Thank you all for the kind words.
As we all know, there are often things that "go wrong" in the process of building an instrument, and this one has many of those things...
It has several patches on the back from cracks that were in the wood, and a number of other things that didn't go "as planned". The herringbone on the back was not at all in the plans, but a loose bearing on the binding router setup changed those plans, so the herringbone was added to hide what was <ahem> unplanned. This is actually the second neck and fretboard I made for it. The first one split down the middle, destroying the fretboard along with it, due to over-clamping when gluing the fretboard on. I won't make that mistake again!
I'm also having to drop fill a couple of places - one where I dinged the top, and another where a small patch of wood I fixed on the headplate has been exposed by the shrinking finish. Fortunately, this is a keeper, so none of the issues matters all that much, and I will have fond memories of all the things that went wrong that I was able to overcome.
The Royal Lac is a gorgeous finish, and literally every builder who has seen this instrument in person has found it to be stunning. I know of a few who have already - or are about to - order some to try on their next projects. You can expect a good amount of shrinkage like with other finishes, but if you plan for it carefully, allowing plenty of time between an initial wet sanding and the final wet sanding and buffing, you can keep it to a minimum.
Onward now to my next project, which is replacing all the windows in my house, and putting on all new trim and siding. During that time, on rainy days I will be starting a few other projects - two 00's, and a guitar similar to a Lowden F model. I might do another OM in there somewhere too.
This guitar has a really great low end, and the mids and highs are all pretty even and very musical. I am aware that this combination of wood does take awhile to open up and come into its own, but already I feel that it is probably going to be the best sounding instrument I've ever made.
I just wish that my photographs could compare to those of David Wren's! One of these days I will snap some better images and post them. I'm waiting for FWI tuner buttons from Burton LeGeyt, and I still need to replace the bridge pins with the FWI ones that Burton is making as well.
![[clap]](./images/smilies/smiley32.gif "adulations")