The Highline Acoustic Guitar Build

Slowly but surely, I am acquiring the wood for this project. So far, I have the East Indian Rosewood back and sides and a slab of 1/4 sawn African Mahogany for the neck. The rest I have sourced, but I haven't purchased it yet. Need to get it soon so it can acclimatize. Here's a photo of the back and sides:

How I Intonated My Guitar Saddle

First I made the nut.

The finished nut.

Next I inserted a wire (a short length of .046 guitar string) under the strings and along the center of the saddle.

After tuning the strings, I checked the 12 fret harmonic and moved the wire backward or forward under each string until the 12th fret harmonic matched the open string. For accuracy, I used a digital tuner. Then I marked the position of the break point with a pencil.

I used nut files to slot the saddle while preserving the position of each string's break point. To achieve good action, I removed the saddle and sanded off material from the bottom of the bone. Doing this allows the saddle to sit lower in the slot and bring the strings closer to the frets. Of course, I had to test fit several times to get the action right. Finally, I rechecked the intonation and used my nut files to fine tune each string's break point.

The Latest Highline Envirocaster Guitar #26 Is For Sale

The auction ends at 11:00am PST on Sunday. Here is a link.

From today's photo shoot...

...number 22 tuned-up and ready to sell. This one will be up on eBay November 20, for 7 days. Price will be $650US. Shipping in the US only.

Envirocaster #22 Is DONE!!

And I'm spent! This one had a few challenges. First a cracked neck. Then, the new neck sat too low in the body necessitating a recessed bridge. All in all, it was a lot of work, but man did it turn out nice. I'll be sad to part with this one. Check it out:

Everything about this one is low-profile.

I had to hand chisel the recess for the bridge.

What Every Luthier Loves To See...

...another finished guitar on its way to a new owner!

This one is headed to New Hampshire

If it is close to the door, it's almost done!

Envirocaster #25 Is Done!!

Tuesday Morning Guitar Porn

Here are two reasons I love building guitars:

Both have three coats of clear Target Coatings EM6000 gloss water-based lacquer. Many more to go.

#25 and #26 Are Getting Close...

Guitar #25 has 15 coats of Tru-Oil and is ready for final assembly.

Guitar #26 has about 8 coats of Tru-Oil, which is a little more than halfway done.

Today's Guitar Building Progress...

...has been slow and tedious. Right now, I am focused on touching up the finish. Patience is the key!

Both of these guitars are about to be treated to numerous coats of Tru-Oil.

This one is done and hanging up to fully dry.

Current Guitar Builds

I have 5 guitars currently in the works. The plan is to have them ready for the Christmas shopping season. Check 'em out:

#22 has been level sanded and is ready for polishing.

#23 has been level sanded and is ready for polishing.

#24 is ready for stain.

#25 has two coats of Tru-Oil and is ready for more.

#26 has been stained and is ready for Tru-Oil.

Carving Up A Walnut Guitar Body

For my Walnut body, I decided to add a nice carve to the top edge. I used a half round Japanese Iwasaki file to do all of the work. It took about 30 minutes and a lot of elbow grease.