lefty acoustic neck work...





and testing the neck joint.







still cant get used to it all being back to front!!

I'm not generally a sweary person........

but when I was doing a last little shape of the mando neck.....

Hello Mr Truss Rod!!!



I was deeply saddened by this event.

ah well, this neck comes off and I make a new one.

Ho hum!!

maple binding bent and fitted



nice!!





fretboard slotted



trussrod slot cut and fretboard glued in place

some work on the lefty neck...

planed, trimmed, and the ears added to the headstock.

maple mando.....

some neck work done.

back carved and frets fitted





and the neck glued onto the body

lefty guitar.....

top glued to rim and edges trimmed.

#85 mando

so I had some rosewood left over from making the tenor guitar.....

and I had the side bender hot to make bindings on the other mando.....

so it seemed only right to start another mando!!

Rosewood sides bent



and as the back was a LITTLE narrow, I filled the gap with a maple stripe

#84 mando

neck join cut and neck profile rough cut

making a lefty with a cutaway is REALLY disorientating.

everything is just.... WRONG!!!!

and it's not just me, I remember talking to George Lowden and he had a guitar that was SUPPOSED to be lefty, but had ended up righty, because after making two tops and two sets of sides, it was SILL Righty!!

so, to make sure that the back goes on the BACK.....

I'm afraid I scribbled a bit on the tail block where no one will see!



and then glued the back on





cut the soundhole...



then started bracing



and added a maple bridge plate



glued up a neck, mahogany with a walnut stripe



and then started the sums for a fanned fretboard. remember it's a lefty.... my first lafty fan.... and I MUST remember that the fan goes the other way!!!

lefty guitar....

linings glued in



rosette cut



NEARLY ready to fit back to rim

strings on the mahogany zouk. still a lot of set up to do.....

# 84 mando.

neck laminated, walnut, maple, mango, maple, walnut. truss rod slot cut and ebony fretboard glued on



neck rough cut



body bound with walnut

#83 lefty guitar

back braced

#84 Maple mando cont.

linings glued in



brace on back



back glued to rim



and a rosewood patch ton the tail



top marked out



holes drilled and blade for scroll saw ready



and f holes cut and top braced



and top fitted to rim and trimmed

time to start a new mando.

I resawed some of that lovely maple plank I got recently. Maple is full of sugar (maple syrup, right?) so the friction of the saw burns it really easily. this will sand out later don't panic!!



sides:



and bent some sides and fitted neck & tail blocks.

tenor NEARLY done......

so bridge made



and glued in place



nut cut, tuners on and whattaya know?

STRINGS!!!!!!



a weekend to settle under tension and then some setup.

nut slots lowered, piezo fitted under the saddle, strap jack preamp fitted....

just the saddle to intonate.











Asymetric head......





and the reversed bookmatch actually looks as if I meant it!!