dilbone's 2012 Challenge Build Thread -- COMPLETED

[dilbone]

Last night I had a couple of hours to get some more work done. First I took the body blank out of the clamps, it just might work.


Next it was on to getting the top ready, so I marked out a 1/2" line and headed to the bandsaw


Not the best job here, but I went 1/2" so I'd have enough material to work with. After cutting the next two pieces I noticed the band saw struggling due to my wondering line and the wondering was getting worse. Before I ripped the last piece I ran the piece I was using through the planer to straighten up the guide edge...I should have done that every time.


After cutting them all I had to plane them to get a good side


then used that good side to joint them up


Now we're getting somewhere


I've never clamped up a top before so I wasn't sure what would be best. I laid some wax paper down first then clamped as best I could and went for some weights to keep the center down


After getting back from an evening with friends out of the clamps it came

[dilbone]

I think it's taking me as long to upload/edit pics and post all this as it is to actually do the work. Between posting/reading posts/and building I barely have time to eat or sleep...

Looks like I've got plenty of thickness here to bring the total down to 1.75"



Before I can plane them I have to trim them down to 13" to fit through the planer



As I was planing along I end up uncovering these...weepy sap pockets...not good. I considered cut that piece out of the body and gluing another one in its place, but I still had quite a bit to remove and it cleaned up fairly well



A little better here...
this will be the back...may have to CA it, not sure what to do to seal it


this one will be under the cap, so it's all good


Top cleaned up nicely too


After all that planing I made a few more shavings



time to get out the templates


and the cavity template...I put holes in the perimeter so I could line it up easier over the outline


Off to the band saw


and the top


I'll have to post the rest of today's progress tomorrow...gotta hit the hay

[adirondak5]

Looking good Chris , I gotta pick me up a post , pretty sure Lowes has doug. fir 4x4's .

[dilbone]

After some time at the bandsaw removing everything that didn't quite look like a telecaster I ended up with these...


Then I went to the ROSS to get a little closer to the line. I can't say enough how glad I am that I saved up to get one of these along with the planer. Guitar making is even more fun than it used to be


I wasn't going to use screws for the template until I had a 'duh' moment and remembered that this wasn't really the "top" and would be hidden under the cap. Once that was on I went back to the ROSS as I still had a little more than I wanted left for routing.


I picked up this old craftsman router table with router off of craigslist for $25 and hadn't used it yet. I have a router table that I made a couple of years ago from an old piece of kitchen counter top, but it's sagging quite a bit in the center so I wanted something that would stay level. The price was right so I went for it. I was surprised at how well the router actually worked, looks like it might stay around the shop.


3 more passes and it looked pretty good...just some raised grain in places to sand down and no real tear out


Chucked in my 1" forstner bit and set the depth at 3/8" using one of the cutoffs from the cap.


doug fir smells really good


on to the other side...should have gotten a before and after weight...kinda curious as to how much all these shavings weigh


Feels pretty light and smells fantastic, now it's on to the f holes. Fingers crossed


This is one of the 2 parts I was a little nervous for...the other is the binding. First drill an access hole for the jigsaw


Then carefully cut out what I can without getting carried away


No screws for this template, I've not had any issues with doublesided tape. I like to put down the blue tape on the work piece first to save some issues that doublesided tape can cause. Between adhesive residue and pulling up of wood fibers I've found this to be the easiest solution.


I put in my 1/4" straight bit and let the shaft be the bearing.

moment of truth...close your eyes and pull the trigger...oh wait...keep your eyes open


After the first one I had to take a sneak peak and make sure it worked...looks like the template worked


I do believe this will work


I can't believe how good it looks. If the binding goes this smoothly I'll be pleased as punch.

[dilbone]

Originally Posted by adirondak5

Looking good Chris , I gotta pick me up a post , pretty sure Lowes has doug. fir 4x4's .

Thanks Herb, this one is turning out a lot nicer than the last time I used a fir post. That was my first body from scratch and it has more than its share of "unique" characteristics...and took me 5 times longer than this one has so far

I don't know about you, but trying to keep up with everyone's build threads is nearly impossible.

[adirondak5]

Excellent job on the f-holes , that's how I do them , 1/4" straight bit shaft as the bearing , first time I did them I was pretty nervous , but I really can't think of an easier cleaner way to do them .
Keeping up with all the challenge threads is quite a task , I try to read and comment as much as I can but it's tough.

[dilbone]

Well today it was on to finishing the chambers with the router. More double sided tape and blue painter's tape


lined up the template and we're ready to roll. I had debated on whether or not to transfer this template over to 3/4" mdf but decided there really was no need...or was there...


Having only a 1/4" template means you have to take off nearly a full 1" with the first pass...I figured since it was an internal route who really cares. If a person takes it slow and goes around a few times taking small bites before pressing in all the way to the template it would be fine...that's a big if.

