Buffing and sanding the finish

So, how does Kirk Sand finish a guitar? I'll let Kirk tell you:

"I apply 4 coats (of lacquer) and then sand with 600 dry paper. Then I spray 4 more coats, and sand again with 600 dry."

"I then spray 4 last coats and let it dry for as long as possible. That isn't easy when you have a show coming up in 3 weeks."

Note: That's 12 coats, folks. 

"So, after sanding the lacquer finish all the way up to 2000 wet, I buff it out on my miracle buffer."

Here's a closeup of Kirk's buffing wheel.

And one more photo of Kirk at work. Notice the blue tape to protect the fingerboard.

The result- a beautifully finished instrument, front . . .

. . . and back.

Next time- nut and tuning machines!

-Craig

Making the bridge

While the first coat of lacquer is drying, Kirk turns his attention to the bridge . . .

"Any ideas on the shape?" he asked me. My ideas were something along the lines of John Knowles' bridge, but with swept wings to echo the angled fingerboard and heel, and the Brazilian rosewood wedge on the back. "I'll think on it," said Kirk. "The ends of the wings can be traditional square flat on the ends. I curved John's in a little. I'll play with curving the ends the opposite way."

Here's John's bridge:

And here's the rough drawing I sent to Kirk:

A couple of days later, I heard from Kirk. "It came to me in one second today. What do you think?"

"It is similar to John's, but not the same. It has the straight ends like your drawing. It mimics the other lines on the guitar too!" (That's the Prismatone pickup next to the Brazilian rosewood bridge blank.)

I gave Kirk the go ahead, and he went to work. First, he created an inlay for the tie block, using the same scheme as the soundhole ring and binding.

The finished inlay, ready to install . . .

. . . and a closer view.

Done! The tray will receive the Prismatone pickup.

Now, Kirk lacquers the bridge . . .

. . . and sets it aside to dry.

Next time- buffing and sanding the finish!

-Craig

Frets and finish (and a little striptease)

While discussing fret size with Kirk (we went with tall frets, like Chet preferred), I received an email- from my guitar.

"Hi Craig! This is your new guitar writing to ya. I just got all my makeup on and I'd like to do a little striptease for you. OK? Hope you enjoy it!"

"A picture is worth a thousand words" as the old saying goes, so I'll let my guitar do the talking . . .

I hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did! By the way, the blue tape isn't for modesty- it's to keep the lacquer off the fingerboard and frets (and out of the guitar).

Next- making the bridge!

-Craig

Making the fingerboard

One day I received this cryptic email from Kirk Sand:

"I am having a creative moment on the end of your fingerboard. I want you to see this and tell me what you think."

Kirk had the idea of an angle at the end of the fingerboard, to echo the Brazilian rosewood wedge on the back. Here's the original fingerboard template:

Long story short, I thought it was great. Kirk made a mock-up to give me a better idea.

And a full size mock-up, cut from a length of blackboard.

Then, he had another creative moment, this time at my heel . . .

Why not cut the heel at an angle, to match the end of the fingerboard (which echos the Brazilian rosewood wedge on the back)?

I agreed, and here is the result. First, the heel . . .

. . . and now, the fingerboard.

The 12th fret inlay (my initials) came from an idea we tossed back and forth. I like the symmetry of the letters in this font- it looks more like a design than initials.

Here's the mock-up I sent Kirk. (It looked so good, I left it on for a couple of weeks. The further away you got, the better it looked- kind of like me.)

Here's another photo of the actual inlay.

Next time- frets and finish!

-Craig

Preamp rout and neck block

With the neck made, Kirk turns his attention to routing. Remember the access panel for the Prismatone preamp? Well, the top needs access too.

Kirk makes a template of the preamp and routs channels in the top for the controls.

The sliders will be accessible on the top of the guitar for quick adjustments.

Next, routing the neck block. Again, Kirk begins by carefully drawing a template.

"Measure twice, rout once!"

Now the neck block is ready to receive the neck . . . when it's finished.

Next time- the fingerboard!

-Craig

Making the neck

Now, to make the neck. Kirk has the raw materials laid out on his workbench. From left to right, ebony center strips, mahogany neck strips, and in front of Kirk's ledger book, solid mahogany for the headstock.

After the mahogany sides are joined with a center strip of ebony, the solid headstock piece is grafted on. The result- a very strong (and resonant) neck.

Brazilian rosewood face plate #642- that's me!

Now, the face plate is joined to the neck blank.

After everything is glued up, it's clamped and put aside to dry.

Uh-oh, it's routing time again . . .

Perfect!

Well, we have a body and a neck. It's starting to look like a guitar!

Next time- more routing . . .

-Craig