ugly_guitar_guy's 2012 Challenge Build Thread -- COMPLETED

Alrighty, let's start my first year as a guitar builder off the right way! I'm in, and very, VERY anxious. :mrgreen:

Me too... to see it, that is.

Me too... to see it, that is.

:lol:, as ever, the master of understatement

Congrats, good luck to ya'! :grin:

Dave

After having spent lots of time looking through past year's threads, I think my entry this year may be the first tele designed with heavy metal shredding in mind (with the exception of Jacko's aluminum tele last year, of course). :lol:

Shredding?! Are you making confetti or cole slaw? :lol:

Good luck man, and I can't wait to feast my eyes...

I think my entry this year may be the first tele designed with heavy metal shredding in mind

:shock::shock::shock:

Seriously, this is going to be the longest day at work ever...

And every work day for the next 2 months...

:wink:

^ Amen brother!

Alright, enough chit-chat. Let's get this build started!

To begin, my material and "proof" picture.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-14_17-55-46_629.jpg

I've got an 8/4 plank of mahogany for the body, a 3/4 maple board for the neck, 1" koa plank, and a pale moon ebony plank for the fretboard. This is going to be an exercise in patience and detail for sure.

I began by marking off the first 20" cut of the board.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-14_18-03-42_215.jpg

Set up the shopsmith (this is literally my entire woodshop, right in this picture) and made some cuts.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-14_18-08-28_204.jpg

Once I lined up which sides I liked the most for the back of the guitar, I marked it with an off-center x to keep track of what goes where.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-14_18-18-26_77.jpg

And of course the sides I liked would join the rough edge, so I took it to the planer/joiner attachment and tried to level it all out. I just sharpened up the blades and readjusted the setup a few days ago, so I was hoping this would be a nice quick zip to get it smooth.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-14_18-26-17_54.jpg

Not so much. It's actually a pretty wonky plane, leaving a bit of space between the two boards. First time using the damn thing. More than likely user error. I need to go to harbor freight and get a long level ruler and a roll of sandpaper so that i can sand the edges flat before gluing.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-14_18-33-56_218.jpg

That was literally all I got done today before having to get to other plans for the evening, so I'm not terribly happy with just that, but hey, I've got 2 months, right? Tomorrow I'll have a bit more time and can get these sanded and glued up.

I decided I'm going to make a body template after all, so that'll be tomorrow night's to-do as well. I already feel like even though I kind of have a plan, I don't really have a plan. Lot's of learning to do still!

Hey the more detailed the plan the more things that can go wrong.

Koa is great wood. I think whatever you do, it will turn out great.

I got a shredder in the works too! 16" radius fb, floyd rose trem w locking nut, and dual home wound alnico 5 humbuckers. :) :) Good luck on the build! Lookin forward to seeing it.

Thanks guys. I'm already feeling overwhelmed with the jigs that I'm going to have to build, and it's only day 2! But hey, everyone's gotta start somewhere.

Amadhunter, that sounds like a guitar after my own heart! I haven't tipped my hand yet though. I have some pleasant surprises in store. :twisted:

It would seem that this is going to be daily learning and lessons for me. I really have no clue what I'm doing, but I'm doing it!

First off, the bandsaw on my shopsmith only cuts about 6 inches (I plan to do some mods to it to open it up to 6.75 inches), so I contact my local community college for help resawing my koa top. They were more than happy to have me come in and use their equipment, and it really was a joy to use all the high end stuff that they had.

First, I had to plane the top down so that it was level to work with because it was a little wonky.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_13-32-14_440.jpg

Then it was off the planing drum sander to remove the saw marks on the opposite side of the plank.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_13-33-03_140.jpg

Using a table saw I sliced through bit by bit so that when I resawed the top on the bandsaw it would be a straighter cut.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_13-40-17_72.jpg

That gave me a strip that was left over to sand down.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_13-42-40_524.jpg

I spotted a huge digital planing drums sander and passed it through a couple times to smooth it out.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_13-44-06_459.jpg

Now I have two great slices of Koa for my top. Unfortunately, they are not as thick as I wanted them to be, so my original ideas might change a little bit. We'll see.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_18-12-13_821.jpg

Now that I was back at the home shop, I dove into template-making. I was going to freehand it like I did my last build, but I decided it might be a good idea to keep this one around. I used some spray adhesive on mdf to stick down my paper template.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_19-04-55_635.jpg

Then cut to shape on the bandsaw.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_19-15-32_473.jpg

Then switched the bandsaw over for sanding to smooth everything out.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_19-17-37_675.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_19-22-45_996.jpg

And flipped the SS up to drum sand the curves. (I really do love how versatile this thing is.)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_19-28-10_683.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_19-40-40_282.jpg

Now, I've been fighting the edges of my mahogany blank. For some reason, I just can't seem to plane the sides straight that I was going to glue together. After fussing over sanding and planing and ending up with less and less wood, I decided that gluing the already finished edge of the wood wouldn't be that much different than the other way around. I spread some glue...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_20-12-57_199.jpg

And clamped it up. (Note to self, get better clamps. These Harbor Freight clamps are absolutely horrible, and one even broke while I was squeezing it down.)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_20-26-28_811.jpg

I set that aside to dry and decided to tackle my radius jig, inspired by a few members here. I bought some 2" electrical PVC (cheaper than plumbing PVC) and some cheap L bars, and glued them together with epoxy.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_20-45-35_572.jpg

I'll tackle the radius board for the router tomorrow. I have some leftover Birch plywood that should work for that.

In the last few minutes of the night, I drew the first few lines of my neck template, and laid the fretboard on it because that's just what we do around here to see what's coming down the road!

It was time to turn in after that. Gonna be a busy day tomorrow. G'nite all.

I'm really waiting for the matching headstock design here!

Well as always for me, life is busy! I feel like my build is moving at half the speed of smell right now, but I made what I feel is some very important progress over the last few days.

This weekend I started on my neck template on MDF. Reverse headstock.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_15-48-19_125.jpg

A quick trim on the SS bandsaw...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_16-23-59_855.jpg

And lined up my slab of maple as my straight edge to route the sides true to the line.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_16-30-31_866.jpg

A zip on the drum sander again to shape the headstock and now I have an accurate neck template. Digital calipers show I'm within .4 mm of my intended dimensions, so I'll leave it there and just use the sanding block on the final cut of wood to get the measurement exact.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_17-15-43_629.jpg

Then it was time to make my router sled for the planing rails. I took the plastic bottom off the router and used that as a template for the holes. I counter sunk the screws that would hold the plastic plate on the base into this cut of 3/4" birch plywood and mounted the router. Came out exactly as I'd have expected.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_18-10-00_818.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_18-09-43_70.jpg

I'll need to add some support rails to the sides because it flexes about 1mm in the middle. I figured out how to counter that by not holding onto the router itself and held onto the outer plank area instead. Much more stable.

I mounted my rails to my makeshift SS bench, clamped to some more left over birch plywood, then used double stick tape to stick the plank down.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_19-13-31_935.jpg

All set. Take a deep breath, and let's hope this actually works.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_19-15-20_359.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_19-17-41_132.jpg

Well, it's certainly not quick, but it's absolutely very easy. Takes several minutes to do the whole top with a 1/2 straight bit, but it works.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_19-29-43_226.jpg

This pic shows my "learning" that the router sled bows a little bit. The ridges look much bigger in the pic than they were IRL. A minute with my sanding block flattened that out smooth as marble. By that point it was late and I had to shut down to keep the neighbors happy.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_19-29-54_945.jpg

Next day, I went for leveling the opposite side, now that one side was flat.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-17_16-10-55_244.jpg

Calculated the thickness of my koa top, and subtracted that from 1.75" to make that pass on the backside. I made some pretty good sawdust. It's a shame to see that much wood go to waste. :(

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-19_18-41-08_763.jpg

That was all I got done over the weekend. Last night I tackled cutting out the body (I feel SOOOO behind already compared the other guys!).

I started by picking where I wanted the grain to line up with the template (I know, I know. I cut my planks too long, and wasted more wood. Rookie mistake).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-19_18-48-59_85.jpg

And traced the body on the blank. I like where this is going. :)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-19_18-50-24_310.jpg

After another couple of minutes on the bandsaw I had the body cut pretty close, but couldn't navigate the cutaway curve, so I took it to the drill press and using my "little" forstner bit (I don't have a BAFB...) I drilled a couple holes to make the cut easier.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-19_19-01-49_518.jpg

A few more minutes at the bandsaw to work out the curve and cut a bit closer to the lines and now I finally have something that resembles a guitar! :mrgreen: I have to be honest, I needed that part to get done. That put me in a fantastic mood to see this pic and feel like I'm finally making progress.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-19_19-14-13_163.jpg

I wont be able to work on this for a couple more nights, so I'll be chomping at the bit until then. I did change my mind on the neck also. I'm currently looking for an ADDITIONAL piece of wood to be able to even START my neck. I also need to spend some time getting my planer dialed in better, so I'm stuck for a few days because that's pivotal a this point for me to be able to plane my neck down properly. I think some kind of planing sander will be on my bday list in a couple months. :D

Thanks guys, more to come in a few days! :cool:

*edit* I added a couple pics that I missed. :neutral:

Nice progress

I probably wont have much time to be able to get anything done tonight (routing the body edge with my template IF I'm lucky), but I was stoked to see my control cavity templates show up yesterday!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-20_17-41-21_558.jpg

I'm also waiting till Friday for my Walnut to show up for the neck so that I can start that this weekend, and I decided yesterday that I'm going to make a brass tone bar to use in the back instead of ferrules, so I ordered a block of that as well.

Oh, and I also realized that I have to thin my neck template down about 3-4mm. I forgot I was doing a 26" scale.

Now why in the world would I be doing a 26" scale???.... :mrgreen:

This is looking really good. I like the body shape & the wood is very nice.

You think you wasted some wood with that little pile of sawdust? You're not even close - you can still see part of your floor! I've lost clamps on my floor, and ther may well be a family of small animals living in there somewhere:smile:

This is looking really good. I like the body shape & the wood is very nice.

You think you wasted some wood with that little pile of sawdust? You're not even close - you can still see part of your floor! I've lost clamps on my floor, and ther may well be a family of small animals living in there somewhere:smile:

Thanks, I was shooting for a kind of "heavy metal tele" design. I think this will work nicely!

Well, that's only part of the floor after having swept up between each of the 3 previous passes of the planing rig. Doing it that way makes a heck of a mess!!

I should just invest in the Safe T Planer (or the current equivalent...) and save a lot more time!

I should just invest in the Safe T Planer (or the current equivalent...) and save a lot more time!
The safety planer makes more of a mess since the centrifigal force flings it everywhere. They are only capable of taking off a little wood at a time too. I'd say they are about even in mess and time.

By the way, I haven't seen an Oliver planer in a long time....that one is a beauty.

Oooooohhh....you sweep! I'm gonna have to try that. Man, I'm constantly learning stuff on this forum.

I'm confused, where are the ugly guitars?

Dude! I haven't been following TDPRI lately but today I stop by and what do I see? My nephew building a guitar!

Very cool indeed.

I should just invest in the Safe T Planer

Or a 1910 Bailey #7 joiner hand plane with a Ron Hock blade. Much like this one sitting in my toolbox right here. :lol:

Or perhaps an oak Japanese hand plane with a blade made from a 600 year old anchor chain. Much like this one on my bench. [double :lol: ]

Seriously, the Saf-T-Planer is a useful tool, but you can only take small amounts off at a time. And yes, unless you have your dust collector running right next to the blade it throws chips everywhere.

Or perhaps an oak Japanese hand plane with a blade made from a 600 year old anchor chain. Much like this one on my bench. [double :lol: ]

:shock: ummm, excuse me?!

Dude! I haven't been following TDPRI lately but today I stop by and what do I see? My nephew building a guitar!

Very cool indeed.



Or a 1910 Bailey #7 joiner hand plane with a Ron Hock blade. Much like this one sitting in my toolbox right here. :lol:

Or perhaps an oak Japanese hand plane with a blade made from a 600 year old anchor chain. Much like this one on my bench. [double :lol: ]

Seriously, the Saf-T-Planer is a useful tool, but you can only take small amounts off at a time. And yes, unless you have your dust collector running right next to the blade it throws chips everywhere.

Hey, glad you saw the thread! I'd kinda hoped you were going to participate again this year so we'd have a family challenge. :mrgreen: Honestly though, I think I've worn your build thread out from last year with all the tips and tricks I learned from reading it over and over again. Helped give me the confidence and reference to be able to do this myself.

Well any time you want to let me borrow some of those tools you just give me a shout and I'll keep a good eye on them for ya! :wink: Now I NEED to come and visit you and the shop, SOON. :cool: Call ya tonight and clue you in on the whole build!

I'm confused, where are the ugly guitars?

Ha! I should have gone with "pointy_guitar_guy." I have a soft spot for guitars with angles and points. :D

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/MetalGuitars.jpg

I don't have the Explorer anymore, but I do have a matching silverburst Strat to match the V. Oh, and let's not forget the 8 string... :twisted:


So tonight started easily enough after work. When I got home I got to getting my template pickup cavities routed out. Started with the Forstner bit again to remove the meat.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-21_18-47-04_201.jpg

Then using my little plexiglass template I routed them to shape. (Is it just me or do those pickup cavities seem a little too big?....) :confused: Maybe my template slipped... ( drew in the pickup outlines on the mahogany for reference later. Using double stick tape I set the template on the guitar nice and even with the center line on the body.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-22_19-36-33_548.jpg

Oh and btw, I stopped at Lowes on my way home and picked up some Bench Cookies specifically to make this part of the job easier. These things are so simple, but will be invaluable for sure!!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-22_19-36-14_789.jpg

I gotta admit, I've been scared to death of this step because this is my first solid body route (my "first" guitar body was birch ply) so I really didn't want to screw it up horribly, even though I was setting my self up for an easy job.

First pass went pretty dang well. :mrgreen:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-22_19-49-41_61.jpg

But not perfect...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-22_19-49-57_996.jpg

I guess I tipped the router on the thin lower horn. Oh well. It'll sand out. At least I didn't get any tearouts, especially along the cutaway.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-22_19-49-51_162.jpg

So I took the template off and put the body on the pucks by itself and routed to the completed body route.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-22_19-55-31_765.jpg

Went very well again, with no tearouts again, but I have this damned little fraction of a mm lip around the whole guitar! Something wasn't quite right and left a space difference on the route, so I'll have to sand it down with the sanding block by hand.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-22_20-03-36_757.jpg

I also have to fix a few spots that I apparently cut too close to the line on the bandsaw so they were outside the router template line. They're not dug in far at all, but are gonna take a few minutes to round out with more hand sanding. Not a big deal. It's getting kinda therapeutic actually...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-22_20-03-56_140.jpg

So after another several minutes I sanded out the problem spots with 100 grit and got the edges looking much smarter. I made the choice to not make compromises on this guitar, so I'm not going to leave any sketchy areas that I don't like 100%. Start the quality control now and I will learn to not be content cutting corners later.

That's all for tonight. Tomorrow I'll route my wire channels and try to get my top pieces glued together in prep for gluing to the body this weekend. Very excited for that step...

I'll leave you all with this last pic for the night. (I can't help but feel like I'm so far behind right now, but at least I know that I'll be done by the deadline!) Goodnight!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-22_20-48-55_798.jpg

That's looking nice. And as for tipping the router on the horn, that's a pretty commong problem. The fix is to make yourself an oversized base so that you have more stability in that section. I think you're doing a fine job so far!

Awesome so far!

Very nice,
It's like an Iceman and a Tele had a baby.

Tomorrow I'll route my wire channels and try to get my top pieces glued together in prep for gluing to the body this weekend
OK, if you're going to put a maple top on this then I'd highly suggest routing out some cavities in that mahogany body to lighten it up.

My hog/maple guitar which I made last year is at least as heavy as a Les Paul. It's a beast. Even the belly bevel (which makes it MUCH more comfortable) didn't remove much weight. You can make some simple router templates, take out a bunch of the wood with a large Forstner bit, and then route it out to make it look neat and clean (even though nobody will ever see it). But if you can take out a pound or two you'll really notice it as it hangs on your shoulder.

