'Torano' and 'Devil Dancer' Go To Cleveland

I got a call recently from a really nice guy (John) from the Cleveland area, who wanted me to build a couple cigar box guitars for him.  The more we talked the more interesting things became.   John wanted one guitar for himself and one for his friend Tony.  

It appears Tony is a novice player and John wanted something Tony could play easily with a slide.  So, here comes 'Torano'.

'Torano' is a handmade electro/acoustic TotalRojo three-string cigar box guitar built on the platform of a very colorful Casa Torano cigar box. 

The neck is oak with scarf joint headstock overlayed with Spanish cedar. A maple fingerboard sports 21 medium/medium gauge hand dressed and seated frets. Brass position markers are easy to spot on the player side of the neck.  Soundhole covers are custom drawer pulls.  Open back tuners stretch the 5-4-3 strings from a standard acoustic set over a maple bridge to a Corian nut.  A Piezo transducer pickup is wired to an output jack for amplification.  String action is set up for either finger style or slide play, and the guitar is tuned to open G (G-D-g), which accommodates hundreds of songs.

A graphic of famed blues player Robert Johnson decorates the back of the body.

******************************************

John wanted something a little more elaborate for himself. 


I chose a Padron cigar box for the foundation for 'Devil Dancer'.  

A scarf jointed walnut neck with Spanish cedar overlay carries a maple fingerboard with 20 hand dressed and seated medium/medium gauge frets, corian nut, and open back tuners.  A Indian head nickel finishes off the fingerboard.  A walnut string retainer tailstock guides the 5-4-3 strings from a standard set of acoustic strings over the Cocobolo bridge and saddle created from a vintage skeleton key.  

A TotalRojo magnetic pickup wired to an output jack amplifies sound.  But, this little devil sounds pretty good acoustically, too.

John told me he really likes the legend of Robert Johnson, Mississippi Delta blues player, who allegedly sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads to learn how to play the blues.  

So, with this in mind, the graphic on the back of the body should rattle John's bass string.

Every Guitar Needs A Stand. Right!

I love building guitars, and I like to display them and to have them ready to play, but it's not very practical to have them stacked up in the corner or leaning against the wall to be knocked over by a renegade animal or grandkid.  Commercial stands are very practical, but they have the appeal of a shopping center bicycle stand.  And, it just seems appropriate that a handmade guitar should rest in a special homegrown stand.

I like to hang my guitars, but it's not a good idea to start drilling holes in the living room wall without the blessing of the person who really runs the place, my wife.  So, the next best thing was to create a stand that would keep 'Elvira' upright and safe.  

There's always a few leftover pieces from a build, or something that hasn't made its way into the creative flow.  In this case it was pieces of exotic Sapele and maple.  It's easy to build a simple guitar stand with a couple dowels, a base board, upright supports, and a back rest, but I wanted something that would be a bit different and that would compliment my guitar.

The darker Sapale contrasting with the lighter maple wood satisfied my idea of how the stand could look.  I saw a gun rack several years ago that was freestanding and I liked how it looked, so I incorporated some of the design into what would work for a guitar.  

The legs, which are attached to the angled and contoured feet, fit snugly against the upright shaft.  You'll notice the braces separating the feet and legs are contoured and angled as well, and the bottoms of the feet are also angled to sit flat on the floor (stability).  By accident, the shaft when viewed straight-on looks a little like a stylized guitar.  All pieces are glued and screwed together with buttons to cover the screws for a nice sanitary completion.

The neck rest extends out from the shaft just far enough to keep the guitar body from hitting the legs, but angled enough to keep it from falling over.  Strips of soft carpet glued to the feet and 'hand' protect the guitar finish.

I had to add the TotalRojo logo lest I forget, in my old age, who made the thing.

If any of you pickers out there need a custom guitar stand, I think I could fix you up.  Give me a shout and we'll work something out.

Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, & Warren Haynes Perform "I'd Rather Go Blind"

Do yourself a favor and start your day with this!

4-String Tunings for the Cigar Box Guitar with Justin Johnson

I've been asked several times recently about tunings for a CBG.  This video by Justin probably explains it as well as any.  I hope it's helpful.

'Cella' Does Albuquerque

'Vintage Albuquerque', an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to supporting arts in education programs and outreach activities focused on K-12 students in New Mexico, will hold its 23rd annual wine event June 18-21, 2014. One of the state's premier art and culinary events, Vintage Albuquerque's June Wine Week showcases the talents of local artists and restaurateurs alongside wineries and winemakers from top wine-producing regions around the world.

