Thought I would build a guitar with Kinnaird guitars west!

[nootis]

This is great Tom, Steve and Ryan. Enjoy the ride. All you fashionable fellas make for a superstar trio for sure.

Don't worry Tom, there's still some more aerobics heading your way, for everyone loves the Watusi (except Vasu)!

[Nemoman]

The Watusi is definitely where the rubber hits the road and separates the men from the boys...

You'll love it, Tom!

And I can relate to the torn rotator cuff remarks!

[vpolineni]

Let's call it a love/hate relationship, Dan!

Congrats Tom on joining the student build alumni club! It will be interesting to see where this guitar ranks among your collection.

[TomB'sox]

Originally Posted by Lkristians

Outstanding, Tom! What a thrill this must be. Good on ya!

Thanks Larry and thanks for picking up the Mod slack. Been trying to help in the mornings at least.

Originally Posted by KevWind

What a fun interesting thing to do.. ( Enjoy the Journey ) Looking forward to progression photos .

Side note :: those black and red ones, are the same hearing protection HP's I used for years Unfortunately they broke last year and my new ones are not near as comfortable

The boys are very conscientious about ear protection in the shop that is for sure.

Originally Posted by morgankelsey

I heard Steve has a potters wheel for that task, but he only breaks it out for some folks

Well let us just say it is still in production and hasn't hit the floor yet!

Originally Posted by nootis

This is great Tom, Steve and Ryan. Enjoy the ride. All you fashionable fellas make for a superstar trio for sure.

Don't worry Tom, there's still some more aerobics heading your way, for everyone loves the Watusi (except Vasu)!

I made it a new dance craze, all the kids are trying to mimic my moves!

Originally Posted by Nemoman

The Watusi is definitely where the rubber hits the road and separates the men from the boys...

You'll love it, Tom!

And I can relate to the torn rotator cuff remarks!

Yeah, not that driving the bus was all the enjoyable especially waiting for that last waist to clear, but it was actually easier for me than the sanding box was to level the sides and then the linings.

[TomB'sox]

Originally Posted by srick

Gosh darn, this is exciting! Cutting the channel for the binding - Now that will be nerve racking!!!!

Add "wood surgeon" to your CV.

Thanks, it is going well, bindings and purflings tomorrow. Not only surgeon, but I have used a dental pick the last two days as well, finally something my hand felt familiar with!

[TomB'sox]

OK, day 3 in the books. A physical day today, but rewarding and fun!

The day started by taking the back which we glued on at the end of day 2 to the belt sander where I ground down the back pretty close to the sides making sure not to injure my precious little back, right Ryan?

gb day 3 a.jpg

Then a rasp is used to do the final removal by hand. Apron required and no, they have never heard of a flush cut router bit, I asked LOL

gb day 3 b.jpg

Then it was on to the big challenge of the day, carving the braces we glued on yesterday. No pressure here, really just 99% of if the guitar is going to sound good or not.

gb day 3 c.jpg

A variety of tools are used, but mostly the chisel is your friend once the two of you come to an agreement that it is to do what you want it to and not do what it wants to do. I actually got to where I felt I had good control, I could take out a lot of the brace by splitting it or a gradual cut based on my angle of attack or very little by using the chisel upside down in fragile situations. It is kind of fun once you feel you understand what is going to happen. Of course Ryan was there to help and keep me up to date on where I should be height wise etc. Believe me he wanted me within about 5-10/1000 of an inch at the peaks!

gb day 3 d.jpg

Look at those nice curls!

gb day 3 e.jpg

The final pic, checking the tap tone, like I know what I am doing, staring off into space to take on that contemplative look taught at any luthier's school worth it's salt.

gb day 3 f.jpg

[Larrison]

Looking forward to following the rest! I am a big walnut fan these days.

[TomB'sox]

OK, this is the Watusi or driving the bus stage that people have been alluding to. It is using a radiused disc covered in sandpaper to sand the rims, blocks, and sides down to the proper radius to accept the top. Now unlike apparently every other student builder prior to me, I enjoyed this step immensely and found it fun, entertaining, quite easy and I wished it could have lasted longer!

gb day 3 h.jpg

Here I am shaping the bridge, first with a cool rasp made from hacksaw blades followed by sandpaper to remove the marks made from the cool rasp. Thanks to Steve for his tutelage during this step.

gb day 3 i.jpg

gb day 3 j.jpg

Here is the label, signed, sealed, and delivered to a fine looking half a box of Walnut!

gb day 3 k.jpg

Before the top could go on, it had to be sanded following a straight edge to mark the top of the guitar so it would fit correctly on the rim.

gb day 3 l.jpg

And finally, the culmination of a big day, gluing on the top. Very rewarding and once we got it set, Ryan and I had all those clamps on in about 45 seconds. Killed it!

gb day 3 m.jpg

[MadeinAlaska]

Awesome looking work. There is nothing like watching true artists work.

[islandguitar]

Another installment!! (Yea!).

Watching you got me to thinking, Tom. How much, if any, do you feel your skills in your former professional life (veterinary medicine) is contributing to getting up to speed with some of these luthier maneuvers you're working on this week? Do you sense a cross over??

Thanks for sharing your day!!

[TBman]

Fascinating stuff. Thanks for sharing this project with us Tom.

[TomB'sox]

Originally Posted by MadeinAlaska

Awesome looking work. There is nothing like watching true artists work.

Thank you, there are 3 guys in the room, 2 are true artists and then there is me!

Originally Posted by islandguitar

Another installment!! (Yea!).

Watching you got me to thinking, Tom. How much, if any, do you feel your skills in your former professional life (veterinary medicine) is contributing to getting up to speed with some of these luthier maneuvers you're working on this week? Do you sense a cross over??

Thanks for sharing your day!!

We were just talking about that today. Being a Vet surgeon for 35 years definitely helped develop good hand eye coordination and I think that helps a lot, but beyond that, I have experience building houses from the ground up including finishing work and have been building things my whole life, so I am quite familiar with most of the tools, power and hand, we have been working with. I think this helps immeasurably as this is stressful enough, but at least I am not holding a chisel for the first time or using a machine I have not used or even seen before, that is not part of the stress for me.

Originally Posted by TBman

Fascinating stuff. Thanks for sharing this project with us Tom.

Thank you for following along and commenting!

[Steve Kinnaird]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

OK, this is the Watusi or driving the bus stage that people have been alluding to. It is using a radiused disc covered in sandpaper to sand the rims, blocks, and sides down to the proper radius to accept the top. Now unlike apparently every other student builder prior to me, I enjoyed this step immensely and found it fun, entertaining, quite easy and I wished it could have lasted longer!

Good to know! We have a position open for such enthusiasm.
It’s probably not too late to return those parts for the mechanized sander.

[TomB'sox]

Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird

Good to know! We have a position open for such enthusiasm.
It’s probably not too late to return those parts for the mechanized sander.

Hmmm, I checked with Kathy, she feels the job is too far away and she would miss me too much, oh well, dang it.

[mikealpine]

Loving the pictures, the process, the banter...everything about this. Incredibly happy for you, my friend!