so, ever seen a fanned fret archtop?

me neither!!

sounds like as good a reason as any to have a go!!

fret slots cut



binding onto neck...



test fitting of neck onto body.....



frets on neck



first coats of finish on top



the PLAN is to try a old Gibson style black & yellow sunburst. I'll wet sand the clear coat smooth, then all the yellow burst, clear coat, sand smooth again then balck and then seal it with a few more coats of clear.

if it all goes pear shaped then I'll just go all black!!

once the top is done, I'll glue in the neck and tidy up the neck join before finishing the neck neck, back and sides.

neck & tail blocks glued in...



top carved and sanded



tone bars fitted, top & back glued onto rim...



F holes cut (before attaching top) and tail piece carved....



neck blank is 3 pieces of mahogany with 2 strips of cherry for looks.....

Always fancied an archtop, ever since the George Michael Faith video......



anyway,

no money to be spent as it's for me.... so back and sides cheapest mahogany I can find in the stash, top will be bracing wood, neck to be mahogany scraps. neck and tailpiece from ebony I have laying around.

I want a double cutaway with F holes though......

I HAVE read Benedetto's book on archtops so I'm not TOTALLY in the dark, but I'm not following his plans, just his layout.....

all righty....

body mould, I had already, the back will be two cheap "bending practice" sides joined to make a 4 piece back...



the top is a bunch of bracing billets glued up...



a double cutaway'sa symetry is likely to be a problem, so I'm bending a single side and then splitting it into two symetrical sides.... smart huh?

so, I have a drum that the music dept were throwing away.....

I've always fancied a six string banjo......

hmmmmmmmmmmm

so, chop it in half......



add a back....



a neck.......



the tailpiece off an old acoustic guitar, bent to shape.......



and a maple bridge.....



yay!!

gitjo!!