I didn't take small enough bites...


Decided to clamp and glue it back in


Ok..lesson learned


well, lesson learned until the other side...second verse, same as the first...


I never said I was a fast learner...glued and re-routed


Finally after a couple more small bites I had it down to final depth leaving right at about 3/8"


Once I got that done I was ready to glue on the cap. I rounded up all the clamps I could find, smeared on some glue, and lined it up.


It looks like a lot of clamps when I look at the pic, but I wish I had about 5 or 6 more...I hope it glues up well. Maybe I can get the binding started later on tonight. I'll be using .06"x.25" black on this. Still need to pick up paint and clear. I'm hoping to have it ready for paint by the end of the week.

[mkhhunt]

Nice build. Those f-holes turned out sweet!

I always found doug fir to be brittle. For the sap, you can seal it with shellac and that will stop it ftom weaping out.

[dilbone]

Originally Posted by mkhhunt

Nice build. Those f-holes turned out sweet!

I always found doug fir to be brittle. For the sap, you can seal it with shellac and that will stop it ftom weaping out.

Brittle is a good description...not the best kind of wood to work with IMO.

[dilbone]

I took it out of the clamps after an hour or so...probably could have used more glue but I didn't want it to run down the inside edges and be visible from the f holes.


took it to the ROSS to bring the top down some before routing


Once routed I went back to the ROSS and clean it all up


I LOVE MY ROSS



Thought I'd check the weight now that it looks like a guitar body...4lb 1.4oz...more than I thought it'd be. I'm not sure how much the neck pocket, bridge pup route, jack hole, and rear access route will amount to but probably not another half a pound

[emoney]

Great work so far! And they're never light enough in my opinion, lol.

[dilbone]

Originally Posted by emoney

Great work so far! And they're never light enough in my opinion, lol.

thanks emoney yours is looking killer, the neck is gonna be very cool

[adirondak5]

Looks great , I really like the end grain .

[Matt Haskins]

Great work. Coming along nicely. Can't wait to see that body when it's finished.

[dilbone]

Originally Posted by adirondak5

Looks great , I really like the end grain .

Originally Posted by Matt Haskins

Great work. Coming along nicely. Can't wait to see that body when it's finished.

Thanks guys...

Herb, it's making me second guess my plan to paint this one burnt copper. I think it'll look great with paint, but I'm such a sucker for nice grain it's kinda hard for me to cover it all up...especially once I get some shellac on it to seal it.

[DesmoDog]

Originally Posted by dilbone

I took it out of the clamps after an hour or so...probably could have used more glue but I didn't want it to run down the inside edges and be visible from the f holes.

Next time you could glue it with it upside down (cap on the bottom). The glue won't run down the sides that way.

[dilbone]

Originally Posted by DesmoDog

Next time you could glue it with it upside down (cap on the bottom). The glue won't run down the sides that way.

that just makes too much sense...thanks

[dilbone]

I didn't really have any time to do anything tonight so I just checked on the router bit/binding situation. When I got a set of three pattern router bits from Grizzly I wondered why the bottom bearing bit came with an additional smaller bearing...now I know....BINDING


I checked the binding thickness with my calipers...about .051"(and this was supposed to be .060")


Checked the bearing depth...just a little too much


I went ahead and set it up in the router table and did a test on scrap and it actually fits pretty well. There's literally only a few thousandths too much depth there. I figure i'll take that much off with some final finish sanding so maybe tomorrow I can get those channels routed then the neck pocket. I've heard people recommend channels first to avoid issues at the edge of the pocket.

[Muzikp]

I've wrapped my bearings with aluminum foil tape to adjust the size slightly and it works really well. In my binding experience it's way way better to have the binding standing proud of the wood. It makes it so much easier to scrape if the binding is slightly tall. You will end up with a perfect edge between binding and paint this way. If the binding is flush with the wood it's a bit harder to get a perfect edge but it can be done. Have you made one of these yet? You'll need it

[dilbone]

Originally Posted by Muzikp

I've wrapped my bearings with aluminum foil tape to adjust the size slightly and it works really well. In my binding experience it's way way better to have the binding standing proud of the wood. It makes it so much easier to scrape if the binding is slightly tall. You will end up with a perfect edge between binding and paint this way. If the binding is flush with the wood it's a bit harder to get a perfect edge but it can be done. Have you made one of these yet? You'll need it

I was debating using some of my aluminum tape on it, maybe I still will. I haven't made my scraper yet...but I do have a piece of dowel in my tool box that's been waiting patiently to be turned into a scraper. The binding is the part I've been looking forward to the least. I know it won't really be a big deal, but it is new for me and the unknown is always a little uneasy.

My problem now is that I need to get my final sanding done before I route the channel and I hate sanding...