Again, not directly related to Taylor!

[mgap]

This would be a real treat to see your own guitar being built.

[cigarfan]

Wow Sachi. Fantastic look at the process!

I remember how excited you were when the prototype was being built. I can't imagine what you may be feeling right now. I know it would be sleepless nights for me.

Gonna be a really special guitar. Congrats.

[sachi]

I hope everyone is enjoying the pics!

First up today is a pic of Brad leveling the top of the neck block using a router and jig.


Gluing the kerfing in place:


Marking the kerfing before it's sanded:


Roughing out the top:


Marking the top for the bracing:


Working on the end graft:


The woods are cocobolo and spalted maple.


All done!

[cigarfan]

Man-o-man! I'm drooling like a big ole St. Bernard!

[sachi]

Man-o-man! I'm drooling like a big ole St. Bernard!

Eww!

You *stay away* from my guitar!!

[sachi]

And after a few days off we have more pictures! First off is a pic showing the top bracing. As you see it's a lattice bracing, which is one of the few things I specified for this guitar.


Brad added a bit of decoration to the fingerboard so that it tied in nicely with the soundhole and rosette:


The maple inlay is relieved at the end, too:


Routing the sides for the binding:


Very, very clean work on the kerfing:


Brad glued the back on – you can just barely see it under the plywood.


And finally, working on the headstock, which is inside the router jig in the next pic:

[SixStringsARingin]

Thanks for all the compliments!  I'm glad you're all enjoying the build process as much as i do!  Hopefully Sachi will have some sound clips for ya when it's all finished up.

Brad

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

So cool to see the process - thanks for the pics!!

[sachi]

Thanks for all the compliments!  I'm glad you're all enjoying the build process as much as i do!  Hopefully Sachi will have some sound clips for ya when it's all finished up.

Brad

Any sound clips I put up will probably have dogs barking and clattering around in the background, but if you can live with that I'll give it a try!

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

Any sound clips I put up will probably have dogs barking and clattering around in the background, but if you can live with that I'll give it a try!

LOL, just get them on the click track and no one will notice..... 

[Edward]

Love this last intallment, and can't wait for the next!

Good to see you here on the board, Brad ...you are a talented luthier, to say the least!  The design/execution of the soundhole and fretboard end is stunning: modern meets art-deco ...love it!  Keep the pics coming!

Edward

[sachi]

Love this last intallment, and can't wait for the next!

Your wish is my command.

Today we get to see another of Brad's aesthetic ideas. It was actually a suggestion that I made and Brad adopted. (I'm so proud.) As you see in the first photo, Brad notched the fretboard to match the notches in the soundhole. I think the notch ties it all together wonderfully.


Brad is also using the spalted maple to bind the soundhole:




Here it is all finished up. Isn't this just a treat?


Brad also spent some time working on the fretboard. At first I had no clue what was going on here but I finally spotted the cocobolo strip on the sides.


And here you can see him gluing the fretboard binding:


Brad also worked on the body of the guitar. It looks like he's routing the sides for binding here.


Doing the same job for the top!


And the box is all glued up:


Brad, if I've misinterpreted any of the pics let us know!

[SixStringsARingin]

Y'all are very kind!  I think i might hang out here a while...

The fingerboard binding is actually Amazon Rosewood from your sides, Sachi.  I like matching the binding on the fretboard to the fretboard material.  It has a seamless look that gives the comfort of a bound fretboard and hides the fret tangs.  Also, in these last shots i'm trimming the top and back plates after they're glued on with a bit of overhang.  The veneers should be here soon to build the binding blank, for now I'll start building the neck. 

Oh! by the way, Sachi, your idea for notching the end of the fingerboard is a great one and will be seen on many guitars in the future!  Thank you!

Thanks for watching!

Brad

[sachi]

Thanks for the corrections! I realized a bit after I posted that you were cleaning off the overhang from the top and bottom, but I figured I'd let you chime in.

[mea1970]

loving this thread. guitar looks beautiful. please forgive my ignorance if this has already been posted somewhere, but who exactly is building this guitar? is there a website and some other info we can peruse? many thx.