Commissioning a guitar part 2

You saw in Commissioning a guitar part 1 how Richard and I decided upon the shape of his guitar. That was enough information to get me started; preparing the wood that I’m going to use for most parts, getting it acclimatised to the humidity in the workshop etc.
I have now put this sheet of ideas together for Richard to consider. There are ideas here for the rosette, purflings and head veneer.

I also emailed him a photo of the back glued together and cut-out. When I spoke to him he said that when he received the sheet it brightened his day at work, which is a really nice comment to get. I know I’m not going to get rich making guitars, so this kind of feedback makes your efforts feel worthwhile. Details such as the rosette have to be worked out early on as you can’t progress to the construction of the soundboard until the rosette has been inlaid into it.
Below is a photo of two heads of two guitars that I’m working on at the moment: one is Richard’s using the burr walnut head veneer; you can compare the real thing to the one on the idea sheet. The second is for Andy’s carved top guitar, as you can see commissioning a guitar is all about getting the guitar of your dreams.

Luke’s 12 string electric

This is really a case of a cobbler having holes in his shoes! I originally made this guitar for my son Luke’s 21st birthday (4 years ago). However, in its original form it was far too heavy to play so the old body was cut off and a new walnut SG body made. There are some photos in an earlier blog entry (scroll to the bottom of the page).The modification has worked well and both Luke and I are happy with the results. Although a good guitar player, Luke plays bass in two different bands. Now the 12 string is completed he wants me to build him a short scale bass; I’m going to try to get this one done quicker!!