Guitar Novices's 2012 Challenge Build Thread -- COMPLETED

[Guitar novice]

With all the saw dust I took the opportunity to keep some in case repairs are needed.

I'm now ready to rough cut the body.

Question: should I use a smaller width blade or not worry?

Cheers

[Guitar novice]

Update...

Not much to report. I've trf'd the templates to 3/ inch mdf.

I use a 2inch pattern router bit (I think that's the name) to do this.





I put some screws in to hold the template down. I know a lot of people use tape but I wanted o be sure. I put the screws in a tuner hole and a fret marker so hopefully tha wont cause be issues later.

[Guitar novice]

Felt like Christmas day. The 2nd best thing to watch on web other than tdpri is the tracking status of a stewmac shippment. About 4-5 days to get from the states to Australia. Amazing considering other companies in Australia can't beat that.

Here's my new goodies. Lots of hardware in chrome and black. Also got all the materials for DIY pickup winding.

[Guitar novice]

2nd delivery today aw from aust guitar.

All paints. I've had a hard time finding what paint to use. A fellow tdpri'r put me onto lacquer in the far left but I'm not sure it's nitro.

THe aust guitar supplied me.
Lacquer reducer. Naphtha, lacquer retarder , ground hide glue, behkol, vinyl sealer, buffers polish, and 2 dif types of red stain. Yep I pretty muc bought one of everything. Hopefully I need most of it

[DeepSouth]

Way to go guitar novice. I'm following your thread and learning what I can. I have just ordered a spindle sander from Hafco - it's the same as yours and picking it up tomorrow. Hopefully it's a good unit.

Looking forward to your next instalment - seems like you have everything well under control.

[Guitar novice]

Safety message

I've come to the conclusion that this is a Japanese fashion accessory and not a safety device.

Edit: wrong image


This is the 2nd body and mdf templates I have cut. Both times I have got a really sore throat immediately after working the timber. First time I put it down to chance 2nd time I reckon it's the dust. I've now ordered a proper respirator with a particle filter.

Cheers

[Guitar novice]

Originally Posted by DeepSouth

Way to go guitar novice. I'm following your thread and learning what I can. I have just ordered a spindle sander from Hafco - it's the same as yours and picking it up tomorrow. Hopefully it's a good unit.

Looking forward to your next instalment - seems like you have everything well under control.

Thanks Deepsouth

The sander is brilliant. I think the trick is keep the wood moving and you won't get any scalloping on the straight sections. I got better with it over time. Hand sanding fixed the small scallops.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Cheers

[Davecam48]

Hi Mr. Novice Great work so far it's going to be a nice piece of kit when finished!
I have the same spindle sander, mine is branded Sheppac, but I figure there are a multitude of them with different names. One of the most usefull things you can have but make sure you vac it when using, they really churn out the sawdust. With the body jointing method with the router I'd say you got it right! Lay out the blanks as you are going to glue them, mark left side "A" right side "B" so the first one I do is "A" with that face upwards, second face "B" down so if the router bit is not 100% perpindicular the + angle of "A" is cancelled by the - angle of "B" making it a perfect join. I even did it with my two 3 piece joins of only 4mm thickness.

We all win in this comp. by getting another guitar to play! I only have 8 so far so I probably need another one.

[Guitar novice]

My good run has come to an end.

I changed my band saw blade to 6mm which made rough cutting the neck and body much easier.


Next I sanded to the line.


Lastly to the router. The good news I have all my fingers. The bad news...







I followed the jack wells downhill routing but the piece was getting ripped from my hands.

I noticed some burning. Need to sleep on it and see ha to do next. Still not sure what I did wrong. I have a spiral bit on its way but cant wait till delivery.

Cheers

[axedaddy]

The pains of learning, uuugghhh, I feel them too brother. I have one of those straight cutting flush trim bits, a big honker, 3/4" diameter. I used it once, blew out a neck, put it back in the drawer and that is where it has stayed. The spiral cutter is the way to go. Be patient it is worth the wait. Just sand as close to the line as possible so you are taking off very minimal material and you will end up with a perfect trim.

[emoney]

I'm one of the "anti-router-establishment". Ohhh, I've got three of them and find them a
necessary evil when it comes to carving a top or routing neck pockets, etc. However,
when it comes to body blanks and necks, I use nothing but the sander. Routers can be
brutal, especially in my untrained hands. The key, I believe, is to take off just a whisper
of material at a time and go much slower than what already seems like slow.

