Tour #4, Into the Bowels...
Hi friends, here on my 4th tour I take you deep inside the factory that is National Resophonic. See the nitty gritty progress of building a modern National!
Left, see me w two new Duco Finish guitars, a Delphi and a VS Tricone.
Part of my trips to San Louis, 80 miles N or my homebase, include as much training in the luthier arts as I can absord. Here Don Young goes over the finer points of fitting a neck. Note the crucial method of holding the neckstick tight against his ear, the key to a tight neck fit....... kidding!
It's actually the forehead that's the key.
Here Scott does the final fitting on a Uke neck to a steel body. According to Scott, they're just as much of a pain in the ass or worse than a typical guitar! Note the joy in Scotts face as he's forced to continually work for the perfect fit.
Below, Larry does the final neck adjustment and levels the frets before passing it on to Scott for the final dialing in on a new tricone. This is the room where the top talent resides.
Walking around the factory, we see rows of neck blanks to the right.
Below, large blocks of wood are being fed into a large planer below.
Below Right, see a C and C machine making 5 uke necks at a time. It slowly moves back and forth shaping them each a bit at a time.
Right, see the stamped steel domed back for the upcoming 14 fret Delphi.
Below, see the same item w the press that makes them behind in the background.
Below see the excellent Duco finish reproduction now being done for them. This is a Delphi w Green Duco.
Below Left, see coverplates that have been chemically treated and aged for special order.
Brass up the..... well, you know.
to the right, coverplates that will be going out to the plater. Below, bodies being assembled ready to go to the plater.
Left, see brass bodies waiting to have their backs attached.
Below, Joey V shows his method of soldering to me. The stand the body sits ons rotates 360 degrees so he can sit still and rotate the body as he adds about an inch at a time.
Oh Man, I don't want this guys job! Open the door to this room, and it's like being front row at a Nascar race. Big , loud, and powerful grinding motor puts the final buffing to the soldered edges. When Johnny pushes the body against that wheel, it's like a big tree chipper pushing in a huge branch.
A VERY manly job!
To the right, the row of magic. These are the guitars that Don has personally inspected, played, and signed off on for shipping. Note the two ducos Im holding, a custom dark green painted tricone, and a custom M2 along w a couple mandos.
Below, I stand in front of Don's personal bench. Another fun day w the boys at Nat Res. Both Don and Macgregor go out of their way to make my stay a fun one. Hope you enjoyed going deep inside the factory.
Best, Len
