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Laminated plastic sheets are cut into strips to become the black and white decorative purfling. | |
A rack holds a confusing array of laminated and plain binding and purfling. | |
The slow work begins with gluing and taping the purfling and binding in place. | |
Masking tape holds the binding on the edge as it is glued with a solvent based adhesive. | |
For increased clamping pressure, the entire body is overwrapped with a heavy cotton cord material. | |
Fancy guitars require more hand inlaid purfling. This one is getting ready for the pearl bordering around the end of the fingerboard | |
Temporary plastic spacing material is removed from the soundhole rings so abalone sections can be inlaid. | |
It's close work. | |
After all binding and purfling is applied and leveled, bodies get a leveling on a large "stroke" sander. | |
Final sanding before finishing. | |
Rough cutting neck billets. | |
Necks are carved with precision on this CNC machine. | |
Fingerboards are cut on CNC equipment, too, but require a bit of hand cleanup. | |
This is the fixture for drilling and inlaying the edge position inlay dots. | |
Binding the edges of the fingerboard. | |
Cleaning out the excess glue and dust from fret slots, using a high speed reciprocating saw similar to an orthopedist's cast removal saw. |
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Frets are placed and tapped into position by hand. | |
Final "seating" of the frets using an arbor press. | |
Fingerboards without edge binding need to have their fret slot ends sealed. | |
Leveling the sealed slot ends. | |
Peghead veneering. | |
Installing adjustable truss rods. | |
A row of modern pneumatic clamps make quick work of gluing fingerboards to necks. | |
As in most factories, fixture and process development is an ongoing affair. Here, the same job is done with screw clamps. | |
A batch of HD-28V necks. | |
For special contours, shaping and detail work, there are work stations for hand operations. | |
"Detailing" the peghead. | |
I'm not sure, but I think he's getting ready to play a little "air guitar." | |
Slotted pegheads require special attention. | |
The body and neck are completed now, and ready to get their first "fitting." | |
Adjusting the fit of a dovetail. | |
Checking. | |
And, rechecking. That's how it gets done right. | |
Final sanding of the neck before staining and filling. | |
More sanding. Here, a "downdraft" table draws the dust down and away. Even with all this sawing, routing, milling and sanding, the Martin factory has remarkably clean fresh air. | |
Tuner holes are drilled all at once on a six spindle drill press. |
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