Neck Shaping and Fret Dress

So today we started on fret dressing. This levels out all the frets so you can set the intonation properly. This usually costs between 125-160$. Its pretty time consuming, and it requires a lot of sanding in gradually finer grits. After lunch we got to work on our builds till about 6, i didnt get as much as id like, but i got some of the aggravating work done..
Ok so i cant figure out how to organize the pictures on the screen so i'll try to explain the best i can. One picture is my neck on the shaping jig, i had to sit there and carve away until it was nice and smooth and round. Another one of the pictures is of the ears being glued onto my headstock, this is to allow the extra room needed for my design. The next picture is one of the metal heads lee and one of the instructors gary goofing off, both of them are equally hilarious. The next one is of the fret dress, its hard to tell but those frets are nice and shiny, i think im picking this stuff up pretty quick. One of the other teachers, brian, gave me a 7 out of 10 for my first fret dress, thats not bad if i do say so myself!!!

All Day Build!

Because fridays are all day repairs, saturdays are all day builds! so everyone got work on their guitars and most of us got pretty far. i made a few more templates for routing out the body of the guitar, and even got my neck pieces glued up for the night. Here are some more pictures..This first picture is my neck being glued. Thats zebra wood on the outsides and a wood called wenge in the middle. (thats pronounced weng-ee) The other picture is my friend jon using an oscillating sander. I didnt think i took so few pictures so i'll be sure to get some good ones up next post! enjoy!

Set Ups and Bone Nuts

So Fridays are all day repair days, so yesterday we started with one of the most basic repairs, a set up. its considered routine maintenance, and usually costs between 40-75 dollars depending on the guitar. we also made nuts out of cow bone, and believe me, that stuff smells like crap. id say it smells like a combination of old feet, and moldy doritos. let me get some pictures up so you know what im talking about...

Day ? : Wood and Tools

So i havent gotten the chance to update as much as id like, but im missing breakfast so you guys can get an update!! We went wood shopping the other day, got some pretty awesome woods including birdseye maple, mahogany, ebony, flamed maple, spruce, and some rosewood. and a little zebra wood which smells like horse crap when you cut it. The last couple of days have been pretty busy with sawing wood up for our first guitars, and making the handle for this cool little
tool. Everyone is really having a good time, and this guy peter from canada can play this awesome jazz song which im tryin to slowly learn. As far as dinner goes, i'll just say whoever brought the george foreman grill is a life saver. oh yea, here are some pictures from the last few days...Thats my first guitar cut out on plywood

Day One : Orientation

So, today was the first day of classes. The day started around 9:30, we all headed over to the shop about 5 minutes down the road. Everyone ordered all of the parts for both their electric and acoustic guitars. Shopping for parts is really fun, and i only spent like 250$! After that we got a quick introduction to tools and different saws around the shop. Around 6 we all left and came back to the house. I have to make dinner........

Heres some pictures i took real quick to give you a picture of what im talking about...





























Thats the backyard view, my room, and the shop.




p.s. Ill be sure to get pictures of the inside of the shop up pretty soon!!!

A Few Days to go

Today is Wednesday the 17, and im still not packed. I have a big long list of things to do, but ill get to them later, its only 9 am. Friday is the big day, me and my mom and dad will be leaving sometime in the morning to start the trip down to Lilburn, Georgia. Hopefully i wont forget anything...

Heres something interesting..


The highest price paid for an electric guitar at auction, was $959,500 at Christie's in July 2004 for Eric Clapton's 'Blackie' Stratocaster. The previous record was for Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia's custom-made 'Tiger' ($957,500 in 2002).