Sounds like a great event, right, but what does it have to do with TotalRojo Guitars?

Well, I volunteered to donate a special guitar for the art auction, after having my arm twisted by Cate Stetson, who is an event board member, and a friend.

I had never heard of Vintage Albuquerque, but it only took Cate a few minutes to share her enthusiasm for it, and to provide me with details that would result in the creation of 'Cella'.

'Cella' is going to be displayed with some very impressive company, so I had to come up with a creative concept that might keep pace with Meryl Streep and Ted Turner.  

What better foundation than a wine box for a body to kick start the project.

I chose to create an electro/acoustic six-string using a Fender Strat neck, which I dug out of my inventory of parts I keep around for special occasions, but that's where the commercial material starts and ends.  The neck had to be joined with the body, which required a bit of ingenuity and planning.  And, because the body is a two-part box with hinged lid, the hinges had to be removed and the lid had to be reinforced for strength and stability, ala, handmade scalloped bracing.

The neck is attached with bolts to a permanent base glued to the box.  Corner pieces serve as pillars to attach the top with screws.

In keeping with the theme of the event, I chose to create sound holes in the top that correspond to the event logo, which are grape clusters in the shape of a 'V' and 'A'.  These openings correspond nicely to the size of the box, which in turn offers strong resonance.

A magnetic pickup with custom wood cover is located under the strings above the name in the center of the top. It is wired to volume/tone controls, which are topped with hand-turned maple knobs.  The floating bridge is hand formed from Ziricote wood and sports a custom Corian saddle.  The tailstock is also hand formed from Ziricote resting on a base of Spanish cedar, which is glued to the top.  I kept the original box art intact, but added the walnut corner pieces to accomplish two things, i.e., to add a little more to the design, and the small maple buttons cover the screws which connect the top to the body.


The opening in the top, where the neck heel joins the body needed to be dressed up, so I chose to design a walnut plate that would follow the theme . . . grapevine leaves and logo.

The flip side of the box was very plain, which allowed for a little creativity, but I wanted to create something that would stay with the event theme without being redundant.

Cate suggested, in our initial conversation, that the New Mexico State Flag was a really cool design, which might look good.  I thought about it, but the idea of color just didn't get me excited.  Great idea, but how will I pull this off and maintain integrity of design?

The flag design is really cool, so I decided to create the image out of walnut burl and glue it to the box.  Added corner pieces similar to those on the top, and voila, Vintage Albuquerque and New Mexico come together to form an object that can be hung on the wall or played for personal enjoyment. 

The tailend of the guitar is as close to original as it gets with the exception of a maple strap button and the output jack placed in the holes originally intended for a rope handle, which I discarded.

I took 'Cella' for a test drive today and I really like the way she sounds acoustically, and when plugged in, she can rattle the windows.  Perhaps whoever wins her will find as much enjoyment as I've had creating her.

Thanks Cate, for giving me the opportunity.

Original Delta Blues Legend on his Broomstick cigar box guitar

Another Special Tool

Bending the sides for an acoustic guitar is crucial to the shape and final result, a matched pair of ribs that fit the overall design of the instrument.   I suppose there are any number of ways to accomplish this.  And, commercial benders are available, but for a huge price.  So, I decided to create my own.  It didn't seem like such a complicated affair -- a method to apply heat to the wood at specified points, and a stable platform on which to apply pressure to shape the wood -- so, take a look at the simple device I chose to assemble.

No it's not a spud gun.  It's a TotalRojo acoustic guitar rib bender.

For less than $40 in parts and a couple hours labor, I created a simple bender.  Because of the hand pressure needed to be applied to the straight wood guitar sides during the bending process, the unit has to be secure and comfortable to use, so I constructed it with a wood base that would fit into the jaws of the small bench vice.  It can sit horizontally (see photo), or can stand on the end (see the lip extending beyond the back), whichever is the best position needed.  

I chose two-inch copper tube for the heater (geez that stuff is pricey - $19 a foot).  Found a 600-watt heating element on Ebay from China for three-and-a-half bucks.  A light dimmer switch for $4+, and three feet of heavy-duty wire and plug for another five bucks.  A two-inch metal washer and conduit clamps from my junk drawer.  A cigar box laying around for a future as an amplifier did the trick for a 'control' enclosure. A roll of aluminum foil pilfered from the kitchen.  And, a copper cap to hold things together.

