Greetings everyone! Sorry for the long break in this thread -- it was a
busy summer with lots of shows (5 this year!!) along with having to let the tamarindo sit and oxidize a bit before carrying on with finishing. So, let's get you all caught up on where this one is at...
One challenge for this build was to incorporate the art deco-ish theme into the fingerboard. I didn't want to have a design just randomly plunked down, so made sure to have the various "junction" points sit at the frets that you would typically see dots. With such a linear design I also wanted to make certain that things stayed symmetrical which meant some careful prep before routing. In the picture below you can see an aluminum track that my laminate trimmer slides in that is positioned by a brass pin (with another mirrored on the opposite end, not in the photo). With identical holes in a spruce spacer on either end, all I had to do was flip the spruce over and voila, symmetry!
Fully inlayed...
The first slot head I've done in a couple of years...
This guitar also marks the first time I've tried a hand-rubbed burst on a non-spruce top. A little nerve-wracking heading in, but I'm super pleased with how it turned out! First up is sealing the binding/purfling with a coat or two of laquer...
My highly sophisticated color application setup...
And the final burst...
Most of my guitars these days are getting sprayed, but this one is french polished and having any type of color on the top makes french polishing.... a challenge. This one took a long (long long long) time but I've finally got it!
I hope to get the bridge finished up this week and move on to finally assembly. More soon and thanks for looking!