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I thought that you all might like to see some progress on the SE117s that I am working on. I've got three in the works, but only the two that are Christmas gifts for my daughters are being fast tracked. They will only be completed as far as getting the body closed. They will be presentable if not completed.

All the components, save the fingerboard and bridge, are made for all three. The first has the back fitted and ready to be glued on tomorrow, and the second will be starting to be assembled right after the first is out of the mold. The third is at the same stage as the second, but will have to wait in the slow lane.

I'll save all technical talk till I post the completed guitars. I will say that these two are WRC on Northern Ash bodies, and are based on the Torres SE117, but with an open lower harmonic bar.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Looks great, nice clean work, I enjoy seeing guitars at this stage.

Looking good, Doug. Cedar, huh?

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Yeah, Cedar! Wanna make somethin' of it, Buddy. Let's step outside, sit down with a nice drink and debate the relative merits of Cedra vs. Spruce

I'm trying to work in the spirit of Torres: use what's available, don't fuss if it's not "Master Grade", apply your skill and knowledge and make something beautiful-something that transcends the status of its origins.

I just wish that I had some sort of reference to judge my progress. I'm going by feel and intuition a lot of the time, based upon experience and study. Still, it would be nice to access a mentor who could say, "You're getting it." or "You're missing the mark, this is what you need to do to achieve your goals..."

I'm gluing in the dentellones on the second one now. It's amazing how fast the whole precess goes when everything is made and ready to assemble!

_________________
Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Looking great and so clean - i'll never be able to build so clean in the next 5 years or whatever

One question though, what is the rationale behind beefing up the the harmonic bars and rib supports so much?

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Build log

Alex, the harmonic bars look so big becaues the guitars are so small! They are made to spec.

For the support blocks I had no dimensions to go on, so I made them the same width as the harmonic bars, maybe a little longer that the original's, and enough base to support the harmonic bar well. I didn't see any reason not to.

As for working clean, well, I've seen some clean interiors, and these are not in the same league! I'm working to the 80-90% guide. More than that is just plain obsessive. I try and find a level that I am comfortable with and can do easily. More than that is hard work.

With years of full time woodworking craftsmanship under my belt, it's relatively easy to keep it up. Like when you go for a long walk, you find a pace and stride that you can maintain easily and just keep going.

_________________
Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Good job, Doug! Can't wait to hear the sound clip. I'd like to try cedar on a Torres design, too. I think it will still be a great cedar guitar for those true cedar lovers.