Acquiring the copper tube and cap was a hoot and worth telling about.  After searching all over town for 2-inch copper tube, I finally landed at Powell Supply.  I've driven by the place for twenty years, but never had the need to stop in.  It was like going into a time warp, straight into the fifties (perhaps earlier).  An office on the left, entry way cluttered with stuff straight ahead, and parts department on the right.  It didn't smell like a hardware or electrical supply store, whatever they really smell like.  It smelled of delicious food!  The combination of vegetables, meat, garlic, and gawd-only-knows what else, but it smelled good, and I was hungry.  Why the food?  To feed customers, what else.  You sure as hell never get this treatment at Lowes or The Home Depot.

The guy at the parts counter fixed me up with the tube and cap.  I offered to pay him, but he said, "You gotta go across the hall to the window, and my mom will take your money."  Ok, off I go with invoice in hand to see Mom.  The window is like what we used to see in old theater ticket booths or at old bank teller stations. Mom is an older gray-haired lady (and very nice I might add), who was reading something when I approached her window.  She must not have seen me, but another older family member let her know I was standing there looking bewildered with money in my hand.  She looked at the invoice and proclaimed, "That copper is sure pricey, isn't it son."  Son, hell I'm 73 years old, so how old must she be?  I asked, "Why is that?" She replied, "Because, folks are stealing it right and left."  It doesn't make sense to me that the price of something should be governed by theft, but I wasn't about to get into a discussion about that.  I just picked up my stuff, stuck the change in my pocket, smiled, looked around for nostalgia sake, and left the building.  I look forward to the next visit at Powell Supply.

Enough of that.  Here's the detail of the construction process, which is simple.

I placed the metal washer inside the tube at one end and used a hammer to crimp the edge to hold the washer in place.  Then, I stuffed the tube full of aluminum foil (tamping it down tightly with a wood dowel and hammer), which is there to conduct heat. Drilled a hole into the center of the foil to accommodate the heating element. Ran the element wires through a small hole drilled in the copper cap and into the cigar box through another small hole.  Packed the cap with foil and slid it onto the tube, where it was secured with screws in holes drilled in the cap and tub.  Mounted the dimmer to the cigar box lid. threaded the plug wire through a small hole in the box and attached the plug.  Attached all the wires in the box to the dimmer.  Ran a ground wire from the dimmer to the copper tube, where it was secured with one of the screws, so I wouldn't electrocute myself, if I ever accidentally touched the dimmer mechanism at the same time I touched the tube. Secured the tube on the base with the clamps.  Plugged it in, adjusted the dimmer control, and voila, heat in the tube.

That's it.  Pretty simple, and I like simple.

Acoustic Part Ten -- The Finish Line

Twenty-two years ago, the Martin Guitar Company created the D16-H limited edition dreadnought guitar.  It was an experimental project stimulated by continued requests for them to build an affordable guitar that emulated the sound of the pre-war (WWII) D18.  Why the D18?  Because, it is without question one of Martin's greatest creations with a combination treble/bass sound and sustain that is unequaled, so the experts say.  Martin revealed the D16-H in '92 and it was very well received, and instrument reviews indicated that the '16' equaled the '18' in quality and sound.  But, after a couple years, they stopped making the D16-H. Why?  Who knows. Probably, because they wanted the value of the '16' to increase, and for demand for exceptional instruments to continue.

I bought a D16-H back in the day and it is everything the critics said it was.  I thought that if I were ever to attempt building an acoustic guitar, it would have to be like the '16'.  Then, late last year, my friend David encouraged me to stop procrastinating and short-selling my ability and to get going on a new build.

If you've been reading posts hereon about the creation of the TotalRojo TR18D, you know the details.  My attempt was to create a guitar that is as close to the '16' as I could possibly come.  I researched the D-18 thoroughly and bought Martin parts and plans, so that's about as close as I could get to the real deal.

Tonight (March 10, 2014) I completed my guitar.  It plays and sounds exactly like my D16-H!   Thanks to encouragement from my wife, sons, and friend David, I think I may have finally learned how to build a very nice guitar.

Here it is.  Let me know what you think.

Mahogany neck with bone nut; rosewood headstock overlay; Shaler tuners; rosewood fingerboard with Mother of Pearl fret markers; rosewood bridge with bone saddle and MOP pins; tortoiseshell pick guard; ziricote wood heel cap; rosewood sides and bookmatched rosewood back; tortoiseshell binding.