Also, If I was to do it again (which I am actually) I'd use a forstner bit and drill a relief hole in the mahogany right at the treble side of the bridge pickup hole to make room for the wires as they exit the pickup. The maple cap will cover that hole but it makes it way easier to route your wires.

i like it! it's almost like the bastard child of an iceman and a tele.

That's looking nice. And as for tipping the router on the horn, that's a pretty commong problem. The fix is to make yourself an oversized base so that you have more stability in that section. I think you're doing a fine job so far!

Ah, brilliant! I have a sheet of 1/4" plexiglass around here somewhere so maybe I'll attempt making a wider base out of that. Just things you gotta screw up first to learn how to not do it again!

Awesome so far!
Very nice,
It's like an Iceman and a Tele had a baby.
i like it! it's almost like the bastard child of an iceman and a tele.

Thanks guys! I just wanted something that had a little extra flavor on that lovely tele shape. But I'll just tell ya, you ain't seen NUTHIN yet... :twisted:

OK, if you're going to put a maple top on this then I'd highly suggest routing out some cavities in that mahogany body to lighten it up.

Actually, it's going to be a Koa top: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-16_18-12-13_821.jpg

I wanted to go with something dark and exotic-looking for this one. I'm going to try your angled-side glue jig you used last year (sans antique planes to weigh the boards down. :sad:) to glue the top together. I'm hoping the boards have stayed flat and haven't cupped over the last week. I've been keeping an eye on them...

My hog/maple guitar which I made last year is at least as heavy as a Les Paul. It's a beast. Even the belly bevel (which makes it MUCH more comfortable) didn't remove much weight. You can make some simple router templates, take out a bunch of the wood with a large Forstner bit, and then route it out to make it look neat and clean (even though nobody will ever see it). But if you can take out a pound or two you'll really notice it as it hangs on your shoulder.

I've been tossing around the idea of opening up the body a bit, but honestly, I don't care for the sound of a chambered body. It's too "loose", and I'm wanting this to be a very tight-sounding guitar at high gain. Plus, I plan to do a fair amount of contouring to the back so I don't want to make a chamber and then cut into it. I may compromise and drill some strategic holes with the forstner bit to bring the weight down a little, and I'm most likely going to thin it down again after the top goes on. I'd like it to be a touch thinner. There's so many options when making a "custom" guitar!

Also, If I was to do it again (which I am actually) I'd use a forstner bit and drill a relief hole in the mahogany right at the treble side of the bridge pickup hole to make room for the wires as they exit the pickup. The maple cap will cover that hole but it makes it way easier to route your wires.

THAT is a fantastic idea! That last body that I did was a little bit of a fight for just that reason, especially since I prefer direct-mount pickups over pickup rings. Thanks. :)

Alrighty, what a heck of a shop day! :cool:

I began by weighing my mahogany body blank as is. 4.4 lbs, without pickup cavities or control cavity being routed. I figure once those are carved that'll drop it well below 4 by itself.

Also, I went and picked up a plank of walnut to add to my neck build since my maple just isn't quite as thick as I want it. by itself. So here's my addition picture of the new walnut.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_13-23-09_92.jpg

And a closeup.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_13-23-18_607.jpg

Honestly, I love the way that walnut smells...

Anyway, so here's the idea. Since my maple is 3.5 inches wide I'm going to cut it into strips just over 1" thick. Then cut a 1" wide strip out of the walnut, and then slice that in half to get two strips about 3/8" thick, and laminate into a 5 piece neck. :twisted:

So I set up the table saw for the 1+" size to cut.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_13-27-28_426.jpg

Then cut my maple board to length and ran it through also.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_14-09-25_714.jpg

And ended up with 4 strips!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_14-15-04_625.jpg

Then I squeezed in the saw guide closer and sliced the walnut in half. I decided to set my planer up properly (finally) to get the saw marks out of the strips, so after about 20 minutes of adjusting the blade height and testing on a scrap of pine i finally got the damn thing to cut flat. I made a couple shallow passes to make sure i was on the right track...

and then the SS speed control stopped working... :mad:

So I had to pull the whole thing apart and fix the part of the speed control, which took a solid half hour of my day.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_15-35-51_986.jpg

But, I managed to get it pieced back together with not much issue.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_16-18-34_224.jpg

I finally ran all my strips through the planer, and set them up to glue.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_16-40-33_279.jpg

A little glue and some clamps, and I'm on my way to a neck blank. (Btw, broke another HF clamp. Never buying those again. Lesson learned...)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_16-58-16_83.jpg

Next, It was time to glue the top together, so I used an idea from my Uncle, GregB, that I saw last year. The top already had a taper to the edges so it made it easy to line up some framing strips, and screw them down to an MDF board.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_17-13-16_676.jpg

The idea is after you glue it and lay it down you tap the edge toward the narrow side and it squeezes the joint together. So i slapped some glue on the edges, and taped some wax paper down the middle (Learn from others mistakes... :mrgreen:)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_17-25-50_437.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_17-22-41_767.jpg

As I tapped the boards into the taper I got a nice even squeeze of glue up the middle. Looks like I did it right. :wink:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_17-28-08_774.jpg

To keep the boards from popping up, I had a vintage Roland Cube amp cabinet laying around. That should do nicely.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_17-29-25_925.jpg

Well now that it's time to just let glue dry, I think I'll call it a day. But before that, I've been tossing around the idea of dying just the mahogany back and sides black, so I tried it on some scrap. I'll sand it back a little tomorrow and see what I think.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-24_18-11-02_511.jpg

See you guys tomorrow! :cool:

Can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting a laminated neck.




*no cats were harmed while composing this post.

I'm gonna hafta try a laminated neck the next build. That thing is going to look really
sharp. Love that top...just love it. OH, and don't buy those cheap Harbor Freight orange
tipped clamps.....they're horrible. (wait, was that a little too late?). The blue screw handled
ones aren't as bad, however.

Can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting a laminated neck.




*no cat were harmed while composing this post.

Hehe. I'm with Eric. I really want to try one on a future build myself. To me, they really add a classy touch. Right now I've got some nice curly maple, mahogany and walnut in my wood stash :cool:...

Now I'm starting to have fun, and even surprising myself a little here and there. :mrgreen:

My shop day started after playing at church this morning (which was great to finally use my newly built Batcaster tele I finished a few weeks ago). I unclamped the neck, and it looked pretty messy. I wasn't really sure how this was gonna turn out...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-25_13-56-00_644.jpg

Then back to the router planing jig. Stuck the neck down with double stick tape, and fired up the engine.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-25_14-10-25_213.jpg

A couple minutes and a few passes later, I had it planed down nice and smooth on both sides. Ran some 220 over it with the sanding block, and quite honestly, I was blown away how well it turned out for my first laminated neck. :shock:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-25_14-27-35_140.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-25_16-58-42_642.jpg

I gotta say, that's a sexy-looking neck blank. It's sitting at about .97" thick, exactly what I was shooting for. Now I've got plenty of room to play with.

Next, I turned my focus to the Koa top. I pulled it out of the jig and used my sanding block to get the excess glue off. This is one of the times that I really wish I had a thickness sander. Maybe if I'm good for my bday... :roll: I placed my template on the top and drew in my shape.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-25_17-22-20_405.jpg

A quick zip around the bandsaw gave me a nice preview of what's to come... I can't wait to get some oil on this to see what's hiding in that grain. :twisted:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-25_17-59-33_137.jpg

I prepped my mahogany blank by taping off the wiring channels so that I don't drip too much glue down there.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-25_18-03-33_400.jpg

And used a fake credit card to spread the glue around, removed the tape, and spread a little closer to the channels.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-25_18-06-59_655.jpg

Now I really don't like these clamps, but they're all I have right now so I used ever last one I've got. I felt felt pretty good about the pressure I was getting by the little bit of glue squeeze around the edges, but I wanted to make sure that I got the middle squeezed down nice and tight as well.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-25_18-17-09_203.jpg

So, I looked around the garage for something heavy. Nothing that I had that was small enough to fit in between the clamps was heavy enough to offer any real pressure... and then it dawned on me.

On the weekends I DJ weddings, and one of my larger stands in the garage caught my eye. If I extended the light stand just far enough I could squeeze it between the top and the garage rafter which would give a very nice amount of downward pressure in the middle, like an oversized go-bar. I guess necessity truly is the mother of redneck invention. :lol:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-25_18-23-01_524.jpg

I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed, but hey, it worked!

To finish my day, I took a few measurements on my neck blank. Tomorrow I'll cut my scarf joint and hopefully get that glued up. The neck is going to take me the most time on this build...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-25_18-48-44_176.jpg

Good night! :cool:

Hey, like they say, "use what you got". Great thinking on that light stand/gobar!

The top is just stunning and so is that fretboard blank. You did great on the lamination
for the neck, so I'm sure the whole thing will turn out beautifully.

I love the body design - and the Koa top!

Nice work. As for being embarrassed by your make-shift, oversized go bar, I'll offer this...

One of my best friends is a major in the army and used to work at picatinny arsenal developing sniper weapons. His email sig contains the following bit of wisdom:

"If it's stupid but it works, then it isn't stupid" :lol:

Thanks guys!

Now I just need to build up the nerve to cut that scarf joint today...

If you're too nervous about it, you could always mark the angle and cut it by hand. That's
what I did the first time. Takes more effort and doesn't go as fast, but you can control
the outcome a little better that way.

ugly_guitar_guy, you're doing a great job. Koa is beautiful
wood. You need to get yourself some new clamps, though! :lol:
That style of clamp (even if it wasn't HF) just doesn't provide
very much clamping strength, especially for things like clamping
up the body blank.

Here's a post from December with info about recommended clamping
strength with Titebond (150 psi) and the clamping strength produced
by various clamp types.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/295608-melody-maker-build-8.html#post3769042

Anyway, nice work -- like that body design, too.

Hey guys, only some very small progress made today.

First, I unclamped the top and set it aside. Looks pretty sweet to me. Can't wait to get some cavities routed.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-26_12-29-15_229.jpg

It was time to do the scarf joint though. I made my measurements...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-26_12-25-27_562.jpg

...and took it to the bandsaw.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-26_12-33-29_81.jpg

And voila, I cut the joint. But...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-26_12-39-54_356.jpg

Dammit, I cut it the wrong way! I wanted the scarf joint in the neck, not in the headstock. I guess it'll be alright though since I'll overlay the headstock with koa later.

I used some double stick tape to line up and secure my two pieces to plane the angle straight.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-26_12-40-12_943.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-26_12-42-36_716.jpg

A quick zip with the hand planer and I was pretty close to smooth.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-26_12-52-26_207.jpg

After quick a trip to the Depot to get more Sandpaper I sanded it the rest of the way with some 120 grit. Not too shabby.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-26_19-05-47_140.jpg

Then my hell began...

I got out all my clamps to grab quickly and got my glue ready.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-26_19-21-43_305.jpg

The clamping attempts and expletives that followed the next 10 minutes were the most frustrating minutes of this build so far. I guess I didn't think it through quite well enough before I started, and ended up clamping and unclamping 3 times before getting everything lined up and squeezed tight so that it wouldn't move, and probably ended up using an ungodly amount of glue as well. But eventually I (hopefully) got it done. It's gonna be a long night waiting to see if it turned out well.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-26_20-12-19_882.jpg

Wish me luck...

Nice job on the scarf joint. It's frustrating trying to get them to line up with each other. I like to use toothpicks in the waste areas of the neck as a way to keep things lined up when there's slippery glue in there.

Click here (http://www.tdpri.com/forum/2012-tdpri-tele-build-challenge/317910-devo_stevos-2012-challenge-build-thread.html) and check out posts 26 and 27 to see an example.

I love the body on this one too. Nice top wood and it'll look good with a finish on it. Keep it up.

Haha! I still sling plenty of those words when clamping the scarf. Those suckers sure
like to move around on you, don't they? Looks like you found the "sweet spot" (a block
or clamp at the end helps) and don't worry, you can always clean up the area by planing/sanding
when the clamps come off, there's plenty of material there.

Clamping that stupid thing is probably the main reason I've not even attempted a scarf joint yet :lol:

Good luck on it, and I hope it comes out good for you

Good job on the scarf joint. Unlike many electric builders, your using the correct scarf joint orientation :D

Btw, I really hope your not using titebond 3 :O

Good job on the scarf joint. Unlike many electric builders, your using the correct scarf joint orientation :D

Btw, I really hope your not using titebond 3 :O
Titebond original is better right?
I seem to remember reading that titebond 3 doesn't dry as solid, that it stays more rubbery or something...
I mean for those of us that don't use fish/hide glue :razz:

Yeah, titebond original is the one most suitable for instrument work. Titebond 2 and 3 tend to suffer from cold creep. I saw on one forum where a guy had built a les Paul style guitar with tb 3 and the glue had creeped so much that the neck had started to slip making the guitar unplayable.

Good job on the scarf joint. Unlike many electric builders, your using the correct scarf joint orientation :D

Btw, I really hope your not using titebond 3 :O

Well it seems like "correct" is subjective in the world of scarf joints. It's almost a matter of personal opinion really.

As for the Titebond III, when I was building my PRS copy last year I found a website and chart outlining that Titebond III created the strongest joint so I just went with that as default. Is original Titebond considered a better choice for guitar builders?

Also...

I checked on the joint this morning. It looks like everything stayed aligned pretty well, but, the glue seam just looks a little wide. It doesn't appear to be a tight joint at all (maybe the surface wasn't completely flat and it left a gap on the sides?). I'll sand the excess glue off when I get home to see how it's looking, but I'm thinking I'm going to have to cut it off and try again. :mad: At least with the scarf on the backside It's a relatively easy cut to chop it off and start over, I'll just lose a little headstock length. Oh well, there's worse setbacks. At least this is fixable, and at the very least I can cut a paddle to glue to the top of the neck angle if things continue on badly.

It's gonna be another long day @ work... :sad:

I think the "rumor mill" has it that the Titebond III never turns fully 'hard'. I couldn't even
come close to confirming that or denying it, just relaying the message, so-to-speak. For
something like a scarf joint, I don't know how much difference the glue would make. Now,
when it comes to gluing on the fretboard, or if you're gluing the neck to the body, Titebond I
would be preferred because it's repairable, not being waterproof. Later on down the road,
of course.

When you said the seam is wide, were the two pieces not touching? In looking at the
picture with your clamps, doesn't seem like it could've separated, so all may not be
lost. The 2 pieces move around so much, there seems to be a lot of glue everywhere,
so hopefully when you clean it up, the seam will look a lot better.

It's such a pretty neck that whatever you do, trudge on with it because in the end, it's
going to look great on the guitar.

I think the "rumor mill" has it that the Titebond III never turns fully 'hard'. I couldn't even
come close to confirming that or denying it, just relaying the message, so-to-speak. For
something like a scarf joint, I don't know how much difference the glue would make. Now,
when it comes to gluing on the fretboard, or if you're gluing the neck to the body, Titebond I
would be preferred because it's repairable, not being waterproof. Later on down the road,
of course.

When you said the seam is wide, were the two pieces not touching? In looking at the
picture with your clamps, doesn't seem like it could've separated, so all may not be
lost. The 2 pieces move around so much, there seems to be a lot of glue everywhere,
so hopefully when you clean it up, the seam will look a lot better.

It's such a pretty neck that whatever you do, trudge on with it because in the end, it's
going to look great on the guitar.

Well my PRS neck has been set fine and dandy for about a year now with no issues, but it makes sense that I don't need "waterproof" glue. I'll grab some original titebond from the store tonight. Can't argue with the hands-on experience of the many builders of this forum! I wish I could find the page I saw last year with the glue joint comparisons...

Yeah, it would make sense that it should be alright, but I fear that the joint just may not be a super tight seam if there was TOO MUCH glue in there when it was clamped. I'm so OCD about this and worrying about it that I'm even going to go home for lunch and have a look at it. If I don't I just might...

come unglued?...

:wink:

If I don't I just might...

come unglued?...

:wink:
Well played.

I doubt you will have any problems, but for future reference titebond original (it comes in the red bottle) is the one thats best for lutherie. I would doubt the claim that TB 3 never fully cures, but the reason to stay away from it is that it is susceptible to cold creep.

Again, really nice looking work.

