The first step is to glue together the large blocks of wood from which the body and neck will be cut. I decided to use a waterproof glue that will not creep for this – because I’m trying to emulate a solid block of wood. I was surprised to find Cascamite still available – it’s a wonderful urea formaldehyde glue – and it smells just like it did when I was young, when my father built a large model boat using it.

The joint surfaces were prepared carefully before gluing, and the joints well clamped whilst the stuff sets.

The next bit was to join the neck piece – note the use of a protective piece of chipboard to stop the clamps messing up the joint surface on the other side.

That’s the second side added – both ends need to be glued at the same time.

That’s the bottom end glued up.