a2k Posted December 22, 2016 Report Share Posted December 22, 2016 16 hours ago, meatloaf said: I hope you don't mind a bit of a newbie asking a question, how important is the rip and flip, I have a piece of maple for the neck of my next project but I haven't a table saw to rip it and was thinking of using as one piece, I understand the reason behind this process but is it necessary to make a stable neck? I just finished a build with a one piece maple neck - no ripping and flipping. So far so good. I did let the wood sit indoors for several weeks before using it and it seems to be holding steady. Of course, I haven't made it through a few season changes yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 28, 2016 Report Share Posted December 28, 2016 Looking at the end grain on that Tas Oak, I'd expect more contrast on the quartersawn edges than I see. Does that change with sanding or is that just the nature of the wood? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted December 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2016 Just the nature of the wood I suspect. Tas oak is usually pretty plain and uninteresting to look at. It's engineered to grow straight and fast to get it on the shelves quickly. The end grain stands out like crazy but a lot of that variation isn't as pronounced running with the grain. There's a faint smudge visible on the vertical sides of the neck blank to the right of the drill bit which is about the limit of the grain variation on most pieces of hardware store Tas oak I've come across: Although a couple of the floorboards in the house have a bit more of the ash-like grain pattern you're perhaps familiar with: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 28, 2016 Report Share Posted December 28, 2016 It actually looks a lot like pine in that top pic. It surely is much harder though, being a species of Eucalyptus. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted December 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2016 The addition of a couple of CF rods may be unwarranted, but I won't be accused of doing things by halves: With the fret board cut to taper it's time for clamp city. Given that these rods are fully encased in heatshrink tape, and the adjuster nut is embedded in the stainless steel cylinder I'm not bothering to protect the truss rod channel from glue seepage with the old sticky tape trick: Out of the clamps and trim off the excess from the blank.. The precut nut that ships with the headless system appears to be 16" radius, so the fretboard gets sanded to match: Side dots in black. May not have been the best choice for visibility, but if it doesn't work in practice I can always drill them out and replace with some slightly large white ones: Fret not: With a little bit of CA wicked into the ends to make sure the frets stay put the 16" aluminium (aluminum?) radius bar gets repurposed as a clamping caul: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted December 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2016 1 minute ago, ScottR said: It actually looks a lot like pine in that top pic. It surely is much harder though, being a species of Eucalyptus. SR Most definitely. Tas oak has a Janka hardness of 6000 Newtons. Radiata pine (as sold here, possibly not the same species of pine you're used to) is 3400N. Photos aren't being helped by the lighting in the workshop, nor by my phone camera. Tends to wash out everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 28, 2016 Report Share Posted December 28, 2016 The pine I'm referring to has a Janka hardness of 690. I have no idea if that is Newtons. The same scale lists Jatoba at 2350 and hard maple at 1400. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted December 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2016 Pounds-force (lbf) maybe? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test Looks like we're at least talking about similar pines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 That's a better scale--good ol' wikipedia. One thing that caught my eye was cocobolo listed at 2960....and my memory said it was in the 1100's and experience says it was not especially hard. so I checked several online scale listings and found it at both 2960 and 1136. Strange. Like everything there are several common names but only one species listed. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 I looking good, Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 31, 2016 Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Happy New Year Andrew....seeing as you are one of the first around here to get to 2017! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted December 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2016 Cheers Scott, I've made it kicking and screaming to 2017. Hope your new years celebrations don't take too much out of you too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 1, 2017 Report Share Posted January 1, 2017 2017 eh? No idea how I ended up in this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 3, 2017 Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 On 12/31/2016 at 1:56 PM, curtisa said: Cheers Scott, I've made it kicking and screaming to 2017. Hope your new years celebrations don't take too much out of you too. Nah, my new years celebrations nearly always entail coddling a small dog that's scared to death of the fire works exploding outside our bed room window. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted January 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 Sounds like a helluva shindig at your place. Can't say mine was much more lively. Couple of drinks, game of Scrabble, in bed by 11pm. Real party animal, me.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted January 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 Possibly bending the rules a little bit, but in keeping with the budget (ish) nature of this build this figured Tas Blackwood top only set me back sixty smackers. As a bonus it came with an extra piece big enough to be a headstock veneer. If only I had a headstock... Don't forget that there's a lot of chambering going on in there, so the lack of much in the way of clamping cauls is deliberate: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 That's a very nice piece of wood @curtisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 9 hours ago, curtisa said: If only I had a headstock... That bit of woodporn almost looks quarter-matched. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted January 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 It's very nearly, Scott. For sixty bucks (maybe $50US or 45EUR...or a handfull of soggy Engish chips) I reckon it's pretty good value. Time for neck to meet body: A bit of tape either side to ensure the neck is a super snug fit: Dry fit test: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted January 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 Pickup cavities next. Template is oversized because I use the pattern ring on the router with a 1/4" diameter bit to keep all the corner radii nice and tight: Hog out the excess (carefully!) with the trimmer fitted with a 3/8" bit (don't worry if it looks a bit rough at this stage), then follow up with the big router with the 1/4" bit and pattern ring: Then for the sneaky bit to create the extra depth for the pickup ears: Perfect fit: Bridge pickup is a repeat of the neck: Checking for bridge location with a couple of pieces of black cotton. The bridge will need to be recessed about 1.5mm to compensate for the slightly beefy baseplate this thing has: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted January 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 One of these days I'll learn to take some more work-in-progress shots, but I get carried away too easily and before I realise it I've jumped miles ahead and failed to take pictures along the way. Belly cut roughed out with the Turbo Plane (damn quick!): Edges rounded over and first coats of oil going on. No top carve on this one, just a flat slab which speeds things up a lot: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 My god! The oil really loves that top doesn't it? Talk about coming to life! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woden Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 Gorgeous work. And I'm really envious of your Quick-Grip collection! I only have four but they are my go-to clamp for most jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted January 24, 2017 Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 On 12/20/2016 at 8:49 AM, curtisa said: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted January 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2017 Boom boom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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