If your scarf joint is made correctly and the glue is fresh, your glue joint is done correctly, your neck will be fine. I'd say 99.9 percent of the membership here builds with yellow glue. We can't all be wrong.

Well, on my break I ran home and had a look-see at how well the joint looked. After sanding back the excess glue off the sides here's what I saw:

The first side was ok I guess. Certainly not a tight joint though. (Don't mind the little chunk off the edge, that would be cut away anyway).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_12-35-00_250.jpg

The other side is what's killing me and has me worried.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_12-35-24_218.jpg

At the thickest point of the seam it's about .5mm. This almost certainly shows me that both pieces were not flat against each other when I glued them. So that being said, "should" I cut it apart and try again, or would a joint like this even be strong enough to handle string tension? Concerning aesthetics, obviously having a large seam like that isn't preferable for an unpainted finish also.

Thoughts?

You shouldn't see that much glue line. When I make a scarfed joint, I create a slight hollow in the center of both pieces by taking a scraper and just removing a few shavings. This creates a spring type of joint, putting pressure on the sides somewhat. I always check to make sure that the surfaces are dead flat before I do this. I use a large flat block and set it on the surface and just move it an inch or two forward, then pick it up and repeat that motion. I check mine with the ruler part of a try square with a light bulb at a low angle .
How did you prepare the glue surfaces? Were they rounded a bit on the sides? If you sand them by hand with a flat block sometimes we end up hitting the sides more leaving a slight downward curve.

I would cut it and redo it with original Titebond, or, better yet, LMII instrument glue.

Looks like this is going to be a killer fiddle!

You shouldn't see that much glue line. When I make a scarfed joint, I create a slight hollow in the center of both pieces by taking a scraper and just removing a few shavings. This creates a spring type of joint, putting pressure on the sides somewhat. I always check to make sure that the surfaces are dead flat before I do this.

That's what I thought...

I had checked them with a straightedge, but obviously I missed something. Guess I'll be a day behind with this fix, but I'm pretty sure it can be done, and good experience I suppose. And I'll stop at woodcraft to get a scraper. Makes perfect sense to have that "spring joint." At least now I know how to clamp it all once i have the surfaces flat...

Some days I hate being a newb. :cool:

If your scarf joint is made correctly and the glue is fresh, your glue joint is done correctly, your neck will be fine. I'd say 99.9 percent of the membership here builds with yellow glue. We can't all be wrong.

But titebond 3 isn't yellow glue.

It sure looks yellow in post 44 :-).

Titebond® III is the most advanced wood glue available today. It combines the strength, sandability, ease of use and water cleanup of PVAs (aliphatic resins) with the durability, open time and water-resistance of polyurethanes.

as wood glue PVAc is known as "white glue" and the yellow "carpenter's glue" or PVA glue.

from msds:

Contact: Franklin Technical Services
Telephone/Fax: (800) 877-4583 (614) 445-1493
Emergency Phone (24 Hour): Franklin Security
(614) 445-1300
Chemtrec (24 Hour): (800) 424-9300
Chemtrec International: (703) 527-3887
Product Class crosslink polyvinyl acetate
Product Use: waterproof wood glue
Product Code: 56192

I stand corrected.
However,
I'm not sure I would use titebond 3 to clean my records.
:wink:

^^^ took me a minute. He made a funny :lol:

Well some days just turn out better than expected, eh?

When I got home I got right to business. Took the neck to the bandsaw and crossed my fingers...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_18-32-34_657.jpg

I managed to keep as close to the glue line as possible. All in all, not much material was lost.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_18-35-38_16.jpg

Next, I set up the planer again and taped the neck down to plane the glue and wood off the neck side. I erred on the side of caution so that I didn't dig into the neck.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_18-48-11_944.jpg

And I'd say I got pretty damn close.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_18-50-32_684.jpg

A couple minutes of sanding got much closer.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_18-56-56_968.jpg

So I lined up the angle again to do some more planing.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_19-01-20_335.jpg

This time I did it all by hand instead of with the power hand planer. I don't really trust myself to do accurate work with that thing yet. 120g got me there in a few minutes.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_19-21-51_220.jpg

I lost about a degree of angle from the cut, so I'm at about 14 degrees on the joint now. Still, better than expected and coming along nicely. This time, I took my time and set things up and even did a dry run so that I had an idea how the joint would react.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_19-45-30_576.jpg

I took the plunge, added some original Titebond (:wink:) that I grabbed on the way home, and clamped it up quickly and smoothly. No cuss words were spoken (which I'm sure the neighbors were much happier with).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_19-54-15_40.jpg

The payoff? This picture right here:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-27_19-54-30_342.jpg

A nice, tight glue seam. :mrgreen: Tomorrow is gonna be a good day. You know, it sucks to be a newb, but every time I learn how to fix a mistake it makes me that much more confident. Thanks for the help guys.

G'nite everyone! :cool:

14 degrees is what Gibson guitars are at these days....things are looking good. :-)

^^^ took me a minute. He made a funny :lol:

It took me longer, but A: I'm old, and B: it isn't 6 AM yet here.

Shoot, anything from 7 degrees and up is fine. You're quickly shaking that "newb" moniker.

It took me longer, but A: I'm old, and B: it isn't 6 AM yet here.

I wasn't joking.
Original titebond will not bond with an LP.
Two tablespoons of titebond spread out on the surface will dry and can be peeled off pulling with it all the dirt from the bottom of the grooves.
You might need a little piece of tape or something to help lift the edge to get started.

Anyways,
That glue joint looks good this time around.
Can't wait to hear some heavy metal in your final video.

Nice save on that scarf joint. Looks a lot better this time around.

Great job on the save! You're well on your way now...

I gotta say, I was more anxious than a 6 year old on Christmas morning to get to the garage and see how it turned out.

After a quick rub with the sanding block to remove the glue squeeze, this is what I have:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-28_07-51-58_429.jpghttp://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-28_07-53-45_460.jpg

I'm much happier with this and can certainly live with it (the rounded edge of the seam makes it look wider than what it actually is). I'm sure once I get cutting into the headstock shape and sanded I'll be golden.

Must've been cold in the garage last night. You can see the glue didn't dry in spots where it was thicker. Not a problem in the joint though.

Next up will be planing the headstock flat, and getting that pesky truss rod channel routed. Actually, I'm not even sure how thick the headstock is supposed to be (5/8" ?). Since I have some room to work with on the 1" headstock thickness I think I'll take the thickness off the back so that i can carve a volute when I shape the neck.

Now I kinda can't wait to start another neck. A next one is gonna be even better. :D

That joint looks good - when you carve deeper while shaping the neck the glue line will most likely disappear completely!

Definitely good thinking on taking your excess of the back of the headstock. You don't
want to inadvertently mess up your angle by taking it off the "face" and ideally you want
a nice, sharp square "line" where the angle starts for your nut to meet the fretboard.

At this rate, you'll be in full-time, replacement neck production by the end of summer!

Ok, so my lesson of the day? I do not yet trust myself with a power planer, Shopsmith or otherwise, and I most CERTAINLY need to get my blades sharpened. :neutral: Here's why.

So I got out to the garage for a few minutes yesterday to try and plane down the extra lip I left on the scarf joint on the headstock side. I set up the Shopsmith planer, and decided to just take off like 1/32 at a t time until it was level.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-28_17-52-36_68.jpg

That didn't go so well. It wasn't straight at all, and I got some minor tearout, more than likely from my barely sharp blades. :mad: Shoulda stuck with sandpaper...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-28_17-57-28_734.jpg

You can see the tearout in the top right and bottom right sides of the headstock, and there's a definite wave to the surface now.

You can see how bad the line is where the nut needs to go.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-28_17-57-39_121.jpg

So I marked a "point of no return" on the fretboard side. The nut line can't go passed that mark as I plane the headstock level, otherwise I'll be working with a 22 fret neck instead of a 24.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-28_18-00-35_814.jpg

So I sanded away for a while with 120g on my sanding block to try to get it level. No such luck in the time I had.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-28_18-26-17_529.jpg

I also filled in the tearouts with some Titebond and maple dust. Both parts wont be showing after the headstock is veneered and the nut added, so I'm not worried about it.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-28_18-25-45_547.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-28_18-25-53_992.jpg

As you can see, the right side is thicker than the left closest to the camera, but the left is thicker than the right furthest from the camera. I think tonight I'll be taking this to the router planing jig instead and get it leveled out much more accurately so that i can move on and get that truss rod channel routed.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-28_18-28-35_492.jpg

No more time before heading to practice last night. I'll be back later after tonight's progress.

I have to log on more often.

Regarding glue: Gorilla glue has a new white glue (not the foaming brown stuff) which, according to a luthier at our local woodworking club, is very similar, if not the same, as the LMI luthier glue. (Wow, that was a complex sentence). I have a bottle but haven't started using it yet. I have a commission for a mountain dulcimer so I think I'll try it there.

You have to remember nothing critical to intonation or playability happens on the headstock, a block plane is the way to go to get a nice crisp line, but your nut is forward of this and your adding a cap, so apart from asthetics I would not loose sleep over what you've done, and your thickness is achieved from removing from the back of the headstock, this is when you need to keep even with the top so your tuners sit flush. And by looking at what your doing I would say your well within tolerence levels, but alas the camera does lie, so be your own judge but its looking good from here, mind you I'm a few thousand miles away and you can't hit me if I'm wrong lol

I would agree with nialdabass. I've sanded away more "issues" on headstocks than I haven't
I think. It's these type things that remind why I'm such a fan of my belt sander.

Thanks guys! Well in order to be able to get the back thicknesed correctly, I wanted to make sure the top was flat and straight. I decided to attack it with the router planing jig (this thing is my favorite to use now!) to fix the wonky planing issues from yesterday.

I made the SS tables wide enough to have the neck hang in between, and double stick taped the headstock to the board. Looks kinda sketchy, But i I used a ton of tape to make sure it didn't fall.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-29_17-53-35_906.jpg

It planed out a lot of the issues, but the line was still not straight, so I sanded it straight with my block after taking this pic. (And the tearout in the corner was almost gone)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-29_18-01-46_716.jpg

Next I lined up my template, accounting for nut depth, and drew the outline on the blank. Just enough room after all my fixes... (Apparently my guitar doubles as a makeshift bench now. I need to clean my workspace again...)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-29_18-16-53_134.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-29_18-17-15_960.jpg

Kinda forgot that my headstock was gonna need wings too. Tonight, I'll cut the scrap off the back and glue the wing to the other side. At least While that's being glued I can work on the body a little bit.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-29_18-19-20_677.jpg

That was all I could squeeze in yesterday. I had to drive my Dad to the hospital where my younger brother is to help him swap cars. He's 14, severely autistic, and lined up to have major GI surgery this week to fix a major intestinal problem he's had since the beginning of this year. Just praying now that they can get him fixed up quickly. Poor kid is gonna have a rough couple more months of healing. Kinda puts things in perspective though when I'm upset about not being able to get my build done as fast as I would like to. Things could be a lot more difficult if that's the biggest problem in my world.

Thanks again for all the help and views guys. I'll be back soon.

The neck is coming along very nicely. All the work and worry you're putting into it now will really show up in the final product.

Just sent up a prayer for your brother and family as well. I'm sure it'll be a challenging time coming up.

Not to highjack the thread, but RogerC where are you located in Oklahoma? I'm in Bartlesville.

I'm down in Stillwater

Alright, it's 1 am, so why not post an update from the weekend, eh?! :cool:

Friday evening after work started with replacing my SS bandsaw blade. It was the first time I'd done it and turned out to be incredibly simple.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-30_18-32-32_699-1.jpg

Up next, it was time to take the plunge and rough cut the neck to shape.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-30_18-47-08_425.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-30_18-55-14_659.jpg

Got it roughed, and obviously in need of a little extra wood to finish out that shape, so I took the piece that I cut off the back and prepared it for gluing.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-31_12-25-39_528.jpg

Then, obviously, glued it up!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-31_12-36-10_296.jpg

That'll have to sit for a while, so I'll get back to the body now.

There was still too much wood overhanging the body to safely route flush, so I took it to the drum sander. I taped some scrap packaging from the bandsaw to the face of the guitar so that I didn't sratch up the wood when sanding.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-30_19-05-18_342.jpg

And sanded it as close as possible before routing.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-30_20-01-26_836.jpg

After a quick zip with the router flush trim bit, and a splash of spirits, this is the beauty I'm looking at to end the evening.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-03-30_20-56-04_363.jpg

Saturday was a pretty short shop day actually. I unclamped the headstock and redrew my shape.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_12-12-12_843.jpg

And another zip around the bandsaw.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_12-16-23_25.jpg

At this point I was short on time but began working on a routing jig that I'll share after it's completed in a few more days. :twisted:

Sunday was pretty picture heavy, so I'll put that into another post. :smile:

Sunday was a pretty awesome day for me. I finally made some progress that I was a little apprehensive to get into, but it was go time.

I double stick taped my neck template to the blank.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_12-22-02_275.jpg

And then clamped it for a few minutes to make sure that it would stay in place while routing.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_12-23-30_897.jpg

Then started working in sections. This was the first pass.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_12-32-10_262.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_12-36-39_857.jpg

Router bit is giving off some nice shavings, not sawdust.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_12-38-27_921.jpg

After a few minutes I had the whole neck flush routed once the template was removed.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_12-58-24_820.jpg

I left the end because I've seen enough people end up with tearouts here to know not to attempt it. I'll take it to the disc sander later.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_12-58-37_132.jpg

Now, this part I've really been anxious for. It was time to shape the ebony to fit the neck. I rough cut a section off of the plank after drawing the neck shape on the section that I wanted to use.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_13-08-55_757.jpg

And double stick taped that to the neck for flush routing.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_13-19-58_239.jpg

Now, I don't have a bottom bearing flush router bit, which would have made this easier on me, but sometimes ya just gotta make do. I flush routed as far as I could before running into the scarf angle. I'll have to sand the rest by hand I suppose.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_13-23-41_262.jpg

I love the way this fretboard looks. Almost like it's dripping wood down the neck.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_13-38-21_142.jpg

Yeah, I love where this is headed.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_13-41-37_827.jpg

Finally it was time to take that truss rod plunge. I put some double stick tape on the bottom of the neck and lined up my SS table saw fence as my router guide.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_14-05-26_617.jpg

A couple shallow passes eventually got me where I needed to go.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_14-26-36_353.jpg

Now, I didn't get more pictures of it, but I ended up having to move the fence in and out until I eventually got the slot wide enough to fit the truss rod.

I also drilled a 1/4" hole for access to the truss rod nut. I'm trying to leave that little lip of wood to keep the rod locked in place.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_14-26-45_609.jpg

And wouldn't you know it, it's a snug fit.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_14-45-40_395.jpg

I did realize after the fact that I need a little more access room to the truss rod nut. I think I'll chisel that out by hand.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_14-45-51_926.jpg

In the end, it was a pretty good day, and the truss rod was easier to install than expected. Still got plenty more neck work to do though. Just hammering away at it, and hopefully I'm on schedule!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_14-49-08_935.jpg

Then it was off to the Key Club in Hollywood to see my favorite new metal band, Periphery. :twisted:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-01_20-28-38_999.jpg

And now it's time for some sleep. G'nite all!:cool:

That's looing awesome! The top is killer, and the fretboard has tons of character.

He's 14, severely autistic

My eldest son (28) is as well, and feel for his brothers, for the load they've carried. No big deal for me, I'm a dad, that's my job :smile:. But I do understand about all other parts of life being gravy by comparison :wink:


God bless and keep your family,

Dave

Not terribly much to report on for the last few days, but I did order the final parts I need. Got me some black planet waves trim locking tuners coming:

http://www.stewmac.com/product_images/1lg/5280/Planet_Waves_Auto-Trim_Locking_Guitar_Machines_Detail.jpg

And because I'm such a fan of drop tuning, one of these:

http://guitartuneronline.info/wp-content/plugins/powerautoblog/images/amazon_drop+b+tuning_8822a8.jpg

:twisted:

The ebony FB is gorgeous!

Just found out my bridge is lost in shipping, and I can't do much more with the body until that comes in...

Oh well, plenty more to do with the neck until that arrives. :neutral:

that's a bummer. Are they sending another one out?

that's a bummer. Are they sending another one out?

