🙂🎸🙏🎵

And if you want to hear it being played:

https://youtu.be/JwQBmtBwTWE?si=LH9O6xx406ECeh1S

https://youtu.be/whpslZjs-Mg?si=5-l_8-1ZG_vwWaod

cleaning up the little ridge at the headstock

And marking the nut height.

Shaping the nut

Marking out where the slots will go. These are very shallow slots, not like a guitar, the slots only keep the strings in place at the back , not the front of the nut. What you see here is actually the back of the nut.
Because the downward angle of the strings, that s all it needs to keep the strings in their place.

After a lot of polishing, the nut gets its beautiful shine.

Time to install the gut frets.

I start by adding the first string, that will help us selecting the correct fret thickness and verify tuning.

At the same time, we can also assess string height and playing action.

All looking good!

Lety's install the frets

The frets are wound around the neck and self locked using a specific knot.

And the rest of the strings are installed

What a mess those strings!

One thing still to do, on a lute there are a few wooden frets installed on the top, where the neck meets the body.
these are very thin pieces of ebony, which are glued to the top.

After marking out the location of these frets, I mark the outside lines of the fret with 2 pieces of masking tape, which will prevent the fret from sliding during glue up and also keep the glue from making a mess on the soundboard.

Then it is time to retune the strings.

Oh and I almost forgot the strapbutton!

I turned this little fellow on the lathe. This looks so cute.

Done!

And cut out a section from the top where these pins will be placed.

With a firm sideways tap of a hammer, I drive the pin into the top 

Rince and repeat on the other side and gue the pins in.

And the fingerboard gets placed on the neck.
Just like with a guitar, I use locating pins to be able to correctly place the fingerboard for glue up.

This is how the pins look like now, with the fingerboard attached.

I will clean that up, so you wont see any gap

This involves a lot of carefully sanding,, only From the soundboard towards the headstock, to avoid ebony dust to set into the light spruce of the soundboard.

It takes a while, but it works like a charm.

Next , I am mating the headstock to the neck, using a familiar technique, sanding the rebate flat and conforming it to the headstock, until all wiggling room is gone.

I then glue the headstock to the neck , using a jig that helps the clamp to sit in an angle.

I first start by making tiny blocks, that will help supporting the top , so the top would not fold and crack when applying masking tape with some decisive force.

In the meanwhile , I start planing the ebony fingerboard

The, after a few days , I started cleaning up the edges of the top. Very carefully, I am pairing away from the top towards the shell. The masking tape on the shell prevents marring the shell a little bit. 
If I would pair away in the other direction, there would be no support for the fibers of the top and I could easily get tear out. 

At the last moment, I remove half a mm with a flat file, which I have partially covered in masking tape, so I can safely ride against the shell. Here as well, I only push the file from the top towards the shell  to prevent any damage on the top.

First I position the body and mark the bracings for the cuts. 
The braces should really fit tightly against the side of the body.
We dont use any kerved linings in here! So all we have as glue surface are the edge of the shell and the ends of the braces.

using a template, I mark the angle of the cuts, to maximize contact with the shell.

Now it s time to bring the dhape of the soundboard closer to final dimensions.

And glue on the bridge with isinglass glue ( glue made from the blatter of sturgeon )

I also add some sound bars on the underside of the top, one being the bass bar and has a steep curve.

Then these bars are being shaped

And a message is added , because we are about to close the lid!