New double cutaway build

Well I realize that this is the land of the Tele, but hopefully i wont get chastised too badly since this is my home for learning how to build guitars!

I've started in on my 2nd guitar build, creating a unique double cutaway that will become my "standard" model that I'll eventually make more of. This particular one will come from this stack of future firewood:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-07-11_18-15-28_835.jpg

Body: African Mahogany with Curly Redwood cap
Neck: Walnut, Purple Heart, Maple with Ebony fretboard.

I began by getting the neck blank started. I sliced the purple heart down the middle and planed both pieces to about 3/16. This is my first time working with this stuff and I like it a lot. It adds a nice bit of natural color to the guitar.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-07-28_16-18-51_345.jpg

After cutting a strip off of my maple plank, and cutting my walnut plank to match (about 1.7 inches thick) I got them ready to glue up. (None of these pieces are heavily figured, but there's some light flaming in the purple heart and maple that should show nicely when the finish goes on.)

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-07-28_16-49-42_746.jpg

All glued up and nowhere to go, I wait.

I'm going to attempt a hybrid neck joint on this guitar, where the end of the neck will run under the neck pickup like a set neck, but it will be bolted on using the t-nut compression technique that I used in my challenge build.

I'm kinda making this up as I go, so I hope it all comes together! :cool:

Make sure you take lots of neck-joint pics; sounds like an interesting idea.

Good luck on the build.

Picton: Once I get there I'll be sure to share plenty. I just have to finish thinking it through first since it's so non-standard.



Today, the neck was unclamped and planed down nice and smooth. It's SUPER fat (1.5" thick) to allow for my neck joint idea.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-07-29_16-36-49_754.jpg

I made a couple measurements on the blank and sat the Ebony fretboard on it. I think the maple binding is going to look pretty sweet against that ebony.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-07-29_18-26-36_207.jpg

Then, time to glue up the body back. Titebond is my friend.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-07-29_18-05-53_477.jpg

Once again clamped up, and now I'm trying to figure out how I can resaw that redwood (It's too big for my shopsmith bandsaw). I might try a local cabinet shop and see if they can help. I also need some more walnut for the headstock, so now I'm on a hunt.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/FxCam_1343610737297.jpg

Oh, and I realized that I'm going to have to plane off nearly 3/4 of an inch off the mahogany blank. Should have resawed it first. It's kind of a waste... :cry:

I think compared to my build challenge guitar I'm moving a bit quicker this time around. I guess that means I am learning things afterall. :cool:

So, since I only have one guitar build under my belt I figured why the heck not make a semi-hollow? And while I'm at it, lets add a back contour to really throw in more possibility for problems? I like to learn the hard way...

So I drew drew out my cavities.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-04_17-04-07_818.jpg

And figured out where the contour was going to go. It's not a huge strat-sized contour, but certainly enough to make it a little more comfortable.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-04_17-07-39_580.jpg

Some rasping and power sanding gave me just what I was looking for.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-04_17-32-40_172.jpg

Then it was drill press time.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-04_17-43-15_693.jpg

You can call me The Dentist for all these cavities I'm digging out!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-04_18-21-41_114.jpg

After cleaning things up with the router and starting on carving the inside of the contour that was about all I had time for.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-04_20-03-42_985.jpg

It turns out you kinda have to do things a little backwards with a semi-hollow that has a contoured back . That's really messing with my head a bit, but I'll get it, as well as just trying to remember everything that needs to be done before closing it all up. I'm just looking forward to getting that redwood top cut and glued at this point.

Crap, I need to work on that neck too...

I like how you contoured the cavity too! Waiting for a pic of the whole body, can't really figure out the shape in those pics.

Looking good. I agree with tklaavo, we need a full body shot to see the shape. Looks to me like the horns are inspired by parker guitars?

I like how you contoured the cavity too! Waiting for a pic of the whole body, can't really figure out the shape in those pics.
+1
He's being a tease.

+1
He's being a tease.

:twisted:

Let's not be hasty. I wanna get that top on first. :cool:

I alway get kind of excited when I'm asked for a full body shot - then I realize they're talking about a guitar :shock:

that almost looks like a teisco tulip, what with the routing and all (minus the contour of course). I've never seen anyone build a replica of those. would be interesting. waiting on a full body shot here!

Well, just a bit more progress made over the last week.

I finished up the inside contour, stained it black, and later sealed it with gunstock oil to protect the cavities from humidity changes (something I learned from someone elses build).