Acoustic Part Nine -- The Home Stretch

This morning, I completed the 'finish' process.  Four coats of sealer applied by hand to the neck and body was the first order of business in this elongated journey.  Then it was nineteen coats of oil hand applied with sanding between every third coat (graduating from 250 grit to 1200 grit wet/dry paper).

It's difficult to see the luster created on the top by the application of oil, but it is there.  The finish is not as mirror-like as it would be if it were sprayed, but after it is rubbed out with compound and then waxed, it is going to be just what the doctor ordered.  I chose not to stain any of the surfaces so the raw grain would be accentuated, and it was a great choice.  However, this really worked out well with the top in that the oil dries with a slight amber glow to it, which really mellows out the brightness of the spruce wood.  The area taped off with blue painters tape is where the bridge will be glued in place (wood-to-wood with no finish to interfere with the bonding process), which is required so the fear of separation is eliminated.

It's easier to see the beauty of the rosewood in this shot of the back and sides.  The book matched back looked exactly like I wanted, and the tortoiseshell binding accentuates it so well.

This shot shows off the grain of the book matched rosewood ribs and mahogany insert where the ribs are joined at the back of the guitar.  Many options can be applied to the insert, but I settled on the simple mahogany, which matched the neck, rather than colored plastic.  There's nothing fancy about this creation, but that is exactly what I intended from the start for my first acoustic guitar building effort.  However, I am very pleased with the result, and I'm picky as hell about my work.

Getting a good shot of the neck is difficult as it hangs in the shop, but I think you can see how well this turned out.  Now that the finish is complete, I can remove the painters tape covering the surface of the fretboard.

Like the body, the rosewood headstock overlay is beautiful.  The TotalRojo logo is there at the top, but not 'in your face', which is by design.  I want to enjoy the beauty of the wood.

The neck and body will hang for the next couple weeks in my shop, while the oil cures and hardens to the point that I can commence attaching the bridge, cutting string slots in the nut, assembly of the tuners, adjusting string 'action' through fine adjustment of the saddle, and buffing and polishing the finish.

I can hardly wait to play this little devil, which I've named "Elvira".  Hopefully, all the measuring and re-measuring numerous times, and the meticulous attention to detail, which was recommended by the experts, none the least of which is my friend Larry at Tadpole Guitars, was enough to make this thing come alive.

Thanks Larry for your guidance and encouragement!  And, thanks to David for his constant urging, without which I would never have developed the confidence to take on the project.  He scolded me several times about 'short selling' my talent.  Perhaps he is right.

Stay tuned for the final chapter on Elvira, and the commencement of the next creation.  Like one of my wife's chocolate chip cookies, I cannot have just one.

BB King Style Guitar Lesson - Slow Blues Ballad - EP041

Acoustic Part Eight -- Finish Line in Sight

The finish line is in sight, and like all other stages in this acoustic ride, preparing for finish has been an interesting experience.

I don't have a spray booth in my workshop, and I don't think I can convince my wife that the smell of lacquer in the morning would be a good thing, so off I go on the path of least resistance . . . have the guitar finished by an outside source.  Well, easier said than done.  The pros (Martin Guitars) don't mess with anything outside the confines of their company creations.  The luthier shops in Columbus and Cleveland have determined that, if they decide to take on outside work, it is costly, with the least expensive being $1,200 to spray a guitar neck and body.

The most experienced luthier in Columbus, and also the most expensive, made a comment that got me to thinking critically.  He said, "We think a person who builds a guitar should take it all the way from start to finish."  I think he is correct!  Thank you, John for motivating this cautious old guy.

So, off I ride on the research journey. After phone calls and product research, my friend Larry suggested that I consider gun stock oil.  "What," I asked him?  "I'm building a guitar, not a weapon."  That's when he explained the advantages of using TruOil.  It's easy to apply.  It's inexpensive.  It's durable (think of a rifle being banged around in the back of Bubba's 4-wheeler).  And, the final result is beautiful.

A call to Birchwood-Casey (they're the folks who manufacture TruOil) and a step-by-step tutorial from a real live person on the other end of the call, I'm expecting to receive the stuff I need (sealer and finish) today. Woohoo, I'm almost at the finish line.

However, this stage too, requires a couple special tools.  Geez, in the nearly 80 hours involved in this project, about half the time has been involved in creating special tools or waiting for glue to dry.  But, it's time well spent, or in my case, money saved for the next creation.

