Ray in the foothills
@ray-gorman001.bsky.social
master woodworker, luthier, amateur musician
animal lover
animal lover
Indian Rosewood Dread-
The two major parts get an unwaxed shellac washcoat before I join them together.
My nitrocellulose lacquer finish is simple... start that tomorrow.
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
best, ray
The two major parts get an unwaxed shellac washcoat before I join them together.
My nitrocellulose lacquer finish is simple... start that tomorrow.
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
best, ray
November 28, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Indian Rosewood Dread-
The two major parts get an unwaxed shellac washcoat before I join them together.
My nitrocellulose lacquer finish is simple... start that tomorrow.
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
best, ray
The two major parts get an unwaxed shellac washcoat before I join them together.
My nitrocellulose lacquer finish is simple... start that tomorrow.
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
best, ray
Acoustic Dread-
Glue the Bridge!
I glue my bridges on before the finishing process, that way I can do a final check for placement accuracy.
I have small wood indexing pins so I can dry fit and dry clamp before I apply the hot hide glue. My prediction-
This'll stick good
#lutherie
#yes
best, ray
Glue the Bridge!
I glue my bridges on before the finishing process, that way I can do a final check for placement accuracy.
I have small wood indexing pins so I can dry fit and dry clamp before I apply the hot hide glue. My prediction-
This'll stick good
#lutherie
#yes
best, ray
November 25, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Indian Rosewood Dreadnought-
So.... the final operation before finishing the neck-
bright white side dots!
"say that 10 times real fast"
#lutherie
#acoustic
#boutiqueguitars
best, ray
So.... the final operation before finishing the neck-
bright white side dots!
"say that 10 times real fast"
#lutherie
#acoustic
#boutiqueguitars
best, ray
November 23, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Indian Rosewood Dreadnought-
So.... the final operation before finishing the neck-
bright white side dots!
"say that 10 times real fast"
#lutherie
#acoustic
#boutiqueguitars
best, ray
So.... the final operation before finishing the neck-
bright white side dots!
"say that 10 times real fast"
#lutherie
#acoustic
#boutiqueguitars
best, ray
November 21, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Indian Rosewood Dreadnought
Carving the Neck-
Using the Faceting Method, I have hand-carved the Mahogany Neck and Heel. Now I finish up the Volute area, sand all and give it the final feel test. Numbers are right on and it feels as good as any I've built.
#lutherie
#acoustic
#davidgilmour
best, ray
Carving the Neck-
Using the Faceting Method, I have hand-carved the Mahogany Neck and Heel. Now I finish up the Volute area, sand all and give it the final feel test. Numbers are right on and it feels as good as any I've built.
#lutherie
#acoustic
#davidgilmour
best, ray
November 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Indian Rosewood Dreadnought
Carving the Neck-
Using the Faceting Method, I have hand-carved the Mahogany Neck and Heel. Now I finish up the Volute area, sand all and give it the final feel test. Numbers are right on and it feels as good as any I've built.
#lutherie
#acoustic
#davidgilmour
best, ray
Carving the Neck-
Using the Faceting Method, I have hand-carved the Mahogany Neck and Heel. Now I finish up the Volute area, sand all and give it the final feel test. Numbers are right on and it feels as good as any I've built.
#lutherie
#acoustic
#davidgilmour
best, ray
Acoustic guitar-
There are many ways to carve a guitar neck... jigs n routers n CNC n fancy gizmos.
But essentially... a curve can be thought of as progressively smaller FLAT surfaces that end up tight enough to easily sand round.
The method is called
Faceting. Go figurr
#lutherie
best, ray
There are many ways to carve a guitar neck... jigs n routers n CNC n fancy gizmos.
But essentially... a curve can be thought of as progressively smaller FLAT surfaces that end up tight enough to easily sand round.
The method is called
Faceting. Go figurr
#lutherie
best, ray
November 17, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Acoustic guitar-
There are many ways to carve a guitar neck... jigs n routers n CNC n fancy gizmos.
But essentially... a curve can be thought of as progressively smaller FLAT surfaces that end up tight enough to easily sand round.
The method is called
Faceting. Go figurr
#lutherie
best, ray
There are many ways to carve a guitar neck... jigs n routers n CNC n fancy gizmos.
But essentially... a curve can be thought of as progressively smaller FLAT surfaces that end up tight enough to easily sand round.
The method is called
Faceting. Go figurr
#lutherie
best, ray
2026 Indian Rosewood Dreadnought
The Black Oak-
Welp, got everything fitted, rough cut and test assembled... now time to glue on the fret board so I can carve the neck.
