So in the body blank case I save $$$ on material but add $$$ in working time. I document both...
New Design Proto Build - Sly
- Thread starter preeb
- Start date
NECK
There is no way I can think of to save on neck material or work so I will be using the same wood and roughing as I always do. The only difference will be in the neck joint angle so this will be a Sly only neck
There is no way I can think of to save on neck material or work so I will be using the same wood and roughing as I always do. The only difference will be in the neck joint angle so this will be a Sly only neck
FINGERBOARD
To save on Fingerboard material is very easy... use anything but Brazilian Rosewood (-;
But.. I'm not going to do it. There's a very magical and long tested relationship between Mahogany, hard Maple and Brazilian RW that proved to be the "right" recipe and I'm too old to change that..
I air dry my BRRW and once stable I will bake it to drip out any leftover sap. This cannot be done on sliced board size blanks so the material is rather large.
I select the darker boards to be quarter sliced (Bone-59, Lyra) and the lighter multi colored ones to be flat sliced (Brighter in tone).
Since the Maple volume is lower on the Sly (like on the Bone H) I find the brighter boards better in the overall matching.
I have many billets that were cattle fence poles in Brazil and were legally processed through the Cites Org and the BR government years ago when it was still possible. Out of which, the perfect billets are used for one piece BRRW necks, the less perfect are sliced into fingerboards (yield varies..) and some billets are too figured or have irregular grain coloration... those are perfectly good sounding pieces but they are always being pushed to the bottom of the pile in search for the even straight grained or darker stuff...
So now is the time to use them
This is a fingerboard grade billet which is multi colored (disregard the wax on surface )
It has some nice colors and non straight grain which is a good candidate for a slab cut. I may have a few knots to work around too...
To save on Fingerboard material is very easy... use anything but Brazilian Rosewood (-;
But.. I'm not going to do it. There's a very magical and long tested relationship between Mahogany, hard Maple and Brazilian RW that proved to be the "right" recipe and I'm too old to change that..
I air dry my BRRW and once stable I will bake it to drip out any leftover sap. This cannot be done on sliced board size blanks so the material is rather large.
I select the darker boards to be quarter sliced (Bone-59, Lyra) and the lighter multi colored ones to be flat sliced (Brighter in tone).
Since the Maple volume is lower on the Sly (like on the Bone H) I find the brighter boards better in the overall matching.
I have many billets that were cattle fence poles in Brazil and were legally processed through the Cites Org and the BR government years ago when it was still possible. Out of which, the perfect billets are used for one piece BRRW necks, the less perfect are sliced into fingerboards (yield varies..) and some billets are too figured or have irregular grain coloration... those are perfectly good sounding pieces but they are always being pushed to the bottom of the pile in search for the even straight grained or darker stuff...
So now is the time to use them
This is a fingerboard grade billet which is multi colored (disregard the wax on surface )
It has some nice colors and non straight grain which is a good candidate for a slab cut. I may have a few knots to work around too...
Those bodies look mighty fine to me!
Sliced and trued one side
and other side
sanded down to 1/4"
and checked to be straight
and other side
sanded down to 1/4"
and checked to be straight
I mark the usable outline avoiding less attractive areas..
Flip and drill the indexing pin holes
like that
Flip and drill the indexing pin holes
like that
rough outline cut
Loaded to the CNC fingerboard jig (I will be using the CNC extensively for the Sly build for obvious reasons)
11" initial Radius
dot marks drills
Fret slots... I usually do the slots by hand as it is the fastest way but I plan on letting the CNC work on Sly's while I'm attending to other jobs in the shop (-;
Loaded to the CNC fingerboard jig (I will be using the CNC extensively for the Sly build for obvious reasons)
11" initial Radius
dot marks drills
Fret slots... I usually do the slots by hand as it is the fastest way but I plan on letting the CNC work on Sly's while I'm attending to other jobs in the shop (-;
For dots I will use clay dots. Same original NOS material used on old Fenders. It is a nice touch for a simple yet classic vintage vibe look. If you have played an old F neck you know what I'm talking about (-;
The dots are cut from an original 50's sheet material and sanded on one side so you can see the darker faded side and the way they look fresh..
