Thanks Jim, you got some real nice guitars too. Looks pretty professional, is this how you make your living?

Beautiful craftsmanship. All the way around. your necks are the finest I've seen.

Hey there Jim - Thanks for the invite!

Jim, thanks for the comment on the vid! Nice looking builds by the way

thanks for the pics,that is neat ! what is the black material?

Do you have a good source? >>

For the carbon-fiber sheets, I got mine at the hobby store, in the model aircraft dep't. Tubes/spars, I got at a kite shop on the coast for inevitable stunt kite mishaps, but "Into The Wind" on the web could fix you up with all kinds of carbon-fiber tubes.

And was that the Sortacaster that you sold? What do you get for them >>

It was Curly I sold, and was fool enough to let it go for a paltry $300, but the guy's a good friend, and runs the music store here - there's a "word of mouth" advertising component at work, which I like. I do hope to beat minimum wage one of these days.

re: kite spars for reinforcement - a fearless experiment. The jury's still out, but it seems to work fine. I used a carbon fiber tube, not fiberglass, well buttered with epoxy. I just sold the guitar I tried it with, and I expect I'll hear about it if it doesn't pan out, but I remain confident.
More promising is a thin 1/2" slab of carbon fiber superglued in a nice-fitting saw kerf. I'm liking that a lot, used it in the Sortacaster; the neck's dead flat under tension, and the thing's just packed with sustain.

yeah, i have an old yairi that is going to need one sometime in the near future

Thanks! It was a shot I popped off a couple nights ago, to see if I could sell the thing to a friend of a friend. No sale, but I did get front page, so that was even better!

hey JIm..you ever done a neck reset?

My first Build is almost done. I tossed it together and stringed it up for a test. Picture will be posted soon.....and yes Ben is a Florida Guy he just played on new years day here in Orlando for 4 hours at Will's Pub. That Beast that Johnny Lowebow build him is a real treat to hear live.

Thanks again for the kind words.... I really like these CBG's they have me completely distracted... Actually I have a long way to go myself with regards to my building... If there is anything I can do to help you in your approach just let me know. I certainly have picked a lot of brains in my day. Anyway I am just trying to find my way and these instruments can be forgiving and certainly rewarding... Thanks again take care - Jim

ahh yes...if i had just scrolled through a couple more pics i would have seen that!I really love your work, and i aspire to make guitars half the caliber of yours, maybe even a dreadnaught someday

Thank you for your warm Holiday Wishes. Best of Health and Wealth in 2010. Enjoy.

Thank you Jim. Wishing you, your loved ones, and friends a Happy Holiday. Enjoy.

thanks Jim. i often drill then glue in a 3/4 oak dowel a little off center where i would have a screw on softer woods. i learned that one when i was changin out front doors, the screw holes were often stripped out.

Thanks for your comment on my video. Good times, bad times, there's always a song.
Sweet Baby Ray

Thank you. This is a short clip from this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f78-i801Vxo

The whole song can be found played on a 1930 Stella here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_naclDsu_rY

hey jim how ya be doing man? just dropped by ta say that i haven't had a chance to record with the area 51 resonator yet.a coupla nights ago was the first time i had strings on it and just strummed the strings without playing it at all. well last night i set it up again after putting some finish on the woodwork of the build. started to play slide on it thru my little dano amp with headphones and wow crazy sounds. so now i,m gonna add a piezo under the circuit board to get the tone of the glass from the body too.then put a toggle switch to go to regular sound, or area 51 sound. i will try to do a demo video of the weird sound of area 51 after i actually get all the details of this build finished, maybe in the next few days it will be done. so several reasons had me name this build area 51 resonator.----glass top---headstock piezo----circuit board visual effects----and the number 51 is on the package of piezo,s and one more is i just finished reading a book about area 51. its my last build of my first year of discovering cigar box guitars.. you will find my video here after i get the area 51 build ready to record with jim. take care man and talk with ya later my friend.