Frame for My Franken Kline,,NEW UPDATE

[Sonny Jenkins]

Finally got the all aluminum frame pretty much finished for the Kline "knock off" I'm building. Kinda tough to do with these arthritic hands.

[Sonny Jenkins]

Well I don't know how to rotate it. Barely had enough sense to post the picture,,,LOL!!!!
I owe a debt of gratitude to my Oklahoma friend for doing some much needed expert welding for me. I won't mention his name for fear he would be flooded with request,,,,but he knows who he is and how much I appreciate him!!!!

Here are the changer "fingers" and comb.

[Richard Sinkler]

Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[Andy DePaule]

Hi Sonny,
I know very little about Kline's.
Does that changer work something like an improved version of the 70's She~Bud changers for rack & barrel.
That frame looks nice and solid. Will it have some kind of nice wood surrounding the frame or Mica?
Best wishes,
Andy

ps. I've also been slowed down with arthritis in my index finger knuckles.
One of the joys of getting old I guess?

[Sonny Jenkins]

Oh yes Andy,,,being the lover of beautiful wood,,it will have a regular U shaped cabinet that hopefully will slip right down over the frame.
The Kline changer and mechanism is VERY similar to a ZB,,,little more versatile,,,based on positive stops at the end plates.

Yes, this arthritis in my hands is an ongoing battle that I know I'll eventually lose ,,maybe sooner than later,!! Shortly after my last surgery the index finger got so crooked that I couldn't keep picks own,,,got so disgusted that I just about stopped playing. Recently a little Vietnamese girl at a local nail salon has given me renewed HOPE!!! A longer story for another post ,,lol!!!

[Sonny Jenkins]

Starting to resemble a steel guitar. The front apron will have some real good figure in it,,,undecided whether stained or natural,,,,lacquer or my much loved tru-oil,,,LOL
Well looks like I can't load pics from here,,,have to get to my PC. All the inlays are ebony,,,cept frets,,,tri color black/white/black. Fretboard has a heavy coat of tru-oil on it temporarily,,,to stabilize it until I'm sure the frets will stay in ,,,all the pieces are just laid up,,,nothing assembled yet

[Richard Sinkler]

Looking great Sonny. Always love seeing your projects. The Kline was my favorite guitar, over 2 ZBs, 2 Sho~Buds, 1 Mullen, 1 Williams, 1 Dekley, 1 Carter.

[Johnie King]

Nice one Sonny!!

[Andy DePaule]

Hi Sonny,
Looking really great. That Maple will really pop the figured wood with the finish on it.
The aluminum milling looks perfect also.
I like how you fitted the fretboard/neck to the changer block.
Think you are going to have a fine PSG when you get done.
Andy

[Ross Shafer]

I love it, kudos Sonny!!

[Sonny Jenkins]

Thanks for the kind words,,,,not sure it will ever be finished,,,hand surgery the last of September,,,,hopefully get a little further down the road ,,,most all the parts are pretty well finished,,just some tweaking and fitting and assembly

[Sonny Jenkins]

I think this is the way I'm gonna go for finish

[Sonny Jenkins]

More pics,,

well,,later,,,they won't post,,

[Andy DePaule]

I like the Red & Blond look.
Will be flying down your way tomorrow for a few days to look at houses around the Conroe & Willis area.
Andy

[Sonny Jenkins]

I'm about 2 hours west of Conroe,,,,come on over!!

[Bobby D. Jones]

That neat fitting between the neck and the changer/pickup housing makes that guitar 1 of a kind. Great looking build.

[Andy DePaule]

I'm about 2 hours west of Conroe,,,,come on over!!

Hi Sonny,
We spent so much time looking at houses we never had time to get your way.
We do now intend to move to that area near Conroe because we like it there and also want to avoid the really big cities.
We may make an offer on a nice place in Shenandoah, TX.

The only little spare time we had we visited a luthier friend who flew his plane in from LaPorte on the way to Beaumont to have lunch with us.

Came home and bought a great 1930 Model A Ford sedan. That was a 40 year dream I had. My 62 year dream of learning to fly still needs to be filled.
Andy

[Sonny Jenkins]

Starting to look more like a steel guitar




Oops,,,already posted that one,,,,have that aluminum polished now ,,,post later

[Mike DiAlesandro]

Looks real nice Sonny!

[Les Ford]

Starting to resemble a steel guitar.



How are you cutting the beautiful compound curves on the end of the changer housing and the pretty pointed parenthesis that matches up with the fretboard? These are lovely details.

On another note, what's the deal with those two guitars in progress that are sitting stacked on the bench in the corner?

[Sonny Jenkins]

Well,,,as I had stated earlier,,,this project is very close to being finished,,,but unfortunately I've gone as far as I can. My hands have just gotten so bad can't do what needs to be done,,,plus I've moved to the retirement community and my workspace is VERY limited. As bad as I hate to I'm going to have to pass this on to someone else. If anyone is interested please send me and email sojen1@gmail.com and I'll give you my phone number so we can talk or text for details.

[Ross Shafer]

Well dang, I was looking forward to seeing this beauty built up and being played.

Very sorry to hear that your hand problems continue to worsen. I'm facing some of the same stuff, but have a few years left in my mitts....I hope!!

My initial reaction to your latest post was to try and nab this for myself.....then I had a moment of sanity, reminded myself of how deep my project and guitar order lists are.... buying this is something I really don't need to do.

Good luck though, I hope you find someone to buy it with as much passion as yourself for such a cool project.

Best wishes Sonny

[J D Sauser]

I hope who takes this project on will continue to post on the progress!
It is now available on the Buy/Sell section.

… JD