New Rosewood Telecaster

Made this solid rosewood telecaster. It was inspired by the George Harrison Tele from Let It Be. It is heavy. Pickguard is back of "Revolver" album inlaid in white mother of pearl. Head stock is inlaid in black mother of pearl. Dot on fingerboard are white pearl. All hardware is gold.

Garage Remodel / Added Workspace & Storage

Added bench at rear to hold lathe and high enough for storage underneath of joiner and toolchest
Raised side benchs to allow for under bench storage of table saw. Added new storage on right side for wood and other things (old bench from van is where I sit to put on shoes etc.)
Side benches had two shelves before, but moved the lower left to lower right to enable the under bench storage. All work benchs are 41" high.

Pauls' Les Paul

My son Paul spent the summer with me between school semesters so that he could work and save up for his senior year. Again this summer he made a guitar in his spare time. This year it is a Les Paul model electric guitar. The back and neck is mahogany. The finger board and truss rod cover is ebony. The body top and head stock is spalted maple. Paul does excellent work. He is much more patient than I when it comes to sanding. When he was finished sanding (which he did down to 1500 grit), the wood looked polished, even though no sealer or finish lacquer had been applied. It is finished in a clear natural french polish style. What is even more impressive is the beautiful job he does with inlay. The fingerboard is traditional style LP in green abalone. He cut and inlayed his name, and the state of Texas in the headstock. The apple inlayed into the truss rod cover is also very cool. The neck is VERY thin and the action is VERY fast. Plays great ! (This is only the second instrument he has made from raw lumber). Well done Paul !

Balaliaka Rebuild

The Balalaika I made in 2004 had some problems (it was only the 6th instrument I'd ever made at that time). I basically destroyed the original and reused all the parts/wood. The soundboard, neck and fingerboard are unmodified, except for the new orange/brown padauk pickguard above the soundhole. I reused wood for backs and sides, and bent it into a rounded profile (original was flat backed - which isn't correct for a balalaika). All the wood (back, and top) was sand much thinner. In all it is now playable and projects rather well (original looked good on the wall but sounded horrible). The soundboard bracing pattern was also changed and includes a 1 degree surface arch. Bridge and endpin design is also new.