Turqouise position markers.

I used MOP dots, but a few were too low once I started to sand them. I noticed that some holes were a tad off of center. The brad point bit, didn't work too well. The brad point bit can wonder if the tip starts to drill on a grain line. On the very first guitar I made, I used a 1/4" router bit in a small drill press to drill the holes. Those came out perfect. Once I removed the MOP dots, I used the router bit technique again and installed fake turquoise dots. That's the way to make the holes from now on. The router bit goes in regardless of grain. They weren't perfectly round, so I had to do a little sanding first. They were just right. Draw a white line and eyeball the bit as it makes the hole.

Headstock shape.

Here's how I got the headstock to proper thickness once I got close enough with the chisel.

Headstock and neck shaping.

I used a jig saw to cut the excess from the neck. Careful, because the blade tends to bend at times. The face I was cutting looked straight, but the back side cut was too close to the line. I scraped and sanded the sides of the neck to get it ready to route the tenon slot. I need to fret it first. I used a chisel to take the headstock down to size. I was going to use the Saf-T-Planer I have, but opted for the chisel, scraper and sand method. I'm glad I did. I had more control over what I was doing and I felt safer doing it. Lot's of work today.

Neck almost there.

Glued on the fingerboard and the head plate. I used sharpened nails that I filed to a point to keep the fingerboard in place. I used a spare nut to space the plate from the fingerboard. I angled the edge to keep it nice for the nut. I used two small brads to hold the plate while I glued it. They were nailed in an area where they'd be away from the headstock when cut.
I thought of this headstock design a while back. It gives the body and head a 50's kind of look. Perfect for the Surf Green I have. Since I planned on the shape, I started to see several others with similar shapes. Oh well, it must be nice if others like it too.

Fingerboard slots deepened; board glued.

I had to deepen the fret slots. All were too shallow. This was the best way. I tried the LMI slotting machine and tried making a miter box. Free hand with this saw was best. I got this saw in 1985 when I worked at Charvel. It was the fret saw I used when fret slots had to be deepened. It was dull and they threw it out. It was good enough for me, so I took it home. For production, it is too dull, but for the one-off, it is fine. If you ever had a Charvel or Jackson from 1985-1986, then this actual saw might have worked on that guitar. I thought that interesting, the history right here. I didn't steal it mind you. It was garbage bound. It's Japanese and it cuts on the pull. It is narrower than the normal .023" cut. My guess, it's in the >.020" range. Not all Charvel and Jackson guitars needed deepening. In fact, it was rare to do so. The ones that did, I did them with this saw.

Headstock trimmed and glued.

This procedure is becoming very easy. I used a chisel to get the angles close, then sanded with a block using 80, then 150 grit. I checked the angles and made sure I had enough clamps. I had to cut two cauls for the glue. Lucky I did a dry run. I spread the glue with a flux brush. They work great and they are cheap. Bag of 50 for about $7. When I went to spread he glue, a red color came from the brush. I saw it before, but thought it was just the color of the bristles. I hurried and rubbed the red marks off, then applied more glue. What was it? I don't know, but it made the brush red. I hope it doesn't affect the glue joint. Lesson: make sure your brushes and anything used in gluing is clean. If this joint fails after I string up the guitar, I will be very pissed. The clamping went good.

Verwey's machine

This is the jig that Captain Verwey made for me out of heavy angle iron. I adjust the height and clamp it down, and use the router adjustment to get it to the right thickness. The wood is help by clamps and repositioned after cutting. Worked like a charm.

Body sanded, neck routed and cut.

Today I was able to scrape and sand the three-piece body. It looks good. I used captain Verwey's router guide to rout a flat face onto the back of the neck blank to accept the angled headstock piece. I used the belt sander to try and remove marks that the bar clamps left on the wood. The glue bled onto the wood and stained it. Once I remove the stains with the sander, I'll go back to the scraper.

3-section body and peghead glued.

Did the last gluing of the body and head. I sawed one of the leg ends to make the headstock. I didn't think I would have enough wood for the headstock.

Body and neck glued.

Yesterday I glued up the neck and body. Next step is to take the surfaces down to get ready for the fingerboard. I also need to get the body shape cut and the body cavities routed. I used the joiner and it took a while to get the surfaces perfect for gluing. The birch looks nice.