Jake's GA - Almost Done

Well, this bad boy made its first noise this morning, so that was really exciting for me.  Aside from the fact that the first strum after putting strings on a new guitar sounds more akin to a cough, I am really excited about the potential this guitar offers.  I think Jake is going to love it.

Stephen

Update on Rye GA

I have been out on travel for the past two weeks, so not much has gotten done.  Here are a few pictures of the Jake's GA, prior to getting the sunburst.  Enjoy!

Stephen

Feldman Koa OM - DONE!

Well, at long last, this guitar is done (with the exception of tweaking to the setup).  Koa B&S, my styling of an OM, Port Orford Cedar top, ebony accents, flamed honduran mahogany binding package.

Soon to be Finished

Wine Red Burst

The following are a couple of shots of the ALS hollowbody in finish. It is getting a wine red burst, and it is hard to give it justice in the pictures.  You can get the general idea though.

 This picture in particular really captures the true essence of the burst.

And below, I have some shots of the top darkening of the port orford OM.  He wanted to channel the Olson cedar guitar look.

Binding Again...

Here are the associated pictures to rebinding the new back that I just put on Jake's GA.  Essentially, I bend the binding package (including the purlfing) which allows me to install it all much more easily.

Then, using a williams style binding machine, I cut my rabbit channel...Usually, I try to do this about 0.005" deeper than the thickness of my binding strip (in this case flamed Honduran mahogany).

 Then I install the binding.  I used white glue in this case because I could not afford to have CA leakage into the body.  Somtimes I use CA glue, but only if I have sealed the pores of the wood (especially on the top) and if the rabbit channel has NO access to the body.

Then it is ready for scraping.

Joining the Back to the Sides and Brace Tucking

Alright, so as some of you know, I built Jake's GA, then felt as though it was too thick, so I took off the back, re-profiled the sides, made a new back, installed new kerfed lining, and now I am here.   So I took the time to show you exactly how I install a back and tuck my braces.

First, I clamp the back to the guitar in place, and mark on each side where the braces hit the sides.  Using a straight edge, I connect those lines and then use a hobby saw to cut the edges to the depth of the brace I will be tucking. 

Then I use a dremel with a router base attachment and a 0.062 endmill to remove the material out to my hard cut lines.

 Then I test fit.  If all is good, I go to the gobar deck for gluiing.

 Here she is in the gobar deck getting glued...

 Out...

Then I use a laminate trimmer to bring the back down to the side plane for binding.