They're tracking it down. It's coming from Japan (it's actually an Ibanez bridge) and for some reason they can't seem to locate it. :confused:

So I only had a couple very short minutes in the garage last night. I took the time to sand my headstock to final shape. Kinda looks like Frankenstein's Monster with all those seams on the head (but they'll be covered with Koa anyway).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-04_19-10-19_240.jpg

And I realized my body was still a bit on the thick side, so I taped it down and pulled out the planer jig again. Routed it down to 1 11/16 inches and that felt really comfortable.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-04_19-51-02_569.jpg

Tonight, I'll probably tackle the neck pocket template and maybe even get that route done.

Question: Since my bridge is a string-through hard tail (like a tele), does that require the neck to still have an angle? I seem to recall hearing that a tele neck needs a 1 degree angle in the pocket?

Looks awesome...I don't believe I've seen an angled tele heastock before...very cool

I dig the scarf-jointed tele headstock too. As for the neck pocket, Tele necks aren't typically set in at an angle, but you may wait until you get your bridge in-hand. It all depends on the relationship between your fretboard and saddles.

I dig the scarf-jointed tele headstock too. As for the neck pocket, Tele necks aren't typically set in at an angle, but you may wait until you get your bridge in-hand. It all depends on the relationship between your fretboard and saddles.

+1 it is also an easy shim job during final set up if you need to pitch the neck a little.

Ok, being that this is my first "from scratch" neck, I'm about neck deep in unexplored territory, and feeling the water rising.

First off, last night I decided to dive into make a neck pocket template since that seems to be my neck natural step.

I had a piece of mdf that I was keeping for just this purpose, so I pulled that out, and got to work. I adjusted the center line, and used the "wood strip method" (for lack of a better description) to line up the pocked centered with my neck. Now this process I have done before with my "first' guitar body build. I make a neck pocket for an existing guitar and that worked out really well, so I knew I could handle this.

but... something isn't quite right, and now I'm trying to figure it out.

So that i could align my neck with the center line on the mdf I drew a center line down the back of the neck. Well, that doesn't appear to want to line up with the center line on the top of the neck when I draw a joining line at the heel (off by probably .5-.75mm). The sides don't appear to be crooked, so it's probably something to do with how I'm drawing my lines. I'll figure that out tonight.

I then got the side strips for my neck pocket screwed down properly and aligned to what I thought was the correct center, and put my heel piece in, just to find out that my heel on one side is nearly a 1/16 longer than the other. I did some hand sanding to the heel to try to fix it, but ultimately I should have just taken it to the disc sander again. and done it properly.

So, long story short, i ended up with a crooked neck pocket template.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-05_20-18-51_252.jpg

Tonight, I'll figure out how to get the neck perpendicular to the sanding disc and try again.

On another note, my neck is currently just under 1" thick by itself. With the fretboard sitting on it, it's 1.3" thick, which to my calculations means that about .3" need to come off the back of it to get it to the right thickness, so I'll be setting up the planing jig again to bring that down to size, which should make carving the volute at the headstock joint even easier.

I feel like I spend more time thinking about the build than I do actually building anything. I've got plenty of time, but it's definitely frustrating me right now to be moving so slowly. There's only one way to get experience though, eh?

Well, now I really can't wait to get to work tonight. A package arrived today. :mrgreen:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-06_14-42-11_718.jpg

Now I know that my headstock thickness needs to be 1/2" to fit the tuners. Now I need to figure out how thick to make my veneer...

Hey great job on the headstock and great choice of tuners, and love your body shape.

Ok, so today came in two parts. First, I've been needing to figure out the veneer for my headstock since I don't exactly find the Frankenstein seams all that good looking.

I took the remaining scrap that I had cut off from the top that was glued to the body. and cut it in half down the glue seam.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_16-23-57_165.jpg

Only one piece was really all that interesting looking so I took it to the planing jig (all while dreaming of one day owning thickness planer....).

I taped it to my mahogany plank to get it up to an easier height to work with.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_16-27-54_987.jpg

And started making shallow passes to get it thinner and thinner.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_16-31-13_317.jpg

Eventually I got it to just about an eighth of an inch thick, and that was good enough for me.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_16-50-51_335.jpg

Using my neck template I drew out the headstock shape and cut it out on the bandsaw.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_17-02-58_518.jpg

As I got further and further into the piece while I was planing it, I noticed more and more flame start to come out of the wood. I'm quite happy with the area that I selected, and much like the body, can't wait to get some oil on it!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_18-22-59_295.jpg

Almost don't wanna put tuners on it... and forgot to mention that the reason that I haven't glued it down is because I still need to chisel out the space around the truss rod nut. That would be really bad to try to adjust the truss rod and not be able to get a wrench down there!

Next up was the fretboard, which I'll put into the next post. :cool:

I've been dreading this part of the build all along, but I pretty much have no choice but to dive in and get it done. It's time to get the fretboard slotted.

Using the template that I printed out from fretfind for my 26" scale length, I laid it out on my nearly properly shaped fretboard.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_12-08-46_334.jpg

That's right kids, I couldn't keep the secret for too much longer, but we're looking at an extended range 7 string. :twisted: Probably crazy for my first neck build, but my momma told me I didn't spend much time crawling before I just got up and started walking!

Using adhesive spray, I stuck the template to the fretboard, and stuck the fretboard to a board that had a parallel edge to the center line.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_12-15-43_109.jpg

Now, before I got started, I tried a few different tests on some scrap pine to see what saw was going to work the best for me. The two saws I have are a Harbor Freight flush cut saw with a .023 saw width, and and old coping saw I've had since I was a cub scout doing pine car derbys with a pretty similar blade width.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_12-21-53_700.jpg

As it turned out, the best option was to start the slot with the coping saw, and finish it with the flush saw. The frets seemed to like that the most and were nice and solid.

So I proceeded to cut my starter slots by following the template with the coping saw.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_13-05-14_602.jpg

And once that was done I removed the template and cleaned off the adhesive with some acetone.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_13-07-27_999.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_13-12-41_968.jpg

Not bad for a newb. (Those wonky edges should go away when the board radiused, so I'm not too worried yet).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_13-12-57_983.jpg

I took the liberty of making a depth stop for my flush cut saw with left over plexiglass so that I could keep my slots nice and consistent. Ghetto-Stew-Mac-style.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_15-02-18_131.jpg

Using the little bit of extra space I tested a fret to make sure the slots were still going to be the right width. So far, so good.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_14-30-29_122.jpg

By taking the measurement of the space between the top of the fretboard to the bottom arch of the radius block, plus the height of the fret tang, I set that as my depth stop on the board. A convenient 3mm. Then, I cut all the slots to depth.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_15-26-42_323.jpg

Once that was done, I drew in my fret marker locations. They're going in Ibanez Prestige-style, on the top edge of the neck. (I made sure to put a big X on the frets that were getting location markers because I didn't want to accidentally mark and drill the wrong fret).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_17-14-50_318.jpg

I then drilled out the holes with a 3/16 bit. It seems that I put the twelfth fret markers a little too close. I guess measure twice, cut once doesn't always work. Oh well, I'll survive.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_17-25-06_23.jpg

I had to line up my pieces to see where I was headed. Helps me to know that I'm still making progress.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_17-25-18_280.jpg

Now, I've got to locate something to use for an inlay. I guess I kinda missed that part. :neutral:

Tomorrow should be fretboard radius day (after I get done playing at church of course!). I can't wait to get frets in this thing! :cool:

Great job! Are you sure this is your first neck?

Great job! Are you sure this is your first neck?

Haha, ohhhh yes... Just cause I got lucky gluing up some pieces of wood doesn't mean I'm doing this right yet!

Some quick progress made over the weekend. It was time to radius the fretboard, so I dove in with a simple jig to keep the radius block straight. (Oh, and I located some plastic that I turned into some simple inlay dots. Nice and dark to keep the fretboard attention on that amazing grain).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-08_18-43-02_237.jpg

Now, I learned a very important lesson doing this. Don't EVER buy sandpaper from HF if you intend to get through your radiusing with any amount of speed. I grabbed a pack of 50 grit to get the fretboard to shape, and that took me a solid hour of back n forth.... back n forth... back n forth...

But eventually got there. A solid 16" radius.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_14-31-22_42.jpg

I followed up with 120, 220, 340, and then 400. As I wiped it down with an alcohol swab to get the dust off of it I think I fell in love. I can't wait to get some lemon oil on it.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_14-46-49_157.jpg

So, fretboard is done. Almost.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_15-22-43_999.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_15-22-54_184.jpg

I took notice that one fret was slightly crooked.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_16-20-56_359.jpg

So I filled it with glue and ebony dust goop so that I can get back to it later.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_16-26-00_893.jpg

After that, I took a chisel to the area around the truss rod nut. It kind of helps to have room to actually get a wrench around the nut when I need to adjust it, right?

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_15-41-59_714.jpg

After that, I glued the heasdstock veneer on.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_15-55-55_374.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_15-56-07_67.jpg

I'm REALLY hoping that my bridge shows up this week. Oh, and I still need some pickups too...

Gnite all!:cool:

Looks to me like there's a lot more than luck at play here. And yes, that fretboard
deserves ALL the attention!

Nice job. The fretboard looks great! And you're right about HF sandpaper- it's complete junk. All sandpapers are NOT created equal.

That's a real purdy set of frets ya got there boy.



(Can you hear the banjos in the background?)

Looks to me like there's a lot more than luck at play here. And yes, that fretboard
deserves ALL the attention!

We'll see, I feel like I just keep hitting amateur road blocks left and right!

Nice job. The fretboard looks great! And you're right about HF sandpaper- it's complete junk. All sandpapers are NOT created equal.

Thanks Roger, I really appreciate how often you've been poking your head in here and offering encouragement. I loved your tele last year and just hope to make something that even SOUNDS like a guitar at this point!

That's a real purdy set of frets ya got there boy.



(Can you hear the banjos in the background?)

Nope, banjos aren't allowed in So Cal. :mrgreen:

We'll see, I feel like I just keep hitting amateur road blocks left and right!



Thanks Roger, I really appreciate how often you've been poking your head in here and offering encouragement. I loved your tele last year and just hope to make something that even SOUNDS like a guitar at this point!



Nope, banjos aren't allowed in So Cal. :mrgreen:

Hey Ug,

Banjos are allowed in NORCAL however :mrgreen: Sweet build by the way!

Barncaster

Hey Ug,

Banjos are allowed in NORCAL however :mrgreen: Sweet build by the way!

Barncaster

Thanx Barncaster!

So my last few build realizations have been kind of painful. By adding a veneer to the headstock I have essentially enlarged the distance from the nut to he start of the angle of the headstock by a fraction of an inch. Not the end of the world by any means, but certainly not that professional-looking. I'll have to think that one through from the next build. Here's the headstock all sanded to shape.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_18-53-46_892.jpg

Second, my fretboard is too thick because I didn't thickness plane it, but I can't take the thickness off the back because it's already radiused, so I need to go back and using the radius block take off another easily 1/16+ of an inch off the top to get it to 1/4" at the height of the radius. That means I'll have to cut my fret slots deeper as well. Not a huge deal, just wasted time at this point.

I also late last night got my neck and headstock planed to proper thickness. Took the neck to just under 3/4" with the planing jig.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_19-44-26_845.jpg

Then brought the headstock down to 1/2". I had to wait until the veneer was on to do that part.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_19-56-48_474.jpg

I plan on carving a small volute, so I left plenty of meat for that. Probably too much, but I like doing this the hard way.

I got a small tear out on the walnut strip of the headstock.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_20-02-45_906.jpg

So I patched it up and left it to dry.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_20-05-54_744.jpg

Tonight, I'll go get some better low grit sandpaper and chunk away at the fretboard until I'm happier with it.

Oh, and found out that my bridge never actually got ordered (which is why it was considered "lost") so now I have to wait until next week for it... I'm going to have to work REALLY fast when it arrives.

Tonight, I learned about the density of ebony vs sandpaper. In my attempt to bring my fingerboard down to a height of .25" a solid 30 minutes of sanding with 3M brand 60 grit on my radius block got me from .33" to .31".

:confused:

That last .06 inches is going to kill my arms... Now I understand why you guys make radius jigs. Anyone got some decent plans for one I can start looking at for the next build?

Ebony 1, Sandpaper 0.02
Keep up the good fight!
Or, just say you have big hands and like a thicker neck.

Well, I decided today that I'm either going to use the router plane to flatten the board to proper height and start over with radiusing, or build a router radius jig (scatter-style) and take it down that way. I'll have to re-slot the frets, but honestly, I wasn't happy with them anyway, so it's not such a big deal. I know how to do them better for next time, I'm just lucky that I have an insanely thick fretboard to be able to get away with it!

Also, I FINALLY got the tracking number for my bridge that shipped out yesterday. :mrgreen: I was really hoping to have it for this weekend, but that's ok. I still have lots of neck work to do before getting to my remaining body work, which should go really quick when the neck is done.

Time is a-wastin'!

Holy crap, I saved myself from build disaster today. More to come tomorrow with pics, but what a stressful build weekend...

At least with a happy ending though. :cool:

Is there a winner category for most updates with the least amount accomplished? I'm starting to feel like that's right where I belong. We'll call it the Tortoise Build.

In an effort to save my arms from death by sanding I decided to make a radius jig to bring the fretboard down to a more usable thickness.

Using the method and plans I found on flatfive's build forum (referenced from a scatter jig) I used my current planer jig to help get the perfect radius on my new jig.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-14_13-58-11_610.jpg

And that came out pretty well. I even tested it one some scrap pine and it was spot on.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-14_15-51-40_257.jpg

Even matched the radius block perfectly.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-14_15-54-32_668.jpg

So I mustered up some guts and took the ebony fretboard to the jig.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-14_16-22-13_257.jpg

And that's when my heart sank... What the hell did I just do??...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-14_16-29-28_152.jpg

*@&$^&@*(@#*#

The board was much thinner than I wanted. I took off too much wood, but by the time I realized it I was already committed. Bad tear-outs too. (Upon further inspection I found that when making my radius template I dug into my shopsmith work table with the router bit and didn't know it, so the tip of the bit was bent and screwed up.)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-14_16-29-45_768.jpg

My first thought was that I destroyed my fretboard. My beautiful fretboard. :roll: Ok, maybe that's a little too far, but I was bumming pretty good.

So I picked myself up by the bootstraps and got into "salvage mode." I sanded the board to 220g on the radius block and mixed up some glue and ebony dust paste to start filling in the tear outs.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-14_16-47-41_571.jpg

That's when I called it a day. I still can't work on my body anymore until the bridge comes in on Tuesday, so I'm kind of hosed at the moment.

The next morning, I came out and scraped back the glue and sanded up to 400g with the radius block.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-15_12-18-35_227.jpg

At this point I'm thinking I just saved myself from what I thought was disaster and needing a new fretboard. I measured the board thickness.

.23"

Ok, I lucked out. That's nearly where I wanted it to be, so suddenly there's a light at the end of the tunnel. :lol:

Time to re-slot the fretboard (how the hell did I get lucky enough to get a fretboard thick enough to be able to slot TWICE?!). Quite honestly I was not happy at all with everything passed the 7th fret on the last slotting job, so I was really excited to get another opportunity at doing a better job this time around. I lined up a new template on the center line of the board.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-15_12-39-10_839.jpg

And using the miter box for starting ALL the slots (something I didn't do last time. I just kind of free-handed it and quickly learned I am no Scatter Lee) I got the new slots started for the flush cut saw.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-15_12-52-28_203.jpg

MUCH straighter this time. I'm significantly happier this time around.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-15_13-17-35_539.jpg

Using the HF flush cut saw with home-made depth stop I finished out the slot depths and took the board in the house for some minor customization...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-15_14-08-02_344.jpg

:cool:

Can't wait to get that fretboard glued on now...

I did the same thing with my fretboard. Had to cut twice. Good practice for me though.

Your board still looks great, and now you are happy with the slots. Sometimes it just works out doesn't it?

great save! Need to start calling you Rollie Fingers :razz:.


*I could've gone with a more recent name, but "Fingers" sounds good since you're a guitar player :mrgreen:

I did the same thing with my fretboard. Had to cut twice. Good practice for me though.

Your board still looks great, and now you are happy with the slots. Sometimes it just works out doesn't it?