The dots are cut from an original 50's sheet material and sanded on one side so you can see the darker faded side and the way they look fresh..
dots glued in and the board outline is trimmed on the CNC
compound ~10-12 is manually sanded
Nice board!
compound ~10-12 is manually sanded
Nice board!
The Sly board will have no binding (of coarse) and since I cut the fret slots on the CNC I didn't run the slot all the way to the edge. This way I will (maybe... as this is time consuming) be able to trim the fret tangs for a clean side fretwork.
Note how the colorful slab board with the clay dots is so "earthy" looking compared to the MOP inlays on the Lyra boards in the background. Fun stuff..
Note how the colorful slab board with the clay dots is so "earthy" looking compared to the MOP inlays on the Lyra boards in the background. Fun stuff..
Last edited:
MAPLE TOP
My Maple tops are usually thicknessed down to 3/4" to allow for some bowing removal at build time. This means I can resaw one side into a full 1/4" top.
my resaw kerf cut is 1/16" which means about 1/8" after sanding. This means 1/2 the price for material at the price of the resawing time... nothing is free in this world..
My only issue is that I have no extra width for truing when the thin 1/4" bows... but I have some other method to deal with that.
I soak the concave side with water and cover with a wet towel overnight. This will reverse the distortion and allow for perfect jointing tomorrow
My Maple tops are usually thicknessed down to 3/4" to allow for some bowing removal at build time. This means I can resaw one side into a full 1/4" top.
my resaw kerf cut is 1/16" which means about 1/8" after sanding. This means 1/2 the price for material at the price of the resawing time... nothing is free in this world..
My only issue is that I have no extra width for truing when the thin 1/4" bows... but I have some other method to deal with that.
I soak the concave side with water and cover with a wet towel overnight. This will reverse the distortion and allow for perfect jointing tomorrow
Last edited:
Great stuff, thanks for sharing!
Two questions, if you don't mind...
First, about the bowed 1/4" top, do you mean wet the conCAVE side? You want that side to swell, to force it straight, no?
Also, way back when you jointed the center body billet. I'm not clear on how you did it. I would have used the jointer to do one side, and TS for the other, then planer for thicknessing, as per normal. If I read correctly, you didn't use the jointer at all on this piece, but fed it through the planer edgewise... both sides? I see that getting them parallel, but not necessarily straight.
Just trying to learn...
Two questions, if you don't mind...
First, about the bowed 1/4" top, do you mean wet the conCAVE side? You want that side to swell, to force it straight, no?
Also, way back when you jointed the center body billet. I'm not clear on how you did it. I would have used the jointer to do one side, and TS for the other, then planer for thicknessing, as per normal. If I read correctly, you didn't use the jointer at all on this piece, but fed it through the planer edgewise... both sides? I see that getting them parallel, but not necessarily straight.
Just trying to learn...
GeminiCG
Tele-Meister
Man, it has been a while since I was on, but this is exciting to see first off the bat.
Yes.. Concave.
The usual way... Jointer first side (there was no photo) and then thickness planer for the other side
Thanks. And yeah, jointer then planer (not TS), realized that soon as I posted.
tops are jointed and glued
Mahogany back thicknessed
center of middle piece marked
and CNC indexing pin holes drilled accordingly
like that
center of middle piece marked
and CNC indexing pin holes drilled accordingly
like that
Maple tops thicknessed
sanded down to final thickness (always better to sand before gluing as opposed to only run through planer)
indexing holes for gluing..
and double checking the jointing line
sanded down to final thickness (always better to sand before gluing as opposed to only run through planer)
indexing holes for gluing..
and double checking the jointing line
the hollow body proto is hollowed
and the wiring channel cut
Sly on right and Lyra on left
Solid Sly only gets the channel
and the wiring channel cut
Sly on right and Lyra on left
Solid Sly only gets the channel
ready for gluing the tops
fitment checked to verify both parts are flat with no voids showing all around
Brown UF glue is mixed
Birch Indexing pins inserted and trimmed
Thin glue film. Little goes a long way without messy dripping...
and maple is glued
fitment checked to verify both parts are flat with no voids showing all around
Brown UF glue is mixed
Birch Indexing pins inserted and trimmed
Thin glue film. Little goes a long way without messy dripping...
and maple is glued
