as an "end graft"...:)

"End graft"...hmm...I like that.

Yes, I am sure you are absolutely correct on that. I apologize for letting my Minnesota upbringing influence my terminology as well as humbly apologizing to the great folks of Nacogdoches, Tx considered by many to be the oldest town in Texas settled in the 800 ADs by Native Americans. I think when one thinks culture and sophistication, you have Nacogdoches, Paris, Milan, NYS, Florence, Rome, and then maybe Venice. All great meccas of culture, but probably all second to Nacogdoches when one is pressed to choose.

I guess I have always been a butt man, but I need to show more restraint in the future....

Thank you :D:D:D ;);)

Steve and Ryan's work finished up today on the Bu...I mean end graft inlay. I think it looks fantastic. Steve has an artistic vision to make small changes to the design that seems to transform it to a whole new level.

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...ge%20inlay.jpg

Fret Board
 

The fret board was glued on to the neck yesterday, a procedure that requires several steps, but shown here in the final step of glue and clamps...

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...0on%20neck.jpg

Thanks

Almost Done
 

The guitar build is almost finished. Like many have said, it will be a little bit of a let down when it is all over. I have enjoyed the daily pics and updates so much as well as watching all the visions materialize.

Well, anyway, here are three more photos...The first is Steve carving the neck.

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...spokeshave.jpg


The next is Ryan sanding the bridge to the same convex shape as the top so it can be fitted:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...%20contour.jpg

And finally, the neck and box meet each other for the first time:

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/...and%20neck.jpg


The body will go out to the finisher next week. Today Steve will work on the neck some more and fit it to the body. After that the fretboard inlay will be designed and inlaid and the neck finished up. It will be a 4-6 week period for the finisher, but when it comes back the neck will be done and waiting...then, connect all the parts, strings, ship, play...

Really nice Tom. The neck looks gorgeous and goes very well with the special appointments. I am thinking you are gonna' love this one. :D

Tom, your thread was so popular that you had to start "part deux" before the guitar was even finished. I don't think there's a precedent for that on the AGF... ;)

Thanks, Cigarfan, I thought you would like the paua purfling as well! I know you are a big fan of abalone!

Thanks Mau,

There are lots of build threads that we see, but I thought Steve and Ryan did a great job of sending pics not only showing what was done for the day, but a lot of times how it was done. I know that made it interesting for me and I hope others as well. I know I learned a lot by watching the progress as this was my first start to finish build.

I appreciate all the comments along the way by everyone.

Tom

Absolutely on the money. I am remiss. Love your use of paua abalone. The theme carried thru the rosette, soundport and endgraft (butt) is awesome and will gleam under finish. And the top purfling looks fantastic!