I am making a small bodied guitar for Mick S. Mick is an accomplished wood worker and I'm sure he would be able to make this guitar for himself. Mick does spectacular wood work building heirloom cabinets, beds, cribs, boxes, cars, airplanes and just about anything else. So, I am quite excited about him asking me to make his guitar. Mick has chosen a Red Mountain Spanish Cedar back & side set that has a uniform curly figure. The sound board will be extreme bear claw Sitka Spruce. Mahogany neck with ebony fret board, bridge and peg head. Sides marked for bending:
Bending sides:
Sides have been bent and heel & tail blocks have been installed. Kerfed linings for top and back glueing surfaces have been glued to sides and side reinforcing is being glued in the picture below.
Joining the back and back strip:
Back ready for bracing:
Braces for the back have been cut, sized and shaped to a 15' radius. A back reinforcing strip has been added and cut to accept the braces. Pictures below:
Mating back to sides:
Back & sides ready for sound board:
Cutting rosette channels
Rosette inlayed and cutting sound hole
Start of top bracing - glueing the X braces
Carving braces
Sound Board ready to be mated with sides
Sound Box Ready for bindings
Preparing quarter sawn maple bindings
Maple bindings and Koa/Maple/Koa purfling bent and clamped in form until installation
Installing bindings after cutting binding ledges
Neck has been glued up and truss rod slot cut
Neck tenon is routed:
Initial neck fit to body
Fret board is glued to neck
Peghead veneer:
Rough shaping the neck
Inlaying the Giltzow logo
The sound box has been sanded and is getting the pours filled in the pictures below. I use a finishing epoxy to fill the pours. The color of the Mountain Red Cedar is really starting to darken up and the figure is coming out.
The sound box has been sprayed with finish and will now cure for 3 weeks before sanding and buffing. I will use that time to make the bridge and finish the neck with Water-lox. The sound box has been sanded and buffed and the neck finished with water-Lox. Final mating of neck and sound box in the picture below:
Making the Bridge
Locating and glueing bridge:
Fitting bridge pins:
Finished pictures of Micks' GL00. Pictures by Jeanne Giltzow