I am pleased and surprised at how far along this build is. Remember, my goal is to deliver the finished tenor to Stuart Fuchs when he arrives in Anacortes, Wa. for his Sept. 29 gig. This photo shows the progress.
The sides are bent-The soundboard is complete except for a patch to be put around the sound hole-the back is complete- the bindings are bent and ready to install- the fretboard is slotted and the yin/yang ready to glue in-The neck is selected and ready to be carved- the peg head plate is selected and ready to install and the bridge is completed and sanded. A couple more days and I will be assembling an instrument.
The bridge patch and tone bars are just sitting in their approximate position before glueing. This is the heart of the Kasha system. Notice none of the tone bars extend to the edge, thus the entire soundboard can vibrate. Also the base strings, the G and C, are more heavily braced than the trebles.
Here is the finished bridge, made of Honduran Rosewood to match the fret board. It will sit directly over the trumpet shaped patch seen in the previous photo and the strings will penetrate all three pieces of wood, Bridge, soundboard and patch.
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I like to brand my instruments with this old wood burning set that dates from my duck decoy carving days. You have to peek inside the sound hole or side sound port to see this.
Stuart Fuchs is deep into Taoist philosophy and meditative methods. At his request I enjoy placing these Yin Yang symbols at the first fret but I find that there are many ways to arrange the Yin and the Yang. Stu has instructed me to use the arrangement on the right hand fret board. Now I know.
I am grateful to Kurt DenAdel, the owner of Bay Engraving in Bellingham for his remarkable skills with his laser machine. I take him thin pieces of Ebony and Holly and he not only cuts these delicate pieces including the tiny black and white dots, but he also cuts the circular hole that they fit into.
And so the third day ends and it feels like I have a head start on this build. But September looms!
