So, where has GBG been?
I'm sure my avid readers (all three of you) have been wondering about
the progress of the black guitar.
Well, as I have now
explained to M why his guitar has been delayed and decided that it's
not really good enough to only blog the good parts of the project I
will explain.
The black finish is
proving very tricky, to say the least. On my first attempt I
installed the rosette first and polished it up before applying the
stain, knowing it would scrape off the rosette componants.
Unfortunately, in polishing the rosette I damaged the grain of the
spruce. This was only evident once the black stain was applied
because the timber around the sound hole wouldn't take the stain in
the same way as the the rest of the top. After several attempts to
fix this I also realised that getting the finish back off the rosette
was much harder than I had thought. So, I started again. I routed the
green malachite back out of the top and put it aside.
I stained and finished
top number 2 before routing it. I planned to create the rosette in
another piece of board, polish it and then insert it in the new top
complete. The finish came out very well. Then whilst routing the
rings (and despite taking every precaution I could think of, vacuum
suction, masking tape, sheets of paper between all surfaces) I
managed to scratch the black top. I may have become a little
frustrated at this point!
ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ
I also googled for any
tips from fellow luthiers who have completed similar projects. In the
top 3 search results was MY OWN BLOG! I'm sure there's a moral there
somewhere...
So, after trying to
repair the top and failing I completed the routing, removed the
finish and started the finishing process AGAIN this time with the
routed circle in place. I used the same set-up on the circle cutter
to rout a channel in which to create the rosette for installation as
a complete unit.
At present the rosette
is complete and ready to be inserted once the top finish is complete.
I have to leave it 48 hours between coats of finish so it's taking
sometime to prepare.
I am hoping the
mahogany back and sides will be rather easier to finish, they at
least don't have a rosette to worry about!
As for future projects
I think I will stick to natural coloured guitars unless the customer
can be persuaded that a 'distressed' finish is the height of cool. So
don't worry M, when you finally get your black guitar it will truly
be one of a kind.
On the positive side I
have completed the fret-board fox inlay. When the guitar has a body
I'm sure this little fox will set it off beautifully.
In other news, I am
just putting the final touches to my second album. Perhaps
surprisingly it does not contain a song called 'Black Guitar Blues'.
Maybe for album three...
