McKnight Guitars are coo-coo for Coco

[Tim McKnight]

Thanks for the kind words Ken.

[pandaroo]

I know I’ve said it before, oh man, that cocobolo.............

[Tim McKnight]

Originally Posted by pandaroo

I know I’ve said it before, oh man, that cocobolo.............

Yes, but just wait ... until its under finish

[Tim McKnight]

Fitting the neck angle{S}:











Another critical step with ABSOLUTELY NO margin for error!











Yet, another high tech marking tool:

























The end of the FB is a mirror image of our peghead top line:

[PonchoFrancisco]

Beautiful looking guitar. I REALLY like the end of the fretboard treatment ! I've been following along on this build and can't wait to see (and maybe hear) the finished instrument.

Brent

[Tim McKnight]

Originally Posted by PonchoFrancisco

Beautiful looking guitar. I REALLY like the end of the fretboard treatment ! I've been following along on this build and can't wait to see (and maybe hear) the finished instrument.

Brent

Hi Brent and thanks for the encouraging words. We hope to post a few audio clips at the end as well as some final hi res pictures. Thanks for following along with us.

[Tim McKnight]

The BRW bridge is shaped and sanded:










A line is drawn to locate the center of the bridge:










The line is used to locate the bridge in my pin hole drilling guide:










Pin holes are drilled through the guide's, evenly spaced, hardened steel bushings:










Then the guide bushing plate is removed and each hole is counter sunk to accept the bridge pin's head:

[Tim McKnight]

Locating the nut / neck / body center line:










Locating the leading edge of the bridge, ensuring it is square to the body center line:






















Drilling the bridge's e/E pin holes, through the top:










Using a sharp scalpel to cut around the perimeter of the bridge, through the Frisket masking film:










Peeling excess Frisket film away:










The fingerboard extension gets masked the same way the bridge did:

















One final check, with a straight edge, ensuring the top of the bridge wood meets the same plane as the surface of the fret board:

[Tim McKnight]

The body and neck have been sanded to 220 and its time to begin finish prep:










The neck is masked in preparation for grain filler:





















We slather on the maHOGany grain filler:











A few minutes later the excess is wiped from the surface leaving the filler in the open pores of the wood:










While the pore filler dries on the neck, we spray vinyl sealer on the body:









... and the true colors start to reveal:

[BrunoBlack]

Magnificent Tim. The engineer in me appreciates the way you build these works of art.

[TomB'sox]

In that first pic you look a little confused as to where that neck came from or where it goes LOL.

The last pic is great, the best part, seeing the color and grain come alive!

[cigarfan]

And I like these technical terms ... slather. You can almost hear that juicy brush moving back and forth.

So much fun to watch! And looking great.

[David Wren]

And POP goes that gorgeous Cocobolo ... what a sweeeeet looking instrument Tim!

[Tim McKnight]

Originally Posted by Haasome

Magnificent Tim. The engineer in me appreciates the way you build these works of art.

Well it’s likely a byproduct of my (former) 38 year career as a ME for a fortune 100 company ... which I am sure you can relate to?

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

In that first pic you look a little confused as to where that neck came from or where it goes LOL.
“Little” might be an understatement because some days I am more easily confused, than others. 😐



The last pic is great, the best part, seeing the color and grain come alive!

I agree. It’s One of the best parts of the entire process.

Originally Posted by cigarfan

And I like these technical terms ... slather. You can almost hear that juicy brush moving back and forth.

So much fun to watch! And looking great.

Glad your learning some new technical jargon Dennis. Perhaps you can work that word into one of your conversations at your workplace?

Originally Posted by David Wren

And POP goes that gorgeous Cocobolo ... what a sweeeeet looking instrument Tim!

Thank you David.

[Tim McKnight]

After the vinyl sealer dries for 48 hours we pore fill the peg head and body with a super hard epoxy resin. We drizzle (another highly technical term for Dennis) "a little dab will do ya" on the wood:












Then squeegee the excess resin from the surface of the wood:











The true colors really begin to pop beneath the filler:










The drizzling continues on the sides:










Followed by more squeegee work:










Finally the back is the last surface to experience the drizzle:










And squeegee:










The trick to this pore filling process is to forcefully apply filler into the pores and NOT allow it to build up on the surface. Pressure applied to the squeegee forces the filler into the pores of the wood and does an excellent job of removing excess resin from the surface. I start by mixing 1/2 ounce of filler and when I finish I've only used about 1/8 of an ounce to fill the entire guitar and neck.