Totally nosmo. It just seems like I've been saying that more and more during this build!

great save! Need to start calling you Rollie Fingers .


*I could've gone with a more recent name, but "Fingers" sounds good since you're a guitar player

Well that required a Google search, but I got it, ha! I believe you win the "obscure reference of the day" award!


So last night I took the fretboard back to the garage and prepared to start fretting. As I was cutting my frets I came to a very sad and sudden realization.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-16_19-39-41_653.jpg

Not enough fret wire. S#%t.... So I ordered more today. I want to have this neck fretted and glued by the end of the weekend. Gotta get my neck pocket drilled first, for other reasons I'll get into in a couple days.

But the good news is now I can, because THIS showed up today (FINALLY)!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-17_11-52-51_823.jpg

Ibanez Gibraltar 7 bridge.

It's made to either string-thru or bridge-thru the guitar strings. I can even make a combination of the two depending on how I want the tension to be per string. Pretty damn sweet if you ask me!

Now I can decide on my neck pocket depth and get that neck mounted. I have a crazy idea for the ultimate "bolt on" joint...

:cool:

"It's made to either string-thru or bridge-thru the guitar strings. I can even make a combination of the two depending on how I want the tension to be per string. Pretty damn sweet if you ask me!"

OK - Stupid question of the week - How is the string tension affected by top mounting vs string through? My ignorance may be showing, but I'd like to know.

Nice bridge by the way :grin:

"It's made to either string-thru or bridge-thru the guitar strings. I can even make a combination of the two depending on how I want the tension to be per string. Pretty damn sweet if you ask me!"

OK - Stupid question of the week - How is the string tension affected by top mounting vs string through? My ignorance may be showing, but I'd like to know.

Nice bridge by the way :grin:

I'm assuming they are expensive. Maybe something to do with the reduced weight of your wallet affecting how your belt buckle rubs the back causing...nevermind. I'll wait for the real explanation from ugly, he probably knows for reals.

OK - Stupid question of the week - How is the string tension affected by top mounting vs string through? My ignorance may be showing, but I'd like to know.

Nice bridge by the way

I'm assuming they are expensive. Maybe something to do with the reduced weight of your wallet affecting how your belt buckle rubs the back causing...nevermind. I'll wait for the real explanation from ugly, he probably knows for reals.

:lol:

Yes, the tension in my wallet is much lighter without all those stacks of Benjamins in the way. :roll:

Well, just like how the same gauge strings on a 25.5" scale Strat are tighter than on a shorter 24.75 scale Les Paul, the same can be done by having the string be longer by placement through the back of the body, or shorter by placement directly in the bridge. Being that the body is 1.75" thick, that adds that much more length to the string from the saddle, as opposed to mounting directly to the bridge which is approx 1.25" shorter from the saddle than through the back of the body.

That's the reason I don't normally like reverse headstocks, because of the tension difference on lower strings traveling that much further passed the nut. I much more prefer a 3+3 headstock these days, but I wanted to get a little crazy on this one.

Hope that makes sense. :cool:

That fretboard gets prettier everytime I look at it. Must be magical or something.
And I hate to be the one to tell you this, especially so late in the game, but guitars are
only supposed to have SIX strings. Don't worry, people make mistakes like this all the
time. Just leave the extra one really loose and it can become a back-up strap for protection......

That fretboard gets prettier everytime I look at it. Must be magical or something.
And I hate to be the one to tell you this, especially so late in the game, but guitars are
only supposed to have SIX strings. Don't worry, people make mistakes like this all the
time. Just leave the extra one really loose and it can become a back-up strap for protection......

Actually, the thing that I was surprised by is how much the grain in the fretboard changed after taking off a few 16ths of an inch. I still dig it though, and when I finally get some lemon oil on it it's going to get INSANE. :twisted:

Only 6 string you say? Then I guess we shouldn't talk about my most recent guitar purchase... :wink:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/FxCam_1320876160162-1.jpg

Well, this week has been just ridiculously busy and I'm struggling to get any time in the garage the last few days. Last night I was finally able to get my neck pocket routed in the 15 minutes that I had available though. Now that I have my bridge, I decided that the normal 5/8" depth would work just fine.

After drawing the outline of the pocket using my template, I took the body to the drill press to remove some meat.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-18_18-35-35_110.jpg

And voila, we're nearly there.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-18_18-39-01_996.jpg

I lined up my template, and added some blue tape to get a little tighter fit in the pocket.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-18_18-51-13_336.jpg

And routed.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-18_18-53-37_14.jpg

I'm not super happy about the neck pocket. I tested the template on some scrap a while back and the fit was great. This time, it has just a TINY amount of wobble room. Don't know where I went wrong, but once I get the bolts in it wont really matter.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-18_18-54-44_230.jpg

Now, if you're wondering why I STILL don't have my fretboard on yet, I'll get to that probably tomorrow. I'm going to be using a different kind of high-compression neck joint instead of the normal neck bolts. :cool:

:lol:

Yes, the tension in my wallet is much lighter without all those stacks of Benjamins in the way. :roll:

Well, just like how the same gauge strings on a 25.5" scale Strat are tighter than on a shorter 24.75 scale Les Paul, the same can be done by having the string be longer by placement through the back of the body, or shorter by placement directly in the bridge. Being that the body is 1.75" thick, that adds that much more length to the string from the saddle, as opposed to mounting directly to the bridge which is approx 1.25" shorter from the saddle than through the back of the body.

That's the reason I don't normally like reverse headstocks, because of the tension difference on lower strings traveling that much further passed the nut. I much more prefer a 3+3 headstock these days, but I wanted to get a little crazy on this one.

Hope that makes sense. :cool:

Wow thanks for that explanation. And here I was thinking it was just a gimmick to charge more, but that actually makes sense now. I'm heading to the guitar storage closet now to get out all the different scale lengths I have to see if I can tell the difference between string tensions. I've never given it any thought until now.

How many fingers do you have? 6 Strings is about all I can handle :grin:

Wow thanks for that explanation. And here I was thinking it was just a gimmick to charge more, but that actually makes sense now. I'm heading to the guitar storage closet now to get out all the different scale lengths I have to see if I can tell the difference between string tensions. I've never given it any thought until now.

It was blaringly obvious to me once I owned a Strat and a Flying V. I had to put 10s on the Flying V to get that same tension feel of 9s on the strat. I used to own a reverse hearstock ESP 7 string years ago, and the tension on the low string always bugged me. When I get an Ibanez 7 string a few years later it was a normal 7 in line headstock, and that felt right.

This 7 string tele is going to have the low B placed nearly in the middle of the headstock (with the drop tuner) so hopefully it wont be an issue.

How many fingers do you have? 6 Strings is about all I can handle

Actually, I'm kind of like a dog that finally caught the car I was chasing. Now that I have it, I have no clue what to do with it! I'm just noodling with it still and trying to learn different cool chord voicings.

Anyone up for making a 10 string Chapman Stick-caster? :mrgreen:

I don't want to get too caught up in this, but I just played through a bunch of guits (disclaimer: I'm a fourth generation player in my family so I've been lucky enough to have access to many cool guits).

From simple observation, (meaning I stared at them side by side) several of these have the same scale length but different string lengths due to bridge styles etc. The LP seems to have the same scale length as the 335 and 135 but different string lengths (LP looks longer). The noticeable difference to me was I could play the longer string length with a heavier right hand better than the shorter string length. Also played three different Gretsch's, one with a bigsby and others without, a strat, tele, G&L F-100 and a Jaguar. I didn't get too technical with the measurements but...my very unscientific conclusion - for my playing style, long string length good, short string length bad. I had no idea I didn't like the short string length as much. I'm not even sure the scale length mattered, but the shorter string lengths appeared to play looser (is that a word maybe less-tight, I know not scientific at all).

FWIW the Gretsch with the trapeze tail piece and the Jaguar appeared to be the longest string lengths and were the most forgiving when playing like the ape that I am. Makes me want to angle the string thru holes in my tele's to increase my string length. The Jaguar is so long you barely need to trim the strings after stringing it.

The part I can't understand is why a longer string has more tension than a shorter string when tuned to the same pitch? Seems like they would have to have the same tension to achieve the same pitch right?

Ugly can you add some science to my dumb observations?

I don't want to get too caught up in this, but I just played through a bunch of guits (disclaimer: I'm a fourth generation player in my family so I've been lucky enough to have access to many cool guits).

From simple observation, (meaning I stared at them side by side) several of these have the same scale length but different string lengths due to bridge styles etc. The LP seems to have the same scale length as the 335 and 135 but different string lengths (LP looks longer). The noticeable difference to me was I could play the longer string length with a heavier right hand better than the shorter string length. Also played three different Gretsch's, one with a bigsby and others without, a strat, tele, G&L F-100 and a Jaguar. I didn't get too technical with the measurements but...my very unscientific conclusion - for my playing style, long string length good, short string length bad. I had no idea I didn't like the short string length as much. I'm not even sure the scale length mattered, but the shorter string lengths appeared to play looser (is that a word maybe less-tight, I know not scientific at all).

FWIW the Gretsch with the trapeze tail piece and the Jaguar appeared to be the longest string lengths and were the most forgiving when playing like the ape that I am. Makes me want to angle the string thru holes in my tele's to increase my string length. The Jaguar is so long you barely need to trim the strings after stringing it.

The part I can't understand is why a longer string has more tension than a shorter string when tuned to the same pitch? Seems like they would have to have the same tension to achieve the same pitch right?

Ugly can you add some science to my dumb observations?

You're right that "scale length" really only becomes a consistent factor of string tension if the distance before and after the nut and saddle are the same from comparable instruments. "String Length" is probably the more consistent factor from instrument to instrument because of varying bridges and headstock designs.

String gauge is another huge part however (think of why bass has to use thicker strings for longer scales to maintain the tension while much thinner strings are used for shorter guitar scale lengths). If you tried using a 42 gauge guitar E string in place of a 105 gauge bass E string you probably wouldn't get it anywhere near proper tension by the time you got it to the same E pitch.

My perfect example: A friend of mine decided to tune his 4 string bass to a low F# (10 half-steps below normal E). If he had used a 105 gauge E-string it would have been a floppy nightmare, so instead he used a slightly thicker gauge piano string (for the added length), and I kid you not, wrapped it around a nail hammered into the bottom of the bass above the end pin so that he would have the added distance to get it to that low pitch and maintain the tension.

So string tension has lots of possibilities if you mess with headstock and bridge placement. Could yield some cool results!

Wow that's a black hole of experimentation. Makes sense I guess. Glad I learned I prefer long string lengths today...who knew?

You're right that "scale length" really only becomes a consistent factor of string tension if the distance before and after the nut and saddle are the same from comparable instruments. "String Length" is probably the more consistent factor from instrument to instrument because of varying bridges and headstock designs.


This makes no sense to me. Tension in the string is a function of string density, vibrating (scale) length, and the frequency you want it to vibrate at. You can add all the length you want on either end, but the tension to reach that pitch, with that string, on that scale length, will remain constant. It's basic physics.

I'm not saying there isn't a "playability" difference when you change the length after the nut or bridge, but the actual tension in the string isn't going to change.

Tension is not changed by the string length after nut or bridge saddle.

Regardless of that, excellent looking guitar.

Well, when it comes to this whole string tension topic I can only explain my first-hand experience, and that's strings on shorter scale guitars feel "looser," and strings from varying headstock lengths make the strings feel looser or tighter. There is something happening there to make it happen, I'm just no science major to explain it in numbers and graphs. :wink:

Tonight was another neck night. I started off with the tuner holes. Spaced them 15/16" apart, and used a 13/32 bit for the Planet Waves tuners. Set up a fence at 11mm.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-19_18-10-15_898.jpg

Had one little goof where the drill bit pulled up on the headstock and goofed up the hole a little bit, but not enough to really cause an issue.

After the 6 tuners, I tackled the 7th with the space I had left. It was a smaller bit size, but was easy enough to place.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-19_18-33-02_671.jpg

Now, the reason why I haven't glued my fretboard yet is because of the high compression joint that I wanted. I laid out where I wanted my screw holes to line up.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-19_19-13-47_599.jpg

Now, I was moving kind of quick and neglected to get a pic of lining up the neck in the pocket to make sure the nut and the bridge were straight, but I did it. :mrgreen:

After drilling the pilot holes with an 1/8" bit through the body, then drilled those holes larger, and recessed with a forstner bit to fit the T-nuts.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-19_19-57-23_383.jpg

I used my drill press as an arbor to clamp the T-nuts in because I was too afraid to use a hammer (for obvious reasons).

After all 4 were in an flush, I went back to the body.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-19_20-26-43_985.jpg

I then drilled a 1/2" counter sink hole to fit the bolt head.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-19_20-35-40_22.jpg

Naturally, I got the wrong length bolts. So tomorrow I'll get the right ones, bolt the neck on, and FINALLY get that damn fretboard glued on. The idea of this bolt-on method is that the T-bolt squeezes the neck tighter than traditional neck screws. Don't know if it's true, but it sounds like a good idea.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-19_20-39-32_218.jpg

:cool:

I agree that shorter scale lengths equate to less string tension, and it is the nut and the
bridge that create that tension.

Build is looking great. Those neck bolts look like they could withstand some serious stage
antics.

Tension is not changed by the string length after nut or bridge saddle.

Regardless of that, excellent looking guitar.
But if you have a longer headstock or a string through body there is more string to stretch while playing.

I think it's the same (although somewhat inverted) as progressive coil springs on cars.
Even though all of the coils are the same stiffness, as soon as the ones that are wound closer bind and become dead coils the spring rate goes up.

If you take a real heavy rope and lay it across your yard, tie one end to a tree a few feet off the ground, go to the other end and pull it tight so the whole rope is off the ground. It takes a lot more tension to pull it tight the farther away from the tree you get. Not sure the same physics apply to a string on a guitar. But I can't deny that shorter string lengths play looser, that's all I know.

The T-nuts are a great idea for neck mounting.

Not to kick a dead horse, but I've always heard that it's easier to bend the strings on a Gibson's shorter scale than a Fender.

(By the way, if you're going to kick a horse, you're probably better off kicking a dead one - they don't kick back!)

If you take a real heavy rope and lay it across your yard, tie one end to a tree a few feet off the ground, go to the other end and pull it tight so the whole rope is off the ground. It takes a lot more tension to pull it tight the farther away from the tree you get. Not sure the same physics apply to a string on a guitar. But I can't deny that shorter string lengths play looser, that's all I know.

Exactly.

I wish I could make the science and math time learnings. I only dumb player of guitar box. :mrgreen:

It is easier...less tension on the strings on a shorter scale neck.


The T-nuts are a great idea for neck mounting.

Not to kick a dead horse, but I've always heard that it's easier to bend the strings on a Gibson's shorter scale than a Fender.

(By the way, if you're going to kick a horse, you're probably better off kicking a dead one - they don't kick back!)

If you take a real heavy rope and lay it across your yard, tie one end to a tree a few feet off the ground, go to the other end and pull it tight so the whole rope is off the ground. It takes a lot more tension to pull it tight the farther away from the tree you get. Not sure the same physics apply to a string on a guitar. But I can't deny that shorter string lengths play looser, that's all I know.

In your example you changed the scale length, not to mention the weight of the string is somewhat trivial compared to the tension it sees when it's tuned to pitch, unlike your heavy rope. In your example you're simply lifting more of a heavy thing, that's not analogous to a tuned string with a fixed vibrating length.

But again, I'm sure there is a difference in feel. It's just not due to a different tension.

Yes, scale length nut to bridge affects string tension. A longer length before the nut (between the tuners and the nut) or between the saddle and the tailpiece affect how much extra string is there that can move. I've tried a lot of stupid things with 5-string basses to give them more tension.... spacing tubes to hold the ball end farther out from the bridge, reversed headstocks, string-thru body. The only thing that helped, besides heavier gauge strings?

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o122/jposega/78831e8c.jpg

Longer scale (in this case, fanned fret 37-34"). To each their own. Either way, the longer scale will definitely give you more string tension.

I've seen threaded inserts used in the construction of necks before (the bass there, a Dingwall, has them), but TDPRI is the first place I've seen T-nuts used. Why those over threaded inserts? They do, in fact, let you tighten the neck down more, and you don't have to worry about potentially stripping our your neck mounting holes. Will you be using allen-head bolts? Less chance of stripping those, too.

