OK the headscratching over string gauges continues.

my regular acoustic has a scale length of 645mm like a martin dread.....

I have a supply of D'Addario strings that I got bulk a while back for pennies, with the gauges:

13 / 17 / 26w / 35w / 45w / 56w

the tuning is standard E A D G B E........

now, the tenor has a scale of (lets average it) 550mm

tuned GDAE

so.......

the G string is just about right at 56 as the open G on the tenor is almost exactly the same as an E on a regular guitar fretted at the 3rd fret (a G!!)

the top E is 100 mm or so shorter than on a regular guitar, so it SHOULD go thicker.....at the minute I have the 13 on there, but I MIGHT just try the 17 ........

and in the middle?

well. I put the 45 on as the D. its 100mm shorter than it would be on a regular, but its tuned two semitones higher than the 3rd fret...... it'll do......

first attempt had the 17 on the A position but that meant it was loose.... regular guitar on a 3rd fret it'd be a C, but here its only an A..... it was loose, floppy and just not as nice as it should have been......

but with the 26 on there its a lot nicer on a regular guitar, that string would be playing at Ab on the 3rd fret so it's only a semitone away.......

so, all in all I THINK I'm sorted... at least I will be tomorrow when I swop the top E for the 17 just to see.....

I'll play it in for a day or two and then decide for certain, and sort the intonation and fit the pup

the bridge takes a lot of thinking, being angled and all that......



but after rough making a nut, suing my patented bridge placer, its all ready to cut around and then use a sharp chisel to remove the varnish under the bridge. a little glue, a few hours drying time and we'll be ready for strings!



and here we go!!









still a load of setup to do, so I'll leave it under tension for a while before I get too involved in that. the string gauges will take a bit of thinking about too....

anyway still to do: nut tidied, intonation set on bridge, under saddle piezo and strap jack preamp fitted, and the frets polished. still, even as it is, I had a wee tinkle on it earlier and it has potential!!

heel cap glued on and fret marked fitted.

traditionally instruments tuned in 5ths have a dot on the 10th fret while guitars (and bass guitars) have the dot on the 9th....

to save confusion, I just did 3,5,7,& 12.



a load of sanding, the the fretboard masked off and ready for some clear coat....

neck work.....

fretboard radiused



back of neck carved



fretted



test fitting....... Looking like a guitar!!



neck glued in place.



and before someone starts, I KNOW the frets aren't parallel, and the tuner holes are asymetric. they're MEANT to be!!

Holes drilled on the top edge



braces carved and maple bridge plate fitted



top glued to sides



binding with a black & white purfling strip

started on a tenor guitar.

blame Seth Lakeman I suppose......

and as it's #80 (ie a "10" instruemnt) it has the potential to go off piste a little......

so, fanned frets, check

soundholes along the top edge rather than the front, check

two cutaways like a SG, check

mahogany back & sides, spruce top ebony fretboard & bridge, bone nut saddle & pins.

lets get stuck in!!

sides bent



back joined to sides



neck glued up, mahogany with a thin pencil line veneer of maple up the centre fretboard marked out with scale 560mm on the bass side and 530mm on the treble and the 8th fret being perpendicular



top rim beefed up to take the sound holes



and top bracing started