Daylighters and binding...

Today we made a bunch of Maple and Wenge binding strips and started binding and gluing fretboards down.

Strips of binding material

We made this jig for trimming binding to length on the end of the fretboard.

Test fitting a few strips

End pieces glued on

This jig is notched to clamp the binding into place.

All clamped up and waiting for the glue to set.

Once the glue was set we drilled the side dots, put them in, scraped them flush and started getting ready to glue fretboards down.

Before putting them into the clamping jigs we knocked the binding down to fretboard height.

Rosewood and Wenge...

Wenge and Maple

There we go. Can't WAIT to pull them out of the clamps tomorrow.

The Challenger

Drew this guy up sitting in Seattle-Tacoma Airport waiting for a flight that was 2 hours delayed.

The carve doesn't show that well... going to be Goldtopped, P90's and cream binding. :D

4449-3 through 6

Been a busy few days ...

6 Daylighters in the rack now

'3 bucker all mahogany body for a customer

I take each neck blank to the correct heel thickness on the table saw. After I fit each neck Dad cuts away the extra material on the band saw.

Stack of necks...

... and a stack of bodies

No action shots but I use our tapered jigs with a plunge router to cut the correct amount of neck taper I want before shaping.

Mockup with a Wenge fretboard

Getting ready to glue a fretboard down

And glued!

Another mockup with a Pau Ferro board this time.

Tomorrow will be busy, wood binding a half dozen fretboards.

The Big Boy 4004

So Mike at Potvin Guitars is a good buddy and a ways back he built a BillyBo (Aka Gretsch Jupiter) guitar. I'm not sure what happened but something sparked for me and I just had to build one. Decided to build it around the same neck as the Daylighters to simplify things.

My norm- the chambered mahogany body.

Picking out a top.

I decided to try something new on this one. I've seen a few builds do this, the recessed electrosocket and I wanted to try it. So first I drill the 1" OD recess.

Then change the bit for the 7/8 thru bore.

There we go! AWESOME.

Back of the Big Boy

With the neck pressed in. So this will get Filtertrons and a Bigsby... can't WAIT.

Daylighter update

Did a little work on both Daylighters today

This is my home brewed neck angle "straight edge". Basically I designed it to sit right on a raw neck. The "ball" at the end is bridge height for a TOM bridge. If everything is right it will sit flat right on the neck and just touch the top of the guitar or hover above it.

Drilled for recessed electrosocket output jacks.

:D

Firebird "JR"

Finished up another Firebird! I've been calling this one the "JR" since it draws some inspiration from the Les Paul Juniors.

African Mahogany

Pau Ferro fretboard, MOP inlays

Seymour Duncan P90

Gold Steinberger tuners

Cellioud Tortoise pickguards

Push/Push on the tone pot with a .0047 cap wired for 'cocked wah' tone

Absolutely RIPS!!