a bits & pieces sort of day today....

#50 got the over hands from the soundport support laminates trimmed and lininds glues in.....



the mandola got the braces carved and the top glued on.....



and yesterday I did a bit of neck work so here's a pic after the clamps came off,

a mahogany neck with a walnut faceplate to tie in with the rosette.



bouzouki?

tuners on & frets buffed....



strapjack fitted to tailpiece & holes drilled.....



bridge rough cut from ebony



then bridge tidied up & strings on..



I'll leave it over the weekend to settle under tension then sort the intonation, put the pickup under the saddle & that'll be it all done!!

the dread & bouzouki have the tuners fitted.

mandola progress.......

neck block glued in, & linings all on.



back braced



and I ground a new cutter for my circle cutter for rosettes to put the black & white strip round the rosette.....



and #50?

I suppose I should think of a better name than that!!

neck & tail blocks in......



then for the soundports on the edge I reckon I need to add a little support, so I cut a few pieces of walnut & cherry

then bent them the fit inside the top edge.



heres what the Ovangkol looks like on the back.


I LOVE it!!

back braces glued on.....

the slope dread and the zouk have been sanded down and during today I sprayed 5 coats of varnish onto each. they'll need at least 48 hours for it to really harden before it's safe to lay them on a workbench again to get them finished off.

so, in the meantime!!

as I like to have two on the go at a time, #49 and #50 are started.

#49 is a mahogany/spruce mandola, traditional teardrop shape with a 440mm scale length.

the sides are bent and I glued in the tail block.





the fretboard has had the fret slots cut into it.



the top & back are joined...



and I've started the walnut rosette



#50 is a little more adventurous. as 50 is a bit of a milestone, I'm making something a little special for myself.

first off, it's a guitar. an acoustic with the soundhole on the top edge rather than on the front. the fretboard will be fanned, and the ebony fretboard will be cantilevered over the Engleman top with carbon fibre support.

here's the fretboard



and the ovangkol sides are bent.



I got loads done today as I only had 115 minutes of teaching to do today. I LOVE this time of year!!

dread bridge rough cut.....



and a couple of coats of varnish.....





heel cap to match the headstock veneer.....

my senior exam classes have all lefts school for the year now so I have LOADS of free time in work for working on what I really LIKE doing!!

so, today I got a LOAD of work done on the slope dread.

a lot of neck carving & sanding, then the frets fitted.....



then the holes drilled for the bolt system and finally glued it in place.



also, while the neck glue was setting, I cut a heel cap from the offcuts of the headstock so there is a little continuity between the two veneers.

tomorrow I don't have just as much free time, but it'd be nice to get the heel cap carved to match the heel and then final sanding before the first coat of varnish......

the dread continues!!

Top of the headstock trimmed a bit like a Larivee.... tuner holes drilled & tuners tried for fit......



now it starts to look a bit like it might end up being a guitar!



fret marker dots in and the neck shaped a fair bit.





Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the frets in then maybe get the neck/body join sorted & glued.

the zouk is drying so that I can sand out any flaws in the first few coats of varnish before spraying the finish coats.

dread progress.....

top on and trimmed... well whattaya know? it looks guitar shaped!!



rosewood headplate glued on with a veneer of rosewood & one of maple, just for a detail line





the tuners came..



and then the body bound in rosewood. (the long clamp holds the ends of the bindings in tight as the glue sets



after slotting the headstock & cutting the truss rod slot, the ebony fretboard is glued in place.....



so, a decision to be made.....

how do I finish the top of the headstock?

square?



curvy?



or double curved?

bouzouki progress...

frets on....



neck fitted



and heel block glued in



so now it starts to look like a zouk!!



and the first coats of varnish to see if there are any glue spots that only show up under the varnish. if so, I'll sand them out and varnish again.

dread back on and trimmed...



bracing glued in place on top

zouk progress:

holes for dots drilled.



Mother of Pearl dots in the holes then a start made on sanding the curve into the fretboard



nearly ready for frets.....



and a close up to show the edge dots



here's the dread rosette so far. now I need to cut a slot inside4 & outside for a contrasting line to add definition



and the back braces are carved, and the back glued onto the sides