Here she is, a rendering from our latest CAD models of its components - the Ridgewing First Edition guitar.

Over the last couple of years we hand-made a series of prototypes experimenting with materials and structure, and this design incorporates all of the lessons learned. This (hopefully) final model currently exists only in 0’s and 1’s on a few hard drives, but now I can taste it. 

To verify the design, the next step is to make precise production prototypes of each components to verify the designs of each. CNC will be used for the metal parts, but the production prototype of the wooden neck, which will be made from traditional maple with a rosewood fingerboard, will be hand assembled but then the final surface will be precision CNC’ed to create the exact geometry of the CAD model.

The body frames’ designs are finished with pricing quoted for die-cast magnesium.  We are negotiating with a carbon-fiber fabricator to see what it would take to make the frames out of carbon-fiber, using the identical manufacturing process for carbon-fiber tennis racquets.

The carbon fiber process involves hand-wrapping a silicone hose loosely with carbon fiber “pre-preg”, which is woven carbon fiber cloth impregnated with pre-mixed thermo-set epoxy, and has the texture of leather. The wrapped tubing is laid in one side of a 2-part mold, and the mold is clamped closed, with the ends of the silicone tube protruding and hooked up to an air compressor. When the mold is pressurized and heated, the epoxy in the pre-preg liquefies, and the compressed air squishes the carbon fiber weave against the walls of the mold, filling in surface details and giving the part its final shape and surface texture. After being baked for a half hour, the mold is opened, the fully cured part is removed, and the silicone hose is pulled out.  Finally, the part is cleaned up where the silicone hoses came out, after which it is ready for final painting, decals, surface polishing, etc.

Carbon fiber techniques are not able to create the kind of deep surface detail that a die-cast metal process can create. To accommodate the carbon-fiber process, the design has to be modified to round off deeper surface details. However, it will have identical joinery features and geometry to accommodate the full suite of interchangeable Ridgewing components.

Because of the hand-work required, carbon-fiber frames will cost more than the magnesium, perhaps by 2X or so, which is why we are starting with die-cast magnesium for the First Edition “Starter” kit. Precision tooling and molds capable of making beautiful parts are very expensive, and they are needed for each of these eight components that fit together to become a Ridgewing guitar. We can’t make and ship Ridgewing guitars until we can pay for this tooling, but we are this close, and I can taste it.