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It's so damn hard to be unique! Its a bit like Nitros first and my NorthStar, similar designs, meaning both designers have excellent taste!

Guitars are like typography, maybe they look similar but have unique character... actually, you will see how, even having similar body shape, can be totally different. I know that because is not the first guitar I build with this body... I just want to keep the mystery until the end, as Scott does. ^^

Great! Looking forward to se the result even more now.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi there,

I had some stupid weeks and couldn't make much progress on this. I was preparing all the templates for the cavities: electronics, pickups and neck pocket. So I've started with the electronics.

I've made an experiment, in order to fit the cover perfectly into the cavity, which turned out very well.

First I use a MDF template for the dremel...

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080.jpg

And cut this in two pieces. There's a gap in between, but it's ok.

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These prototypes are to make the real templates...

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And check that they fit perfectly.

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The complete set...

087.jpg

But first I need the cover. Here I was looking for matched grain, more or less...

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And then, I've started with the cavity itself. First the inner part....

091.jpg

And then the carve for the cover...

093.jpg

And here you go...

094.jpg

They fit very well. It was not easy, but I did it. I'm really happy with the results.

095.jpg

Cheers

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Maybe I'm missing something... are you binding the cavity cover to fill that border or something?

Chris

No, I think there will be less separation after finishing. But that gap doesn't disturb to me actually, as long as it stays parallel.

BTW, a black binding would be cool... but I don't have binding material.

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That neck and headstock is a piece of art!!! And the colors layers in the headstock looks incredible.

The step by step pictures helped me a lot to see how is the work of building a neck!!

Saludos desde Barcelona!

Thanks!... that's just one of the many ways to make a neck... a pretty easy one IMO. It fits with the tools I have, I guess.

I like this system because there's no scarf joint and you don't need very much precision at the beginning. In the other hand, it's a waste of wood and probably means more work. But I feel very confident doing it in that way.

Bienvenido al foro! ;)

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Some people might frown on the cavity gap, let them.

When I first started making timber cavity covers I went for a small gap. The problem then was you can't get them out! First one I had to smash to get it out. Since then I make a gap not far different from yours.

The guitar as a whole is looking great. Good work

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Some people might frown on the cavity gap, let them.

When I first started making timber cavity covers I went for a small gap. The problem then was you can't get them out! First one I had to smash to get it out. Since then I make a gap not far different from yours.

The guitar as a whole is looking great. Good work

Thanks demonx! I had problems in the past with tight covers too, that's why I did it in that way. :peace

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Hey PsikoT, what do you think of a similar work that you did for the headstock but in the body of the guitar? i would like to make a full body, then for example, a blue veneer (stained) then a veneer with the same color of the body and then a top blue stained veneer, in my mind it looks cool.

In case of yes, that should be decided before starting the job right? because 3 sheets of venner are going to take some space, i think that to be able to apreciate it they would need to be a little tick, so i would need to keep in mind how much space they are going to take and then substract it from the boby...

I hope the explanation is clear enough... english is not my first language.

Thanks!

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Hey PsikoT, what do you think of a similar work that you did for the headstock but in the body of the guitar? i would like to make a full body, then for example, a blue veneer (stained) then a veneer with the same color of the body and then a top blue stained veneer, in my mind it looks cool.

In case of yes, that should be decided before starting the job right? because 3 sheets of venner are going to take some space, i think that to be able to apreciate it they would need to be a little tick, so i would need to keep in mind how much space they are going to take and then substract it from the boby...

I hope the explanation is clear enough... english is not my first language.

Thanks!

Making veneers to cover the whole body is not easy, specially if your model has an arm rest.. Bending three veneers can be the hell. But if you have the tools (and balls) go ahead. The only thing which didn't convince to me is the stained veneer, at least the inner one, cause you need to make the whole process before staining. Then, if you're thinking on masking the veneers, why to use a veneer?... you can do it with a full top, or directly to the body.

And yes, you should consider the thickness of the top when making calculations, but there's always the possibility to tweak the whole body thickness after glueing the top.

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Hi there,

some progress on this. Continuing with the cavities, it's time to route the neck pocket.

First I place the neck carefully and use two long stripes with a straight edge.

098.jpg

And the tip...

099.jpg

Once the templates are fixed, I remove the neck and everything is ready to route.

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Then I have to round the corners of the neck, in order to insert it into the pocket.

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The fit is really good!

104.jpg

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106.jpg

Now is when I need a press drill to bolt on the neck, then I can start carving the access.

Cheers

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What did you use to round the corners of your neck? How did you match the radius? Any reason you choose rounding the neck instead of squaring up the neck pocket route?

And it looks like you have gone with no neck angle, right?

