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Another LONG LONG weekend in the shop, not sure if I have the endurance to do this full time, it's so exhausting...

Anyways, here's an update with pictures:

This is a stack of tops and backs, I carved the braces on all the backs, added the labels and on the top is the X brace for the Dread and the San Jose, I would have gone farther but it started raining and the shop's humidity shot up...



Bent and joined the Zircote that Lance sent me, glued on the end block and the mortise, ready for the sanding bowl and kerfing.



Bent and glued on the end block and the mortise on an all Koa guitar that's in the works (this is a show guitar that I'm doing something special with). If you look at the mortise you'll see a trick I do with my molds, that white thing is UHMW that is drilled and tapped like a neck tenon and bolts in it, the mold has a slot a little thinner than that tenon in the end of it.
When I'm build the guitar I can lock neck block in very straight, when your doing cutaway's it's a lifesaver.



I glued these up last week, and finished all the kerfing on saturday morning, they are ready for tops and backs. As soon as the rain stops I'll finish the tops.



Here's the Mis-Bent Zircote that caused me so much grief, it's going back in storage, I have plans for it after healdsburg...



And finally I got this one ready for final setup, the bridge is not glued on yet and I still have to install the K&K system into it, then it's off to my friend for final setup, this is my first Healdsburg guitar:







I'm kind of glad to be going back to work tomorrow, I need the dang rest

Cheers

-Paul-

_________________
-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Very nice work, Paul. That's some ostentatious inlay. What is the material?

MOTS........


Mother Of Toilet Seat for the red and blue and MOP for the white....

Jimmi Wingert did the inlay on that one, I'll post some quality detail pictures of it next week after it gets final setup. I shot it with KTM-9 and I'm very very happy with how it turned out, the gloss and depth are astounding, those pictures don't do it justice at all.

Thanks

-Paul-

_________________
-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Paul super work, I see why you need to go back to work. (wink wink) Keep it up man we're with ya!

Paul, have to agree, great workmanship and I like the neck block alignment system, I think I will shamelessly have to copy that one!

With the mismatched Ziricote, when the tail wedge is fitted it's not really going to be a big deal. Put a mismatched back with a nice wide centre wedge in it and a mismatched top, maybe half cedar half Englemann and say you did it on purpose!

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Nice work Paul. I have some confusion about the neck block registration system. Do you have to notch the sides prior to glueing them up? I would think otherwise there would be a gap below the mortise on the block.

Good question Paul, no I don't notch them at all. The block is exactly the size of the tenon, so I trim the sides and they but up against the tenon block lining them up with mortise edges.

I can take some pictures to show how it works, essentially I trim the sides right to the final fittings, because the tenon is there they register and line right up with the edge of the mortise and I just glue them up and I'm done.

It's hard to explain but I can adjust the upper bout sides by how much I trim them, because the tenon holds them apart at the right place I can dry fit until I'm %100 happy with it and then I just pull off the mortise (leaving the tenon block in place and glue it up.

Cheers

-Paul-

_________________
-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Paul, I'd like to get the name of those elves that come in and do all that work for you. Would they like to moonlight over here at my shop?

Great looking stuff!

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Thanks for the kind words Steve

I wish they were Elves, to get that much done I've been out in the shop from 9am to about 11pm average on the weekends.

Once the Flag Guitar is fully setup some of the pressure of healdsburg will come off because I will have at least one show piece to take with me...

The Zircote will go and I'll have it assembled by next weekend I would think, once it's ready for finish I can start breathing again....

Cheers

-Paul-

_________________
-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Paul outstanding work my friend. You are a pro, even if not doing it full time. Maybe when in your "spare time" could do a photo essay on your neck alignment and tenon deal and post it in the jigs and tech section. Keep up the good work, can I get your autograph now

Paul, Where are you getting your red and blue MOT. or did Jimmi supply it?

Pro!!! Hardly!!

I have SOOOOO much to learn , I told my wife this guitar is my current state of the art about 3 months ago, I've learned a ton since then. My current philosophy is to just build and build and learn from each one, listen to people like Al Caruth, Hank Mauel, Mario and others and apply their learning where I can.

I'll do an article on the neck joint at some point, it's revision 1.1 and I'm about to make a couple of changes based on having guitars out there using it and go to revision 2. I don't glue down the fingerboard tongue making neck resets a breeze (the carbon rods support the tongue) but I need to modify my design to prevent the tenon from sliding or creeping up, it doesn't happen very often but one did a little. It was a 1 minute job to fix it, and the bolts being a little loose didn't help (I use lock-tite now) but I think a small change in the design would stop that.

Michael the MOTS was Jimmi's idea not mine, I personally don't like it very much for inlay, it's too soft and doesn't like sanding very much and will try to avoid it for future projects when possible or treat it with Kid gloves.

Thanks

-Paul-Sprockett38412.7462615741

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-Paul-

Patriot Guitars