Stu.

Are you thinking of Stone Wolf Guitars in the UK?

The finish is unbelievable! I always thought that level of gloss only achievable with 2k or similar. Bravo for the finish on top and craftmanship beneath!

I think it gets pointier with each update!

I don't know if this is helpful, but I've seen people using these Bosch tile bites for tuner and bridge holes: I've bought one myself in the hope that it'll drill clean, accurate holes... particularly through cured finish, which has a tendency to crack. It seems worth experimenting with.

Hopefully you're feeling better! What's the timescale like for shrinkage? Fingers crossed it's the kind of issue that presents after decades of my terrible playing! A little quick-set epoxy and ebony dust did the job very nicely for the remaining inlays. I finished those off, radiused the fingerboard, and then carved the bevels into the body. The bevel angle is actually closer to 20°, so using a chamfer bit wasn't an option; I went with my Shinto and Dragon rasps, which worked wonderfully! There's still lots of tidying up to be done, and I have to be super careful not to ding it now. Edit: I chose to carve matching bevels on the front and rear (more akin to an ESP SV/Alexi), to shed some weight and make it look sleeker. There's enough space between for the Strat style jack plate. Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr The weekend wasn't without problems, as you'd expect! There were air bubbles in the red epoxy, which I'll need to fill when I get chance. I also trimmed the fingerboard down a little too far; I was going to glue the fingerboard on with maple veneer between it and the neck, but I've decided instead to glue the veneer on and then hide it under the binding. Hopefully it makes the fingerboard look taller without compromising anything.

Those EMGs are very sweet!

Between work and travelling, I've made the tiniest amount of progress this week! Only a little sanding and cutting the pockets for the last inlays: Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr There are still some glue and paint pen marks to sand out, but they'll disappear later. I'll be using ebony dust and epoxy resin to secure and fill those inlays. Hopefully the celluloid will be stable with that.

Even your test scraps are prettier than most guitars! Do you have a project in mind for the refined technique?

I know you've built some beautiful guitars in the past, but that padauk SS might be my favourite. The whole thing just works and looks refined as hell.

Thank you for the kind words! It's high praise coming from you chaps. I finished my inlay drawings and milled them this week, ready for inlay work at the weekend. Unfortunately, there was a power cut just as I started on 15-24, so I had to pack up and drive home. I also discovered that celluloid does NOT like ca glue; it melts, expants, distorts, screams... I glued the bottoms with a tiny bit of high viscosity ca, and then carefully wicked thin ca into the gaps with ebony dust. It just needs to be left alone to dry, for as long as that takes! Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr This is red glow in the dark pigment mixed with epoxy. The air gaps were filled later: Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr by S K, on Flickr I'll give those a week before attempting to level and radius anything. I also had a look at the body. I think the dark section is going to blend really nicely when I work the bevels in: Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Very premature mock-up: Untitled by S K, on Flickr

I love how you made those knobs! It's nice to see a method that doesn't require a lathe or dodgy drill press set-up.

Thank you! I have an overwhelming desire to proceduralise everything, just like being at work!

It is possible to get good at using a router, so don't be disheartened. It's very similar to driving; slow down to give yourself thinking time, always have an escape route, and know when to stop if you're tired. Everyone has different pitfalls, but mine have always been from trying to get too much done (eagerness, naivity, time pressure) and being tired. You're also doing incredibly well with such a challenging first build! Technically I started my first build at 22 (10 years ago) and everything was a disaster; huge glue gaps, truss rod channel routed with a drill press, a narrow fingerboard, wonky neck profile, unpolished frets, almost flat fingerboard radius, thin headstock, and factory-cut nut. It kind of played, but the cost was far too high It literally ended up in a fire and I've purged it from my building history. Yours is far from that!

Cheating? That's some smart outsourcing in my eyes If you're short on time, it's worth spending the extra £15-20 to have the board slotted and radiused. You'll need to check the slot depths and polish the board up, but it'll give you more confidence. Everyone uses router templates too; only real thrillseekers go freehand! Oh, and IronGear pickups are excellent, especially for the price. Pace yourself and enjoy the ride!

The templates arrived a week or two back: Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Progress! Headstock faceplate gluing, template prep, body routing and headstock routing: Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr I'm pretty happy with the glue joints and the routing so far. I had to take it very slow, using shallow passes and a very sharp cutter for the points. There's a little furring, but no real tear-out to speak of. The only issue at this stage is that the ears weren't quite long enough for the headstock; the faceplate thickness shifted the front of the headstock further than I'd anticipated, so I'll have to sand the sides until the little right angle gets worked out.

Black limba, quilted maple, wenge AND flamed maple! That's one hell of a combination. What's the plan for the finish and hardware?

Thank you for the extra info! The drawing is pretty rough and more to illustrate the cosmetic side; I'm re-measuring and plotting as I go along, and I won't tackle the bridge post holes until the neck is in position. I'll definitely follow the principles of your diagram though! I was going to position the treble post at the absolute end of the scale length, so I'll reassess that when I come to drill the holes. I'm using a fairly chunky Nashville style bridge from Axetec too (it's been in one of my boxes for YEARS). Hopefully that'll be kind to me! If only! I think he'd disown me if I turned his brand new kitchen into a workshop!

Thank you, chaps! I tend to go OTT on the photos, but I find them helpful when I forget my order of work

Hi all, Has anyone tried the new G&W Fretboard Radius Jig? I've been very happy with their products in the past, but it's a little bit pricey and I wanted to get opinions before I pull the trigger. I usually roll with a 200mm radius sanding block, which I don't particularly trust to give me a level length. https://guitarsandwoods.com/fretboard-radius-jig-for-makita-rt0700c.html?search=radius jig&description=true

Cheers, Scott! Hopefully it'll be just clear of the volute!

I have to admit that I panicked pretty hard when I saw the pore filling/staining photos! The end result is amazing though. It adds just enough contrast.

I went to The Guitar Show in Birmingham for lots of inspiration this weekend. It was nice to check out some independent builders and have a few chats. I've also ordered my templates, so I'm waiting for them to arrive before cracking on with the body. It was basically neck weekend... Inlay test cuts: Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr The faceplate isn't actually glued on yet. I'll do that next weekend, followed by truss rod routing. I need to get the inlay drawings finished and cut out too.

Like building guitars on Mars? I need to get some!

That padauk SS certainly is beautiful! What's the wood like to work with?

Despite having loads of guitar stuff planned for last weekend, I spent most of it doing THIS for my brother: Untitled by S K, on Flickr I made a template from the sink and then routed out the oak worktop. The drainage grooves were a NIGHTMARE. They needed a shallow degree of fall-away, which I incorporated with a jig, but everything shifted for the first cut; we had to duplicate the kicked line on the opposite end, to make it look like a deliberate feature I'll stick to microbiology. Scarf joints usually scare me, so I made a jig/brace to hold them. There are also two screws, using just the points to keep the wood in place. Untitled by S K, on Flickr I cut the fingerboard taper in too, and routed for adding binding BEFORE gluing it to the neck: Untitled by S K, on Flickr Untitled by S K, on Flickr After looking at planes for a while, I figured it made sense to buy a vintage model off eBay and try to restore it. I picked this Record no.5 jack plane (1931-195x) up for the same price as a new Irwin Record model. It was in pretty bad shape, with a crappy plastic handle (no rosewood or beech here), tonnes of rust, and a ruined paintjob. Untitled by S K, on Flickr I cleaned the rust away, stabilised the surface, and repainted. I also lapped and polished the sides. The handle needs a little more shaping, smoothing and drilling before it's ready. Untitled by S K, on Flickr