Trudge trudge trudge

Carve, carve, whittle, whittle, sand, sand. Tap. Carve, carve, whittle, whittle, sand, sand. Tap.

That's what my Tuesday nights have consisted of for all of the past two weeks and part of the third. So by my estimation that's 8 straight hours of carve, carve, whittle, whittle, sand, sand. Tap. But I'm not complaining. You, on the other hand, are probably tired of hearing about it. But, alas, the end is in sight!

The top is really getting there. All that carving has resulted in a top that rings like a bell when you tap it and with a few minor adjustments it will be ready to add the transverse and sound hole braces. Those are a few braces to strengthen the upper part of the top, but not much vibration happens in that part of the guitar, so it's really just a matter of gluing the braces in and carving them down a little to reduce their weight. At that point, I'll be very, very close to putting the box together. It's hard to say for sure, but that will almost certainly happen within the next three weeks, if not two. Not that I'm rushing it or anything.

And even though my tasks have been pretty tedious lately, I got a great jolt of satisfaction when my face plate arrived last week. I think I explained earlier that the inlaying of the face plate is one step we decided to farm out. We could have done it ourselves, but it's time consuming and difficult and since the guy that did mine also does work for Gibson guitars, I figure it's good enough for me. I created the design myself and I think it turned out really well. (In case you're wondering, the pear is in honor of my father who was an artist. The pear was his symbol). When the time comes, the piece of wood you see above will be cut to the shape of the guitar's headstock and glued on.

And I think I say this in every post, but you just wouldn't believe how exciting it is to know that in a few months - unless a catastrophe happens - I'll have a guitar I built myself. That's just amazing to me. And I get a little extra motivation every week or two when a past student comes in with their instrument and I can confirm again that these are not just guitars made by amateur luthiers, but they're honest to goodness fine guitars. Unbelievable.