MIMF

I also made the azuma sawari. This is a device that sits under the lowest string and is adjustable to get a buzzing sound from the open string, kinda like a sitar. I used a small tee nut, cut down and glued to a piece of bone left over from a saddle blank (I never throw any bone pieces away, they co...

I thinned the top and glued it on this past week.

Stunning! I could get lost in that back. Great work as usual.

Some more progress to report. I finished shapeing the neck and peg box today. It took longer than usual because I had to stop frequently due to the nerve damage I suffered recently. Rapid repitative motions like sanding and filing cause my arms to sieze up so I have to stop and let the nerves calm d...

I don't own a convertable anymore but the neck on the one I had was adjustable with an allen screw like the three bolt Fender necks from the 70's. The neck angles of my other Danos are between 1.5 and 2 degrees but some of them are shimmed. If memory serves me, the bridge was about .25" thick, ...

What a beauty! I bet it just screams. Great job!

Great work Jim. I like the simplicity and the distressing makes it look like an old classic.

A little more done today. I cut the blanks out for the neck, heel, and peg box and glued them up.

Rasps, files, scrapers, and sandpaper. I'll have to talk to my friend and get some pieces of pyrex and give that a try. Having worked with glass for 27 years I know how easy it will slice you up even when your being extra careful!

Great job! I love the way the knots and the string retainer on the back look like a face<G>. The inlay on the neck is well executed and looks great. Nice touch.

For those of you who might be interested I'm useing Kyle Abbott's book Shamisen of Japan as a resource for this build. You can check out his site at www.Bachido.com for more information on building and playing the shamisen. The gottan I'm building is going to be a gift for my daughter's Japanese gir...

Then I cut the body sides out, beveled the ends and started to glue it together. The body is 8x9", just enough to get from one 3 foot long poplar 1x3. This is the darkest piece of poplar I've seen, almost purple in places.

I got some work done yesterday, After squaring up the edges on the shooting board I glued the top plate together.

For my next build I'm going to attempt to make a Japanese gottan. The gottan is the poor mans shamisen, a three string banjo like instrument. The gottan differs in that it has a wooden head instead of one made out of cat skin. I will be making it out of poplar and maple from the Depot, and some othe...

Jason, Thomas, Andrew, and Eddie, Thank you ! I wasn't trying to be the first to finish but as I said in the opening post, medical issues are keeping me home so I have too much time on my hands. Hopefully the neuro-opthamologist will clear me to return to work when I see her next week. After all, if...

Great job Evan and John, that is so much better than anything you could buy! I love that National Crestwood shape and 3 P90's, man-o-man!

Great job! That burst is beautiful. Can't wait to see the tricone.

A simple concept well executed! Great Job!

Jason,Tristan, Steve, and Mark, Thank you! The fabric finishing is fun. Heres a tip. when you go to look at fabric take along a cutout of the shape of your body. you can then see how the pattern will look when reduced to its final shape. I've gotten some funny looks from salespeople as I stand there...

One last look!