Neck, Tail Block and sides in the mold

I worked on the sides, neck and tail block (Sapele) Still not certain if I am going to use the mold method or solera to build the guitar on/in. I bent up enough sides for a couple of guitars so either way I am going to use both methods somewhere down the line....

Here is a shot of the walnut sides in the mold (I ended up making new spreaders bars). Jeff, I used the Drum sander you gave me, it did a real nice job... Everyone could use a friend like you... Thanks again Jeff....

Here are some shots of the sides I bent with the heating blanket...... A little bit of a learning curve for sure..... I cracked the first cutaway - not enough heat! I have to say that I had plenty of help and moral support from Ken Hodges, John at Blues Creek and from Greg's video on Luthier Tube see Nelson side bending video.

I used a nice tip I found on Kathy Kathy Matsushita site for profiling the sides http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=8117&hilit=+side

Anyway here they are in the Solera that I built from Step -by - Step Guitar Making Alex Willis. I might actually try the entire build using this method.