You're building a fantastic looking guitar. Tuning BEADGbe? What kind of strings do you use? And was that an 8 you posted earlier? Bet your bass player doesn't like that!

In your example you changed the scale length, not to mention the weight of the string is somewhat trivial compared to the tension it sees when it's tuned to pitch, unlike your heavy rope. In your example you're simply lifting more of a heavy thing, that's not analogous to a tuned string with a fixed vibrating length.

But again, I'm sure there is a difference in feel. It's just not due to a different tension.

Perhaps "tension" is the debatable word here, but few of us are wise enough to find a proper term. :wink: My whole point is that if the string is longer behind the nut and bridge (regardless of scale length) the string will "feel tighter" regardless of scale length. Play a reverse-headstock strat and a normal headstock strat and you'll get the difference.

I just happen to like the option that this bridge has to change the distance where I'd prefer it per string since I don't normally care for reverse headstocks.

Who knew this was such a hot topic?! :smile:

Yes, scale length nut to bridge affects string tension. A longer length before the nut (between the tuners and the nut) or between the saddle and the tailpiece affect how much extra string is there that can move. I've tried a lot of stupid things with 5-string basses to give them more tension.... spacing tubes to hold the ball end farther out from the bridge, reversed headstocks, string-thru body. The only thing that helped, besides heavier gauge strings?

Longer scale (in this case, fanned fret 37-34"). To each their own. Either way, the longer scale will definitely give you more string tension.

I've seen threaded inserts used in the construction of necks before (the bass there, a Dingwall, has them), but TDPRI is the first place I've seen T-nuts used. Why those over threaded inserts? They do, in fact, let you tighten the neck down more, and you don't have to worry about potentially stripping our your neck mounting holes. Will you be using allen-head bolts? Less chance of stripping those, too.

You're building a fantastic looking guitar. Tuning BEADGbe? What kind of strings do you use? And was that an 8 you posted earlier? Bet your bass player doesn't like that!

I've used T-nuts on many other "things" I've built in the past, and it seemed like a good idea, plus I can get them locally, unlike threaded inserts (I think).

I'm just using normal phillips head machine bolts since they have a really wide head, and I'll drop some 1/2" washers underneath but they wont be seen.

Yes, BEADGBe, and with the hipshot tuner I'll be able to drop it to a low-A for all that djenty goodness! :twisted:

It was indeed my new Ibanez RGA8 8-string. Honestly, I've only been playing it in the studio room because I'm still just tinkering with it. I've dubbed it "The Coffee Table" because the fretboard is so freaking wide!

Nice Dingwall btw. Do you detune it with the lower extended scale?

BEADG, I've tuned it drop A occasionally. It's pretty amazing, never had such a nice playing bass, and no other B string compares.

Is there a winner category for most updates with the least amount accomplished? I'm starting to feel like that's right where I belong. We'll call it the Tortoise Build.

Oh! No, no, no! I'm far ahead of you in that respect!

:rolleyes:

Ok guys, bad start to the day. I just glued my fretboard on last night with original titebond and something went wrong, and now i need to steam it off and do it again. How do i do that?...

Nevermind, steamed my first fretboard. :mrgreen: Not nearly as bad as I expected, probably because the glue wasn't 100% cured yet. More to come later.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand steamed the fretboard off again... Got a little crack this time too. Hoping it's stable enough to glue again tomorrow. A lot of wasted time this weekend over stupid mistakes. >:(

Anyone up for making a 10 string Chapman Stick-caster?

Don't tease your old uncle.
http://www.brouelette.com/gbguitars/images/stickgang.jpg

http://www.brouelette.com/gbguitars/images/GregStick.jpg

It's interesting to play an instrument with more strings than I have fingers.

BTW, Bob Benedetto has a technique for gluing the fretboard and not allowing it to slide. He has some very tiny drills about 0.020" in diameter and some matching brads. He lines up the fretboard and clamps it without glue. Then he drills holes through the fretboard and slightly into the neck in 3 fret slots at the 3rd, 12th and 20th fret. He then lightly taps 3 wire brads into those holes.

He then removes the fretboard, adds the glue, and then puts the fretboard back on and clamps it. The 3 wire brads hold the fretboard in exactly the right place and keep it from sliding. When the glue is dry he just grabs the wire brads with pliers and pulls them out. Since the holes are in the fret slots they're covered when the frets are put in.

BTW, Bob Benedetto has a technique for gluing the fretboard and not allowing it to slide. He has some very tiny drills about 0.020" in diameter and some matching brads. He lines up the fretboard and clamps it without glue. Then he drills holes through the fretboard and slightly into the neck in 3 fret slots at the 3rd, 12th and 20th fret. He then lightly taps 3 wire brads into those holes.

He then removes the fretboard, adds the glue, and then puts the fretboard back on and clamps it. The 3 wire brads hold the fretboard in exactly the right place and keep it from sliding. When the glue is dry he just grabs the wire brads with pliers and pulls them out. Since the holes are in the fret slots they're covered when the frets are put in.

Actually, I used a technique where I used a staple gun to put two staples into the neck and cut off the flat part so that i was left with two metal points and clamped the board down on those to get it seated in the right spot. Then all I have to do is line up the holes to the staple posts and it was perfect every time. Like so:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-20_20-46-42_199.jpg

Alas, fretboard slide was not my issue... more to come on that later...

Friday night I tackled my body routing. Started with pickups.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-20_19-03-17_353.jpg

And used the forstner bit to drill them out.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-20_19-08-58_561.jpg

This is the point where my cell phone camera decided for the first time ever that it was going to start not saving all my pictures, :mad: so I don't have a shot of using my original mdf template to route the pickup cavities. Nothing special though.

After that I glued the neck up (1st time). Used tape to keep glue out of the truss rod slot.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-20_20-46-19_867.jpg

And clamped it all up.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-20_21-02-23_297.jpg

Saturday started with routing the body to shape with the radius curves I made weeks ago. I wanted a smooth arc to the top of the body that still left some koa along the edges, but left the middle 3.5" inches flat so that the pickup routes and bridge would still remain flat. Turned out to be about 75 5/8" radius with how thick my top was. Very subtle.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-21_12-48-45_258.jpg

Here's how it ended up. Close enough for my liking, and it has a really organic look to the top.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-21_18-21-27_70.jpg

Filled a couple of tiny tearouts with Koa dust and glue. Nothing major.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-21_13-54-54_961.jpg

Then the control cavity. Forstner again.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-21_17-21-10_986.jpg

Then lined up the template to route.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-21_17-36-54_631.jpg

Beauty. But I couldn't figure out how I was going to make the lip for the cover to sit in. The template came with a guide, but I didn't know how I was going to do it with my 1" top bearing bit. I decided to put the template on blocks and eyeballed it the best I could. Came out perfect.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-21_18-09-49_803.jpg

Then, it was time to tackle the neck. By this time I already knew what was wrong, and I was avoiding it with body work. I knew I had to steam the fretboard off, fix it, and re-glue.

Fortunately, after an hour the fretboard popped right off with very little fuss. I used my scraper to remove the dried glue.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-21_18-26-20_455.jpg

Fixed the problem, reglued, reclamped, and went to bed.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-21_19-25-47_845.jpg

Sunday, I have no photo documentation of work. My cell phone decided to turn the 15 pictures I took into "empty files" so I'm missing a small chunk of my efforts.

Essentially, I unclamped the neck and found yet another problem, so I steamed it off again (which took 2 hours this time, cracked the fretboard a little, and slightly warped the board near the higher frets). :mad::mad::mad: I reglued it yesterday with all potential issues worked out. If I didn't get it right this time I'm going to pull all my hair out.

In addition, I used a hoof rasp (being a horse owner you have normal access to this sort of thing) to carve my belly contour, and heel contour for comfortable access to the upper frets, and started making my brass tone bar for the back of the guitar.

I'll be putting in a few more hours tonight, so I'll hopefully be back with some more updated pics later.

Part of me doesn't even want to unclamp the neck tonight, but I have to....

Well, I'm not sure what's happening with the fretboard, but everything else is sure looking
pretty nice!

In addition, I used a hoof rasp (being a horse owner you have normal access to this sort of thing) to carve my belly contour, and heel contour for comfortable access to the upper frets...

My wife absolutely loves horses and has wanted some ever since I've known her. Maybe I should let her get one so I could borrow her tools... :mrgreen:

I hate that you're having so many issues with the fret board. The guitar itself is looking fantastic, and i really like the radius you put on the top.

Thanks for keeping up on the build guys! Always appreciate the check-in, and as for the neck.... well I'll get to that shortly. :wink:

And Roger, believe me, I'd much rather just buy the hoof rasp... :roll: I may own a horse, but I'm hardly a "horse-person." I actually think it's not right to put such an incredible animal in a stall for 23 hours a day, but that's a WHOLE other topic...

ANYWAY.... *takes foot off soapbox before stepping up*

Well, third time's the charm with the fretboard, but it glued up well enough to make me happy with it. I had to radius it again because some parts had been tweaked from all the steam, but it's good to go now and just needs a little scraping to get the excess glue off.

Btw, I'm REALLY enjoying the scraper now. I'm going to use it for my neck shaping too.

I bolted my neck on and lined up some strings with the bridge to get my proper alignment. Then center punched the string-through holes.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335320934072.jpg

A couple minutes at the drill press with an 1/8" bit got the holes taken care of.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335322477247.jpg

Looks like the bit wandered out the back some. Oh well, I'm gonna have a brass tone bar anyway. I took my blank bar and lined up the holes, and marked and drilled some to match.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335324894779.jpg

It was getting late so I didn't have the chance to round out the ends of the bar, so I'll save that for tomorrow.

Instead I decided to do something a bit quieter. I taped up the koa on the edges...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335324904114.jpg

And got out my black stain. (Btw, you can see the belly contour and the heel rounding that I did over the weekend but lost the pics of. Honestly, I LOVE the way it feels.)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335324978521.jpg

And proceeded to stain it up! (You can see the test piece on the left that this will end up looking like once sanded back and oiled.)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335325820560.jpg





Now I feel like I'm forgetting something...






Oh yes!






If there's anyone still watching, here's what was causing me so many stinking problems, but as you can see, it's all good now! :twisted:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335326674021.jpg

Tomorrow I'll get some frets in it finally. :cool:

No way you have lights in your fret board. Im trying hard not to covet that too much. So cool, we need to know how you did it though. Awesome

LED fretboard!! COOOOL!

Awesome work man! So far, you got my vote because:

1: The shape is unique
2: The wood choice is awesome
3: LEDs marker
4: You are doing an extended range guitar on a forum where a lot of people think that a guitar shouldn't have more than 6 strings ahaha

I've checked your band's facebook. Pretty nice stuff, keep on rocking guys

Cheers!

No way you have lights in your fret board. Im trying hard not to covet that too much. So cool, we need to know how you did it though. Awesome

Way! I tell you, it's been quite a headache though. I'll post pics of the process in a few more days after I get some other work done. Once I get the frets in and it still works I'll be a very happy camper...

LED fretboard!! COOOOL!

Exactly the response I was hoping for. :D Thanks!

Awesome work man! So far, you got my vote because:

1: The shape is unique
2: The wood choice is awesome
3: LEDs marker
4: You are doing an extended range guitar on a forum where a lot of people think that a guitar shouldn't have more than 6 strings ahaha

I've checked your band's facebook. Pretty nice stuff, keep on rocking guys

Cheers!

That's incredibly kind of you Vostre Roy! There's some fantastic competition this year, and I feel honored just to be learning among such amazing artists and craftsmen. :cool:

Only a couple minutes in the garage last night before regular plans, but I got the black sanded down, leaving the deeper pores darker black which is going to look great when finally oiled.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335402829037.jpg

I also got my tone bar shaped on the SS disc sander (I was surprised how easily this stuff sanded to shape).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335405012255.jpg

Tonight, I'm going to get the slot for the tone bar routed and jack hole drilled. I've been debating on the kind of jack I want to use. I think I'm going to go with a flush mount long jack like this that wont require any kind of jack plate.

http://www.choppersmusic.com/CHOPPRODUCTS/J3BK1.jpg

I still need pickups for the damn thing too...

Quit messing around and get this thing built so I can see it. Sheesh, it's like you keep
forgetting that this is all about me. I have needs you know!

(psst....keep up the good work)

If there's anyone still watching, here's what was causing me so many stinking problems, but as you can see, it's all good now! :twisted:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335326674021.jpg

Very cool... Since the LEDs are so close to the edge, you could just drill up to them on the edge, and glue in some clear acrylic rod to have lighted side markers, too!

Quit messing around and get this thing built so I can see it. Sheesh, it's like you keep
forgetting that this is all about me. I have needs you know!

(psst....keep up the good work)

Believe me, I'm working as much as I possibly can on it! I had hoped to be done by now but my bridge getting lost and my neck issues really set me behind. I'm as anxious as you are though! :mrgreen:

Very cool... Since the LEDs are so close to the edge, you could just drill up to them on the edge, and glue in some clear acrylic rod to have lighted side markers, too!

Actually, the LEDs are SMD LED's that are epoxied in facing the front of the fretboard, so there wouldn't be much side-facing light. Plus I have a better idea for the side markers. I also have more tricks up my sleeve... :twisted:

Actually, the LEDs are SMD LED's that are epoxied in facing the front of the fretboard, so there wouldn't be much side-facing light. Plus I have a better idea for the side markers. I also have more tricks up my sleeve... :twisted:

I can hardly wait!

I like the radiused body, too... I may have to steal that sometime!

Very awesome!! I also prefer side markers to center, I prefer LED's too, but I don't have the intestinal fortitude.

Very awesome!! I also prefer side markers to center, I prefer LED's too, but I don't have the intestinal fortitude.

Yeah, I'm a big Petrucci fan and loved his original Prestige Ibanez models with the off-center dots so it's sweet to have a guitar with that now.

Honestly, the only reason I decided to tackle it is because I've built a lot of effect pedals, so the circuit is very simple to design and wire. It's just a matter of routing and dealing with the channels under the fretboard that seemed to be the issue for me. I learned a lot on this one, and the next will be MUCH better.

this is gonna be one fine guitar...love it...unique, great ideas!

Stunning, keep up the good work :cool:

Very cool guitar you are building, and top notch workmanship. The more of these builds I look at, the more I realize just how talented so many of the members of this forum really are. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and art!

Well, what a weekend! I had a wedding to work, but I didn't let that stop me from making some nice progress. :smile:

First up was to make a little slot for the tone bar to sit. Since I rounded the ends to a 1/2" round to match my router bit I merely measured the length of the bar and routed a channel to fit. Naturally, I tested it on some MDF first using my saw fence as a guide. :wink:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-26_17-52-46_593.jpg

And the tone bar sits perfectly in the body. A couple hammer taps will keep it set perfectly snug in the body, but I'll do that later.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-26_18-14-42_208.jpg

I lost a couple more pictures due to my cell phone camera being ridiculous, but I lined up my bridge and drilled the screw holes as well.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-26_18-30-11_937.jpg

After that it was fretting time finally. I've been kind of scared of this point of the build, but couldn't wait any longer! First fret went in pretty easy.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335492141597.jpg

Before I knew it they were all done. I dropped some superglue into the slots to make sure the frets stayed in place.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-27_18-10-13_85.jpg

This is no good though...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-27_18-10-25_651.jpg

So using my home-made flush cutters (HF diagonal cutters ground flat) and Stew Mac diamond flat sharpener I got the edges much nicer. Still need to level and crown though.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-27_19-12-34_536.jpg

Then I had finally waited long enough. It was time to get the finish started while I wait for my pickups and output jack to arrive. I got my BC Grain Filler ready.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-27_19-23-10_210.jpg

I'd have to say I'm quite pleased with the initial results. :cool:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335580506475.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335580217523.jpg

My idea for darkening the lower grain of the mahogany went quite well too.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335637490511.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335637449821.jpg

Next up, it's neck shaping time. This has probably been the point I've been the most scared of AND anxious for since I wanted to see just how hard this is. Turns out, it's pretty easy. :wink: Just time consuming.

