Everything went reasonably smoothly. The linings could have been done a bit better as there were a few spots which werent flush to the ribs because I was just using standard close pegs which didnt have the required force to do the job. I ended up having to reglue a small section and reclap.
I will be purchasing a bunch of mini spring claps/clips to do the linings next build.
I spent a good hour getting the ribs to fit nicely over the harmonic bars and double checked the measurements across upper, lower bouts, waist and length to make sure I was going to have a symetrical guitar. I was shocked to find only measurement out was on waist on the treble side 2mm short. I fixed this by gluing an extension to the harmonic bar to push the ribs out the required 2mm. All other measurements checked out perfectly.. Pure accident.!!
I made a huge mess with the glue (on going problem I seem to have) but there was no way I was having my ribs staved of glue. After clapping them in place and knocking the wedges into place I madly got to work cleaning up all the glue.. I really need to work on my gluing before my next build.
I could have done a better job with the wedge shaping as there are a few gaps but regardless of the gaps both wedges are extremely tight fitting. Im not crushing the ribs but there is sufficient pressure to create a clean 'join' with the heel.
Due to my initial failed attempt at thicknessing the back it left one side with some minor 'pits' that I couldnt sand out. To make matters worse the bulk of these 'pits' were under the soundhole. To make it look a bit better I filled the 'pits/holes' with a mixture of epoxy and Indian Rosewood dust, sanded it back and applied a coat of some 'French Polish' I found in a cupboard. The inside will look smoother, its still not fantastic but a big improvement on what it was.
Ive given up trying to meet deadlines.. The guitar will be finished when its finished. Too much work has gone into this to rush things now and screw everything up.
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