After the braces are rough-shaped, Chris proceeds to contour the braces by hand using a finger plane.

The area where the main "X" braces meet is sculpted with a chisel.

Once the braces are scalloped to their final shape, Chris smoothes and fine-tunes the braces using sandpaper.

Continuing with the sandpaper, Chris tap-tunes the top, fine-tuning the locations of the "live" areas of the top for maximum response, and carefully shaping and smoothing the braces until the desired resonant qualities are achieved. A practiced ear as well as skilled hands are required here, as is the knowledge of how the top will interact with the specific set of wood chosen for the back and sides of the guitar.

The body has been assembled, and the neck has been rough-shaped. Peghead veneer has been installed, the channel for the adjustable truss rod has been cut, and the fretboard has been profiled and slotted for frets.

The body has been prepped and routed for binding. The neck is nearly complete, with adjustable truss rod and fretboard installed. Peghead inlay is complete, inner purfling of fretboard has been glued in place, and frets have been installed in the fretboard. Outer binding of the fretboard will be glued on and finished to the ends of the frets at a later stage.

Body now has "Zig-Zag" back strip glued in place. Pencil marks on upper bout are guide marks used for routing the binding ledges.

Detail shows "Zig-Zag" back strip and inlaid purfling at end pin area. Wooden insert at end pin appears to be a different color due to the lighting, but is actually an identical piece of Cocobolo with the grain turned at 90 degrees. Routed ledges for outer binding and inner purfling are apparent.

Grained Ivoroid binding is applied with quick-setting epoxy. Binding is hand-fabricated by Chris from sheet stock, so many binding choices are available.

Binding continues around the top. Inner purfling and outer binding are applied at the same time.

Next, the binding is scraped from the side with a blade, removing any excess glue and truing the binding surface with the sides.