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-06_20-07-58_475.jpg

(Yeah, I realize the middle cavity wont ever see the light of day after the top is glued, but it felt wrong to not let it match the rest of the stained cavities.) :wink:

Now, resawing that redwood into a bookmatched top turned out to be quite an endeavor. I couldn't go back to the college that I did my koa top at because the shop teacher hadn't responded to me, so I tried a local cabinet shop to see if they could help but their carpenter was out so they told me I'd need to wait a week (yeah right), and the Ganahl across the street from me wanted to charge me $20 and wait 3 days to get it back (screw that!), so the last option was to do it myself.

I didn't take pics but what I ended up doing was I set up my table saw with a 9/16 gap between the blade and the fence and gradually ran the blade as deep as I could get it all the way around the wood creating about a 2 1/2" groove all the way around. Then I just muscled the rest of the cut with a hand saw. That sucked. I need a bigger bandsaw...

BUT, after a few minutes with the planer, I ended up with this lovely sight:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-11_13-09-57_207.jpg

While that was busy drying I decided to test my binding skills (or complete lack thereof, newb...) on a scrap of mahogany I had lying around. I'm going to be binding this in maple with a black strip, so I measured, set up my stew mac router bit and proper bearing, and went to town. After sitting for a couple hours this is what I had. No too shabby for my first attempt. Now I'm really anxious to get the body done!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-11_15-09-00_460.jpg

After looking around I realized the neck had been completely neglected thusfar, so with a few calculations I made some cuts to get my blank started. I decided to go with a thin and fast 1 5/8" nut width so this thing should feel screaming fast for all that monster shredding. :mrgreen:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-11_16-27-44_703.jpg

THEN, after the top was dried I cut out the shape on the bandsaw. There is some gorgeous figure in that top that I CAN'T WAIT to see finished!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/DCbandsawedbodycrop.jpg

I didn't get a shot of it, but after this I cut out the "f hole" (or V holes in this case I guess...) And glued the top to the body. As is, it sits at 3.6 lbs.

Once I get the top flush routed tonight I'll get you guys a fully body shot. :cool::mrgreen:

Really sweet build! :wink:. I'm looking forward to more :smile:

:shock: full body shot:shock:
where is the drool face?

In every picture you always make sure the top cutaway isn't showing. What secrets are you hiding from us? Btw, I love purple heart, it's such a great wood. My friend said that purpleheart and rosewood come from the same tree? just different parts? I'll have to look into this...

Howdy errebuddy, got another build update for ya! Between a wife, 2 jobs, 2-3 bands playing/recording, and daily workouts, I find it very difficult to make time for building, which really sucks because I love it so much now!

Anyway, let's get caught up, shall we? :cool:

My "shop" (a term used very loosely to describe my 25 square feet of space) got a new addition!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012-08-24_14-41-31_235.jpg

I picked up this fella at an estate sale, brand new in the box, for $100 :shock: I love craigslist... Now I can get my super thin veneers to proper thickness.

A couple weeks back I stained a scrap of redwood black, sanded it back, and have been slowly building up the clear coat (poly), and I believe this will be how I finish the guitar (maybe with a burst at the edges):

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-18_11-49-24_617.jpg

I took my neck plank, cut a piece of walnut for the headstock, and glued up the scarf joint:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-20_17-13-17_509.jpg

Once that dried and was cut and sanded down, it was time for wings. Truly, I have no idea what I'm doing with this headstock. I'm kinda making it up as I go. Could I have glued a big paddle? Maybe, but what's the fun in that?

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-22_19-58-50_561.jpg

Glued up...

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-22_20-12-56_412.jpg

...and scraped/sanded:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-23_18-37-25_497.jpg

Then it was time for a band saw makeover.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-23_19-14-39_123.jpg

That's a little more like it. :twisted:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-23_19-20-54_838.jpg

On the ross, I worked on planing the back down and getting the volute prepped. Why you ask?

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-23_19-35-47_610.jpg

Because of veneers! The first layer to get glued on the back is a purple heart veneer which will be a thin stripe that shows around the edges:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-26_18-46-01_27.jpg

A walnut backplate will go on later today after that's dried for 24 hours. This will be the faceplate veneer to get it done up and lookin pretty:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/Untitled.jpg

I had time to kill while that was drying, so I tackled my fret slots (I forgot to take pictures of cutting my fretboard to size, but you know, it's just cutting a fretboard to size. Use your imagination):

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-26_18-58-11_917.jpg

I have to say, this Stew Mac fret saw is AMAZING! Go get one. Now. Never ever use a harbor freight saw ever again. Ever. In guitar building you can find a lot of workarounds, but it really is amazing what having the right tool for the right job can do for making life a whole lot easier on you. I was done in less than 15 minutes, which beats the nearly hour it took me to do before:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-26_19-35-30_804.jpg

The slots are PERFECT. No rough edges, no wonky corners. Just perfection. It cut through ebony like butter. I can't wait to do more...

