Workikn' on Aaron's neck

Aaron's Arena OM Cocobolo Extravaganza is shaping up beautifully! Yep, that's cocobolo on the back and sides, the multiscale fingerboard, the headplates, the rosette, and soon, the bridge as well. The neck is partially shaped now. I really like to see the overall look of the guitar at this point when you can first attach the neck. Now the fun really starts. Aaron has indicated he'd like a slim neck with a bit of "v" to the profile, so tomorrow I'll be carefully sanding it to its final shape, "playing" it as I go along.

Completed Aaron's Arena Soundbox

Aaron's Arena soundbox is complete and finish sanded and I have two new galleries of pictures to share. In Gallery 5 you can see the back being assembled to the rim as well as the binding, purfling and koa Ryan-style bevel being laid in. In this shot you can see that I'm using my palm sander to precisely thin the perimeter of the lower bout down to about .080 inches, while carefully monitoring the stiffness of the top by pressing on it as well as tapping and listening. In Gallery 6 I've posted many pictures of the completed and finish-sanded box. In many of the pictures I've wiped the guitar with naphtha to give a better sense of what the wood will look like under lacquer.

Great Progress on Aaron's Arena OM

Progress on Aaron's European spruce and cocobolo Arena Cutaway has been excellent and I have two photo galleries to share. In the first gallery you can see that I've completed assembly of the rim, and in the second gallery you can see the braced top being assembled to the rim. In both galleries you can see a few details of construction that go into the Ryan armrest bevel. Next I'll be bracing the back and preparing the back of the rim for assembly. This particular set of cocobolo is the heaviest and stiffest wood I've worked with, including the instruments I've made of different varieties of ebony. Out of curiosity I put an offcut from the back into a sink full of water and it immediately sunk like a stone! I'll be sanding the back of this guitar thinner than I've done on any instrument yet. The grain lines near the center of the top are litterally too close to tell them apart, and I have good eyes. The cross-grain stiffness of this top is remarkable, and so I made the top a little thinner too, and lightened up on some elements of the bracing. After the soundbox is assmebled I thin perimeter of the top as an additional means of voicing the instrument. This will be an important step on this instrument. More soon! :)