#bespokeinstruments
#acoustic
#lutherie
best, ray
The Black Oak-
Welp, got everything fitted, rough cut and test assembled... now time to glue on the fret board so I can carve the neck.
#bespokeinstruments
#acoustic
#lutherie
best, ray
November 14, 2025 at 7:44 PM
2026 Indian Rosewood Dreadnought
The Black Oak-
Welp, got everything fitted, rough cut and test assembled... now time to glue on the fret board so I can carve the neck.
#bespokeinstruments
#acoustic
#lutherie
best, ray
The Black Oak-
Welp, got everything fitted, rough cut and test assembled... now time to glue on the fret board so I can carve the neck.
#bespokeinstruments
#acoustic
#lutherie
best, ray
Indian Rosewood
Acoustic Dreadnought-
Head shape completed
Indian Rosewood face veneer
Qtr. Sawn Maple back veneer
18-1 Grover Tuners
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
#rainyday
best, ray
Acoustic Dreadnought-
Head shape completed
Indian Rosewood face veneer
Qtr. Sawn Maple back veneer
18-1 Grover Tuners
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
#rainyday
best, ray
November 13, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Indian Rosewood
Acoustic Dreadnought-
Head shape completed
Indian Rosewood face veneer
Qtr. Sawn Maple back veneer
18-1 Grover Tuners
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
#rainyday
best, ray
Acoustic Dreadnought-
Head shape completed
Indian Rosewood face veneer
Qtr. Sawn Maple back veneer
18-1 Grover Tuners
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
#rainyday
best, ray
Guitar Builder's Joy-
We guitar builders sure like to clamp stuff!
A bit of hot pipe wood bending, and then I clamp on a maple veneer that turns upward at the volute area.
If this works out, should be pretty on the back of the headstock.
Exciting for woodworkers!
#lutherie
#woodworking
best, ray
We guitar builders sure like to clamp stuff!
A bit of hot pipe wood bending, and then I clamp on a maple veneer that turns upward at the volute area.
If this works out, should be pretty on the back of the headstock.
Exciting for woodworkers!
#lutherie
#woodworking
best, ray
November 12, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Guitar Builder's Joy-
We guitar builders sure like to clamp stuff!
A bit of hot pipe wood bending, and then I clamp on a maple veneer that turns upward at the volute area.
If this works out, should be pretty on the back of the headstock.
Exciting for woodworkers!
#lutherie
#woodworking
best, ray
We guitar builders sure like to clamp stuff!
A bit of hot pipe wood bending, and then I clamp on a maple veneer that turns upward at the volute area.
If this works out, should be pretty on the back of the headstock.
Exciting for woodworkers!
#lutherie
#woodworking
best, ray
Geetar builder-
In a big shop, the bolt-on hole setup would be punched in about 2 seconds. But here in "1 per year shop"... I use this great drill press to setup each hole for exact drilling.
The result is a neck that fits just right and aligns well.
Yupyup
#lutherie
#guitar
best, ray
In a big shop, the bolt-on hole setup would be punched in about 2 seconds. But here in "1 per year shop"... I use this great drill press to setup each hole for exact drilling.
The result is a neck that fits just right and aligns well.
Yupyup
#lutherie
#guitar
best, ray
November 11, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Indian Rosewood Dreadnought-
The Black Oak
Hey junior woodies!
Here's a some progress photos...
Radius the fret board (12')
Rough Mahogany neck
Fitting the neck joint
(It's a bolt-on system)
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
#bespokeinstruments
#countryblues
best, ray
The Black Oak
Hey junior woodies!
Here's a some progress photos...
Radius the fret board (12')
Rough Mahogany neck
Fitting the neck joint
(It's a bolt-on system)
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
#bespokeinstruments
#countryblues
best, ray
November 11, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Indian Rosewood Dreadnought-
The Black Oak
Hey junior woodies!
Here's a some progress photos...
Radius the fret board (12')
Rough Mahogany neck
Fitting the neck joint
(It's a bolt-on system)
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
#bespokeinstruments
#countryblues
best, ray
The Black Oak
Hey junior woodies!
Here's a some progress photos...
Radius the fret board (12')
Rough Mahogany neck
Fitting the neck joint
(It's a bolt-on system)
#lutherie
#acousticguitar
#bespokeinstruments
#countryblues
best, ray
Indian Rosewood Dreadnought /
The Black Oak-
Making an acoustic guitar neck has many steps, and I need to be as exacting as I can to prepare for the final carve.
So, after this dries, I'll do a few and we'll see how it takes shape.
#lutherie
#sweetmahogany
#acousticblues
best, ray
The Black Oak-
Making an acoustic guitar neck has many steps, and I need to be as exacting as I can to prepare for the final carve.
