It has been awhile since I posted a progress report on the steel string I’m working on so here are a few more pictures of the Guitar in my shop. The body is ready to be sanded and finished while the neck will have to be carved to it’s final shape and frets installed but it’s coming together nicely after a major stall on gluing the fret board on. For those who have followed so far, you’ll remember I wanted to use hide glue and it took three try’s to get it right but I think it is ready to be shaped and finished now. The trouble came when I didn’t warm the wood properly and have all the clamps and cauls ready to go after I put the glue on. You only have less than a minute to work with if you don’t prepare the wood first by putting a couple of light bulbs set close to the work to warm it, if it is a large peace like the neck. I had to remove it after the glue dried and again just before it dried because it wasn’t straight enough to suit me. But the third time was a charm and it’s ready to go with a good joint. The angle has to be set for the strings to be the right height and this is a trail and error kind of thing so I had to bolt and unbolt the neck a number of times to get it right. Next I’ll shape the neck, install the frets, make a bridge, install the nut and saddle, spray it with lacquer and add strap buttons, tuning keys and strings…….
