Walter writes, "All hardware is handmade since I cannot get anything like this through any mail-order company. The truss rods are four 5 mm square rods, two of brass and two of stainless steel. They are coupled to the tuning block at the back of the body by four more rods. The bridge is, of course, eight string saddles, like your site recommends."

"I bought three brass bars and cut them up to make the headpiece, the saddles and the tuning block. There is another one inside the body, anchoring the string post and truss rods together. The bridge is two 5 mm slabs of brass. I cut out the top piece and put the holes in it and screwed a 2 mm steel plate to the bottom. The body slab just has holes to mount the bridge assembly."

"I spent a few years working on the skills for metal work, but it's worth it. I'm not limited by what the big companies make anymore so I can design virtually anything necessary -twelve individual 5 mm-wide tuning blocks, for example."