Regius meets RG: first build in progress

[Prostheta]

I know exactly how you feel about the starting over thing....that build up errors can seem like they are fundamental flaws, simply because they exist. Nothing could be further from the truth really. After all, starting a new build is starting over. Let's progress through this and take what we can from it, warts and all yeah?

[Rockhorst]

Probably very true So, after I fix the headstock best bet is to glue it to the neck and route away the existing binding, creating a new channel. At the ends and at the first fret, I will probably have to clean it up a bit with a chisel. (the headstock binding channel extends to half way between nut and first fret).

[Prostheta]

That is, if you can't level the board as it stands. How were you scraping it? Maybe it says a lot about my scraping skills, however I can't see that producing a level glueing surface easily. I use a large board of thick (and flat) plywood with some fabric-backed sandpaper glued to it from a torn drum sander sheet for things like that. You've got to be careful (and light handed) when flattening items that bend though, so keeping consistent pressure and not scrubbing at one end, edge or corner is important.

This reminds me....I need to make a new one....

[Rockhorst]

The fretboard has a slight back bow in it already, so keeping it flat and having a light touch at the same time may be difficult. (it started flat but bowed a little after sawing off the sides). I do have spare fretboards laying around, but I don't think it's necessary, as it is eadily flattened when pressing/gluing down).

Edited January 6, 2017 by Rockhorst

[Prostheta]

That would make sense as to why you'd bind the board before mounting, so that it meets the nut slot at its lowest point.

That backbow is a bit of a bummer. Perhaps double-stick taping it to a flat piece of wood (thick plywood, as always perhaps!) might help, plus it can then be used as a glueing caul. That backbow will be counteracted by the pressure from fretting. The only concern is getting it flat for glueing.

[Rockhorst]

As always, thanks for all the tips and help (and fast responses) Tape should be strong enough to keep it flat, certainly (the strength of the tape, once it sticks, keeps surprising me). I'll get to it in the next couple of days. Reshaped the headstock today with a scraper and a leveling beam with sandpaper. Happy with its current shape, though it's a bit curvier and thus looks smaller than originally intended.

Edited January 6, 2017 by Rockhorst

[sdshirtman]

2 hours ago, Prostheta said:

That would make sense as to why you'd bind the board before mounting, so that it meets the nut slot at its lowest point.

That backbow is a bit of a bummer. Perhaps double-stick taping it to a flat piece of wood (thick plywood, as always perhaps!) might help, plus it can then be used as a glueing caul. That backbow will be counteracted by the pressure from fretting. The only concern is getting it flat for glueing.

I was going to suggest the exact same thing and this is how I would approach the fix. You won't lose much off the bottom of the board. 

[Rockhorst]

Only now realising that one side of the binding is convex for a reason not really meant to scrape that square (which I did do). Oh well. The other side has been bound and drying up overnight now.

[Prostheta]

Convex for a reason....? I might be missing something here....

Binding should be (ideally) flat and square. Cheap binding is simply ripped off a thin sheet which leaves the edges ragged or uneven. If I end up binding regularly, I'll probably build a simple jig out of HDPE with a razor blade in it to scrape the edge surfaces flat. You can file it, but that's a pain. Pulling it through a sprung jig is a better idea for the longer term. A bit of initial work, and simple in use.

I'm sure you can work through any minor errors. If you're feeling deflated with this build, turn that around and remind yourself that as a finished instrument it will still surprise you, and that every other build after this one will be a magnitude better based on what you've learnt or developed through applying yourself, hitting walls, etc. in this one. I think it's perfectly fine as it's going, but I understand what it's like mid-process all too well.

Onwards and upwards!

[Stu.]

I agree that you should keep going! My first (educated) build is one of my best-playing guitars, despite having bumbled through it alone. Guitars are obviously precision instruments and craftmanship is important, but they're actually surprisingly forgiving and you can recover from a lot; it's about progress, not perfection. Just remember these things for the next one... and the one after that... and the one on the shelf... and the other one you've started planning in your head

[Prostheta]

....especially when you consider how many supposedly top drawer guitars out there in the stores are far more flawed. Aside from the obvious Gibson charades, I've seen Washburn "custom shop", ESP and others with shockingly large errors in the field. It's funny how many of the "big brands" which have lower-tier brands attached (ESP/LTD, Gibson/Epi, etc.) are often the opposite way around to what you'd expect. A few years back I was setting up/fettling a few dozen instruments for a store and the difference between import Washburns and their top of the line stuff was crazy. I'm sure that the import lines have such margins in them that the rejection threshold is easier, meaning better instruments drop off the end than the so-called high-end stuff. Maybe.

Remember Jackson's Japanese "Performer" line in the 80/90s? They were stellar instruments which outclassed the USA models, in spite of them being sold as the affordable option. Jackson shuttered that factory to protect the US lines, at which point the Japanese factory evolved into Caparison. I might be slightly wrong but that's the basics.

Anyway. My point being, that as long as you stay the course you'll end up with a great instrument more likely than as not. Even if you don't, you'll have expanded your skill set. Either way, you win.

[Rockhorst]

I have only a few guitars with binding, but the binding seems to curve a bit with the shape of the neck.. May have been done during shaping, I don't know.

And I'll definitely keep at it. The money pit this project is makes it 'too big to fail', by which I mean I have to see it through (but not expecting a perfect instrument). And it keeps me busy in a nice way. So much that I've only build a handful of guitar pedals in the past year (which was the hobby before this). I still have problems with the lungs after every 'big' task like routing stuff out. That's my biggets issue and I'm still trying to sort out why I'm so sensitive to it and how to work around it.

[Prostheta]

Generally it is. It helps make the neck maintain a smooth feel around the profile. Scraping or hand sanding sorts that transition out nicely.

Sensitivity could be down to a specific wood, or just wood dust in general. Some woods are sensitisers, and beyond a certain point you just can't work with them any more. Cocobolo and Iroko are awful.