So, after this dries, I'll do a few and we'll see how it takes shape.
#lutherie
#sweetmahogany
#acousticblues
best, ray
November 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Indian Rosewood Dreadnought /
The Black Oak-
Making an acoustic guitar neck has many steps, and I need to be as exacting as I can to prepare for the final carve.
So, after this dries, I'll do a few and we'll see how it takes shape.
#lutherie
#sweetmahogany
#acousticblues
best, ray
The Black Oak-
Making an acoustic guitar neck has many steps, and I need to be as exacting as I can to prepare for the final carve.
So, after this dries, I'll do a few and we'll see how it takes shape.
#lutherie
#sweetmahogany
#acousticblues
best, ray
Indian Rosewood Dreadnought- #2026
Fret Board complete and ready for my new neck to be built. White MOP 5mm dots with a Pau abalone dot along side at 7th. Wood acorn inlay at bottom. The Black Oak
#customacoustic
#lutherie
#guitar
#leopardskinpillboxhat
best, ray
Fret Board complete and ready for my new neck to be built. White MOP 5mm dots with a Pau abalone dot along side at 7th. Wood acorn inlay at bottom. The Black Oak
#customacoustic
#lutherie
#guitar
#leopardskinpillboxhat
best, ray
October 31, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Indian Rosewood Dreadnought- #2026
Fret Board complete and ready for my new neck to be built. White MOP 5mm dots with a Pau abalone dot along side at 7th. Wood acorn inlay at bottom. The Black Oak
#customacoustic
#lutherie
#guitar
#leopardskinpillboxhat
best, ray
Fret Board complete and ready for my new neck to be built. White MOP 5mm dots with a Pau abalone dot along side at 7th. Wood acorn inlay at bottom. The Black Oak
#customacoustic
#lutherie
#guitar
#leopardskinpillboxhat
best, ray
OOPS! damn Ray!
A rare error 😱
I realized this morning
I built a 12-fret neck length
for a 14-fret design 😔
a simple math fart at the wrong time twice
I will face this error by fessing up to my peeps
and then "let's build it right, shall we?"
#rookiemath
#lutherie
best, ray
A rare error 😱
I realized this morning
I built a 12-fret neck length
for a 14-fret design 😔
a simple math fart at the wrong time twice
I will face this error by fessing up to my peeps
and then "let's build it right, shall we?"
#rookiemath
#lutherie
best, ray
October 24, 2025 at 2:46 AM
OOPS! damn Ray!
A rare error 😱
I realized this morning
I built a 12-fret neck length
for a 14-fret design 😔
a simple math fart at the wrong time twice
I will face this error by fessing up to my peeps
and then "let's build it right, shall we?"
#rookiemath
#lutherie
best, ray
A rare error 😱
I realized this morning
I built a 12-fret neck length
for a 14-fret design 😔
a simple math fart at the wrong time twice
I will face this error by fessing up to my peeps
and then "let's build it right, shall we?"
#rookiemath
#lutherie
best, ray
Acoustic Dreadnought-
Why do I like to build
acoustic guitars?
Welp... for one thing, I get to
clamp lotsa stuff together... most every day!
2 photos on this one-
1)This is the direction I'm going
AND....
2) I get to CLAMP stuff!
#woodworking
#lutherie
#acousticguitars
#magicslim
best, ray
Why do I like to build
acoustic guitars?
Welp... for one thing, I get to
clamp lotsa stuff together... most every day!
2 photos on this one-
1)This is the direction I'm going
AND....
2) I get to CLAMP stuff!
#woodworking
#lutherie
#acousticguitars
#magicslim
best, ray
October 22, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Acoustic Dreadnought-
Why do I like to build
acoustic guitars?
Welp... for one thing, I get to
clamp lotsa stuff together... most every day!
2 photos on this one-
1)This is the direction I'm going
AND....
2) I get to CLAMP stuff!
#woodworking
#lutherie
#acousticguitars
#magicslim
best, ray
Why do I like to build
acoustic guitars?
Welp... for one thing, I get to
clamp lotsa stuff together... most every day!
2 photos on this one-
1)This is the direction I'm going
AND....
2) I get to CLAMP stuff!
#woodworking
#lutherie
#acousticguitars
#magicslim
best, ray
Acoustic Steel
String-
Building the Neck... It will be a Bolt-On Neck with a 2-way truss rod and 2 thin carbon fiber rods for long-term strength. This is how I roll...
#sparenoexpense
#lutherie
#neilyoung
best, ray
String-
Building the Neck... It will be a Bolt-On Neck with a 2-way truss rod and 2 thin carbon fiber rods for long-term strength. This is how I roll...
