Portland Guitar Co.

( 260 ) 9-June-2012

In this picture I am using a diamond honing plate mounted on glass to level the frets.

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I use my straight edge to check how level the frets are.

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To paint the top black I masked off the purfling and sprayed the top black.

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Here I am setting up my spray booth to apply the lacquer.

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The flame on the back really pops out when the lacquer is applied.

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I mount the body on a special fixture that lets me rotate it for easy access.

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The side gets a nice pop too.

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Once the lacquer is applied I let it cure for a week or so. In the mean time I make the bridge.

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I use the bandsaw to cut it out of the bridge blank.

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The back of the bridge has to match the curve of the top. I use this form with a piece of sandpaper mounted on it to sand the bottom of the bridge. I mark the bottom with pencil, and when the pencil is all sanded away I know I have a good fit.

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It takes a bit of work and I make a lot of sawdust.

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To create the pinstripe on the bottom of the bridge I glue three layers of fiber board to the bottom.

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My oscillating sander trims up the sides.

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I use the milling machine to route out the saddle channel.

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The oscillating sander is used again to create the wings.

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And finally I drill the holes for the bridge pins.

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A week has passed and I put some elbow grease into bringing out the shine.

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I use a progressive set of sanding blocks to get to the shine.

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Finally I use the buffing machine to finish up.

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The neck has lots of curves.

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The buffing wheel makes easy work of the final steps.

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The sides take special care.

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In this picture I have positioned the bridge in its proper place.

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I use a sharp Exacto blade to score the outline of the bridge into the top.

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And then I use a chisel to remove the lacquer.

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I end up with a bare spot for the bridge to be glued to the top.

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A couple of c-clamps and a wing clamp helps to make a good joint between the bridge and the top.

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The bridge glued on to the top.

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Now I drill the bridge pin holes through the top.

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And then I use a reamer to finish up the bridge pin holes.

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A few final steps to make the nut and the truss rod cover.

The split saddle.

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And finally the the strap pin.

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The guitar sets strung up for the first time.

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To set the intonation on the adjustable split saddle bridge I use a spectrum analyzer to measure the frequency of each string at the first natural overtone and the fretted note at the twelfth fret. I adjust the position of the saddle until these two notes are the same.

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This is a picture of the frequency response function of the guitar. This is found by tapping the top and listening to how it rings down.

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Once the split saddles are positioned I glue them in place so they don't wander when the strings are changed.

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Ta Da!