Carving Maple

     I have finished the outside of the top plate and started the outside of the back.  The back is maple and it is very hard to carve.  You can see in the picture what my hand looks like after several hours of carving.  I've included a picture of the shavings on the shop floor so you can see how much material has to be removed.  I've also included a picture of the finger plane, which I do most of the carving with.  That and a chisel are the weapons of choice.
     I haven't had a great deal of time to work on this guitar.  My real job is getting in the way.  I've had the busiest last couple of months in years.  I'm booked up through April.  That's a good sign the economy is picking up, but I miss having the time to make these guitars.
      After talking to my friend, who I'm building this commission for, he decided he didn't want the top I'm making because of the sap line in it.  So, when I get his deposit I'll order more wood.  My plan now is to make two guitars at the same time.  They'll both be 16" bouts with mounted pickups, but I'm going to make one with f holes and one without.  The one without will have a rear access panel that can be removed to put in a sound post.  Violins and cellos have sound posts.  It is a dowel that fits under the bridge and connects the two plates together.  The idea being that when you play with a lot of volume it evens everything out.  Instead of braces in these two guitars, I'm going to carve the braces into the wood and leave the middle thicker than normal.  This is to compensate for the mounted pickup, which makes the guitar's voice more electric and less acoustic.  He also wants a short scale, 24", fretboard.  I think I'll put a 25" on the other, but I haven't made up my mind yet.
         I've been doing a lot of walking lately.  In the cold and in the dark.  It seems to be good for my soul.  I've tried to stay present and not let my mind wander.  Sometimes I'll focus on one sense.  I may try and just listen.  I can hear the peepers and the creek, the cars on the road, my feet on the gravel, the mocking birds and robins,  the wind in my ears, my breathing, and even my heart beat.  The world is full of life.  Here's something from the Katha Upanishad.

Know the Self as the lord of the chariot,
The body as the chariot itself,
The discriminating intellect as the charioteer,
And the mind as the reins.
The senses, say the wise, are the horses;
Selfish desires are the roads they travel.
When the Self is confused with the body,
Mind and senses, they point out, he seems
To enjoy pleasure and suffer sorrow.

When a person lacks discrimination
And his mind is undisciplined, the senses
Run hither and thither like wild horses.
But they obey the rein like trained horses
When one has discrimination and has made the mind one-pointed.