emoney's 2012 Challenge Build Thread -- COMPLETED

[emoney]

And lastly, we....well, truthfully, it was me since I did all the work and you just watched,
got the neck blank routed 1st and scarfed with a wider plank for the headstock;


It's easier to cut the trussrod channel on the blank when the sides are square. Then it's
just pop a 1/4" bit into the router table and cut away.


That's it for today, kiddos. Hopefully before the weekend is over, we'll have a body almost
ready for gluing and a neck roughed out. Keep your fingers crossed!

[emoney]

And since I have the patience of a gnat, among a myriad of other issues, I couldn't "put
it away" until I had this neck roughed out.

I was concerned that I couldn't pull it off, actually....an angled 6 inline headstock that is.
Enough concern that I actually have a Maple blank "just in case", and while the jury is
still technically out, I'm starting to think it may work;



Since I'm planning to do a set-neck, I thought the angle would help. If not, then I'll start
over with a traditional neck.

[Muzikp]

Looks like It'll work. It'll work great. Cool idea, I've never seen an angled 6 inline neck.

[emoney]

Thanks, Muzikp. My "plan" if you will, for this guitar is mainly due to my really overthinking
things. When I 1st decided to enter, as I was pondering a design, my mind began to wonder
what would've happened if Leo Fender had bought Gibson in say, 1962? I'm sure he would've
had them switch over to his designs, but I also imagined that if he had kept McCarty on
the payroll, he would've been lobbying for some of the Gibby elements to remain, thus
the headstock. That's why this guitar is getting carved on the inside and the outside
of both the body and the top. Basically, it's a "Telecaster 335"......at least that what
I hope it ends up being.

[Guitar novice]

Loving the design emoney.

Cant wait to see this finished.

Cheers

[RogerC]

That's gonna be a really cool design, E. It's conceptual stuff like this that is very interesting to watch.

[emoney]

Thanks guys!

You know, my Grandmother, God rest her soul, used to always say;
"Idle hands lead to evil minds and idle words are fool's talk". For the most part, I have no
idea what that meant. It was one of the many rather obscure sayings of hers, but since
she was the lady that gave me "If a cow (pooped) butter, we wouldn't have to churn it"
then I tended to give her quite a bit of slack and just nod my head lovingly. However,
I think I understand a little bit of what she was saying. For instance, I was bored today
and had really not planned on doing much build work. Next thing you know, I start "doodling";


Both of those pictures represent some pretty standard stuff for chambering a body and
carving a top. However, I just couldn't leave well enough alone;


Next thing you know, I've pulled out the router and done this;



However, it was taking forever until I remembered I had forgotten to do this;


So that allowed to get to this point a lot quicker;

Next thing you know, I've laid down the router and pick up the RO sander;




Still lots of work to do on both pieces, but I'm making progress. The body is slowly but
surely shedding weight. Hopefully I'll get the top carved tomorrow night and then I can
move onto the "E" holes (no that's not a typo). The back won't get carved until the body
has been glued up.

Have a great Sunday all!

[tklaavo]

I respect your effort to carve the bottom of the top as well! I have enough worries with my flat top project already..

[emoney]

thanks, tvlaavo. I should've gone with a little easier material to work with for the top
since I'm feeling so "industrious". This Ambrosia hates anything to do with altering it's
shape.

[mkhhunt]

I like that ambrosia, and who can speak against mahogany? Looks good!

[RogerC]

I would've loved to have gotten the chance to sit and chat with your grandmother, e.

[emoney]

Originally Posted by mkhhunt

I like that ambrosia, and who can speak against mahogany? Looks good!

Thank you sir.

Originally Posted by RogerC

I would've loved to have gotten the chance to sit and chat with your grandmother, e.

You know, growing up in the country, there was a lot of folks that were worth
the time to listen to, if that makes any sense. Of course, I was partial to
my Grandmother......

[emoney]

I'm no "tap tone expert"....let me restate that: I know very little about "tap tone", but
if I'm hearing what I think I'm hearing, this top sure does have some bell-like ringing to it.
I'm not sure how that really equates to sound enhancement on an electric guitar, but
I guess we'll see in hopefully, less than 2 months.

[dilbone]

Looks great, I can't wait to see this one develop...

[Muzikp]

Carving that top almost looks like manual labor . That is awesome though, this can only turn out well. Did you free hand the contours with your router? How did you keep it from going too deep or not deep enough on each contour?

[gearhead1972]

Man I have been complaining to my wife about how much work this is, forget all that carving.

[emoney]

Originally Posted by dilbone

Looks great, I can't wait to see this one develop...

Thank you sir, although I tend to bite off more than I can chew, or as Grandma
would've said, "My eyes are bigger than my stomach". (you figure it out, I
gave up trying)

Originally Posted by Muzikp

Carving that top almost looks like manual labor . That is awesome though, this can only turn out well. Did you free hand the contours with your router? How did you keep it from going too deep or not deep enough on each contour?

Drew the contour lines free hand doing the old, "finger against the side of
the body" trick and routed free hand. I'm not sure I'll build another one of
these so there was no use taking the time or material to build templates.
You just hafta go a little slower and make sure your math is correct.
Check, double check, re-check, and then confirm.

Originally Posted by gearhead1972

Man I have been complaining to my wife about how much work this is, forget all that carving.

Never complain to the Missus about building guitars, ONLY about how much work
the chores are she ask you to do, lol. You're doing great on your build, btw.

[emoney]

Well then, I say let's move forward, shall we? Since I quickly tired of sanding contour lines,
and due to the fact I earlier said I'd be making my own truss rod, I figure we might as well
get to doing it.

We start with a standard, 36" piece of 3/16" Steel Rod roundstock from your local HD/Lowe's/Whatever.
Before we begin, it's best to bevel one end a little to help the die start. I use my belt sander
for this;

Once that's done, I chuck it into my flat vise and put a few drops of oil on the end;


Easy smeasy. Next I whip out the old 10/32 Die and chuck it into the die thingamajiggy;

Sorry about all the technical terms, but some things can only be explained on a scientific level.
Slowly turn the thingamajiggy, making sure to "back it off" every 1/2 turn: something
like a "wax on, wax off" type, xen movement, and eventually, threads start to peek out
over the top;

And, after just a few minutes, you should end up with this;

And, although there's no picture of it, I like to take the edges off a brass cap nut to where
it turns out looking a little smoother. Screw that on to make sure your threads are good;

And, since you already cut your truss rod slot using a 1/4" router bit, like this;

Double check to make sure the slot allows the bar to move, but not rattle around;

And then proceed to cut the rod in half, netting you 18" of truss rod to be fine tuned and
adjusted later. (Sorry, no pictures of the hacksaw, but the update was boring enough)
When it's all said and done, in about 5 minutes of time, you've saved probably a grand total
of $3.00! Hey, it adds up you know! More importantly, it's a very relaxing step in the
build process as far as I'm concerned.

That's it for now kids. I've got to say I'm really enjoying all these build threads that are
going on. While it is a little difficult to "keep up" with everybody, there is a lot of great
info to be gleaned just in this Build Challenge, so kudos to all! Until next time, I'll leave
you with one more of Grandma's Famous Sayings;
"When you're green, you're growing. When you're ripe, you're rotting"

[RogerC]

Good looking rod, E!... I swear i've never said that to another guy before

[Olav]

OK, more of Grandma's wisdom and less of the technobabble please.
I mean; thingamajiggy? You smug lil' sunnuva whatsit...



Emoney; "rocket science? meh, it's not exactly luthery is it?"