MAKING SHAPES...

After a months leave I returned to the workshop in Toronto NSW on Friday July 26th. Todays plan includes shaping the wood into something resembling a guitar.  I have already cut the shape of the guitar from the plan and glued it onto some craft wood.  Now I use a pen, inside a washer, to go round the outside of the shape drawing it onto the mahogany. This allows room for error,shaping and whatever else may go awry in the future

Using this line as a guide I then cut both pieces of mahogany into a shape vaguely resembling a Gibson hollow body guitar.

Using the bandsaw on the thick mahogany is far more challenging and especially difficult in those areas the will attach the body of the guitar to the neck. Truth be told I nearly broke the saw 'cept for the interventions of Strato the luthier.  Next I pick what will be the top and back of the guitar. I select the sides of the pieces that basically are most pleasing to the eye, and show the least amount of flaws in the wood.  The two opposite sides are then planed to allow them to lie flat against each other.  Much of the inside of these will be gouged out to make way for electrics etc. (a bit away as yet).

Now we get back to the plans and trace over each of the contours on separate pieces of tracing paper. This is  good fun, I like to draw/trace. Each piece of paper will help develop a 3d shape to help refine the top of the guitar...but hey thats next week.

I was tempted(only very briefly, mind you) to include the 

1960's hit "Bend me Shape me" here.  Then I considered something by Harry Chapin (oops!)

 "Heart Shaped Box" anyone?

I really would have liked to patch a video of "The Shape of Jazz to Come"

 (Ornette Coleman) but lets face who's gonna sit thru

 a full album in these hectic times??? and it's modern jazz!

It had to be the following from the Last Waltz: Great movie, even better band, 

inventors of Americana, Listen, Enjoy.