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

Routing for binding

With the box completed, Kirk turns his attention to the binding. "I love binding when I am in the mood or groove for it," he says. "I am really into this one- it will be fun!"

First, routing for the back and side binding.

A careful pass around the entire body creates a channel for the binding.

I told Kirk I wanted red in the binding. My first Kirk Sand guitar has green trim in the Indian rosewood binding, so I wanted something a little different. (I also thought it would look nice against the lighter colored cypress.)  Kirk suggested a black/white/red scheme, bound with Brazilian rosewood to match the soundhole ring. Below are the binding strips, ready for gluing.

You can see how the binding matches the wedge on the back of the guitar.

Another view.

And another.

Both guitars bound.

A view of the access panel.

And a closeup. Says Kirk: "This was fun! I like this cypress/rosewood combo. It's new to me, so it's fresh and exciting."

Next time- binding the top!

-Craig

The box is done

"Hi Craig. Box is done. Ready for the Brazilian rosewood binding!"

When I got this short email from Kirk Sand, I couldn't wait to see the photos. So, without further ado, here they are...

Kirk's signature on the underside of the top, visible through the access panel:

View from the back side. (My best side, so I'm told. Actually, folks tell me the further away I get, the better I look...)

Love the figuring in that Brazilian rosewood! (Have I said that before?)

Closeup of the top. The Brazilian rosewood binding will match the soundhole ring (and the back wedge).

Here's a closeup of the soundhole ring again (before Kirk cut the soundhole), with black/white/red accenting the rosewood. The top will have the same binding scheme.

The top of my guitar, and the back of its twin.

Next time, the binding!

-Craig