Since I'm hand applying the finish, I need a method by which the guitar surfaces can be accessed without difficulty and so that I don't screw up the finish.  StewMac would gladly sell me a metal gadget that will clamp nicely in my bench vice and which will turn in any direction.  A great device, but the down side is that it will cost nearly three hundred bucks.  I don't think so!

What to do?  Whoa!  For years, I've been stumbling over a bicycle stand my son thought I needed, when he wanted to get rid of it.  It adjusts in height and angle.  The top bracket is designed with a trough and clamp to hold a bike frame top tube.  It's sturdy, so why won't it work for a guitar finish stand? It will, and it does.  And, the best part is it's free.

All I needed to do to make this thing work was to create a part that would attach to the guitar body and fit the stand.  A wood dowel with piece to fit the neck joint on the guitar and a threaded metal shaft to attach to the guitar body did the trick.

It's fully adjustable and it turns easily in the clamp.

The same principle works for the neck.  After finish is applied, I can hang the neck to dry without worrying about anything getting screwed up.  I love it when a plan comes together.

Allmosta Acoustic Guitar -- Part Seven

Remember in the last post, when I mentioned that Uncle Sam's Postal Service saved me from eco-unfriendly government regulations.

OK, let me explain.  I'm into the building process, where the next step is to cut channels and add binding to the guitar body.  Simple, right?  Not so quick.  I can cut the channels, because of the handy-dandy router table I made a while back, but adding the binding is a little more involved.

Why, you ask?  Well, it seems that our good government regulators don't think it is in good form to send certain types of plastic materials through our domestic mail system.  According to their quirky determination the plastic is unstable and susceptible to catching fire.  However, they don't seem to mind if the same product is shipped direct to my home from China.  Figure that out, if you can!  This is why I think we should allow any third grade class in the US to regulate products and process, and to send our good congressmen/women (every one of them) on a one-way adventure to inhabit Neptune -- God help the Neptunese.

How do I know this?  Because, I wanted to add tortoiseshell binding to replace the white stuff that came with the kit.  I called my friend Liz at Martin Guitar,'cause she's the product wizard there, to order the required quantity.  Sure, she said, "We have it. Are you going to pick it up?"  "No!", I replied, "I need you to ship it." 'Can't do", she said.  That's when I learned about the regulation  our Washington braintrust has developed.

Alright, enough already.  Let's get on with the fun stuff.

I received the tortoiseshell binding from China five days after I ordered it on-line.  While waiting for the binding, StewMac shipped the necessary glue for adhering plastic to wood and tape to hold the binding in place, along with abalone fret marker dots, bridge pins and strap button.

In the photo at left, you can see how the binding is glued in place and held firm with tape, while the glue dries in about two minutes.  The blue tape outlines the bridge position, which will come later.

When gluing binding to the channels it is important to make sure that a small portion of the binding is 'proud' of the surfaces. The excess will be removed with a cabinet scraper in the initial process and sanded smooth with the surface to finish the process.


I was expecting this to be a lot more difficult procedure than it turned out to be, and the result is awesome.
I really like how the color of the tortoiseshell compliments the color and grain of the rosewood sides and back.




Next in the process was to apply a heel 'cap' to the bottom surface of the heel (that portion of the neck extending down vertically on the front of the body.  The kit came with a plastic heel cap, but I don't like how it looks, so I chose to cut a piece of Ziricote to finish off the heel.

And, to finish off the backside of the guitar, where the adjoining sides created a seam, I cut a wedge-shaped piece of mahogany to match the neck.  After carefully cutting away the necessary body material, I glued the wedge in place.  (I need to point out that I did this prior to attaching the binding).

 What's left to do?


Shape the nut and saddle, and drill the tuner holes in the headstock.  The tuner holes are easy, it's just a matter of aligning them perfectly on the headstock in the positions recommended by Martin.  Again, measure twice or three times and drill once.  The nut and saddle are hand shaped from pieces of bone to correspond with the curvature of the fretboard and bridge.  If it's done correctly, the strings will follow the curvature and the string action will be just right.  I may need to do a little adjustment when the strings are attached, but I think it will be minimal.









The tape is there to mark the centerline of the neck, so I can locate the string slots.

The next phase is finish, so stay tuned.

Acoustic Progress -- Part Six

Although I like 'simple', when it comes to project detail, I've found that complications pop up regularly in the world of luthery.

