Current toolkit for instrument building

Got a cheap Chinese Swiss army knife, a box cutter, a cheap serrated stainless steak knife for precision cuts, and m-seal, which is a epoxy putty found fairly cheap (30 rupees for 100 grams) and quite handy for quick builds. Almost bought a wood carving toolkit for 170 rupees ($3.40) in Gokarna, but passed because of the weight, I also ended up ditching the large crude hand forged blade that cost 60 rupees (around a buck) and my boxcutter on the way to the airport today. Got a good blade in the Mysore market for 20 rupees, but it ended up dying the pomegranate we ate jet black in some strange reaction with the surface, though it is lightweight and good steel, so I ended up checking it with my tools today's while flying.

Also included in this post is my first string instrument made in India. I built it two weeks ago, but only last week finished it with tuning pegs and strings. Tuning pegs are an excellent simple tech for string instruments, and are quite easy to fashion with a knife and hard stick. Tuning pegs and tuning machines seem almost impossible to find for sale, so everything was made by hand. The hole can be awed with a half scissor blade to made a round a tapered hole. The pegs were first goan driftwood bamboo, then palm tree wood, and now some random hardwood from Hampi. Working on one more string instrument which will be longer with the bowl more centrally located, and with heavier strings. I want to make a bow to experiment with playing it like a violin or fiddle.

Current trend with my guitars is a metallic resonator for analog amplification. I used the bottom of a coke can in my first guitar which is quite effective especially with higher frequencies.

Hampi is incredible beautiful, both geologically and historically rich with temples everywhere. We visited the hanuman temple where hanuman was born, on top of a mountain covered in monkeys, with a long steep staircase climbing up to an incredible peak and temple. There is a drum circle every sunset like arambol, albeit smaller but on top of a mountain with an incredible view. We found the Italian baba living amongst the ruins in the center of Hampi, he has been here 40 years and ha become a well respected baba with an incredible home. He has Internet and was on Facebook, and I helped him fix his keyboard.