pay it forward #60

nearly done.

bridge placing jig is REALLY handy with a fanned fret set up



still the nut to fine tune, bridge intonation to do and the frets to tidy.

explorer zouk......

so, top on, bound and neck pocket cut.....



tuners & frets in, nut roughed and my handy dandy bridge placing jig.



bridge glued in and strings on.



amazingly, it sounds like a zouk!!

still a load of setup to do, and a pickup to fit, but I've playing the life out of this thing!!

Glen's Lezzer.....

Glen worked really hard this week, wet sanding the body, then the neck was fitted and we threw all the shiny bits in place to see what it'll look like when it's done......

no soundhole on the front, so the top edge is vented to allow airflow for the top movement

sides are made from blocks of mahogany.





the neck block is the whole front edge of the instrument. this used to be the leg of a pew in my church.......



the front edge is trimmed and a back brace added for support.



the top is the strangest shape I've ever had to work out a bracing pattern for, but here goes!!

three words you don't often see together.......

acoustic

explorer

bouzouki

yup, I may (may!!!!) be mad, but I'm gonna go for it.

I have an acoustic mahogany back. an engleman top.

ebony for a fret board and mahogany for a neck.

so, the plan...... as close as I ever actually GET to a plan.........

thin acoustic style back.
thicker solid mahogany sides
thin acoustic engleman top
pinned acoustic bridge maybe 4 pins, maybe 8
bolt on neck
4 pairs of strings
8 tuners, PROBABLY all on the top side, but there is the possibility of other stuff........

oh yeah, no soundhole on the front, a series of holes on the top edge.

a piezo under the saddle and a endpin jack preamp with a battery hatch beside the endpin, no volume or tone controls, that's the sound guy's job.

plain wood finish?

maybe, maybe some colour going on, I'm so far not decided......

the outcome, will hopefully LOOK like an explorer from a distance, but the closer you look, the more of a "huh?" factor comes in.

as I'm using bits & pieces from the parts bin, I reckon it'll come in under the £100........

so, start with a pic from the net of a real explorer, and project it onto the wall, adjusting it to get the scxale length right (620mm). then trace it.



now we have a template!



which lies on the back.....



and the top



the top will need an extra wing to reach all the way up, and the back will have the joint slightly north of centre.......

Glen's Les Paul has been well sanded and a first coat of clear lacquer goes on......





and it seems that I'm not the only one taking pics!!

#60, the neck glued on & heel block attached.