Installing the Sides
Side Port!
Once again, here's a picture of both halves ready for attachment--notice the back kerfing has been notched to accommodate the back braces.
Attaching the Back
Once everything is aligned and dry fitted properly, the back can be glued on. I chose to use the 'rubber strip' method--opting for it over constructing a few dozen spool clamps--by cutting up a blue rubber swimming pool hose I bought from Home Depot into strips and square-knotting them together--90 ft in total. I also used a few clamps in kep points for some added clamping power.
Holy Crap It Worked!
Though the soundhole looking at the back bracing:
Here are just some cool shots back into the enclosed sound box:
Installing the End Graft
Installing the Maple Binding
Below is a photo of the maple binding and the b/w/b/ purfling strips taped in place, prior to glueing.
Below is a photo of the glue in place binding, before scraping flush to the guitar body.
Another up close shot of the oversized binding protruding above the body. I realized after scraping the binding flush that I had not routed by channels deep enough in both directions, an thus wound up removing much more binding material than I had wanted too from an asethtic perspective. It turned out fine, however.
I also wicked glue into the gaps along the sides:
Here's the glues and bound back, before scraping:
Scraping the Binding and Pore Filling
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Sealing the Body / Applying Epoxy Coat
Many people use many different products to pore fill and seal, but I wanted a clear filler that would not alter the natural color and beauty of the rosewood, so I chose to use clear 5-minute epoxy. Essentially, you just spread it as thinly as you can with a credit card, let cure, sand with 320, and repeat.
I usually broke the guitar into sections--back separate from the sides and top-- since my epoxy cured a little quicker than I could work. One time I completely blew the mixture ratio and my luxurious 5 minute epoxy became 30 second epoxy...no worries though, I just let it dry and sanded off the ridiculous looking job I had done and started over--it's fairly forgiving if you're patient.
Here are some photos of the sealed body with the crazy cool rosewood--this Amazon Rosewood actually has a lot of depth for a rosewood. I've left the final coat of epoxy rough and unsanded--it'll remain that way for a couple months while I build the neck and bridge, then I'll come back, sand it down, and begin applying a dozen coats of finish lacquer.
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