#sparenoexpense
#lutherie
#neilyoung
best, ray
October 22, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Acoustic Steel
String-
Building the Neck... It will be a Bolt-On Neck with a 2-way truss rod and 2 thin carbon fiber rods for long-term strength. This is how I roll...
#sparenoexpense
#lutherie
#neilyoung
best, ray
String-
Building the Neck... It will be a Bolt-On Neck with a 2-way truss rod and 2 thin carbon fiber rods for long-term strength. This is how I roll...
#sparenoexpense
#lutherie
#neilyoung
best, ray
Indian Rosewood
Dreadnought-
A bit of an artistic experiment on the Neck. Yes, it's just another photo of wood clamped together... but really, that's what alot of these operations look like until we start shaping. We'll See!
#lutherie #clampit
#oldbrownglue
#blackoak
best, ray
Dreadnought-
A bit of an artistic experiment on the Neck. Yes, it's just another photo of wood clamped together... but really, that's what alot of these operations look like until we start shaping. We'll See!
#lutherie #clampit
#oldbrownglue
#blackoak
best, ray
October 21, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Indian Rosewood
Dreadnought-
A bit of an artistic experiment on the Neck. Yes, it's just another photo of wood clamped together... but really, that's what alot of these operations look like until we start shaping. We'll See!
#lutherie #clampit
#oldbrownglue
#blackoak
best, ray
Dreadnought-
A bit of an artistic experiment on the Neck. Yes, it's just another photo of wood clamped together... but really, that's what alot of these operations look like until we start shaping. We'll See!
#lutherie #clampit
#oldbrownglue
#blackoak
best, ray
Indian Rosewood
Dreadnought #2026
Making the Neck-
Genuine Mahogany
Neck angle will be 16 degrees
Wood grains opposed on glue up.
Hot Hide Glue... should be
Plenty strong
#lutherie. #quartersawn
#mahogany
#ramblinjackelliot
best, ray
Dreadnought #2026
Making the Neck-
Genuine Mahogany
Neck angle will be 16 degrees
Wood grains opposed on glue up.
Hot Hide Glue... should be
Plenty strong
#lutherie. #quartersawn
#mahogany
#ramblinjackelliot
best, ray
October 21, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Indian Rosewood
Dreadnought #2026
Making the Neck-
Genuine Mahogany
Neck angle will be 16 degrees
Wood grains opposed on glue up.
Hot Hide Glue... should be
Plenty strong
#lutherie. #quartersawn
#mahogany
#ramblinjackelliot
best, ray
Dreadnought #2026
Making the Neck-
Genuine Mahogany
Neck angle will be 16 degrees
Wood grains opposed on glue up.
Hot Hide Glue... should be
Plenty strong
#lutherie. #quartersawn
#mahogany
#ramblinjackelliot
best, ray
Indian Rosewood
#2026-1
Today the bindings and purflings are installed and cleaned up. Next, I start some detail work and plan out the neck work.
Jatoba hardwood bindings
Soft red herringbone purfling
b/w/b purfling (match rosette)
#lutherie
#boutiqueguitar
#robintrower
best, ray
#2026-1
Today the bindings and purflings are installed and cleaned up. Next, I start some detail work and plan out the neck work.
Jatoba hardwood bindings
Soft red herringbone purfling
b/w/b purfling (match rosette)
#lutherie
#boutiqueguitar
#robintrower
best, ray
October 15, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Indian Rosewood
#2026-1
Today the bindings and purflings are installed and cleaned up. Next, I start some detail work and plan out the neck work.
Jatoba hardwood bindings
Soft red herringbone purfling
b/w/b purfling (match rosette)
#lutherie
#boutiqueguitar
#robintrower
best, ray
#2026-1
Today the bindings and purflings are installed and cleaned up. Next, I start some detail work and plan out the neck work.
Jatoba hardwood bindings
Soft red herringbone purfling
b/w/b purfling (match rosette)
#lutherie
#boutiqueguitar
#robintrower
best, ray
Indian Rosewood
Acoustic #2026-
Welp, got the top binding and purflings glued and taped... my hands are tired.
Next... it all gets cleaned and detailed before I move on to the neck.
#acousticguitar
#lutherie
#woodworker
#blindlemonpledge
best, ray
Acoustic #2026-
Welp, got the top binding and purflings glued and taped... my hands are tired.
Next... it all gets cleaned and detailed before I move on to the neck.