After that, I wanted to see what the binding was gonna look like, so I broke some out and set it next to the fretboard.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-26_19-36-43_556.jpg

I really want to glue it, but I need to do a lot more work first on the fretboard... More to come...

:cool:

Hi, would you mind telling me where you got that lovely fretboard wood?

Hi, would you mind telling me where you got that lovely fretboard wood?

Hey Glen, I got it from Allen Guitar and Luthier Supply. They have a lot of very random grained exotic ebony boards, and the 2 I got from them so far have turned out amazing!

OK, thanks for the info.

Hacking away a little bit at a time!

My focus has been mostly on the neck lately. With any luck I'll get the neck pocket routed tomorrow.

So, in this build I've learned that veneers are a pain in the ass. More gluing:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-27_18-40-41_648.jpg

And after gluing and cleaning up the edges of the back and front plates (and a quick wipe down with alcohol), we nearly have a completed headstock!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-30_19-04-53_762.jpg

I do love the way that this wood sandwich looks (redwood/maple cap, walnut center, purple heart layer, walnut back plate). Need to clean that glue off.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-30_19-07-38_79.jpg

BUT... we're not done yet....

Suddenly.... binding channels!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/Untitled-1.jpg

Binding router bit was too big to get into the inside of the hook, so I'm going to have to chisel that by hand. I'm sure that's going to go REALLY well... :roll:

Wow - that is nice!!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-08-30_19-04-53_762.jpg

Great ideas!! Thanks for showing these.

Wow - that is nice!!

Great ideas!! Thanks for showing these.

Thanks Mojotron! Just glad I might be able to offer some new ideas even with all the experience this forum has!

Still slow progress. The truss rod took way too much time this time around. Last time I used a Stew Mac Truss rod that wasn't terribly difficult to install. This time I used truss rod that I got from Ebay seller hildrethja and it required a little more slot tweaking to get it to fit.

Starting point (using shopsmith fence as my router guide):

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012-09-01_15-37-43_400.jpg

Not quite deep enough:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012-09-01_16-05-11_576.jpg

Ok, got it (with a little free-hand routing around the head of the rod to get it to fit snug):

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012-09-01_17-41-59_569.jpg

I also tried a different approach to the keyhole, setting up my shopsmith table at an 18 degree angle to the truss rod slot, and drilling straight in, instead of just continuing the router channel after the nut.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012-09-01_17-03-14_128.jpg

Just a hair off (ok, like a mm or so). Still have perfect access, and much less obtrusive than the huge slot I did last time. I'll do better next time.

Then, I learned how to bleach my binding. It was too reddish compared to the maple on the headstock, so I put it in the tub and (CAREFULLY!) sponged some bleach on the wood and let it sit for about 15 min. The results speak for themselves once the binding was rinsed and left to dry (bleached on the left, original on the right):

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012-09-01_19-08-16_682.jpg

Then, I got to work on binding the headstock. Holy crap this stuff is not easy to work with, and for my first time EVER binding a guitar it is a formidable challenge. Especially since I made it harder on myself than it had to be with 2 ply binding (black abs stripe sandwiched in there). I'm looking forward to the nice, easy curves of the body, and the straight gluing of the binding on the neck.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/2012-09-03_19-44-35_968.jpg

Tonight is gig night. Got a local metal show to play, so I'll have to wait for tomorrow to finish up the headstock. Almost done though. Almost done...

:cool:

I have 2 of those truss rods, not sure if I like the added widening necessary either. I enjoy getting to see the progress here and on sevenstring.org

Ok, first off, I'm sorry for the large photos. Photobucket isn't allowing me to resize photos right now and it's becoming quite a pain in the butt.

This weekend I got my neck pocket finished and headstock completed.

First, the neck pocket. I made a standard 3/4" mdf template:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-06_19-08-23_220.jpg

Then lined up my original template to get the proper neck pocket curve routed:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-06_19-33-37_923.jpg

Drill out the meat:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-06_19-58-54_346.jpg

And after a couple minuted with the template and router, voila, neck pocket with a 1.5 degree angle:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-08_17-51-47_324.jpg

I know it's a good fit because i can hold the guitar up with no bolts. This pocket is wicked tight:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-08_17-52-06_144.jpg

Being as antsy as I am to see this guitar come together, I taped on the fretboard and neck binding, to see how it's all going to look together:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-08_17-47-33_139.jpg

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm in love with this guitar.

