Film: Roy's Guitar, Buffage

Making an executive decision I decided to go ahead and put Roy's guitar body on the buffing wheel. I felt that the finish was thick enough to go for it. This short film shows the process.

Logoing The Rufus

After sanding away the dried epoxy you are left with a pearl logo that looks like it was a natural part of the wood. The small air bubbles will be filed with super glue and sanded flush.

Film: Logoing the Rufus

This short film shows the process I use when inlaying pearl or abalone into an ebony medium.

Roy's Guitar, Chapter 20, Lacquer Finish

The process for a color nitrocellulose lacquer finish is enough to test anyone's patience. All I can say it takes many coats, weeks for drying and much sanding. In the photo you can see the finish is building up nicely. The next step will be to sand flat using 400, 600 and 800 grit paper. Then a final coat will go on and the instrument will sit for three weeks. Then the buffing process will begin.

Red Rocks Community College's 40th Anniversary Gig

Some fellow instructors and I preformed at the 40th Anniversary celebration of Red Rocks Community College. It is at this school where I assist the Electric Guitar building program. We decided it would be fun to promote the program by playing on our own instruments. The set list: Brown Eyed Girl, Let It Shine, Any Major Dude and Ain't Misbehavin'.

Roy's Guitar, Chapter 20, Lacquer Finish

Today I added some color tones to the neck and body of the guitar. Sometimes you get lucky, by combining two color dyes and mixing them with the lacquer I was able to produce a nice reddish brown. This blends the maple neck with the mahogany body.

The Rufus, Carving the Recurve

Traditionally the recurved is carved into an arched instrument (violin, cello, etc,) and it gives the top or back plate the ability to vibrate creating a rich sound. In this case it will mainly be an aesthetic addition. A scraper is used to remove wood leaving behind a small concave ring around the body's edges. The light helps see the progress.