Seeing how it will fit together. That's the fretboard, the top of the box, and the neck. Eventually I got it to fit together just right. Notice the squareness of the heel. That changed soon after this picture
Next I cut the tuner holes and then started shaping the neck with the wood file.
I cut out those holes and then started with the file. This wood is so nice to work with (all my other builds were with really light wood and it was so hard to use the file because if I wasn't careful I'd tear off too much).
Once I had the neck more or less how I wanted it, I went back to the fretboard. I spent another morning sanding. After getting rid of nearly all of those saw lines I got an email from my brother-in-law telling me to try a handplaner. (Great suggestion, thanks Blake. It will save me SO much time, next time) I had bought one for 3 euros at the Rastro (a weekly open-air market here in Madrid) a few months ago, but the blade was dull and I couldn't figure it out. Luckily, I was in the States visiting that same brother-in-law when my sister gave me an old knife sharpener from my grandfather. Well, I sharpened the blade and spent a few minutes adjusting and, voila! Anyway, back to the guitar...
I didn't trust the squareness of the piece of ebony, so I decided to cut it to shape and then draw all the fret lines on it. It took longer, perhaps, but I think (hope) it'll be more accurate.
So I drew the fret lines and then I use masking tape and try to leave just the pencil line. See that jig saw? Yea, that's how I cut my frets. You guys with all those nice tools... Appreciate what you've got. Hug those table saws and bandsaws and planers. Hug them and tell them that you love them!Stay tuned, I'm trying something weird with the tailpiece and you might just like it.
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