Could Ron Thorn produce a gorgeous electric guitar completely by hand? Sure. Would he now that he has a "metalworking" CNC machine tool? Probably not. CNC machine tools are just that-they're tools, Shops use them to create a variety of different net- or near-net-shaped components that will require the use of other tools for secondary operations and/or assembly. The machine tools found in a typical shop are designed with the power, torque and rigidity to cut metals. However, a custom guitar shop on the left coast draws on the precision of a "metalworking" vertical machining center (VMC) to ensure feature-to-feature accuracy of its wooden guitar components, Ron Thorn, owner and luthier of Thorn Custom Guitars, uses his VMC as a tool to set a precise stage for succeeding manual operations-sanding, spraying, assembly and set up-that yield jaw-dropping results. At his Glendale, California shop, CNC machining accuracy melds with woodworking craftsmanship and creativity to produce guitars that are works of art and quality stringed instruments.
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