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Finally got caught up here and took a minute to take some pics:

This is a great time of year in my shop because the RH stays nearly perfect with very little assist from the dehumidifier. So my shop is nice and quiet....



I was fortunate enough to snag the last set of fret cauls that John Watkins made and sold. We use these in the Ann Arbor shop all of the time and they are invaluable.

I just finished making a quick-and-dirty little box/stand for them so that I can read the radi and grab easily. This box is EIRW with Lowes pine molding ripped and sized as dividers. The finish is non-existent and I think that I will keep it that way since it is going to get knocked around. She sounds great with great attack, sustain, and range.... Sorry I couldn't resist, other than guitars this box is one of the only things besides trouble that I have ever made....



I had some HHG in the pot and instead of wasting it I used if for my box.



Bracing a top and nearly ready to attach it to it's box.





Stew-Mac is GREAT!!! I placed this order on-line yesterday at 4:30 PM and selected standard shipping. It arrived at 10:00 AM this morning!!!! That's 17 1/2 hours!!! Amazing!!!



Here are my headlights for my new OptiVisor when that thing arrives next week. Should have ordered it from Stew-Mac and would have had it today.



That's it for me this week.

Man I LOVE that headstock !

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The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Got fed up of the choking in the dust mask, and the mess when sanding, so made a compact downdraft table (small shop) to take 1 guitar and it works great, so pleased with that.
So just prepping a couple of guitars.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Into the polishing on my current commission #95 as well as some touch up on #92 to prepare for shows this spring in Saratoga N.Y. and Austin TX.:

Working on a walnut 13-fret 000. Pretty much got the rims ready, next is to brace the top and back, get the top voiced and get the box put together.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Here's my next one....koa tenor uke
I don't know why I torture myself with this rope binding

Wow, some great looking work going on out there. I love seeing all the pics, as it inspires me to be more creative. I'm just getting started on an L-00. Glued the kerfed lining on this afternoon.

George :-)

Man you guys are good!!!

I have been trying to work on organizing my shop this weekend and promised myself that I would NOT work on any guitar building which is not all that easy I am finding... I probably should have put the current guitar project out of site because I keep gravitating toward it....

Anyway I just completed a second box and this one is for my nut files and engineer's scales.... The engineer scales are probably my single most used tool/thing so having it always in one place will be helpful going forward.



I need to get a handle on the additional nut files that I am likely to use and order them but that is why the box has more slots than I currently have files to fill - planning for expansion here....

So here are my two new boxes and I have to admit that since I was planning on not doing any guitar building this weekend but could not stay out of the shop building boxes is pretty fun....

Started some of the real work on the Les Paul. I used tracing paper to approximate where I wanted things, then roughed it out. It's ready to trim up as soon as the templates get here.

Working on my first build. Carving out the back of the top today.

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Keith Lally
http://krl-guitar-building.blogspot.com/

Looking good Keith. I started two archtops myself. They are 34" scale acoustic bass guitars. Ever since I saw Bill Moll's on MIMF some years back, I've wanted to build one. Make that two as my wife wants one as does my best bud. They have 20" lower bouts and 4" ribs. I've already resawed and thicknessed the ribs ready for bending. Drilled all the depth holes on the tops today and roughed all four out on the safety planer. Carving starts tomorrow!

Some great looking stuff going on in peoples shops.

Finally got pics done of an electric bass build for myself. Body is solid redwood burl (was a gift from friend's step dad...about 10 or 20 years old). Neck is maple with a purpleheart fret board. Electronics and neck measurements match up with Fender's P-Bass.

-

OK -

finished thicknessing my side and marking them for the pipe bending.
I was able to bend one side - my first real bending - I burnt some side a few weeks ago so this is my second chance on a new set of sides. I used a paper towel on the pipe - which made a world of difference.
Then I finally came to revelation - that the bending is the easy part - the hard part is holding the side in the proper shape or curve while it dries out in the minute after !! I was bending an rebending ! I figured out that setting or waving the side in the air after the bend sets it and then it sticks.
Well after 1 hour bending 1 side - I realized this and then I was happy. My side was slightly damp - I brought in the house and boom - springback. I need to make a little drying rack for my just bent sides.... but man I think I just got the hang of this !! Next up are my walnut sides....

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It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

That's a great tip, Rod.

Ken

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http://www.casperguitar.com

David,

What's going in Austin this spring? I know there's a show this weekend for SXSW. I hadn't heard of any others, but I don't get out much.

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Jimmy Caldwell
http://www.caldwellguitars.com

That's the way I did the rosette in this thread - sure works better than the other way around.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

You can also rout the channel with the wood section cut to fit in the middle and then just select veneer strips to fill up the space 'left over'. Using the same router jig adjustment settings to cut the wood inlay and the channel works for this.

Lots of ways to get there...
Cheers
John