#acousticguitar
#lutherie
#woodworker
#blindlemonpledge
best, ray
October 13, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Indian Rosewood
Acoustic #2026-
Welp, got the top binding and purflings glued and taped... my hands are tired.
Next... it all gets cleaned and detailed before I move on to the neck.
#acousticguitar
#lutherie
#woodworker
#blindlemonpledge
best, ray
Acoustic #2026-
Welp, got the top binding and purflings glued and taped... my hands are tired.
Next... it all gets cleaned and detailed before I move on to the neck.
#acousticguitar
#lutherie
#woodworker
#blindlemonpledge
best, ray
Indian Rosewood
Acoustic-
The edge on the back is complete. Jatoba hardwood binding and a soft red herringbone purfling.
Sand the top to 220 and a shellac washcoat to help keep the cut lines sharp and protect the soft grain from glue and tape.
#lutherie #acoustic
#custom #thewho
best, ray
Acoustic-
The edge on the back is complete. Jatoba hardwood binding and a soft red herringbone purfling.
Sand the top to 220 and a shellac washcoat to help keep the cut lines sharp and protect the soft grain from glue and tape.
#lutherie #acoustic
#custom #thewho
best, ray
October 11, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Indian Rosewood
Dreadnought-
Today the soundbox is glued up!
I have always used hot hide glue for almost all of my lutherie work.
Top thickness- .085
AAAA grade Sitka Spruce
top and bracing.
Master Grade Indian Rosewood back and sides
#countryblues
#luherie
#acousticguitar
best, ray
Dreadnought-
Today the soundbox is glued up!
I have always used hot hide glue for almost all of my lutherie work.
Top thickness- .085
AAAA grade Sitka Spruce
top and bracing.
Master Grade Indian Rosewood back and sides
#countryblues
#luherie
#acousticguitar
best, ray
October 7, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Indian Rosewood
Dreadnought-
Today the soundbox is glued up!
I have always used hot hide glue for almost all of my lutherie work.
Top thickness- .085
AAAA grade Sitka Spruce
top and bracing.
Master Grade Indian Rosewood back and sides
#countryblues
#luherie
#acousticguitar
best, ray
Dreadnought-
Today the soundbox is glued up!
I have always used hot hide glue for almost all of my lutherie work.
Top thickness- .085
AAAA grade Sitka Spruce
top and bracing.
Master Grade Indian Rosewood back and sides
#countryblues
#luherie
#acousticguitar
best, ray
Indian Rosewood
Dreadnought-
This tap tone sounds good... overall the bracing is lighter than previous work... in which the instrument had very good response and tone.
So... gonna let it set while I think overnight whether to carve further.
#IDK #luthier
#caddilacproblem
#dobygray
best, ray
Dreadnought-
This tap tone sounds good... overall the bracing is lighter than previous work... in which the instrument had very good response and tone.
So... gonna let it set while I think overnight whether to carve further.
#IDK #luthier
#caddilacproblem
#dobygray
best, ray
October 6, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Indian Rosewood
Dreadnought-
This tap tone sounds good... overall the bracing is lighter than previous work... in which the instrument had very good response and tone.
So... gonna let it set while I think overnight whether to carve further.
#IDK #luthier
#caddilacproblem
#dobygray
best, ray
Dreadnought-
This tap tone sounds good... overall the bracing is lighter than previous work... in which the instrument had very good response and tone.
So... gonna let it set while I think overnight whether to carve further.
#IDK #luthier
#caddilacproblem
#dobygray
best, ray
Acoustic Dreadnought
#2026-1
Upper Tranverse Bar and X- Braces are in. Before I set the rest, I do some rough shaping...then back to the go-bar deck and glue the "X-Joint" cleat to protect the joint from failure.
All hot hide glue... all the time.
#acousticguitar
#lutherie
#custom
best, ray
#2026-1
Upper Tranverse Bar and X- Braces are in. Before I set the rest, I do some rough shaping...then back to the go-bar deck and glue the "X-Joint" cleat to protect the joint from failure.
All hot hide glue... all the time.
#acousticguitar
#lutherie
#custom
best, ray
October 4, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Acoustic Dreadnought
#2026-1
Upper Tranverse Bar and X- Braces are in. Before I set the rest, I do some rough shaping...then back to the go-bar deck and glue the "X-Joint" cleat to protect the joint from failure.
All hot hide glue... all the time.
#acousticguitar
#lutherie
#custom
best, ray
#2026-1
Upper Tranverse Bar and X- Braces are in. Before I set the rest, I do some rough shaping...then back to the go-bar deck and glue the "X-Joint" cleat to protect the joint from failure.
All hot hide glue... all the time.
#acousticguitar
#lutherie
#custom
best, ray