July 13, 2008

I went to Carl’s house on Vashon, and I worked with him and his table saw and I found God.  A table saw is the holy grail of woodworking.  I covet the saw.  I need the saw, but yea, I have not the room.  I will make the room, I will find the room, I will build the room if necessary, but I will have the table saw.  Some day, some how (should those words bump into each other?).

So, I channeled the mahogany neck for the koa to accept graphite rods and the truss rod, and I milled a whole shitload of bracewood, both mahogany and spruce.  It was fun, it was dusty, and it prepped me for epoxying in the graphite rods and such (such? what’s that mean?).

Here’s the end result of the graphite rod channel, and even though the rods are a bit over the surface, I think I can sand down the graphite quite easily even though I’ve not worked with it yet.

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I also did the kerf install on the top for this guitar.  Oddly, I love to kerf.  I’m looking forward to making my own kerf lining someday, even though it seems something best left for someone else.   If I want to use the Fox version of kerfing, the one which contributes to the side shaping, I’ll have to make my own kerf.  I’ll keep it in mind.

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I’ve got one more picture.  What is it?  Let’s go see.

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Oh yeah, I’m going to insert little laminated pieces of mahogany into the slots I made for the channels.  Then I’ll chisel down and flush up before gluing down the headstock veneer.  I was going to install the graphite rods in the maple neck, but I already trimmed the neck back and didn’t leave myself a square surface for channeling.  Since I have inserted a rosewood laminate center, I’ll depend on that to keep the neck from twisting and warping (the purpose of the graphite).  Only time will tell.  Larry will call me when his neck goes south.  Iris’s neck will maintain its integrity for time immemorial.

I also have mentioned before, but it begs mentioning again, I’m going to use a spruce top for this guitar, not the mahogany I originally planned.  Mahogany should not be used for tops.  Carl mentioned that to me in an aside whisper.  I’m glad I came to this conclusion before it was too late.

Cheers.