Day Three

At this point, I remember from my schooldays – specifically my woodwork classes – that this is the dreary, mind-numbing stage of converting a lump of wood into something useful. 

I've bound up the ebony fretboard with green frogtape (low-tack masking tape) part of the neck and started the process of sealing the body and the neck with 1:1 coatings of boiled linseed oil diluted with White Spirit applied with a lint-free cloth. The boring bit's actually the waiting while the various coatings are absorbed by the wood. Of course, that takes longer with each successive coating. 

Right now I'm at coating four so about a third of the way through. The amber colour of the linseed oil is having an effect on the reddy natural shade of the mahogany and is also darkening the overall effect, especially on the body. If I have any serious concern it is that the wood of the body (a two-part lump) is somewhat redder than the neck whereas I'm hoping that by the end of the sealing and then the application of progressively less dilute coats of light oak satin-finish polyester the two parts will look much the same colour. It won't be a disaster if they're not but less pleasing aesthetically. 







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