flatfive's 2012 Challenge Build Thread -- COMPLETED

[flatfive]

Did anyone doubt that "the pest from the Midwest" would participate?

My planned theme: "do the most you have with what you've got",
not just in terms of materials, but also skills, energy, etc.

I had a plan, and then made just yesterday made the mistake
of finding Jol Dantzig's Jazzadega:



Now I feel all weird and unsettled.

[RogerC]

Glad to see you in this one. Good luck!

[Mojotron]

Glenn you're in! Fantastic! You've made some awesome guitars in the last couple of years to it's going to be great to see it come together.

BTW - thanks again for the WWW page on the neck-jig pucks - I'm going to be using that a lot in the next week or so.

[hockeygoon]

Nice, I am looking forward to what you come up.

[kwerk]

Alright, Glenn's in!

Good luck, man!

[dilbone]

this is going to be good...glad you joined the fray

[Guitarnut]

Another build. When will we learn my friend? Gluttons for punishment I guess.

Watching closely...

Mark

[flatfive]

I'm having fun already. Seriously.

[jpbturbo]

Originally Posted by flatfive

I'm having fun already. Seriously.

Glad to hear it!

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

[crazydave911]

Originally Posted by flatfive

Did anyone doubt that "the pest from the Midwest" would participate?

I never had a doubt

I had a plan, and then just yesterday made the mistake
of finding Jol Dantzig's Jazzadega................Now I feel all weird and unsettled

Easy boy!

Welcome Glenn, and best of luck to you!

Dave

[adirondak5]

Originally Posted by flatfive

Did anyone doubt that "the pest from the Midwest" would participate?

My planned theme: "do the most you have with what you've got",
not just in terms of materials, but also skills, energy, etc.

I had a plan, and then made just yesterday made the mistake
of finding Jol Dantzig's Jazzadega:

Now I feel all weird and unsettled.

Had me worried for about 2 seconds . :D

[flatfive]

Hey everyone, if someone cuts a limb off it'll wreck the
party, so please take care with your router, bandsaw,
table saw, etc.!

Take care of your lungs, too.

Okay, you can put the music back on, now.

[flatfive]

Couldn't find any good maple yesterday, so will be sticking
with plan A instead of making a Jazzadega-type thing.

Here's the stuff, which has been lying around for a while:



Basswood for the body, African mahogany for the neck, with
either a Indian rosewood or macassar ebony fretboard, and
quilted maple veneer or bubinga veneer for the front and back.

The African mahogany is very light so I don't have to worry
about the guitar being neck-heavy.

[adirondak5]

Nice ! Sweet looking lumber there Glenn , that macassar ebony is beautiful. Good building !

[Sharp5]

Nice! Good to see my altered fifth brother!

Oh, and why did you have to show us that Jazzadega-type thing! I've only been through about 5 different ideas.

[flatfive]

I've got an actual paper-and-pencil plan!



Drawing this was a good learning experience and forced me
to think through lots of the details.

In the pic you can also see the start of my headstock template
and neck template.

This is my not-too-crazy-or-ambitious idea:

• basswood body with veneer front and back
• burst trans black finish
• set neck of laminated mahogany
• 24.75" scale, 22 frets
• angled asymmetrical headstock, 3x3 tuners
• ebony faceplate on the headstock with inlay
• wraparound bridge
• two humbuckers
• 5-way switch

A bunch of things still need sorting out. Style of inlaid
position markers? binding on neck? binding on body?
contour on front of body? Bookmatch the veneer?

By the way, have you seen this neat book on electric guitar design
by Leonardo Lospennato? Besides lots of discussion on guitar design,
it gives a step-by-step guide on drawing a guitar plan.

[flatfive]

Originally Posted by adirondak5

Nice ! Sweet looking lumber there Glenn , that macassar ebony is beautiful. Good building !

Thanks, Herb. I've been very happy with the fingerboards I've
bought from LMII.

Originally Posted by Sharp5

Nice! Good to see my altered fifth brother!

Oh, and why did you have to show us that Jazzadega-type thing! I've only been through about 5 different ideas.

Alright Sharp5! I didn't know 'til now that you'd joined in.
I'm afraid my entry will look a bit flat in comparison to yours.
Bad pun, but I mean it.

[Wheelie]

Hey Glenn, I didn't know you were in this year.

Go with the Bubinga, it's just so much fun to say it.

Steve

[flatfive]

The basswood body blank I brought up from the basement:



It's been sitting there since Dec. 2010 and as you can see
it wasn't touched after being glued.

The one side was just about perfectly flat. The other side
needed a little work, so I tried the orbital sander.



I don't use this tool much, but you'll see one every 5 seconds
in any YouTube factory tour, so they must be good.
Half of the employees at PRS seem to be chained to 220 grit sanding
stations.

Maybe it's because the basswood is soft, but it was nice and easy
to get the surface flat with 80 grit. Then both sides with a little 120.

[flatfive]

Originally Posted by Wheelie

Hey Glenn, I didn't know you were in this year.
Go with the Bubinga, it's just so much fun to say it.
Steve

Please don't make ridiculous suggestions -- I'll be tempted
to follow them. I see you've joined the craziness, too.

BTW, I just realized that veneer is actually "beeswing eucalyptus".

(What about today? 80 F here when the normal high is 46? )