ScottR Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 3 minutes ago, Mateyboy said: I'm still having fun so that's all that counts at this stage! Yes indeed. And you are the learning the why's and wherefores of a number of things, which is much better than doing something just because a book or video or even person said so. Understanding why is important. And let's not forget you are getting quite a decent guitar out of the deal as well. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 1 minute ago, mattharris75 said: Hey, I decided to bind the neck on my first build after I'd already radiused the fretboard. Ingenious ways to recover from mistakes, either mental or physical, is one of the most important things one learns when building instruments.  No worries, it'll end up fine. That's what I keep telling myself!  Thanks to the great encouragement from people in this forum I'm convinced it will work out fine... or perhaps I'm deluded!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 5 minutes ago, ScottR said: And let's not forget you are getting quite a decent guitar out of the deal as well. My theory is each build should get better than the last one... My wife won't let me buy anymore so I'll have to make them! Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 10, 2017 Report Share Posted April 10, 2017 Ultimately you'll be building them because they are better than anything you can buy commercially. Then you can look forward to your wife seeing the gleam in your eye and the sawdust on your clothes and saying Oh god, you're not building another one are you? like mine does. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 10 hours ago, ScottR said: Ultimately you'll be building them because they are better than anything you can buy commercially. That would be great, and something I can aim towards. I do love my SG though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 I've been watching this develop with great interest.  Yes - valuable lessons being learnt along the way - but whatever, this is going to be a really nice guitar once it's finished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 11 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: I've been watching this develop with great interest.  Yes - valuable lessons being learnt along the way - but whatever, this is going to be a really nice guitar once it's finished Thanks, I hope so! Now I've hit a problem - yep I am now regretting not radiusing the fretboard before profiling the neck! It doesn't feel stable enough when screwed into the body whilst sanding and I don't want to damage it. I have two options: 1) Figure out a way I can radius the neck as it is... all help appreciated. 2) Start the neck from scratch... I really don't want to do this if I can help it - I'd rather finish and improve on the next build. Again, no stress it's part of the learning process. Any help/thoughts would be appreciated. JT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 My initial thoughts are something like: Â I guess the key is ensuring the neck stays clamped solid to the jig... screws, double sided tape, clamps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 11, 2017 Report Share Posted April 11, 2017 Any of those would work, with the tape being the least trustworthy. Add at least one support to the center of the neck as well--it will not need be clamped. It just needs to stop the neck from flexing while you are sanding. Otherwise you could easily sand some curves into your fretboard. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 Ok, I think the best bet is to make up a quick jig and see how it works. No great loss if it fails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 So I've made a jig and it seems to be working well. didnt realise how much sanding was required for radiusing, might be some time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 Make sure you double that time, so you can scribble over the board with a pencil to track progress and ensure the radius isn't lopsided. I made a similar jig for my bench: Â It's surprisingly-easy to put too much pressure on either side. Once you reverse that to correct any lop-sidedness, you soon realise just how easy it truly is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 33 minutes ago, Prostheta said: Make sure you double that time, so you can scribble over the board with a pencil to track progress and ensure the radius isn't lopsided. I made a similar jig for my bench:  It's surprisingly-easy to put too much pressure on either side. Once you reverse that to correct any lop-sidedness, you soon realise just how easy it truly is.  Absolutely do this. Like Prostheta said, it's much easier to mess this up than you think. And you can end up with a too thin fretboard recovering from the mistake. Don't ask me how I know... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 I don't think there's much danger of ending up with a thin fretboard....there's a lot of material to take off judging by the photos in the previous posts! In fact, I would personally be tempted to rout the board down to about 6mm. I couldn't recommend this of course, since a screwup here would be immediately fatal. I always thickness boards to the same width as binding; 6mm or 1/4". It makes binding away from the neck simple to align straight to the board. Let us know how you're getting along, and whether you're having to type with your left hand whilst the other is in a pre-Popeye'd recovery sling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 I took quite a bit off it and I'm left with around 6.5mm so there's a little bit to go. I had a stack of other jobs to do so I've parked it until tomorrow. I don't have a thicknesser (it is something I'd like but I don't really have space for one) and IÂ didn't fancy routing it down this time, I think this might be an option on the next build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 Thicknessers and jointers don't get used as much as you'd imagine beyond basic prep. I mean, those can be handled using hand tools or other more commonly-used machines. At the bottom end of the range, thicknessers and jointers can introduce a lot of snipe which causes more issues than they are fixing. Router thicknessing can be far more consistent, even if slower and more cumbersome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 Maybe I should learn to use a planer too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 Hand planer? I know they can be made to work, but generally not well enough for jointing. They can be proper wood destroyers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 21 hours ago, mattharris75 said:  Absolutely do this. Like Prostheta said, it's much easier to mess this up than you think. And you can end up with a too thin fretboard recovering from the mistake. Don't ask me how I know... +1 on that- on the ritter copy I am building I made a radius beam that was 18" long and after sanding about 30 strokes or so with 80 grit ended up with one end/edge of the fingerboard considerably thinner than the rest. all due to pressure/how I was standing over the fingerboard/etc. I then started taking measurements after every 15 strokes or so. and also I found that I like a shorter length sanding beam better. more control over the pressure applied IMO. this is looking good so far- keep it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 I left the neck alone today and started to sand the body. thanks for all the advice on radiusing the fretboard, I'll leave it until I can get enough time to concentrate on it, don't want to rush it and ruin the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 Sure thing. It won't screw itself up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2017 Today I sanded 120 grit to get the router marks out, you can't really see any difference from the picture, at least I don't think you can. The cutaways are proving to be a pain in the butt. I ned to go back to those tomorrow, my arms feel like Popeye's now! I'm not really sure when to move on to a finer git other than when all visible 'marks' (mostly from routing) are gone. There's a tiny hair width hole/mark about 1mm in length in the side. As I am planing on the sides and back being solid black I'll probably fill it in with a tiny bit of filler. The top-side is going to be a nice cherry stain burst to black so no filler allowed on the top. I don't the I would use poplar again unless I was building a solid colour, I'm not that keen on the crappy grain of poplar. JT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted April 15, 2017 Report Share Posted April 15, 2017 Since you're in the UK like me... Maybe check this out? I'm considering using it for my build as I don't want to "colour fill" the mahogany. http://www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/aqua-coat-clear-wood-grain-filler.html You can use it after the stain/dye to fill any pores/slight holes ect. and won't affect your colour any more than finish will. Of course you need to know what finish you're using and if it's compatible... But the guys there should be able to help. Also... To your radiusing problem, The guys here will probably be able to tell you whether this is good or bad as far as ideas go, but why not try adjusting your truss rod until your neck is dead flat, flipping your radius beam over and moving the neck against the beam instead of the beam against the neck? I know PRS do it that way but their fretboards are already radiused and they're just fine sanding so may not be the best idea but it's probably what I'd try in the same situation. Mike. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 15, 2017 Report Share Posted April 15, 2017 All perfectly reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateyboy Posted April 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2017 16 hours ago, Mike.Mara said:  Since you're in the UK like me... Maybe check this out? I'm considering using it for my build as I don't want to "colour fill" the mahogany. http://www.tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/aqua-coat-clear-wood-grain-filler.html  Anything that helps create a smoother finish is worth a look!  16 hours ago, Mike.Mara said: Also... To your radiusing problem, It's not a problem... yet... fingers crossed!  16 hours ago, Mike.Mara said: flipping your radius beam over and moving the neck against the beam instead of the beam against the neck This is interesting, never actually looked at it this way. I guess it would be a lot less hassle than unclamping the neck every number of strokes to check progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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