Since the last post about my venture into the acoustic guitar-building arena, I've learned a lot more about the building process; how additional specialty tools aid the process; and how current eco-unfriendly government restrictions cause unplanned delays.  But, Uncle Sam's Postal Service saved the day (I'll explain this later), so I don't want to hear any complaining about how you didn't receive Aunt Willa's birthday card on time.

So, just what have I been up to?

After gluing up the body, the neck was the next order of business.  This is one of the most crucial elements in the building process (how do I know?, because my friends at Martin Guitar are so willing to share advice and information), because, if the angles of the heel and neck are not perfect nothing else will align properly and string action will be lousy.  I follow the 'measure twice (or more) and cut once' theory, always, and it works!  The angle alignments are spot-on Martin recommendations.

With the bare neck attached to the body and flush with the top, a straight-edge rule lying flush with the neck surface will ideally be 1/16" - 3/32" off the body surface at the point where the saddle will be positioned on the body. To achieve this, the heel (where the neck meets the body vertically) must be carefully shaved to fit.  And, this is only the start.  The center line of the neck must also be in alignment with the center line of the body.  So, one side of the heel may need to be shaved more than the other, while maintaining vertical integrity.

In the photo above, you'll notice a cavity running the length of the neck, which is the channel for the truss rod.

In the photo to the left, the truss rod is in place, sitting flush with the top of the neck.

The rod is shrink wrapped in a vinyl film for a reason -- to prevent the epoxy resin used to glue it in place from seeping into the rod's movable parts and rendering it useless for possible neck adjustment, down the road.

Next comes attaching the fingerboard to the neck.  This can be done in a couple ways, but the 'simple' rule applies -- press in the frets and dress them prior to gluing the board in place.  Why?  Because, it would be easy to snap off the portion of the fingerboard where it overlaps the heel, if the board were to be glued on prior to setting the frets.

Pressing the frets into the fingerboard is my method of choice.  Many luthiers recommend using a brass hammer to do this, but I don't subscribe to the notion that banging around on critical pieces is the solution to task.  So, I simply (there it is again, 'simple') cut a piece of oak scrap to the contour of the fret board; drilled a hole in the middle of the die and glued in a steel rod, to create a fret press that would fit my drill press.  Then I ran the bulk fret stock through my 'cheapo' home-made fret wire bender; cut it to length for each fret slot; pressed the wire in place; dressed the protruding ends with a file; finished the process with a fret file and steel wool, and voila, a completed fret board ready to be glued to the neck.

Whoa, gluing the fingerboard to the neck is a little more difficult than slapping one board on another and tossing a rock on it for weight.

The headstock is at an angle.  The back of the neck is rounded off.  The heel extends downward and is curved.

I need a new tool!  As you can see, I created a simple jig to hold the neck in place, while a sturdy board rests on the top of the fretboard for adjustable clamps to apply pressure without damaging the surface of the board. This took me all of thirty minutes to build from scrap stock laying around the shop gathering dust.  Damn, I like it when a plan comes together!

When the glue dries, I'll be ready to move on to the next phase of the acoustic dream.  Stay tuned for more progress.

Another Acoustic Tool -- Part Five

I mentioned in the last post that I had completed gluing the body together and the next step would be cutting a channel in the top and back edges for adding binding (purfling).

I've learned that this process too can be done in a couple ways.  If I were a 'real' luthier, I might do this by hand with a homemade tool created from a broken saw blade, but that seems like it's not a simple procedure.  Remember, I said I like simple.  So, I chose to build a special router table, which would work a little easier for me.  This whole construction effort took about two hours and a few buck worth of scrap wood I had laying around collecting dust.  Geez, I love it when a plan comes together.

I surface mounted a small craft router under the top working surface near the edge so that the remaining open surface is where the guitar body will rest during the channel routing process.

The router blade can be moved up or down for precise adjustment in depth of the channel.

A special adjustable fence had to be fabricated to adjust the thickness of the channel into the side of the guitar.  We're not talking about a channel the size of the Grand Canyon, so the movement of the fence is minimal. The binding is slightly more than one-sixteenth-inch thick and about one-quarter-inch deep.

The body of the guitar will ride on the fence base up against the adjustable nose.  By carefully moving the body surface against the nose and perpendicular to the the router blade, the channel can be cut into the body with very little difficulty, so long as I pay attention to what I'm doing and don't get lost in some Muddy Water's blues trip evolving from the recesses of my mind.