A friend in town has a CNC machine and he cuts out “Wide Sky” into Ebony veneers for me. Then I fill cut out using aluminum powder. I age the nickel hardware on the…

Making Ebony bridges for the PL1, my replica build of the Gibson L1. This is a part that you can buy from suppliers but I never found one that I was happy with.

Gluing linings to the sides. These will add more glue surface for the top and back plates as well as stiffening the sides.

4 new PL1s are starting to make the transition from raw lumber to a finished instrument. These 4 Sapele backs and 4 Western Red…

Another really satisfying part of the process is laying down the shellac and starting the French polish. Here is were you really get to see…

It’s pretty amazing that someone thought to take the resin secreted by the Lac bug, dissolve it in alcohol and then use that…

Midway through inlaying ammonites as fret markers for an electric Tele style guitar for Random Rab. Ammonites are soft enough…

After I cut the channels where I’ll inlay the material I use my Granpa’s old hammer. He was a dentist and he used this…

This clamping system uses an open box and 2′ kite rods flexed between the top and bottom of the box. Really a great way to glue down the braces.

Spending the morning making back graft pieces and inlaying black strips in them. Once the box is closed this will only be a subtle little detail but the subtle things are often my favorites.