Progress on the guitar – May 23, 2011
Again, this post is brief. If you want to read all the gory details, you are welcome to click on “Guitars and a banjo” (home page) then “A second GWND guitar” and finally on “2nd guitar – 8th installment”.
Monday, May 23, 2011, was Victoria day – a holiday in Canada and an opportunity for Canadians to travel south, and shop in the United States. Many people do. It didn’t dawn on me all that much, because being retired means you don’t have to go to a job on a regular basis, therefore holidays aren’t quite as eagerly anticipated. This non-attention to the holiday made me wonder for a while on the way back home as I approached the US / Canadian border, and encountered a long lineup of cars. What could be the cause of this, I wondered, until I called my wife, (who is much more “with it” than I am) and was reminded that it was the end of a long weekend so naturally there’d be a long lineup…. Took me over an hour to cross over into Canada and believe me – the guards didn’t waste time.
When I had left for home the last time, the guitar had been sprayed with a coat of lacquer and was awaiting several more coats. I was to come back after approximately nine coats had produced a solid base, and enough time has passed for the lacquer to cure. I would sand the guitar, then go home for a week while some finishing coats were applied. So I was expecting to simply stay for one day, sand the guitar body and neck, and leave for home.
Unbeknownst to me the guitar had been sanded in the interim, by Lee, sprayed, and was now ready for final sanding and assembly. This would take a minimum of two days and maybe three. However even though I could only stay the one day, a lot got done, and I can see now that my original time estimates were somewhat optimistic.
The progress this day included sanding the guitar body and neck, gluing the heel cap to the heel of the neck, and more sanding of the body. it was a good days work.
Also, I managed to photgraph a mirror and inlaid frame that Kief had worked on. It’s well worth a look. Click on “Inlay Artists” then “Kief Sloate-Dowden” then “Mirror” to see it. It’s well worth the visit.
As usual – click on a photo to start the rather short slideshow…
The heel cap - glued onto the heel of the neck
Sandpaper, spray bottle and elbow grease produces the gleam