My last post here was in 2016, and lots of stuff has happened since then, but no progress on my first guitar build. I bought the wood in 2009, a nice bear claw Sitka top and EIR back and sides, but life got busy, and the project went on the back burner. Now I’m retired, so I’ve finally got time to work on it. I’m building the steel-string from Cumpiano’s book. I’ve got the link to his site where he describes the updated bolt-on neck design, so I’m good there. My previous progress was to get the neck done to the point of getting the headstock and heel glued up, routed the truss rod channel, made and installed the truss rod (upside down…oops!), and there I stopped.
So now I’ve removed the truss rod, and checked my previous work on the neck (it’s good), so I’m ready to continue the project. I had the back and top sanded to thickness years ago (the local wood shop has a drum sander), and cut to rough outline (I jointed them myself, and obviously did a good job, they’ve held up all these years). Currently waiting for delivery of a bunch of stuff from Stewmac, among which is a circle-cutting jig so I can rout the rosette channels and cut out the sound hole. I tried to order some nice abalone from them, but they can’t ship it to Canada (and apparently abalone is not available anywhere in Canada), so it looks like I’ll be making the rosette out of wood veneer. Went to my local Lee Valley yesterday and got a
box full of various veneers, both domestic and exotic, and my current thinking is to make the rosette from a really nice flamed veneer from the box, stained amber, with a line of purfling on either side. My previous project (2007-2009) was a violin, so I’ve got lots of purfling. I’ve also got a big block of flamed maple from which to make the bindings. So that’s where I’m at currently. I’m sure I’ll have a lot of questions as I move forward, but I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos on the subject as well. Wish me luck!