Starting the fretboard

Since its the quickest task in the whole project, I knocked out the fretboard inlays earlier.  I found some pink 1/4" rhondite stone dots online, figured the recipient would like it since it'll be a pink and purple guitar.  Its kinda hard to tell in the pics, but I assure you, they're pink.  Fretboard is Indian Rosewood with a 24" scale length.

Wednesday L-00 progress

Today basically all I did was flush up the overhang on the top and back and sand some bumps along the sides.  Might start the neck tomorrow if I have an early enough day at my regular job.  I wiped down the top and back with mineral spirits to show the grain better.

2 steps forward, 1 step back, etc..

So I had been doing some sanding after bending the sides and installing the kerfings, when the sander skipped and shattered the sides.  Spent all weekend getting them back to where I was thursday night, and also carved all the braces.  Luckily I had my stepson CJ here to help me along with some of the more tedious aspects, and today I Joined the body together.  here's some pics from the weekend.

My daughter Regan kept trying to climb up my legs while I was clamping everything together, so I gave her a few slices of orange to distract her while I finished up.

more mini L-00 progress

Had a half day at work today, so I took advantage of the extra time and knocked out a bunch of stuff.  Cut out the top and back, cut the soundhole, and braced both.  Still need to carve all the braces tomorrow after the glue is fully cured.

Mini-L-00 update

Last night the baby kept me up until 7am, so I got the sides cut and glued in the neck and tail blocks.  Tonight I did the kerfings/linings for one side.  Ever since I started building, I've never bought pre-cut kerfings.  With all the scrap wood I have around, I prefer to just rip strips and hand cut the kerfs/slots.  Anyways, Here's how it looks at the moment.  Also, I just use clothespins as clamps instead of wasting tons of money on pinch clamps.

Getting caught up

I had tried to bend the sides for the mini-L00 a few days ago, but my propane torch that I usually use to heat the pipe caught the wood base on fire and burnt out the torch tip, so I had to reconfigure it.  Now I'm using an electric setup.  Earlier today I cut the pieces for the sides and planed em down to a good thickness, threw em in a tub of water, and fell asleep for awhile with my daughter.  After I woke up, I got set up and tried out my new bending iron.  Worked great, very minimal burn marks.  Got it all clamped into the mold to dry now, and yes, I know I use a shit load of clamps.   The way I see it, is the more clamps, the more it holds the shape.

been awhile. new project in the works

So last weekend I was at my uncle's 70th birthday party and was asked by my aunt to build a guitar for her granddaughter's upcoming birthday.  Gave her a few options, and we agreed on a slightly scaled down version of my Gibson L-00 mold.  I gathered some materials this week, and got started on the mold and neck blank over the past 2 days.

template i made by tracing my larger mold and scaling it down about 20%

gluing up some 2x6's for the mold

with the template traced on

gluing up neck blank

cut out mold, needs sanding

neck blank, 3 piece birch

I'm hoping to get the sides bent this weekend, stay tuned for more updates.