Oh, I meant to mention that sticking tape around underneath the kerfed strips and around the neck and bottom blocks when gluing really makes cleaning up a doddle!

Hi again,So, another weekend of work and a few more steps of progress. I have made an external mould with expanding internal clamps and have machined the neck and bottom blocks from maple. I have cut the massur birch sides…   Read more»

Anything that soaks in is going to darken the wood be it wenge, cherry or sycamore. You are trying to achieve something that every finishing company and the vast majority of instrument/furniture/cabinet makers are trying to avoid. That there isn’t…   Read more»

Hi again,there’s one other point that is worth making regards using laminated backs and sides. I don’t bang on about eco topics very often (FSC requirements are a constant pain in my day job!) but using knife cut veneers rather…   Read more»

Hi Mark and thank you for your feedback,The laminated sides have turned out better than I could have hoped. They have sprung by about 0.5mm from the mould ie not at all and, other than a bit of epoxy squeeze…   Read more»

You may consider this cheating but trust me when I say that working out the programming for some of this takes a while. The fretboards are easy but the paths for profiling of the backs of the neck aren’t!

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I think you should leave the saucepan lid in to give it that resonator look! Lol!

Having bonded the struts to my lovely ebony back and left it in my office for a week it has developed a crack running over half its length. It never ceases to amaze me how much life there is in old…   Read more»

I love the leopard figure. Stunning! I was recently quoted £40kg for solid Macassar ebony boards which are the left over material after veneer cutting. Lots of wastage due to dimensions, so work out pretty expensive per fretboard. Beautiful though!

Hi,If it soaks in more it will darken more. You can’t have both depth of finish and no darkening as they are intrinsically linked. Maybe you should just consider using a lighter wood and experimenting with finishes on your next…   Read more»

Hi,That through neck is sooooooo pretty!

Ok, long way to go but here is my first ebony back

Hi Mark,Thanks for the feedback and I’ll post some pics shortly. I’ve just been too busy to take any! I seem to be preparing to make a batch of guitars as for example, the work involved in machining one neck,…   Read more»

Hi Mark, Thanks for the reply and I am very impressed with all the videos that I have watched so far. You have a great knack for describing processes, that I am sure are completely new to many, in a…   Read more»

Waterborne lacquers will tend to result in less of a darkening effect although this is something that all lacquer manufacturers are trying to overcome given that they want the water based products to be as good as the solvent based…   Read more»

Hi, a little finishing trick that I have used for some years to fill annoying cracks or faults in show surfaces is the get some mitremate superglue and spray activator. Apply the glue in the offending area, spray and leave…   Read more»