ScottR

Blame the excess on my wife. She got jealous of the burl top guitars I made, and guilted me into getting a top tomake her a table from. And yeah, a gaboon ebony neck would likely cost a fair amount more than this did. And finally someone speaks up that prefers the smoothed wood carve to the gouged up look! Thank you! SR

Yeah, my fingers still see pretty well. SR

Well doh! My eyes are going, I'm sorry to say. And of course it is! SR

Thank you sir! SR

One of the best things ever... The dark middle layer is frame the same board, but different faces of the grain are exposed in each, making the light angles bouncing off of each different. They look like different types of wood in these shots. And are you ever going to reveal what your daughters drawing depicted? SR

It just looks like a slice of tree to me. SR

I got to the point where I could apply my first coat of oil. And it's time to bring the top out. SR

Gotta agree with Andy there @JGTay. Bravo! SR

There is such symmetry in that drawing, I think it has to be an island and its reflection in the water. And the smooth areas contrasting with the rougher areas is part of what I'm showing off in that carving. I'm hoping the contrast becomes even greater the more finished the smooth areas become. SR

I want the gouge marks and areas where the wood's beauty shows through. the grain just does crazy things when it's carved into shapes.. I may put some tool marks back in at some point. SR

Yeah, I'm stunned. This has gone way past your blue jeaned guitar. SR

I just realized this afternoon, after roughly a year of working on this thing that the top surface of many of the branches, are going to be so hidden as to be invisible when the top is glued on. Doh! I wonder how may hours I have spent working on that area? SR

So last weekend I'm in the garage as usual and sanding on this thing as usual and a young man comes a round looking like he is canvassing the neighborhood. This is normally when I like to be invisible, so as to avoid a sales pitch. But with my garage door open and me sitting in the opening working on this tree, and blues sweetly filling my garage and driveway, it's hard to pull off invisible. I've got my best don't fuck with me face on and it's working mostly, then the dude executes a double take and asks permission to comne take a look. How can I resist.....even knowing it is a perfect opening to launch the sales pitch. He asked If I was carving a tree and said it made him think of the tree in The Karate Kid. I said YES, the bonsai, that's exactly the looking I'm working for! Then he tried to sell me a solar energy plan and I sent him on his way. Still confirmation from an unexpected source is great. Say your seven year daughter brings home a picture she did in art class and tells you to guess what it is. You think it vaguely looks like a mama cow suckling her calf. She says it's you changing the flat tire on your bicycle last week. If you'd have guessed the cow thing, she'd have felt like I did. Work continues. SR

The cavity looks like a peanut....where is Mr. Peanut when you need him? Don't get me wrong. That is as efficient a cavity as I've ever seen. SR

You have gotten good enough that you don't need my encouragement....but you certainly deserve my appreciation! SR

I'm with Mike, BC Rich's don't make me salivate either, but that one is really looking nice. Very clean and classy--something I'd never thought I'd say about the style. Perfect finish for it. Super well done! SR

How about a barely cut? It's certainly unorthodox, but not exactly unsettling shape, kind of organic. And the way the F-hole reflects the curves enhances it a lot. It'll create some aesthetic challenges for you, but with your skills I know it's going to end up looking hot! SR

That's coming through my monitor as a highly purple purple to me. SR

Glue should be sufficient. It's not a structural joint. SR

I'm running behind, but I just love the way this is going. Don't scrimp on it, it's gonna be decadent! SR

I'm trying to think of new ways to say WOW. SR

I have never purchased a guitar. I have played all my builds .... but I honestly don't play that much and half of them are still mine and hanging around looking pretty. My wife claims one, but she doesn't play at all and I'm not sure she's ever actually touched it. I learned it was hers when I loaned it out for a week or so. On the other hand, I'm always going to be building something, so why not something special and cool like a guitar? SR

Oh damn! SR

Thanks, Mike. I do believe that was the first guitar oriented piece of wood I ever purchaser. The majority of it went into a prototype....before any build.. Good thing too, that stuff is seriously heavy. SR

After over a decade of being in here nearly every day, I feel guilty only showing up long enough to post some pictures. The fact is I used to leave this up in the background all day at work and keep up and comment during slack times. The past 18 months or so have been so busy, that I can go weeks without ever opening up a browser, It's making me tired. On the weekends I still work on my wife's table. The carving is essentially done. I've decided to semi-sand to show off the wood and carving marks as well. The plan is to sand and shape and add back some carving marks as needed. I don't like leaving chipped areas and splintered cuts. We'll see if I can stand it.... The branches look like drift wood in this stage. On nearly all of my guitar builds someone says that top is really nice but I think I like the back even better. The same could happen here, I suppose. Baby's got a bubinga butt. And then to show off her butt, a little wipe of mineral spirits. Sometimes they sit on the best part. SR