Since the last post...
Off camera, lacquer has cured for several weeks. Larry has wet sanded neck and body and buffed both on a stationary wheel to a high gloss. Andy has made a bridge of African ebony. The bridge is positioned with a fixture and its outline scribed in the lacquer of the top with an exacto knife. Once the lacquer beneath the bridge footprint has been carefully removed the bridge is glued to the spruce of the top. Clamping is done with a vacuum clamp.With no string tension on the neck, the frets have been ground and polished. The frets must be absolutely flat at this point. When the guitar is strung up, the string tension should create proper “relief” in the neck which allows comfortable playing without excessive string height.
Mass and height of the bridge as well as saddle height and string height off the face of the guitar are absolutely critical to best possible sound of each guitar. These factors can vary widely from one guitar to another.