Or, chuck it and use the sander you have (belt sanders are a great tool as well). If this
is your only "oops", then you'll come out of this smelling like a professional, lol. It's disheartening
at the moment, I'm sure, but we all have screw-ups. Just back up and regroup and all will
be well in the end.

[rcole_sooner]

Looking at the rip outs, I'd say it was just too much at one time. It looks like you tried to route the entire thickness of the body in 1 pass. I take 2 or 3 passes to work up to the whole thickness.

I guess with that tip bearing router bit, there is not much of a choice. A lot of us (I know I do) use a bit with the bearing on the shaft end of the bit. Then we can route things in steps.

[czook]

I had the same thing happen on my last Jag body I made. I have the same bit, but I have shorter ones too. Because of the adjustment on my table I use a shorter bit and end up routing with the template up and down to get the entire body. The long one I use for the very last pass with the template on top.

The jag was also made out of a poplar log like my current build. I ended up using Durhams Rock putty and will have to make it a solid color to hide the filler on the shattered part.

Routers are not my friend.

[flatfive]

Hang in there -- those are the usual spots to have tearouts!
It's part of the learning curve, and you've still got your fingers.

With technique and sharp bits you can usually avoid tearouts,
but sanding the outline makes a lot of sense:

routing: slightly faster, no dust
sanding: safer, no risk of tearouts

Or, you can rout part of the body and use the sander on the
end grain.

[anyone]

I'm sorry... I just checked your thread for the first time today. When I saw the neck with the template attached, I wanted to tell you to sand really close to the lines and to watch for tearout at the ends. 'Downhill' routing only works if you've got a bit with a bearing on each end so that you can feed into the cutter. (I learned this just like you did!)

As it stands now, I would add another 1/8th" cap on top (of a darker wood perhaps...?) and clean up the torn out area to be used for a (deeply) recessed output jack. That way it will look right from the top, and the torn out area will look like a design feature. Does that make sense?

Very cool build by the way. Your niece will be stoked!

Cheers

[RogerC]

ouch! I think the others here have already given you some good advice on what went wrong. I don't mind the router, but the right, very sharp bit taking small bites is key.

I don't know the best way to repair that major blowout, but it's still very early in the game and it may be in your best interest to just get another body blank.

[Maricopa]

Looking at the rip outs, I'd say it was just too much at one time.

Bingo, two things you can NOT do with a pattern bit is take off more than the depth of the cutter blade (look close and see just how little that is) and feed it into wood at a 90º angle. All those little 'ripples, jagged edges and dips' I see people leaving on their blanks are exactly those things. It's just like feeding a board into the router edge first.

A router is not a saw, if you can't cut it smooth and close to the line take it to the sander first and get it down to 1/16" or less and when you feed it into the bit bring the work up to it like you're landing a plane, not a helicopter (and feed material INTO the bit when using a router table, do NOT run it 'downhill' regardless of the grain orientation! Right to Left ONLY!). Think smoooooth and you can easily route the full depth of a Tele, but you must A: Follow the 'rules' and B: Have a good bit and it must be well mounted in a good router with a solid base and table.

Hope that didn't come off too harsh and don't think I came to the table without doing some of these things myself. I learned by mistakes like everyone else, just trying to save some hassle and fingers here.

[anyone]

Or... You could just make a clean cut to remove the section of the lower hip with the tearout, glue on an offcut from when you cut out the body (maybe with a decorative strip of contrasting wood), and go from there. I really like that top... a burst would still leave the prettiest parts visible.... Sorry... I tend to obsess over fixing things; I tend to see building a guitar as a series of challenging repairs... I'll keep to meself now...

[Guitar novice]

Hi guys

A good sleep and a better frame of mind.

Thanks for the comments. I thought I wasn't trying to take too much off but in reflection I could of sanded closer. The sharpie I was using is quite thick so just because I sanded to that outside line doesn't mean I'm close.

Lessons learnt
1). Sand real close to the line
2) go right to left when in table
3) forget about routing the headstock (at least until I get more skill with router)

I'm wondering if the burn marks are a sign of a dull bit. Waiting on a spiral bit so hopefully that will come soon.

Cheers

[Guitar novice]

Thinking of the fix.

I'm leaning towards anyone's suggestion. Glue some wood in there. This will change my finish choices.

I was going for a red finish with the edges done as faux binding. Now I will put a black burst on. Not sure about some binding as tha may look too busy.

Cheers