SG John
Ambassador of Cool Guitars and Amps.
These are a pair of other builds I started a few years ago, only to be interrupted by travel for work. I was hoping to finish the Thunderbird build before jumping on these again, but that build has proven to be an exercise in frustration over the years. Now, it's the pickguard and pickups that are getting crazy.
The first of the Kornia builds started when I had found a single slab of African Limba big enough to build an Explorer. As luck would have it, at the same time a couple of guys at MyLesPaul had access to a couple of '58 Explorers to blueprint. So, I'm working off of those prints and observations for this guitar.
Here is a couple of shots of the wood for the body.
I really like the chevron pattern to the grain. Originally, I was considering a Lyre tailpiece that I have for this. Or, a B-5 or small Gibson vibrola. Instead, I'll use a stop bar and ABR-1 bridge so I don't hide the grain.
For the neck, I had a nice piece that I could get two quarter sawn neck blanks out of. So, I decided that I would build another Flying V at the same time.
Here are the neck blanks.
Next, I set off to prep fingerboards. I decided I would use one of my Brazilian boards for the Explorer and a piece of Palisander (Madagascar Rosewood, which is very similar in tonal properties to Brazilian) for the Flying V. I sanded one side by hand and prepared them for a radius of 12". Then sanded the radius smooth.
Then, I cut out the Flying V wings, and glued them together.
The Flying V body is a bit further along, but I have no photos.
Today, I slotted both of the fingerboards, and prepared them for going on my friend's table saw tomorrow. Mine is out of commission for a bit.
I have on order from MojoAxe pickguards and a V tailpiece. They have parts that were drawn directly from '58 models. They'll be here in another week or so. In the meantime, it may be nice enough outside to get some work on the bodies done this week. I prefer using the belt sander outdoors due to the mess. I figured I should jump on these while they still have a Korina V at a local vintage shop for me to compare neck radii with. They made the offer, so it would be nice to take advantage of it.
The first of the Kornia builds started when I had found a single slab of African Limba big enough to build an Explorer. As luck would have it, at the same time a couple of guys at MyLesPaul had access to a couple of '58 Explorers to blueprint. So, I'm working off of those prints and observations for this guitar.
Here is a couple of shots of the wood for the body.
I really like the chevron pattern to the grain. Originally, I was considering a Lyre tailpiece that I have for this. Or, a B-5 or small Gibson vibrola. Instead, I'll use a stop bar and ABR-1 bridge so I don't hide the grain.
For the neck, I had a nice piece that I could get two quarter sawn neck blanks out of. So, I decided that I would build another Flying V at the same time.
Here are the neck blanks.
Next, I set off to prep fingerboards. I decided I would use one of my Brazilian boards for the Explorer and a piece of Palisander (Madagascar Rosewood, which is very similar in tonal properties to Brazilian) for the Flying V. I sanded one side by hand and prepared them for a radius of 12". Then sanded the radius smooth.
Then, I cut out the Flying V wings, and glued them together.
The Flying V body is a bit further along, but I have no photos.
Today, I slotted both of the fingerboards, and prepared them for going on my friend's table saw tomorrow. Mine is out of commission for a bit.
I have on order from MojoAxe pickguards and a V tailpiece. They have parts that were drawn directly from '58 models. They'll be here in another week or so. In the meantime, it may be nice enough outside to get some work on the bodies done this week. I prefer using the belt sander outdoors due to the mess. I figured I should jump on these while they still have a Korina V at a local vintage shop for me to compare neck radii with. They made the offer, so it would be nice to take advantage of it.
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