Making "Buachaill Mór Halifax"

The American Black Walnut bindings are taped together with the side and top/back purflings and are then bent to shape in the Fox-style bender:



Then it’s out with “The Scutter” to cut the binding channels. The channels are first cut on the top the width of the linings and the depth of the linings plus side purflings. Some scrap pieces of the side purfling are stuck onto the top at the end graft with double-sided tape. The router rides on these to cut the rest of the binding channel. The channels are tidied up with a chisel and the side purflings can be mitred:



Then the back binding channels were cut using the same process:



Next the router is set to cut the top purfling channels and these are routed out. Then the long task of making sure that the bindings and purflings fit in the channels and the channels adjusted accordingly with test fit after test fit until they do:



The top purflings were then glued in using fish glue:



Next the router is set to cut the back purflings and these are routed out:



The back purflings are then glued in using fish glue:



The back and top bindings were then glued in using fish glue:





The channel for the back strip is then routed using this jig:



The Claro Walnut backstrip with black/ pear/ black mitred purfling edging is then glued in:



When the glue is dry the backstrip is scraped and sanded flush:



Here’s the box after the bindings have been scraped and sanded flush and the hole for the neck extension cut:

Fascinating thread. I love these photo essay posts. Thanks for sharing it Dave.

A piece of mahogany is glued onto the headstock to complete the surface for the angled nut and sanded flush with the headstock face. The Claro Walnut headstock veneer has the nut edge sanded at an angle to match the headstock to neck-shaft angle and then it’s glued on using fish glue:



The Claro Walnut back-strap for the headstock was bent on the hot-pipe and glued on using fish glue:



The tuner holes are then marked and drilled:



The headstock is then shaped and the tuners test fitted:

Like the shape of this Dave — much nicer than the standard Dreadnaught ....

The fingerboard is then glued to the neck using fish glue:



Holes are drilled in the neck heel for two 6mm carbon-fibre rods which are then glued in using fish glue:



The Claro Walnut heel cap together with b/p/b veneers is then glued on using hot hide glue:



The neck is then carved:



The fingerboard is radiused:



Then the frets are pressed in:



Here’s the fretted neck tested for fit on the body.

The neck is then carved... Just like that.
Oh, to have the requisite skills!
Vinny

As Colin Symonds so eloquently explained to me you just take away all of the bits that aren't the neck