That wood for the back is beautiful. It’s going to look fantastic Hec.
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@Silvia80 @Prof_Thunder @ SteveL_G99, thank you all, but this is my first build, and I do find some things very hard to do, especially that last job with the inlay. I’m not sure if it was the wood I was trying to cut, but I struggled. I was sharpening new scalpel blades as advised, and they still either snapped or struggled to cut into the wood, but it is what it is now, cheers HEC
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Building a guitar involves a lot of stress and fear. I sometimes wonder at my choice of retirement hobbies. 
Cutting the binding channel is the one that gets to me the most. Probably because the guitar is so close to complete, and hacking at it with a Dremel feels and sounds so aggressive. I’m curious, what are you using to cut this out? The picture makes it look like a lot of shallow drill holes?
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Hi Mark, you are right, I was using a very sharp craft knife and changing the blades often. I also used a very fine burring tool in my Dremel, but honestly, I found this so hard to achieve. I know it isn’t the best, but it may start to look ok after I fill, polish, and coat it. Cheers HEC
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I love the grain pattern in the walnut Hec! It’s going to look beautiful!
The inlay looks great too 
It must be rather nerve-wracking to build a guitar but I think it’s an amazing thing to do. It’s really interesting following your process. Thanks for sharing it 
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You are very welcome, Jasmine, but try not to be disappointed at the outcome. I have many hurdles to jump over yet, but let us see, cheers HEC
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Pretty sure I won’t be, Hec. You’re doing great! 
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I remember the wood I used for the head, now it was Maple head veneer, about 2mm thick
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Problems problems one of the back panels is damaged. Another two weeks wait before I can continue. 
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Uhg. I too am waiting for too am waiting for a part. I just got a shipment of small electronic parts in the mail. I completely failed to order a key part to finish a pedal I am building, i even have it crossed out on my cheak list but it is not on my order form so i never did actually order it. I was like well I guess I will go back to playing again, which is also great too. 
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So while I wait for my replacement wood, I decided to look into how I was going to bend the sides. I looked around for secondhand bending irons, and oh my god, pricey, so while I wait, I will try and build one, it can not be that hard, heater from RS Components £18, thermostat controller £31, and that is it, I will have the rest of the materials lying around, let’s see what happens, cheers HEC
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Ok, so I have decided to start with an old TV stand I had lying about in my attic. I was going to remove the silver bit and cut the black bit of metal so I had a square base, but I had an idea, and I will share that when I receive the other parts. Cheers HEC
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Still no delivery arghhhh
You’re nothing if not an ingenious and persistent tryer Hec.
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Cheers Richard, but I was an Electrical engineer with plenty of time on my hands now. So if I can’t build one of these, there must be something wrong
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So I started it, I was going to cut it, but I decided to keep the length and the attached bar so it acts as a level to help the sides stay at right angles to the heater and offer me lots more support when I am heating the sides up. We will see, cheers HEC
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Do you have a Dremel base? If not, I highly recommend one. It makes the job much easier and safer. Stewmac’s are pretty expensive, but really good. I noticed their tilt router base is quite inexpensive and on sale. (StewMac Tilt Router Base - StewMac) There are others sources as well. I use very small bits to do the edges and detail work.
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There are some good ideas for a DIY bending pipe on YouTube. I remember one that used a steel pipe and regular torch. Good Luck!
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@TheCluelessLuthier, Hi Mark, yeah, I just think it was my first time, and I didn’t have the right Dremel bits, so I am going to treat myself this weekend. I will check that link out. Mark StewMac are very expensive, as you know, I shouldn’t have any problems with the bending pipe. I’m just waiting for the heater and stat, and I should have it done in a couple of days. il post a couple of photos later 
Yeah, I spent a lot of money at StewMac in the beginning. 
Now I shop around.
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