I guess I owe you all some updates. I pretty sure I won't make the deadline for the challenge but I have an extra month before the auction so I should be okay. I'm waiting for the glue to dry on the top binding right now so I might as well spend some time uploading pictures.
I got the box closed and then stalled out for a while trying to settle on what I wanted to do about the laminated neck. The chunk of wood I am using for the neck was in worse shape than I realized/ remembered. I knew it had a long check in it that I was going to have to cut around but it was much worse than I thought. I ended up having to piece together scraps from the waste part of the board to stack the heel.
I also needed to decide what the decorative elements were going to be so I could incorporate that into the neck. I decided on sycamore for the bindings and some mahogany from my friends kitchen remodel. He had given me his scraps (because he knows I'm strange like that). I had a 6' long 1" x approximately 1/16 inch strip from when he trued the edge on the table saw. Perfect for Purfling and neck lam!
That left me with the step I always put off. Routing for binding! For some reason it terrifies me. I have never really had a horrible experience, it just scares me. Everything went perfectly well and I could breathe easier.