The Les Paul has gone to it's new home and the Americelt mandonaught will be in the post before the weekend.......

SO!!

other things.......

I've got the binding (rosewood) onto the maple mandonaught and the leopardwood 00 has the binding ledge cut and I got a bit of carving done at the neck.

I've also started an acoustic bass guitar. same mould as the doubleneck I built all that tima ago, so it's a hair wider than a dread.

The sides are bent, neck & tail blocks glued in and the linings on the top edge.

So, the Mandonaught is done.

the label is in, the action shaved down as low as was feasable, strap buttons fitted and then the whole thing generally tidied.

It will be winging it's way to it's new Scotish home before Easter.

A wee polish and she'll be ready.

Ok, sanded out & polished the mando,, fitted the tuners, cut the nut and got some strings on there!!!!!

yup, it is now officially no longer a few pieces of wood glued together, it now is a musical instrument!!!

there's still a fair bit of tidying up but it could be ready to post by the weekend.......

other stuff? well I spent lunchtime resawing a big lump of walnut into guitar back & sides sets....

well, 3 backs & 5 sides........

One set is sort of earmarked for an acoustic bass, but the rest are open to persuasion...........

bits & pieces today.....

as there's no soundhole to put a label into on the Les Paul, I got Tom my technician to engrave the back plate instead.........

and here it is in situ.......

other things......

the leopardwood 00 is underway with the body closed up. I've deliberately left the bracing light on this.... just to see.....

and the mandonaught?

sanded out and another couple of coats of varnish.

That bearclaw is a lovely look.

pity this one has already got an owner lined up......

I'd quite like to hang onto it!!

sanded this thing till I had the start of a blister on my thumb!!!!

then I taped up the fingerboard to keep off the varnish and sprayed a few coats on the rest. Now we see the walnut grain start to sho up and a little bearclaw figure on the top too.......

the first coat is (for me anyway) a "spot the flaws" exercise. any glue that's on the surface of the wood won't take the varnish in the same way as bare wood will, so it shows up a paler colour.

once it's dry it can be sanded out and started again.

Delighted (and surprised) to say, no such problems here!!!!!

are we looking at a pre Easter completion?

you know I really do think it's a possibility.........

Stayed a bit after work today and got a bit done.....

the frets are all on the mandonaught now, filed level & buffed with steel wool. tuner holes drilled and a little block of rosewood on the heel (with a pale veneer strip) just for looks.

then enough sanding to leave me looking like a snowman!!

then a wee mock up to see how things will look with a bridge & tail piece in place.




Les Paul action?

well the problem that I had with the bridge pup's coil tap is sorted, I'd left off an earth wire.

back plates for the wiring cavities fitted,

truss rod cover fitted.

still to do........

another stain on the fingerboard, frets polished and the nut is still about 1 1/2 mm too high so the 6 slots will need filed deeper then the top of the nut sanded off.

then some polishing and dare I say it...........

All done!!

make a hole........


fill a hole!!


Still a load of sanding to do on the neck and 3/4 of the frets to go on before drilling for the tuners and spraying the varnish.


the Les Paul has the electrics in though there is atill a fair bit of tidying to do (and a fix on one of the coil taps)

we'll get a decision on the colour of the pick-up rings this weekend hopefully and I'll be able to screw them down onto the body.......

had the sort of day where you tell the pupils to get on with some work and then I can bustle around the room and get some REAL work done!!!!!

so, the mando got a bunch of sanding......

this week I also spent some quality time with an elderly piano that is heading to the dump on Saturday..... so the black keys are all gonna make great mando bridges!!!!!

the Les Paul got it's neck glued in.......

and I've started a small acoustic guitar.

sort of a bit like a Martin 00-17 shape that mutated a bit........

anyway, back & sides are Leopardwood (or snakewood depending on who you talk to....)

cedar top

mahogany/cherry/walnut/cherry/mahogany lam neck

and a leopardwood/maple rosette.......