Construction of a CB Model J

Chris routs the peghead for binding.

Binding is applied to the peghead in a similar manner as the body.

The small, tightly-curved peghead binding pieces are pre-bent, beveled and trimmed by hand before application.

Position dots are installed in the side of the fingerboard.

Using a small chisel, Chris begins the critical process of hand-fitting the neck to the body. Only a small amount of wood is removed at a time until the fit is perfect.

Chris test-fits the neck in the body dovetail.

Using a temporarily-applied bridge, Chris checks neck fit for alignment with the center of the body.

After the neck is fit, the process of inlaying the heel cap begins. Once the pearl has been cut, Chris traces the outline of each piece onto the heel cap.

The heel cap is routed for inlays.

The individual mother-of-pearl and abalone pieces are glued into the heel cap. Chris' original paper tracing of the rose blossom is still glued to the pearl, and will be removed when the surface of the pearl is sanded down to the level of the heel cap.

Chris hand-engraves the heel cap inlay. Red filler will be used to fill the engraving lines on the rose blossom, while black will be used on the leaves.