Progress: Manchinga/Engelmann Spruce OM

I've made some progress with this guitar over the past few weeks; however, I was hampered by the manchinga sides that rippled badly across the grain in the process of bending them. This has been my first experience working with manchinga, and I suspect that a little less water applied to the sides prior to bending them may have contributed to a better result. I had partial success in flattening them by soaking them in Supersoft veneer softener and clamping them for a couple of days in the mold I use to laminate sides. The remaining inconsistencies were masked once the veneers were added to the interior of the sides, and sanding will flatten their outer surface without removing too much material.

Check out the grain in that amazing Engelmann top!

Cheers

Pete