Working on the Neck and Fingerboard

As construction progresses, each change and addition becomes more critical as there is so much that will be ruined if things don't go well. The neck and fretboard were most problematic for me. The neck must slope toward the saddle and the bridge in the saddle at a certain angle so the strings will clear the frets without being too high or low. Also, if the saddle is too high, considerable strain is put upon the soundboard holding the saddle and bridge.

Here the fretboard is being glued to the neck. It is important to have everything level, straight, properly sloped, etc.	Once the fretboard is glued to the neck, the neck can be further shaped. Prior to this, much of it is left rectangular so it can be used for clamping.	Templates are used along the neck to arrive at a consistent shape. Note the pencil markings which, when they are sanded off, will indicate the proper shaped is being reached.	Once the neck is shaped, the frets are put in the fretboard. Small grooves are made in the fretboard and then the frets are cut to approximate length and pounded into the board.

Making and Attaching the Saddle

The saddle goes at the lower end of the guitar and is somewhat centered in the lower bout or lower round part of the guitar. The saddle holds the strings coming from the head of the guitar and also the bridge over which the strings go before they are tied to the saddle. An estimated 90 pound is exerted by the tightened strings between the tuners and the saddle.

Precise grooves are cut into the wood which will become the bridge. A mill end is used for this purpose. Guides are put on both sides of the saddle blank to prevent it from wandering.	Then the holes are drilled for the strings. I used a template which you can see attached to the bridge blank in the background. The holes are drilled at an angle so they come over the top of the saddle, which will fit in one of the grooves, and then they will come out so they can be tied. You can see that I ruined a few nice pieces of wood.	Gluing the bridge is precise work. I had to modify some clamps so they would fit down inside the guitar.	A piece of wood must be place inside the guitar and under the bridge so the bracing isn't crushed while clamping the bridge. A caul is used for this purpose. I used some pipe insulation to hold the caul up against the inside of the soundboard until the clamps were tightened.

For headpiece, I used a walnut burl and bookmatched them. I cut a circle, carved a tree in it, inserted some hearts on the tree, and put it at the top of the headpiece. The hearts are small inlaid pieces of purpleheart wood but became so tiny they didn't quite have the effect I sought.	I need to do some more work on the rosette. Some of the tiles are pretty distinguishable as you look closely around the circle and there are some small gaps. I never noticed these until the project was nearing completition. Interesting how the eyes now move from the gross part of building the guitar to the little things.	I am not happy with some of the purling and binding and I will need to redo this. I thought it was well clamped but, as you can see in this photo, somethings came apart. Oh dear!

I haven't put on the finish yet. I have reaad quite a bit about lacquer vs French Polish. The decision has nothing to do with "French" but I would like the best finish and I haven't found much that convinces me that French Polish is superior to lacquer. In the meantime, I put on strings and play the guitar which allows me to procrastinate like crazy. I've had some "experts play it and the reports are quite positive. It has a very full and rich sound with a lot of volume. I think the sound exceeds that of my other guitar which was built by a highly acclaimed builder. Of course, I must admit, that objectivity is not present! More pictures will follow.

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