I clamped the neck to my SS workbench and got out my trusty hoof rasp.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335728112040.jpg

A little at a time...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335730209927.jpg

Getting closer, but not quite there yet. I also learned that a scraper is AMAZING to use for the detail work in neck shaping. I love using that thing. It feels more like fun than work!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335731910125.jpg

A little while later and I got it where I wanted it. 19.5mm thick at the 1st fret, 21.5 at the 12th fret (just a hair thicker than an Ibanez 7 string).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335735859965.jpg

My first volute didn't turn out half bad either. :twisted:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335736502633.jpg

I bolted it up and copped a feel. She didn't mind...:wink: Actually the curves were very comfortable. I'm looking forward to getting strings on it now.

Decided to take an "artsy" shot. Don't want to give too much away now do I?

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335734480078.jpg

I ordered some very interesting pickups that I hadn't heard of until just last week which should arrive on Tuesday. Methinks I could be done by next weekend. :cool:

VERY cool build UG! I can't wait to hear it!

Barncaster

That top looks great. Nice volute!

That fretboard is out of this world.

VERY cool build UG! I can't wait to hear it!

Barncaster

You and me both! :wink: I actually put the high E and low B strings on and tuned them to pitch when i bolted the bridge down and it was very loud for just two strings. It's a good sign!

That top looks great. Nice volute!

The thing that I love about this top now is it changes figure from just about every angle now. It's like it's moving as you're looking around it. The volute was really interesting to do, but I'm just glad it turned out well. Makes me feel better about the added strength of the neck.

That fretboard is out of this world.

I'm trying to decide how I'm going to oil the fretboard once the frets are leveled and crowned. I don't know if I'm going to use lemon oil or tung oil yet.

More Tru Oil tonight. Pickups should be arriving tomorrow so I'll finally be able to decide on my control placement and drill some holes.

I need to figure out how im supposed to buff this stuff when its thick enogh. Do you sand it or just steel wool and polish it?



125952

You can wet sand it if it's thick enough.

WOW :shock:. Dude, that is amazing!

Looks awesome! Tru Oil will pop walnut grain like Orville Redenbacher at a sold out movie!

Stunning that top is beautiful!!!!!

Very Cool. I'd like to say that all of you fine builders are very inspiring. I'm planning a Walnut-Tele build with tru-oil finish as well and am liking the idea more and more as I read!

Looks awesome! Tru Oil will pop walnut grain like Orville Redenbacher at a sold out movie!

Very Cool. I'd like to say that all of you fine builders are very inspiring. I'm planning a Walnut-Tele build with tru-oil finish as well and am liking the idea more and more as I read!

Thanks guys! And FYI, it's Koa. :wink:

that's what makes it so nice: walnut koa! Who would've thought to combine those
two species?

Seriously though, this thing is getting sharper by the minute!

I'm trying to decide how I'm going to oil the fretboard once the frets are leveled and crowned. I don't know if I'm going to use lemon oil or tung oil yet.

Just wipe on some lemon oil, let it sit for a minute, and wipe it off. That's generally all they do to ebony and rosewood fret boards.

It's looking great Chris.

Not a whole lot to report at the moment. Just oiling and oiling...

Started some tung oil on the neck, and almost forgot do my control plate too!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-05-01_17-49-35_547.jpg

I'll build up the neck coats for a couple days. It's non-glossy, and I like my necks that way. :mrgreen:

And my pickups arrived yesterday.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1335918096265.jpg

I only heard about these a week ago but they seem to be pretty promising. Very strange-looking though. I can't wrap my head around the design that involves no big copper coils.

My next step is to figure out the wiring for the switch. I want to wire them so that they are both coil tapped in the middle position of the switch. This is the switch I'm using (4PDT):

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/ibanez4pdt.jpg

And here's the diagram for splitting the pickup with a SPDT:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/alumitonesplitwiring.jpg

This is going to bend my brain for a few minutes... :confused:

Got it. This wiring puts the split pickups in phase and parallel when the switch is in the middle position, which works well enough for me. I'd PREFER them to be out of phase but I don't know these pickups well enough yet to know if that's even an option. This will work great for now:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Alumatone4PDTschematic.jpg

:cool:

Just wipe on some lemon oil, let it sit for a minute, and wipe it off. That's generally all they do to ebony and rosewood fret boards.

It's looking great Chris.

Ah, this one almost slipped by me! Alright, well it's a hunt for some lemon oil then...

that top looks incredible with TO...very nicely done!!!

Maybe you could just squeeze a lemon in your Tru Oil :lol:

Maybe you could just squeeze a lemon in your Tru Oil :lol:

Or maybe I just need to rub a lemon all over my fretboard?? Anyone tried that one yet? :lol:

So I'm still hacking away a little bit at a time...

I tried to fit my new pickups in the body and found out that the cavities aren't big enough, so I took my template and lined it up to route them just a hair wider on each side.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336007114778.jpg

And that worked out perfectly.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336007808768.jpg

Next up: the jack hole. I had a sudden epiphany that I don't need to use my drill press when my shopsmith is a horizontal drill press, so I lined up the jack location with my 1" hole saw.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336065521914.jpg

Turns out the hole saw wasn't quite deep enough to go all the way through.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336065627515.jpg

But a couple well placed taps with the chisel fixed that problem pretty easily! (The bottom of the control cavity looks horrible because as I was routing it to control thickness last night when I suddenly realized I was very close to routing to the edge of the thin, radiused koa. I ALMOST routed through the top... :shock:)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336065947170.jpg

Then, it was time to level the fretboard. The thing is straight as an arrow, so I used my radius block with coarse, medium, and fine grit emery cloth to get it evened out. Naturally, I started out by marking all the frets with a sharpie.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336067974672.jpg

Then used my cheap crowning file to re-crown the frets. I'm not terribly happy with the fret job. I don't think my fret slots were deep enough after the re-slotting that i had to do. But, the frets are level now, so that's all that matters to me.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336069469252.jpg

Then, near tragedy struck. My guitar fell off of the hook it was hanging on and fell straight to the garage floor. :mad: I watched it happen and lunged to try to stop it, but didn't make it in time. I grabbed it before the second bounce, but the damage was done...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336085173262.jpg

I put my small sanding drum into my drill press and worked it out until I was reasonably happy with it again. All in all, I'm not heartbroken and it could have been a lot worse. $#!% happens, right?

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336085720980.jpg

I then got back to finishing my fretboard, frets were sanded up to 600g and then steel-wooled. Tomorrow, I'll polish with my dremel.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336088697771.jpg

I followed that up with the Scatter-method of filling in the remaining fret slots with some ebony dust and super glue. Worked out REALLY well. I dig this method.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336090455374.jpg

After I cleaned up the edge with a scraper, I applied another coat of tung oil.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336091543041.jpg

More TO going on the body now. I'll do a few coats a day for the next several days to get it built up. I still don't know if I want a gloss finish yet or not. Probably...

:cool:

It's a shame it took a bounce, but it looks like you have it under control and it's still beautiful.

One question - did you drill a 1" hole all the way through for the jack? If so, why? Sorry, I guess that's 2 questions. Well, it's only one if the answer to the first is no. I think I'm starting to ramble now.........

Wait wait hold on...

Laces Alumitone Deathbar (bridge) and X-bar (neck)?

It's a shame it took a bounce, but it looks like you have it under control and it's still beautiful.

One question - did you drill a 1" hole all the way through for the jack? If so, why? Sorry, I guess that's 2 questions. Well, it's only one if the answer to the first is no. I think I'm starting to ramble now.........

Um... er.... yeah? Should I have done it differently? :confused: I'm using a square jack plate instead of the barrel jack I originally thought of so I needed a 1" hole to fit the stereo jack. It's just easier to drill straight through.

Wait wait hold on...

Laces Alumitone Deathbar (bridge) and X-bar (neck)?

Lace DB7 for the bridge: http://www.lacemusic.com/Alumitone_DB7.php
and regular humbucker 7 for the neck: http://www.lacemusic.com/Alumitone_Humbucker_7.php

I only learned about these pickups like 2 weeks ago, so I haven't even seen the X-bar before. These really are an experiment more than anything.

Ok, a few things here--

1)Great save on the tail

2)That pickup looks uber cool

3)It looks like you've had to take quite a bit off the frets there. You shouldn't need to remove nearly that much material to level. :confused:

Ok, a few things here--

1)Great save on the tail

2)That pickup looks uber cool

3)It looks like you've had to take quite a bit off the frets there. You shouldn't need to remove nearly that much material to level. :confused:

1) Thanks. I was more surprised that the body didn't crack or break anywhere. I guess good wood and good seams did their job.

2) I know, I still can't wrap my head around these p/us, but I really hope they give me some jow, djenty bite!

3) Yeah... :sad: For my first fret install job on a neck it didn't go as easy as it "should" have, and I have reasons for that that I won't divulge quite yet. It all comes down to not cutting my slots deep enough, but for where the frets are seated now, the fretboard is dead flat and should play pretty smooth.

I hope...

Man I think on the video you're going to have to play the "I'm Too Sexy" song cuz this
thing deserves it! Nice work.

Walnut is quickly becoming my favorite wood for a top.

That top is crazy good.

Dep

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/attachments/2012-tdpri-tele-build-challenge/125952-ugly_guitar_guys-2012-challenge-build-thread-forumrunner_20120430_232753-jpg

WOW, that is awesome!

Lace DB7 for the bridge: http://www.lacemusic.com/Alumitone_DB7.php
and regular humbucker 7 for the neck: http://www.lacemusic.com/Alumitone_Humbucker_7.php

Interesting pickup choice, I'd like to hear from you once you'll have gave them a try. I'm thinking about getting myself a Deathbar for my Hellraiser C-7, but I fear that I don't need that much output.

Anyway, nice to see some Laces in there. Those are really interesting pickups choice.

Didn't mean to question your ability, I was thinking Electrosocket. I'll say it again - you should all just ignore me :grin:

Walnut Koa is quickly becoming my favorite wood for a top.

That top is crazy good.

Dep

You guys are trying to convince me this is walnut, aren't you? :lol:

Interesting pickup choice, I'd like to hear from you once you'll have gave them a try. I'm thinking about getting myself a Deathbar for my Hellraiser C-7, but I fear that I don't need that much output.

Anyway, nice to see some Laces in there. Those are really interesting pickups choice.

Yeah, I'm taking a chance since I've never actually heard these before, but I couldn't get the DiMarzio p/us I wanted in time and another opportunity arose, so I decided to try the Lace p/us instead. I'll definitely be doing a more in-depth vid about the p/us themselves after the contest vid is done.

Didn't mean to question your ability, I was thinking Electrosocket. I'll say it again - you should all just ignore me

No worries! :lol: I was just making sure there wasn't some kind of secret jack-drilling procedure that all the expert builders here use. Carry on!


Well, I'm running out of things to do to my guitar, which means the darn thing is almost done!

Since the Alumitone pickups don't hide as much of the cavities as normal pickups I decided to stain the cavities black. My trusty old jar of jet black stain was called to duty once again.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336182177098.jpg

Ended up looking kinda dark and evil. \m/ :twisted:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336183348789.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336182996908.jpg

I polished the frets with my dremel polishing wheel, and once I was done I put some lemon oil on the ebony. DAT FRETBOARD! :mrgreen:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336186219760.jpg

All the while, adding more Tru Oil to the body.

This morning, I realized I didn't yet have my tuner screw holes drilled, or a cover for my truss rod access. Tuners were a snap, although the first and last on the 6-in-line are slightly off. Oh well!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336240949885.jpg

I decided to make the truss rod cover from some scrap from the Koa back plate. That's not the final shape, it's just getting the beginning idea.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336241703113.jpg

I also added a decal to the headstock. "BroadAxe Guitars" will be my brand moving forward, but since this is a Tele contest, I wanted to keep it in that Fender style.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336271475309.jpg

And of course, more Tru Oil tonight. Starting to get a nice, glassy coating.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336271923664.jpg

I think I'm about 2-3 days away from final buffing and then assembly.

:cool:

Well, today was the last 3 coats of tru oil. Tomorrow will be buffing, and I hope to have it assembled and set up by Thursday. I've got a trip planned for this weekend so I need to finish it before I leave!


126777

String it up! String it up!

Are you going to do a Youtube video demonstration at your house or does Hollowshell have a live show coming up where we can see it in action?

Actually, it would be cool to have an in house demonstration of the guitar and then some live footage as well.

String it up! String it up!

Are you going to do a Youtube video demonstration at your house or does Hollowshell have a live show coming up where we can see it in action?

Actually, it would be cool to have an in house demonstration of the guitar and then some live footage as well.

Believe me, I'm chomping at the bit to get it done!

I'll be doing an at-home demo with my Mark V, but we don't have any gigs coming up so probably no live vids anytime soon, let alone any 7-string songs! I'll see what I can come up with though. :cool:

So I got some pretty bad sand-through while trying to wet sand and buff the finish to a shine. I put another coat of TO on it to cover the issues, but now I don't know how I'm supposed to buff this thing to a gloss if I'm apparently so close to going through the finish... Any thoughts?

Yeah, I too found out, that TO sands through real easy.

Just looking at it the finish looked as thick as my lacquer finishes. However, just barely hitting it with wet sanding, went though in a few places.

But the next coats look really nice!!!

P.S. I'm lovin' that Drop-D tuner!!!

Ok, I'm feeling pretty down at the moment. I might be out of the competition... :mad:

This morning I went to look at the finish and see what I was going to be able to salvage today, and I was greeted with a dried oil coat that looked like it had tiny bumps all over it. I decided to hit it with some steel wool to see if it would level out, and it the finish just started going to #%&*. I finally managed to get the bumps sanded out after a few minutes, but now the finish is all splotchy:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336576532456.jpg

I'm incredibly confused right now and have no idea what I did wrong in this process. I applied even coats. I allowed ample drying time. I lightly steel-wooled between coats to make sure that each following coat would adhere properly, but this is what I'm left with and, with very little time to "fix" it (as far as I'm aware).

Any of you guys have experience with this? Because if not, I'm sanding it all off tonight, and starting over... :sad:

Don't give it up for lost yet. We've seen much worse get fixed in time. I know someone will chime in with steps to move forward and get you on track.

could be contamination issue. Something may have been on the steel wool. Silicone tends to be a frequent culprit. Even the tiniest trace can upset the finishing process.

I'm not a Tung Oil user so I can't say for sure, but usually when "splotchy" is used in a description, contamination is the reason.

Anything in the air where you're doing the application can cause issues too. I once painted
something that was horribly contaminated and eventually found out, my son had sprayed
tire gloss about an hour before I painted and I guess there was enough of the silicone
lingering in the air to cause an issue.

Have you tried just putting another coat on top of this one to see what it looks like?
From what you've described, sounds like you followed the protocol. Try and not let it
get you too frustrated, although I can feel for you there. Wire it up, and if nothing else,
deal with the top coat later, after the challenge is over.

Well, I'm going to go home at lunch today and have another look at it. I'll try another coat of oil which should be nice and dry by the time I get to it again tonight so I see where I'll be able to take it next.

I might just have to leave it un-sanded after I get a flat TO coat on it just so that I can get it assembled and playing. Just really sucks because I wanted to put my best foot forward, and it wont end up being a finish that I'm proud of. Well, live and learn, right?

So, this poses the question, if I used steel wool between coats what should I be wiping it down with to prevent contamination? Is alcohol bad for Tru Oil if I give it a quick wipe down after sanding or wooling?

Ok, I'm feeling pretty down at the moment. I might be out of the competition... :mad:

This morning I went to look at the finish and see what I was going to be able to salvage today, and I was greeted with a dried oil coat that looked like it had tiny bumps all over it. I decided to hit it with some steel wool to see if it would level out, and it the finish just started going to #%&*. I finally managed to get the bumps sanded out after a few minutes, but now the finish is all splotchy:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336576532456.jpg

I'm incredibly confused right now and have no idea what I did wrong in this process. I applied even coats. I allowed ample drying time. I lightly steel-wooled between coats to make sure that each following coat would adhere properly, but this is what I'm left with and, with very little time to "fix" it (as far as I'm aware).

Any of you guys have experience with this? Because if not, I'm sanding it all off tonight, and starting over... :sad:

Well, I'm going to go home at lunch today and have another look at it. I'll try another coat of oil which should be nice and dry by the time I get to it again tonight so I see where I'll be able to take it next.