After that, I took it apart, and routed my body binding channel with my stewmac binding bit set. Man, I really do love using the right tools for the right job.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-08_18-50-29_874.jpg

Then first layer of binding was glued. Next will be more curly maple:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-09_13-41-27_418.jpg

I had a small amount of time to spend on the headstock, so I sanded my binding flush, and cleaned it up with some alcohol. A couple small fixes and I'll call it done!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-09_13-58-05_717.jpg

More to come after I get the body binding done. :cool:

That is going to be so beautiful.

Wow, that is looking great! Love that original design.
Like the way the headstock reflects the bass-side horn
on the body.

Sorry I've missed this build until now.

Another week, and a handful of updates on this beast!

I'm learning wood binding is a slow job for a guitar. I started off by pre-bending my binding to make the gluing easier, and to give the maple time to dry before gluing it on:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-10_20-57-53_874.jpg

Sockets come in real handy when needing to push the binding into those curves:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-11_20-06-56_101.jpg

After a few days of working about 30-40 min at a time, I got the whole guitar glued up and ready for trimming:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-13_19-13-06_721.jpg

A few minutes on the ROSS and the binding was nice and flush:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-15_12-34-33_237.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-15_12-42-42_696.jpg

But that step-top is unacceptable. I used a couple different tools to test bringing the edge down to the binding. This is my first carved top guitar so I'm kinda learning as I go here.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-16_17-16-32_389.jpg

I tried a few different methods, but ultimately went back to my hoof rasp and files for the best control and a contour to the edges.

Now, if there's one thing I've grown to love, it's carving wood. It's an amazing process. You can really hear the wood speak to you as you move from section to section. It tells you where it wants to go, and all you have to do is listen. I wasn't 100% sure how my carving (aka rasping/filing) was going to turn out, but I jumped in with both feet, and I love how this turned out.

Here's the angle I decided on for the lower horn. From the top straight down it almost looks like a chisel:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-16_18-17-00_466.jpg

After about 2 hours of following the edges and bringing the step down to the binding, I ended up with this. Certainly a little rough, but it's finally finding it's own personality!:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-16_19-34-11_113.jpg

A couple more minutes with the palm sander to smooth it out to 100 grit, and I rubbed on some more mineral spirits to see the binding layers.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-16_19-52-56_446.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-16_19-53-47_538.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b27/ugly_guitar_guy/Double%20Cutaway%20Prototype/2012-09-16_19-55-05_552.jpg

I'm in Redwood heaven. :twisted:

I'm still waiting on some parts to show up to continue working on the neck, and I need to get that done so that I can glue the fretboard on before I can think of proper bridge and pickup placement. Maybe I'll get the neck bolts done next. We'll see what inspires me tonight. :cool:

I love what your doing with this... great design and great selection also.

WOW!!! This firmly sits in the fully awesome category.

Wait a minute, you said second build. You mean to tell me your challenge build this year was your first guitar :confused:. You got skillz.

Question, how did you determine you needed a 1.5 degree angle on the pocket? Maybe I missed what bridge you are using. I'm curious because I have a few set neck angled things in the works right now.

Wow, that redwood top is gorgeous! Love the carve and shape, beautiful lines. Great work again :cool:

Thanks for the kind words guys! I'm just kinda making it up as I go so hopefully what I end up with is a nice quality, very playable instrument!

WOW!!! This firmly sits in the fully awesome category.

Wait a minute, you said second build. You mean to tell me your challenge build this year was your first guitar :confused:. You got skillz.

Question, how did you determine you needed a 1.5 degree angle on the pocket? Maybe I missed what bridge you are using. I'm curious because I have a few set neck angled things in the works right now.

Yes, this is build #2 for me (build challenge was #1 if you don't count the body I built out of plywood at the beginning of the year just to learn on). I spent nearly a year studying guitar building online before even attempting cutting wood, mostly on this site and from google searches, and I constantly search and reference for how to do things along the way. Having the right tools is a huge help as well, so I've been purchasing things as I sell old gear here and there. Thank you, I'm just trying to improve my build quality as I go and learn what not to do "next time." :)

Well, I used the neck angle calculator: http://www.tundraman.com/Guitars/NeckAngle/index.php

It's pretty simple. My neck joins at the 19th fret, and I'm using a Hipshot .175 fixed bridge, so I just punched in the specs, and it gave me the angle. Super easy!

Let me know how it works out for your set necks!