Guitar Tops Joined and Cut

OK, so here we have the guitar tops glued together. The glue line is still very evident where it seeped out while drying. I glued the tops last week and had meant to get some pictures and post them, but I did not have my camera and I never had time to go back over to the shop until today. I took the tape off (learned how to use tape instead of clamps when gluing thin pieces of wood like this) today and drew the outlines of the guitars.

Next, I started cutting away and taking pictures. The band saw seems to be doing much better on these guitars than on the previous one or I am just getting more used to it. The thinner stuff cuts easier anyway, but even the body back pieces cut nicely. I tried to stay just outside the marker line to give me enough material to rout away with the templates and template bits. Some places I did better than others, but I did make sure not to cut too much out.

Here are some close ups of the Telecaster style guitars. The one on the left has more of a wavy pattern with some of the figure almost exactly following the shape of the guitar (at the top on both sides and along the bottom, there is one curl that goes across and then starts to go up with the sides) and the other is more of a fine pinstripe pattern. They both look pretty cool, but are very different. They are both considered to be 4A grade maple (out of a possible 5A). Some day, I will have to try some 5A or Master Grade, but for now, I just enjoy working with this as it has much more figure than my previous experience.

Here are the two Les Paul style tops. Both of these have a more pinstriped pattern. One the figure runs down toward the center and the other the figure is almost flat, but runs up slightly toward the center. They both have some spots that are not really well figured, but look like they will appear to be pretty deep once the finish is applied.

I was hoping to get to routing along the edges with the template router bit, but I spent too much time talking to my in laws and family and did not get that far as I had some other running around to do. Once I get that done, I will need to smooth out and sand the innards of the two chambered bodies and glue the tops onto the backs of all four guitars. Well, that's all I have for today. Hope everyone has a great Father's Day weekend (I know mine will be exceptionally fun as I have to work both Saturday and Sunday). Let me know what you think.

Thanks for checkin' up,

Aaron