Moody's Former Challenge Build

[RogerC]

Very cool-- not like those wusses who use a bending pipe for stupid old wood

[czook]

I love the metal working and skills involved to pull this one off. I may need a ring like that just to hold mine together :)

[loopy reed]

Oh yeah, I'm keeping my eyes on this thread!

[kwerk]

Brilliant! Can't wait to see what happens next!

[moody]

A little bit of progress tonight. It was cold and windy, so I started up the forge and made a few pieces

I grabbed one of the pieces of 1/2" square bar from the pile on the chair and cut off two pieces. I test fit them to make sure I did my math correctly.





Marked out where the twists will be and then put a small nick with a chisel. When you heat metal up to 1200 degrees (Fahrenheit) the sharpie marks go away...





Heated the bar evenly as possible where the twists go, so that they will be uniform



Blacksmith twists are a lot easier than most people suspect. Just put the bar in a vise and twist with a wrench or tongs. You have to be very careful here though. I put a half twist on these, one left and one right.





I also had to reheat them to straighten the twists, and to burn off the paint on the other end of the bar.





A twist doesn't shrink the bar, so they fit fine.



I then grabbed the short round bar off the pile, and started on the tremolo bar.





Almost a good heat for forging...



The next few pics cover several steps, that I didn't have the extra hands to take photos of. In short, I flattened and rounded the end of the bar, bent the bar around to itself, and straightened the rest of the bar.







I then decided I didn't like where the flat end was,, so I flattened the bar behind the existing flat, and cut the original flat off. I also bent the curve tighter, and did a little tweaking here and there.





Cut to proper length.





I will be taking a file and grinder to this. it needs to be (slightly) more uniform.

I also got my big welder ready to run yesterday. Haven't used it in years, but still runs like a champ. Just need to pick up some smooth flowing rod, so I don't make a mess.

[emoney]

Getting cooler (or warmer?) by the minute.

[Picton]

I'm speechless. It amazes me, what people on TDPRI know how to do.

I notice you're in CO; congrats on Manning...

[moody]

Thanks for the kudos, guys, It means a lot.

[Muzikp]

This makes me feel kinda funny...I shouldn't be this giddy about a metal guitar, this rocks.

[CapnCrunch]

How close are your neighbors?

They will hear this guitar ring before you ever plug it in

And, on the plus side, unless you're planning a steel neck, this should not be neck heavy.

[moody]

Too close, but they appreciate my madness.

The neck will be wood. Hickory fingerboard and the white board from the materials pic. Still not sure what it is... but it's not pine or spruce.

[Ryden]

This is way beyond cool!

And a fellow blacksmith to boot!
When you're at the welders shop, get some soapstone markers. Much better than chisels for marking iron.

So what are you going to play on that?
The Smiths, Anvil or Hammerfall?

[RogerC]

This is cool. right now it has that if-a-tele-were-built-in-the-1800's feel to it

[moody]

And hopefully it will stay that way.

[guitarbuilder]

Now I know why they call it " band" iron....

[moody]

Nothing done in the last couple days, hoping to get something done this weekend or perhaps first of the week...

In other news, the board for the neck might be soft maple... still not sure.

[Barncaster]

Originally Posted by moody

Nothing done in the last couple days, hoping to get something done this weekend or perhaps first of the week...

In other news, the board for the neck might be soft maple... still not sure.

Hey Moody,

Seeing as we are at material extremes here, why not make the neck of of thin metal strips as well. Solder on the fret wire and nut and you'll be good to go! By the way, I love this build!

Barncaster

[moody]

@Barncaster: Thank you! I had thought of several ways to make the neck out of metal, but none of them would be both comfortable to the hand and stable. I don't have the tooling to make one out of aluminum, and being as the rest of the guitar is wrought iron, I don't think aluminum would look good anyway. I do have plans for the neck, however, to tie it in with the body and keep the feel similar to what I already have.

[OpenG Capo4]

Make a neck without a truss rod or any steel reinforcement. Just for the sake of irony.

[Maricopa]

Very cool.
I've always wanted to try smithing but it's too hot here already.