Catch22Kid Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 hey guys, I've been lurking here for years. I've built a few parts-o-casters, and one bolt-on body, but never done anything forum-worthy. I bought a carvin neck-thru blank ages ago and ran out of money shortly thereafter, then lost interest. I recently decided to revive the project and bought a couple chunks of alder. This is my progress so far. Feel free to comment. I could use all the help I can get! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22Kid Posted September 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22Kid Posted September 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 Template is cut, body wings rough cut, headstock shaped. Done on a scroll saw (wrong tool, I know!) and a belt sander. It's a maple blank with an ebony board and jumbo frets. Still deciding on pup configuration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 I like the concept... never made a neck-through so I fear I can't help very much on this. Welcome to the forum BTW, here all projects are forum-worthy I guess... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_picker Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 currently working on a neck-through from scratch myself - in my estimation its one hell of a lot less fiddling round than with a set or screw down neck. No neck pocket to cut. I have a ways to go before I'm at your stage yet by the way I do like your offset body design. very stylish and she'll be a looker for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a2k Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 My first project was a neck through - I was stressed about routing a neck pocket and getting the neck screw holes in so the neck was straight. Figured I'd skip all of that stress and it turned out great. Of course I'm making a bolt on now and it turns out neck poked and screw holes aren't all that hard, but if I knew that I might not have a neck through bass right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22Kid Posted September 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 Old_picker, to be fair, I started with a pre-built neck. I plan on doing the next one from scratch, but I wanted this one to at least be playable. Plus, I currently lack the tools to build a neck. Radius sanding blocks and fretting tools and such. Hell, I don't even have any saws. Had to go over to my dad's place and use his scroll saw for this. a2k, to call it a looker might be a bit kind. I'm hoping it'll look nice, but by no means will it be a looker compared to some of the work I've seen here. There is some GORGEOUS work on this forum. I do love the body shape, and plan to eventually build a 7 string in the same shape with some fancier woods. I clamped the template onto the neck blank to see how it sits, and it's incredibly comfortable in the playing position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 3 hours ago, a2k said: My first project was a neck through - I was stressed about routing a neck pocket and getting the neck screw holes in so the neck was straight. Figured I'd skip all of that stress and it turned out great. Of course I'm making a bolt on now and it turns out neck poked and screw holes aren't all that hard, but if I knew that I might not have a neck through bass right now! Haha, that is pretty funny to me. That seems like the easiest part to me. Ive been building 11 years and still wont try a neck through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 7, 2016 Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 I like the design, Catch22kid. Looks a nice bit of Alder peeping out there too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22Kid Posted September 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2016 Yeah it's certainly not bad looking. Just nothin really special either. the thing that scares me about this build is shaping the heel. There's a lot of wood back there to get rid of, and it's gotta flow with the rest of the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a2k Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 11 hours ago, Catch22Kid said: There is some GORGEOUS work on this forum. For sure! My favorite builds here change constantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 On 9/7/2016 at 3:13 AM, Catch22Kid said: hey guys, I've been lurking here for years. I've built a few parts-o-casters, and one bolt-on body, but never done anything forum-worthy. Everything is forum-worthy! The point here is that sharing helps everyone and the feedback helps you develop projects and ideas better/quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22Kid Posted September 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 Makes sense. My parts-o-casters have all been pretty decent. My tele-style I still have and play often. It's a fender neck on a guitarfetish lightweight body in daphne blue. Gfs p'ups and parts (minus the tuners that came on the neck) and a wilky compensated bridge. That body I built though, was ABYSMAL at best. this build is already leaps and bounds ahead of that. and when I say I've been lurking for years, what I mean is I watched Strandberg start up. In fact I think I still have the open source drawings for that bridge design on a flash drive around here somewhere. I've just never had the tools to get started. I think I'm going to drop some cash on a bandsaw and a better router come tax time, though. With as satisfying as this one has been so far, I'm hooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 8, 2016 Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 Yeah, that's a LONG time since Ola was first ramping up. Nothing like being a slow burner eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22Kid Posted September 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2016 Absolutely. If I could just find a way to get paid for procrastinating, I'd be one hell of a rich man. I'm absolutely floored to be getting started though. The smell of maple running across that belt sander excites the hell out of me. And I need more of it in my life. Just need to go get a pattern bit for my router now. I'm itching to get more work done on this. any tips for trimming the sides down to shape? I'm thinking shape the upper bouts by the neck, glue, then shape the rest. How deep should I make my passes? And what direction do I go with the router? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legoheads Posted September 10, 2016 Report Share Posted September 10, 2016 (edited) On 9/6/2016 at 8:17 PM, Catch22Kid said: Template is cut, body wings rough cut, headstock shaped. Done on a scroll saw (wrong tool, I know!) and a belt sander. It's a maple blank with an ebony board and jumbo frets. Still deciding on pup configuration. The "right" tools are often an idealistic luxury that can be somewhat overcome with patience, elbow grease and the "wrong?" tool. When I started work on my first semi-hollow I used a jigsaw for the profile, a panel saw to cut a back panel from the main body and was planning to do the entire hollow with chisels...!!! I had no clue how I was ever going to make the neck but bought a cheap spokeshave in preparation. It worked for me and I'm still not sure if that's the tool that others rely on for neck shaping? I saw a pretty impressive bass guitar build on another forum by a guy in India. The only power tool he had was a drum sander that he'd built himself. His hand tools looked like something others had discarded. I guess we do as we must until such time we can afford something better. Best of luck. Edited September 10, 2016 by Legoheads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 12, 2016 Report Share Posted September 12, 2016 Sure. Take some wood and cut away the pieces that don't look like a guitar. