With the fretboard on it was time to final fit the neck. This required gluing in a couple of shims into the neck mortice. The shim veneer is supplied.

Once that was glued in it needed to be trimmed back to make the neck a tight fit. This was an extremely long process – I must have chalked and tested the neck more than 500 times. Oddly satisfying though. Hopefully having done it once it will be quicker next time. The gap under the fretboard must be tested with a feeler gauge to make sure the fretboard is parallel with the top, so the neck must be accurate in 3 axes of rotation. Not easy.

Anyway, got that done in the end. Then the final frets went in and I filed the ends.

Next stage is putting laquer on. My lungs are dodgy after COVID so I really didn’t want to use anything highly toxic. Instead I’m finishing this guitar with shellac. I’ve never tried this before so it will be a learning experience.

I’m trying to use pumice to fill the grain. Not particularly successful so far but it still looks lovely and I’ll have another go. I’m not using stain – I like the natural appearance of the wood.