First pic shows my cheap skate version of the really nice fret press pliers that Stewmac sells. With it stuck in the vise I can get the frets in quite consistently.
And when all frets were in on all three fretboards, I glued them on. Here’s the tenor getting its walnut fretboard, the soprano clamping caul worked for the last fourteen frets, obvs.
Today I spent some time sanding and scraping. Small nooks need small scrapers, this one and a few others I made from a spent Japanese saw blade. The first coat of finish will mercilessly show all the flaws you miss so it’s a good idea to do this carefully.
And here they are (were). Ready for finish... until I remembered the acoustic one needed a bridge. Oh well, the resos were ready for finish at least.
But were they ready for finish? Nah, pilot holes for the tuners are great for hanging them during the finishing process so I quickly drilled those.
And here we go, let’s get some bug poo on these guys. The alder really comes to life, going from pale to a lustruous honey colour. The cherry in the necks goes from drab to drama too. I will show you more after a few more coats.
And while they were drying I started on that bridge. But that’s something for next post I think.
And when all frets were in on all three fretboards, I glued them on. Here’s the tenor getting its walnut fretboard, the soprano clamping caul worked for the last fourteen frets, obvs.
Today I spent some time sanding and scraping. Small nooks need small scrapers, this one and a few others I made from a spent Japanese saw blade. The first coat of finish will mercilessly show all the flaws you miss so it’s a good idea to do this carefully.
Not that flaws will be totally absent. It’ll be others than I think, that’s all.
And here they are (were). Ready for finish... until I remembered the acoustic one needed a bridge. Oh well, the resos were ready for finish at least.
And can you see I tidied the bench?
But were they ready for finish? Nah, pilot holes for the tuners are great for hanging them during the finishing process so I quickly drilled those.
And here we go, let’s get some bug poo on these guys. The alder really comes to life, going from pale to a lustruous honey colour. The cherry in the necks goes from drab to drama too. I will show you more after a few more coats.
And while they were drying I started on that bridge. But that’s something for next post I think.
3 comments:
They look amazing Sven :-)
I love your improvised solutions and following the build process. Its wonderful seeing the colours change when you start coating.
Cracking job, you're definitely on the good list for Santa! He might bring you some stewmac fret pliers, but then where's the fun in having all the correct tools.
Looking forward to playing the reso in the new year.
Cheers and have a great Christmas when it comes.
Looking very nice Sven! Have a great Christmas. I look forward to plinking away on my spangly new soprano reso in 2021.
Just to wind my twin up, I think my one looks nicer than his.........sibling rivalry never ends. Frazer (No.1 twin, 9 minutes older, just saying)
Cheers guys. They'll both look good ya hear, only different. I got a bit envious so I took down the sad corpse of a reso that's been hanging in the background on so many pics and decided to slap on a new fretboard and equip it with a cone. It was rejected by a bloke and I had to take the custom fretboard off when I got it back.
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