ALL ABOARD and ALL ALIGNED.
I’ll begin to say that I haven’t been keeping up with the blog as much as I have in the recent past. A lot is going on, but I don't want to make excuses. I don’t know who is following my blog and I have no idea who cares to know my thoughts, but for those who are following, I chose not to contribute over the past few weeks because I’ve been mentally away. I’ve been stressed with all my ‘9-5’ duties, trying to create value in every way that I can. When I say creating value, I mean for everyone else but myself. I’ve basically forgotten about myself these last few weeks, and I haven’t been pushing the guitar build as much as I was prior to my holidays.
Regarding the build in the last 3 weeks, I’ve managed to do very few tasks. The first was sanding the entire body to be ready for finish. Sanding at this stage happens by hand. No machines. This is the point where you can't afford sanding the guitar to nothing. After sanding, the next step was pore fill. With the back and sides being Claro Walnut, it is extremely porous. So to pore fill, I take a two part epoxy and squeegee with an old hotel key card the epoxy into the pores. This is definitely a satisfying moment as this gives me a preview as to what the guitar will look like finished.
After pore filling twice now, you can see how sext this guitar is going to be. It moves. The figure of the Claro Walnut is absolutely hypnotizing. I think anyone can say, including Noel, this guitar is going to be sick!
Now on to the neck. Not much has happened on the neck other than blocking the neck and getting the angle right for the style of guitar – being 9 degrees. I do have to give a shout out to my home boy Tyler Waddell for having the ingenuity to make a jig to cut this juicy angle. Thanks Ty!
Beyond the guitar build, the team has been working together even more so. We had a production meeting with Jonard, Noel and myself. We needed to have the discussion to see where our heads were at now that we have AFA grant monies. I’ve mentioned in my previous posts that Noel and I have decided to defer our portion to utilize for building this business and propelling our vision outside of our project walls. I’m pleased to say that, including Jonard, we are still in the game. He’s on board and fully aligned.
We learned that Jonard has big aspirations for Guitarborn and also his personal brand. In saying this, the money that we’ve allocated for his contribution to the project will go back into the project indirectly. I appreciate the fact that knows what his strengths are, and on the other side, he knows his limitations. He recognizes that we can be even better at telling our story, and others, if we have the right equipment. Quality is his focus, and for that we appreciate him as a valued team member.
So, to our followers, expect to see ‘Chef’s Table’ quality going forward. We will do our best to entertain you while we inspire you.
-- Cliff