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22Kid Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 WOW it's been a long time. Bunch of stuff came up and I haven't had much time. But I'm finally ready to get back to this. So, with that, I have a dilemma. My router died on me. Seized up and won't turn. And quite frankly, the thing scared the shit out of me anyway. It was a cheapie that never really did a wonderful job anyway. So, I'm without an essential tool. I do have a friend with one I can borrow for a day, though, but it's a 2 hour drive. So, I don't want to do that more than once. I've got my wings brought down to their final dimensions with a spindle sander. And now I need to put a wiring channel down the inner face of the treble side wing. Any ideas on a good way to accomplish such a task without the router? I don't care if it's pretty or not, since it'll be internal. It's just gotta fit the neck pickup wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 When you say wiring channel, do you mean this sort of thing? I did this free hand with the router but there is no reason why you couldn't do the same thing with a hammer and a sharp chisel. To make it easier, you could drill holes to your given depth a long a line then clean it up with the chisel. Some folk do pickup cavities, neck pockets, control cavities etc with a chisel, it's just easier/faster with a template. Otherwise, have you tried looking at the selling sites, facebook, gumtree etc? There are 2nd hand routers/tables all over the internet for not too much money. I picked up a used Ryobi myself a few weeks ago at half the cost of a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 7 hours ago, Catch22Kid said: WOW it's been a long time. Bunch of stuff came up and I haven't had much time. But I'm finally ready to get back to this. So, with that, I have a dilemma. My router died on me. Seized up and won't turn. And quite frankly, the thing scared the shit out of me anyway. It was a cheapie that never really did a wonderful job anyway. So, I'm without an essential tool. I do have a friend with one I can borrow for a day, though, but it's a 2 hour drive. So, I don't want to do that more than once. I've got my wings brought down to their final dimensions with a spindle sander. And now I need to put a wiring channel down the inner face of the treble side wing. Any ideas on a good way to accomplish such a task without the router? I don't care if it's pretty or not, since it'll be internal. It's just gotta fit the neck pickup wire. I second AD's comment that you should look on craigslist/offerup. My first router came from there for $20 (just a crappy black and decker), my second and third where porter cable 690s. both under $50 and with gas prices what they are... you might be better off! Did have to replace bearings on one... when you start to hear that screeching... it's time as it is not fun having one sieze up on you and quite dangerous. another good thing about porter cable: parts are easy to get - cost me about $20 total + $10 for a bearing puller. all that said, some folks don't ever use a router so where there's a will there's a way! you can find youtube vids of folks building guitars entirely w/o power tools. AD's suggestion sounds like a winner. good luck and looking fwd to progress updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22Kid Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 5 hours ago, ADFinlayson said: When you say wiring channel, do you mean this sort of thing? I did this free hand with the router but there is no reason why you couldn't do the same thing with a hammer and a sharp chisel. To make it easier, you could drill holes to your given depth a long a line then clean it up with the chisel. Some folk do pickup cavities, neck pockets, control cavities etc with a chisel, it's just easier/faster with a template. Otherwise, have you tried looking at the selling sites, facebook, gumtree etc? There are 2nd hand routers/tables all over the internet for not too much money. I picked up a used Ryobi myself a few weeks ago at half the cost of a new one. Yep, just rather than being on the top, I want to put it on the inside face of the body wing before glue-up. Then when I route for the pickups, it will expose the channel so I can run the wiring thru. That way I avoid dealing with having to drill from the neck pickup route AAAAAAAAAALL the way to the control cavity. I can just drill from the bridge pickup route and run both wires that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 That's a great trick. It's best with a router made channel, but you can cut anything by hand with enough patience. You could try a smaller Forstner bit and chisel cleanup and get a good channel. Just be sure they are lined up god so you don't get an interior "ledge" that wires will hang up on, Neck though should be easier, but there are make or break issues. I'm doing my second right now. The most critical thing is to have your bridge in hand, do a full-scale drawing so you can figure out to bridge height / body height / neck angle geometry. It will be critical to having the guitar playable and the action adjustable. Here's a great vid: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 39 minutes ago, komodo said: That's a great trick. It's best with a router made channel, but you can cut anything by hand with enough patience. You could try a smaller Forstner bit and chisel cleanup and get a good channel. Just be sure they are lined up god so you don't get an interior "ledge" that wires will hang up on, Neck though should be easier, but there are make or break issues. I'm doing my second right now. The most critical thing is to have your bridge in hand, do a full-scale drawing so you can figure out to bridge height / body height / neck angle geometry. It will be critical to having the guitar playable and the action adjustable. I absolutely agree with @komodo on both points. Forstner bit to hog out the bulk, then chisel to clean up the sides and bottom is a pretty sound way of doing the channel (it's actually even the way I do close fitting pickup chambers too!) And absolutely - have the bridge and the fretboard physically there (don't rely on just the stated spec) and draw the critical lines of the top, the fretboard and nut/saddle positions fullsize. Measure the height of the saddles from the guitar top at their lowest setting and at their highest, marking both on the drawing and then draw full size from nut to saddles, with the angle set that would lay the strings on top of the frets when the saddles are at their lowest. Double check that your desired action height or higher is achievable if the saddles are at their highest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22Kid Posted March 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 Well then, forstner bit and chisel it is. Looks like it shouldn't be too horribly difficult to achieve. If I ever actually finish this guitar I'll treat myself to a new router for the next one. Hoping to do a headless for travel next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22Kid Posted March 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2019 Well, I won't be on the cover of fine woodworking anytime soon, but I did the damn thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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