I build all of my cbgs for acoustic sound. I use wood and bone for most of my parts.Most all of my necks are tapered and shaped.Most all of my cbgs are fretted and adjusted to play fret or slid 1/8 at the 12th.I use varies hardwoods domestic and exotic. I build almost everything 18 to 27 1 to 6 string.
This box and others like it the box lids are too thick so they have to be sanding down. During this process you lose all the graphics/paint. This leaves a new slate to create. Here I left the blue paint on the edges and stained the top and edges. The stain i used is a glaze on the painted edges I leave darker stripes and leave some of the blue showing through . After that I added blue highlights that follow the grains on the top with a brush and blue acrylic paint. When it all dried I sprayed it with lacquer. After the first coat it is sanded with a 120 grit sanding block and the paint is touched up.finally 3 more coats of lacquer sanding between each coat with steel wool. The quality I produce takes a lot of work the techniques I use started like everyone else a stick in a box using a bolt for a nut and bridge playing it with a slide. I developed my techniques through an extensive knowledge of wood crafts and a life time of working with it. There has been a lot of help from others before me pictures, video, conversation, trial and error, books, internet etc. Once you know the techniques and understand how it's done and have the talent to do the work the rest is just refinement and art.