Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago

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Back in July 2017, film maker and photographer Luke Holwerda contacted me to ask if I could collaborate with him on a Brian May Red Special replica guitar build project. Luke is based in Arizona in the USA and wanted to use the large format ShopBot CNC machine in the CREATE community workshop at the Arizona Science Centre in Phoenix to rout the guitar body sections and neck.

Excited by the prospect of collaborating with somebody halfway round the world. I learned that building a Brian May Red Special replica from scratch with no previous luthiery experience is extremely challenging but it was clear from the outset that Luke possessed the necessary handicraft skill, attention to detail and determination to see the project through to completion.

Luke and I spent around two years messaging regularly to resolve the issues he encountered and keep his build project moving along. He has allowed me to remix his original video footage to produce this retrospective, overlaid with my own narrative for you.

00:00 - Guitar demonstration 1 - We Will Rock You (fast version).
00:24 - Guitar demonstration with beauty shots.
02:12 - dsgb YouTube channel video thumbnail compilation.
02:33 - Part 1 - Blockboard lay up.
03:58 - Part 2 - CNC guitar body routing.
05:07 - Part 3 - Preparation and body glue up.
06:36 - Part 4a - Veneering the body.
08:36 - Part 4b - Routing the edge protector channel.
09:04 - Part 5 - Applying the white CAB plastic edge protector strip.
09:47 - Part 6 - Applying the 85:15 Empire Red/Medium Brown General Finishes wood stain mix.
10:30 - Part 7 - CNC guitar neck routing.
11:03 - Part 8 - Neck and fretboard assembly.
12:56 - Part 9 - Neck finishing.
14:38 - Part 10 - Fret work.
15:48 - Part 11 - Guitar assembly including electronic and hardware installation.
19:40 - Credits and outro.

The track starting at time index 15:55 is called "Closetspace" by Smokescreen, Luke's former band.

Check out Luke’s Facebook page for his guitar and amplifier projects and YouTube channel where he published his original series of thirteen videos that I have remixed:

facebook.com/LukeHGuitar

youtube.com/@Lukeyourself

Part 1 - Blockboard Lay Up
youtu.be/EmLi4rX7S5Y

Part 2 - CNC Body Routing
youtu.be/9bBQD6irAJQ

Part 3 - CNC Neck Routing
youtu.be/JwbNmn68vEU

Part 4 - Body Glue Up
youtu.be/ZddRVstlfLQ

Part 5 - Repair of Router Bearing Marks
youtu.be/8YUnrmC1Tvc

Part 6 - Applying Veneers
youtu.be/j-ljqtfDoZI

Part 7 - Binding and Staining
youtu.be/rnTdnpMDk9A

Part 8 - Repairing Veneer Sand Through
youtu.be/J00EK_N2ZIA

Part 9 - Neck and Fretboard Assembly
youtu.be/Eyb1CNfowO4

Part 10 - Neck Finishing
youtu.be/DOtInN0RlWs

Part 11 - Fret Work
youtu.be/4kp4oLsinxo

Part 12 - Guitar Assembly (Electronics and Hardware Installation)
youtu.be/3uCOaPo5dCE

Part 13 - Guitar Demonstration
youtu.be/1hUd9dKFX1w

Please check out my website, dsgb.net for more information on all my Brian May related guitar and amplifier build and modification projects.

#BrianMay #RedSpecial #BrianMayRedSpecial #RedSpecialguitar #Queen #electricguitar