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This side view of the Size 5 shows the side binding and purfling. The wood binding is ebony, and there is a thin holly strip sandwiched between the binding and the sides. |
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To the left are all the pieces of abalone (Paua and green) it took to create the "horse" and pine tree inlay I did on the last Size 5 that I made this past summer. It took 10 pieces for the horse, 3 for the trees, and 5 for the three letters of the customer's name (the "M" was so thin, it broke in two places). | |
 Here is the finished Size 5. It has a 16" tall soundbox, measures 32" from bottom to top, has a lower bout of 11-1/2" and upper bout of 8-1/2". For such a tiny guitar, it has an amazingly big voice! |
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On my first few guitars, I used nitrocellulose lacquer, but found it time-consuming, not-so-safe, and temperamental to changes in weather. On my last three guitars, I have used a new water-borne urethane, the results of which you can see in the photo to the left. Because it is water-base, it is much safer, easier to apply (I used a foam brush), faster (I put 11 coats on in 1-1/2 days) to cure, and easily done indoors! It produces a hard and mirror-like finish! |
