Let me apologize in advance for placing my abomination next to the fine works of art I see here. I am a weekend tinkerer. Anyway, I thought I would see how well carved sides would work. So this gift for a friend (he may no longer be a friend after this gift) turned into a wild experiment. So far I have made electric instruments, and cigar box guitars. But a proper guitar project is in the near future. I am slowing learning to put my breath into the construction, as Padma says.
-bamboo neck
-no truss rod - carbon fiber rod instead
-wenge fretboard
-AA spruce top
-carved poplar sides
-ready panel (paneling !) back
-polyurethane finish, sanded to 800
Things I learned:
-double check the top before shaping (I shaped it with the grain pointing off to the side a little doh !)
-no more cheap tuners for me. One jammed shortly after installation, and I ended up re-drilling all the holes and going back to the more expensive Gotoh tuners
-next time I will use a tight foam clamp for the headstock veneer (it bubbled on me). After that I guess it is time for a vacuum bag.
Thanks for looking.
![[clap]](./images/smilies/smiley32.gif "adulations")
).
![[:Y:]](./images/smilies/smiley20.gif "Thumbs Up")