Neck Making

 I move to the neck making. Neck material is an 1" thickness Honduras Mahogany. Neck has the three piece configuration. Fingerboard material is the Indian ebony. Indian ebony is herder than the African Ebony. This guitar has the 650mm fingerboard slotting. This guitar needs fingerboard binding. Binding material is the Madagascar rosewood. This neck has the V-joint between the beck and the head. I have a V-joint cut fixture to realize 15-degree neck head angle. Rough cutting for the V-joint has been done by the Band saw. After the rough cutting, detailed fitting work has been done for both neck head and the neck. Neck head and blanks were glue jointed using the tight bond.

Closing Box

      SSJ body is closed. Before closing the body, I applied three coats of shellac in side the body. Shellac coat improves the moisture resistance against environment change. For the top, I did final scalloping for the top bracing. Then, I applied three coats of shellac inside the top. After closing the top, I trimmed out over laps on the top and the back. I also shaped the beveled armrest portion. Now, the body is ready for the binding work.

      I did tapping test for the body. This body showed a slightly tight tap tone. Generally speaking, SSJ body shows tighter tap tone than MD body. This is due to the tight waste shape. I will take a little bit aggressive thinning on the top when it complete the binding installation. This process will be the final tuning for obtaining the desired tone. Before the binding work, I will make neck blanks and fingerboard.

Side laminate, block making, side assembly, and more ......

 SSJ making project has many progresses. Side laminate, block making, side assembly, solid lining making and install, and carbon rod install. The guitar body is almost ready for closing. All working steps have been done as I expected. At this moment, there is no issue, and everything is under control. I will close the box next week.