You've got a nice build thread going here, and a lot of several first time builders are watching and learning,so I'm asking all these questions to help them out in case they forget to ask. :)

SR

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What did you use to round the corners of your neck? How did you match the radius? Any reason you choose rounding the neck instead of squaring up the neck pocket route?

And it looks like you have gone with no neck angle, right?

You've got a nice build thread going here, and a lot of several first time builders are watching and learning,so I'm asking all these questions to help them out in case they forget to ask. :)

SR

I've used a file to round the corners. It is almost impossible for me to match the radius, so I've done it a lil bit bigger than the pocket to avoid fitting problems. You can't see the gap because the end of the fretboard covers the joint.

There's no reason why I round them instead of squaring up the pocket, maybe I think it's easier?... I should try in the other way round some day. :D

And yes, I'm gonna use a hardtail bridge, which requires no neck angle.

Thanks for all the questions, I should explain better while posting. :facepalm: But you know, what I'm going to explain to you masters... :blush

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Thanks for all the questions, I should explain better while posting. :facepalm: But you know, what I'm going to explain to you masters... :blush

I know what you mean, when I'm documenting a build I feel like I've already said the same things several times by now. But pretty much every new build I follow I find a few things I never thought of and a technique or so that never occurred to me.

And there are quite a few watching that never say a thing but still want to learn. When I was doing my first build, there were a lot of questions I needed to ask, but I didn't know what I didn't know, so I didn't know that I needed to ask.........if you get what I mean. :lol:

So these days, when a good build comes along I ask questions that I may even know the answers to....because I'm pretty sure some are watching that do not.

I'm looking forward to seeing your carve.

SR

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Thanks for all the questions, I should explain better while posting. :facepalm: But you know, what I'm going to explain to you masters... :blush

I know what you mean, when I'm documenting a build I feel like I've already said the same things several times by now. But pretty much every new build I follow I find a few things I never thought of and a technique or so that never occurred to me.

And there are quite a few watching that never say a thing but still want to learn. When I was doing my first build, there were a lot of questions I needed to ask, but I didn't know what I didn't know, so I didn't know that I needed to ask.........if you get what I mean. :lol:

So these days, when a good build comes along I ask questions that I may even know the answers to....because I'm pretty sure some are watching that do not.\

I'm looking forward to seeing your carve.

SR

Thanks for that attitude Scott!! it`s soo true... i`m doing my first build and that`s the point, i don`t know what i don`t know.

Cheers!

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This is looking great psikoT! The ebony fretboard/light stripe/black binding is so classy looking, I want to do that on a whole guitar! Regarding the truss rod cover, did you consider making one that doesn't go all the way to the end of the fretboard? The adjustment hole doesn't reach all the way to the fretboard, you could make a cover with a rounded bottom and still cover the hole. An oval/drop shape?

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I'm looking forward to seeing your carve.

SR

Me too... I'm shitting my pants. Never used a chisel before and not sure how often I would have to sharp it, let's see. Any advice on carving with chisels gonna be really appreciated.

This is looking great psikoT! The ebony fretboard/light stripe/black binding is so classy looking, I want to do that on a whole guitar! Regarding the truss rod cover, did you consider making one that doesn't go all the way to the end of the fretboard? The adjustment hole doesn't reach all the way to the fretboard, you could make a cover with a rounded bottom and still cover the hole. An oval/drop shape?

Thanks pukko! Already thought on a drop shaped truss-rod cover, but I saw it a lil bit silly... this one looks more aggressive to me.

Thanks for watching!

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If it won't shave the hairs off your arm with zero effort, it is too blunt in my book. If it can shave endgrain off a stick of scrap, it's good. Blunt means too much force will be needed, potentially causing slips, tears or accidents. Get a piece of leather and learn to strop; it can quickly turn a recently sharp tool into a sharp one again, or a sharp tool into a glorious tool.

http://lumberjocks.com/mafe/blog/26468

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If it won't shave the hairs off your arm with zero effort, it is too blunt in my book. If it can shave endgrain off a stick of scrap, it's good. Blunt means too much force will be needed, potentially causing slips, tears or accidents. Get a piece of leather and learn to strop; it can quickly turn a recently sharp tool into a sharp one again, or a sharp tool into a glorious tool.

http://lumberjocks.com/mafe/blog/26468

Wow, thanks for the link... I'm just looking for a piece of leather. ^^

I was thinking that maybe I could use the dremel with a stone bit to do a heavier sharp if necessary.

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It's fairly easy just to make a jig from two pieces of wood and use high grit sandpaper to sharpen. If you've got a piece of stone or glass that is flat, that's all you need to work on.

https://youtu.be/Ki8tt-VjwqI

The only thing I disagree with in this video is the lack of specific bevel angle. 20°-25° is for hand work, 25°-30° for work involving a hammer. I usually shoot for about 22,5°. At least, I used to when I had access to a Tormek.

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