I might just have to leave it un-sanded after I get a flat TO coat on it just so that I can get it assembled and playing. Just really sucks because I wanted to put my best foot forward, and it wont end up being a finish that I'm proud of. Well, live and learn, right?

So, this poses the question, if I used steel wool between coats what should I be wiping it down with to prevent contamination? Is alcohol bad for Tru Oil if I give it a quick wipe down after sanding or wooling?


Don't be down, a bumpy Tru Oil finish is part of the process. It is not going to lay down flat like lacquer. Just keep building layers. On my build the last bunch of good coats I used the spray TO and didn't even scuff between coats. If you want a gloss finish, let it build with 3-4 spray coats a day for a couple days and then let cure 48 hrs. Then micro mesh sand and buff. If you want a satin finish (like I did for last years build) which is faster, get 4-5 good coats on and then rub it out with #0000 steel wool and Tru Oil brand wax. Silicone is not the enemy of TO, in fact I have heard that Armor All will cure and harden a TO finish. I haven't tried it, but I read it on the internet, it has to be true right?

You have an awesome guitar going there, one filled with innovative and creative thinking as well as fine craftsmanship. Don't let the final details dishearten you.

Don't be down, a bumpy Tru Oil finish is part of the process. It is not going to lay down flat like lacquer. Just keep building layers. On my build the last bunch of good coats I used the spray TO and didn't even scuff between coats. If you want a gloss finish, let it build with 3-4 spray coats a day for a couple days and then let cure 48 hrs. Then micro mesh sand and buff. If you want a satin finish (like I did for last years build) which is faster, get 4-5 good coats on and then rub it out with #0000 steel wool and Tru Oil brand wax. Silicone is not the enemy of TO, in fact I have heard that Armor All will cure and harden a TO finish. I haven't tried it, but I read it on the internet, it has to be true right?

You have an awesome guitar going there, one filled with innovative and creative thinking as well as fine craftsmanship. Don't let the final details dishearten you.

Well, I went home and tried something a little different. Instead of wet sanding with mineral spirits, i wet sanded with the tru oil itself with some 800 grit, and it looks at first glance like it may have worked out some/most of the splotchy issues (it's hard to tell though when it's wet). Fingers crossed that I can still work out even a decent satin finish at this point... :neutral:

Well, I went home and tried something a little different. Instead of wet sanding with mineral spirits, i wet sanded with the tru oil itself with some 800 grit, and it looks at first glance like it may have worked out some/most of the splotchy issues (it's hard to tell though when it's wet). Fingers crossed that I can still work out even a decent satin finish at this point... :neutral:

That should work fine, good thinking. Just get to a gun shop and get the Tru Oil wax. After you have put the coats you want on and it has dried good, use a piece of #0000 steel wool, put some of the wax on the surface and polish in small circles. You will end up with a nice patina and a smooth satin finish that will show off that gorgeous koa.

That should work fine, good thinking. Just get to a gun shop and get the Tru Oil wax. After you have put the coats you want on and it has dried good, use a piece of #0000 steel wool, put some of the wax on the surface and polish in small circles. You will end up with a nice patina and a smooth satin finish that will show off that gorgeous koa.

It would seem that nobody locally carries the BC gunstock wax. Any other wax suggestions?

It would seem that nobody locally carries the BC gunstock wax. Any other wax suggestions?

Not off the top of my head, but you may be able to get it shipped fast. You need a day or two for it to cure anyway. If I come with anything else, I will let you know.

Around here any sporting goods store would carry it. Even Wally-world. Pretty much anywhere that sells guns. They still sell guns in CA don't they? :wink:

You could also try a high percentage Carnuba wax. I think it looks good as it is, but you're closer to it than I am :grin:

What about buffing it out with my Meguiars Scratch X? Is that stuff bad for TO? Thanks for all the input guys, im just hoping to get the last minute save here and still be happy with the finish!

Alright, it looks like Rollie Fingers returns!

http://www.myfolsom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/rollie.jpg

With my lunch-time wet sanding with 800 grit and TO, and after about 4 hours of drying time I just lightly went over it with steel wool, and then wet sanded it with steel wool and TO, and it looks like my splotchy issues are solved:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FxCam_1336611858092.jpg

At this point I'm torn as to if I need to shoot for a more satin finish or still try to gloss it up a bit. I suppose I'll see how I'm feeling after this has dried for 24 hours and hit it hard tomorrow night.

:mrgreen: Another nice save by the hall-of-famer! :razz:

Phew! Glad that had a happy ending. I've never done a tru-oil guitar so all I could do was watch this play out. Nice work.

Well win, lose, or draw it's going to get buffed and assembled tonight. Long day @ work waiting for that sweet sweet koa...

Long day @ work waiting for that sweet sweet koa...

You mean walnut? :mrgreen:

Nice save on the finish mate. Looks great!

You mean walnut? :mrgreen:

:lol:

That could be my M. Knight Shyamalan twist ending!

You Can Do It!
The nice thing with oil finishes - you can assemble and play the guitar and refine the finish later, if you want.

Well, the finish is horrible. Still splotchy, but now it's even worse. Way worse. I tried to sand it to a satin finish and that didn't even work. I don't know what I did wrong, but i did it good. I'm really mad about it, but in the end I have to remind myself im still a beginner. This is going to be a long process of learning.

Still managed to get the electronics wired tonight though, and its almost playable with a few more tweaks.

Hey it has "a" finish on it........requirement met! Hell I am the finish disaster king but it won't effect the playability of the instrument. Finish the guitar and after the comp redo the finish then, or, get some liquid cut and polish (auto) and buff 'er up with that.
I used Kitten brand and really shone up the acrylic until it all flaked off.

Hey it has "a" finish on it........requirement met! Hell I am the finish disaster king but it won't effect the playability of the instrument. Finish the guitar and after the comp redo the finish then, or, get some liquid cut and polish (auto) and buff 'er up with that.
I used Kitten brand and really shone up the acrylic until it all flaked off.

Yes, it still does have "a" finish on it from the grain filler and sealer and few layers of oil that still remain. It just looks terrible. I'll do the video but I'm absolutely going to pull it apart and re-do afterwards. I want that thing to have that oil gloss on it.

I feel like I stumbled at the finish line. Oh well...

So here it is kids (from my crappy cell phone camera). Assembled and wired up at about 2am this morning:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-05-11_02-20-17_925.jpg

I gotta get some screws for the back plate and truss rod cover, the nut is definitely too high and needs to come way down, and I need a 1/4" truss rod wrench to adjust the neck now that it has strings on it. The Alumitones sound AMAZING though, and the neck feels super comfortable. Once I get the finish worked out I'm going to be really happy with this guitar (you can see in the pic the glossy, splotchy parts of the finish :sad: ).

Oh, and even with all hardware installed it's under 9 lbs. :D

AWESOME! Nice work, can't wait to see the video!

Really nice UG,

I can't wait to hear it. I've had an Alumitone lap steel pickup I've been meaning to put in a Tele for a long time. Let her rip! As for the perceived flaws that are bothering you, it gives it character. If they still bother you after the competition is over, you can deal with it then. Davecam is right, it has a finish so you are compliant to the regs.

Barncaster

That thing is darned sure sexy!!! Love that fretboard every time I see it..

Ok, after playing it for a few minutes on my lunch break, I decided that my submission for the contest will have a "distressed" natural finish. :mrgreen:

Totally did it on purpose. Gotcha with the M Knight Shyamalan trick ending again.

Totally.

:cool:

Alright, all you rock n rollas! My Youtube demo vid is done and now posted. I'll hopefully get a couple good shots of the guitar to post this weekend, but she's assembled and done for the competition now. Here's a quick recap of specs:

7 Strings
Scale Length: 26" (for standard flat tuning - Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Bb eb)
Body: African Mahogany with Koa top
Neck: 5-piece Maple and Walnut laminate with 15 degree scarf joint and Koa headstock face
Fingerboard: Exotic Ebony, 24 frets
Inlay: Acrylic dots with blue LEDs
Tuners: Planet Waves Auto-Trim Locking, Hipshot GT2 Extender
Bridge: Ibanez Gibraltar 7 (string-through or bridge mount)
Pickups: Lace Alumitone Deathbucker 7 (bridge), Lace Alumitone Humbucker 7 (neck)
Controls: 4PDT 3-way toggle (John Petrucci style), volume, 3 way LED switch
Finish: Tru Oil (distressed-looking) :wink:

Please to enjoy!

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Wooooow! We REALLY need to know more about that LED control circuitry. That is awesome!

OK, the fretboard secret is AWESOME!

Great Job Chris.

Brilliant job Chris, well done.!!

Hey Chris,

Really well done but your lead singer is going to be pissed as everyone is going to be looking at you!

Barncaster

Great guitar and video. I love those micro-cubes.

Edit: Seeing the leds in action, took them from "eh" to "WOAH!!!". I didn't think I'd like 'em at all, but I really do. Great job!!!

Hey Chris,

Really well done but your lead singer is going to be pissed as everyone is going to be looking at you!

Barncaster

Haha, well i am the lead singer so it's a double whammy!

I'll get some pics of the LED process tomorrow for you guys. Thanks for the kind words everyone!

WHOA! Wasn't expecting that! Who knew that the all-time saves leader could hit home runs too?! :mrgreen:

Great job!

Wait, what? Can you DO that? :shock:

That's a helluva trick!

Count me in as another fan of those cool LED's! Congrats on a sweet build Excellent work!!

Huh:?: :shock: How'd you do that... seriously, how? Nice playing but the lights that chase you around :?::?: Soooo cool!

Huh:?: :shock: How'd you do that... seriously, how? Nice playing but the lights that chase you around :?::?: Soooo cool!

My guess is you run power to the + side of all the LEDs and then run the - lead to it's corresponding fret. The bridge is grounded, so the strings are grounded, so when the string touches the fret it completes the circuit.

Or something like that...

^^^ Yep that makes perfect sense. In that configuration it could also be a fret height checker for the deaf I suppose.

These moving LED's are about to become very popular.

Love the LED's and the clean bridge...I'm not a metal head :mrgreen:

Not a metal head either but that's an awesome build. You should be really proud of that. Well done man.

Brilliant! I mean, like, literally, brilliant! :mrgreen:

Congratulations, dude, that's a great build. Looking forward to seeing more in the future.

I'm a metal head, and I approve this build in every way. You should add some LEDs under the pickups that glow when you play (like this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Led-electric-guitar-pickup-mod/) and it yould just be rad to the death.

Still, my favorite build this year hands down. Awesome work!

You appear to be completed. Now you have until tonight to put in the final post info and contact me to close the thread.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/2012-tdpri-tele-build-challenge/326277-final-days-every-contestant-please-read.html#post4150195

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/2012-tdpri-tele-build-challenge/326378-contact-me-when-completed.html

Hey guys, thanks for ALL the kind words! :mrgreen: As my first complete build, this hasn't been easy by any means, but it's certainly rewarding to have a build that's fun to play and has apparently made some heads turn!

For all of you interested, here's the process for how I did the LEDs:

This schem has been shown here on tdpri before, but I found it on youtube several months ago posted by the kid who originally designed it for his home-made guitar. Here's the circuit:

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x137/Koenbus/Fretledsscheme.png

So I began with my fret dots. I didn't have any acrylic rod handy, so I made some from 1/3" plexiglass scrap and a plug cutter. After doing it, this isn't my preferred method. Next time, I'll buy plexi rod and just cut it to dot depth.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_17-39-34_215.jpg

I drilled the holes all the way through the fretoard and superglued them in place.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_17-48-01_744-1.jpg

After that I used my 1/32" drill bit to drill a hole through the fret slot for my circuit wire to go under the fret. (These are the same drill bits I use for making holes in home-made pedal PCBs so I know the wire will fit perfectly)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_18-00-51_585.jpg

After that came circuit channel routing. I set up my fretboard along my saw fence and routed a channel with my router bit (I only have a 1/2" bit, so the channel is much wider than it needs to be. Next time I'll use a 1/4" bit).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_18-15-32_609.jpg

I wanted to take the schematic pretty literally so I routed two channels; one for positive, and one for ground.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-07_18-28-04_554-1.jpg

Then routed connecting channels across from positive to ground side (and like I mentioned, they really are far wider than I would have liked them to be).

A found some SMD LEDs that are VERY bright and super tiny (about 1.5mm tall) which work perfectly for this kind of space restriction. I epoxied them into the channel over the clear acrylic markers (negative side facing toward the edge).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-09_22-14-40_920.jpg

I originally thought I could get away with using copper tape as a flat wire instead of actual wiring, but in a literal interpretation of the circuit, this is only possible on the hot side, so I ran a strip down the positive side to connect my current limiting resistors to the LEDs.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-15_15-00-50_795.jpg

And soldered all the rest of the LEDs in place (I had to use a chisel to make a little deeper area for the resistors. Next time I'll use SMD resistors).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-15_16-07-53_407.jpg

Next was completing the circuit. I ran a ground wire down the neck and connected the LED via diode to ground, as well as running a wire into the drilled holes which lead to the fret slot so that the fret will become part of the "chase" circuit.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-15_16-48-51_749.jpg

Then, the hole was drilled for the positive and ground wires to run out of the neck once the fretboard is glued.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-16_19-08-19_437.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/2012-04-16_19-10-38_717.jpg

This is where the issues began for me with all the neck removal and re-gluing. I glued the fretboard on the first time, and when I came out to check it out the next morning I plugged in the battery and nothing happened...

:neutral:

As I sat and thought for a minute, I had a realization. Remember those T-nuts I installed? Well I took my multimeter and touched the positive side and touched a T-nut in the neck. Connection. Did the same with the ground side. Connection. The fricken T-nut was grounding out my circuit. I had no choice but to remove it and cover the T-nuts somehow.

So I did, and quite honestly it was a good thing. I didn't do a great job of gluing the fretboard the first time, and it came off very easily. I used some plastic cut out to the shape of the T-nut to cover all 4 of them up, clamped the neck down and tested. No problems. I cleaned up the glue, and reglued and clamped.

The next morning I came back out to check it out. As I touched the battery to the leads it lit up! :grin: Well, all of them lit up except for the 9th fret... :mad:

Part of me wanted to say screw it. The glue seams were perfect, and I was going to have to ruin that to fix one fricken LED. In the end, I decided it would really piss me off forever to have that one not working, so I decided to steam it off again since it went to easy the first time.

This time it didn't go as easy. I glued that sucker down really well.

The fretboard ended up nearly flat at the high frets and slightly twisted from all the steam. I almost said &*$# it at that point, but slept on it and reassessed the next morning. Apparently when I clamped the neck down I broke the diode coming off the 9th fret which meant that the LED wasn't completing the circuit, and therefore not turning on. I fixed that and re-glued the fretboard. I steamed it a bit, and used my radius block to try to get the fretboard back to shape on the high side as I clamped it down for the 3rd time. Then went to bed.

The next day I was very very happy to find that all LEDs worked after it was unclamped, but my glue seams are not as tight as they previously were. I also had to re-radius the fretboard because it was still a little flattened after the second removal. It radiused very easily with my radius block and I started fretting.

Now, remember those wires that are run into the fret channels? Well, that's why my fret leveling went so far. I didn't route my channels deep enough and the frets that have wires underneath them sit higher than the rest. A fret press may have pushed the fret into the wire without problems, but my hammer didn't do the job. It still worked out though, as you all saw.

Ultimately this was a huge learning experience for me, and I'm extremely confident that the next one will go much smoother. Hopefully I was able to lend some new info to all you amazing builders out there, and give you guys the confidence to try it yourselves!

(Thanks for bearing with me through the long description too!) :mrgreen:

I'll have my final pics updated shortly for my build completion. :cool:

You appear to be completed. Now you have until tonight to put in the final post info and contact me to close the thread.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/2012-tdpri-tele-build-challenge/326277-final-days-every-contestant-please-read.html#post4150195

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/2012-tdpri-tele-build-challenge/326378-contact-me-when-completed.html

Thanks for checking TDPRI, I'm going to take a better final pic shortly and I'll email you after that.

Dude!
Awesome, awesome build.

Ok, as per the rules, here's my final posting with Youtube video and final picture. Thanks everyone for watching this beast come to life!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012%20TDPRI%20COntest%20Build/FinalTDPRIContestBuildPic.jpg

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