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First full build from scratch


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13 hours ago, spottydog said:

I have used the angle detailed on the plan and on the template but after building I find that  the string action is too high which has put me off set neck guitars as once the neck is glued there is little room for any adjustment of the neck angle.

 

I would disregard any values on a plan in favour of taking real-world values. If they correlate then you know you're on target. Everybody's work varies at some level so compensating based off that is a better idea than taking these things as gospel. The same applies to my work in that I'll still compensate even if I've derived a "perfect" value from my CAD plan.

How you do that exactly is very dependent on your experience and ability to capture variances as they happen and how they apply to the end product. For example, if you fingerboard ends up being 8mm thick instead of 6mm. The way I've always done it is to calculate the height of the fingerboard centre off the face of the instrument plus the fretwire height (call this "X") then the desired middle bridge saddle heights (call this "Y") from the face of the body. Subtract X from Y and you have the "rise" which is how much the strings need to rise as they travel from the point where you measured X to the bridge. A bit of tangent trigonometry later and you can derive your angle.

The easiest way is just to do it. If it goes wrong, take something from that by figuring out what went wrong or what wasn't focused on. It's very difficult telling somebody how to do an angled set neck online unless you're either following recommendations to the letter (including tools, jigs, measurement and method) or we're 100% au fait with your available tools, experience and ability. Mostly it ends up being somewhere in between, which is prone to a lot of things going awry.

Now, we're also talking about a carved top instrument here. Realistically, the neck angle should be defined prior to the build as this is an integral aspect of the carve itself. In some way that makes things easier because you need to commit to that beforehand. In this respect I second @Andyjr1515's approach of drawing it out. Even though you already have a drawing, making the body will introduce some error margins to compensate around.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Theres a lot of problems I can see in that wood already. Gappy joints and filler. It might easily have structural problems. Is it being painted solid? If so, those gaps can be flooded with superglue to harden the surrounding wood and provide some better structure.

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I just want to build guitars because I enjoy it it's as simple as that and if I have to use cheap and unsuitable woods I will because that is the only way I can build a guitar sometimes. I will never build a world class guitar but they look OK and don't sound too bad so what more can I ask. As I said if you would like to write to me let me know and I will be happy to write back. 

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Well, the main thing is that you can take something positive from whatever you do, whether it be unsuitable woods or whatever. When you have access to better materials, you'll be far better armed to aim for world class. 😉

Yep, being unemployed puts a right dent in your workflow.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 6/27/2018 at 11:57 PM, Prostheta said:

In my opinion, a Myka jig is idea for this.

 

awesome video.  learning a lot from it.  thank you very much for sharing.  also... guy who is clearly a thousand times better than me... but "didn't have the handles in his hand and lifted it(router) up while the bit was still spinning" I can't help but notice!

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On 8/28/2018 at 4:09 AM, mistermikev said:

awesome video.  learning a lot from it.  thank you very much for sharing.  also... guy who is clearly a thousand times better than me... but "didn't have the handles in his hand and lifted it(router) up while the bit was still spinning" I can't help but notice!

That's Chris Verhoeven's video!

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2 hours ago, Prostheta said:

That's Chris Verhoeven's video!

I'm afraid I don't know who that is... but he def knows a lot.  Some amazing jigs there... also, he makes me nervous the way he puts his fingers on that router!  i'm sure he knows what he's doing (still has all ten) but makes me cringe. 

that's a vid I feel like I should probably watch a few times as there is so much to take in.  all sorts of pearls... you have enlightened me again - thanks for that!

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@verhoevenc - Mike needs to confirm your fingers are still in working order, or maybe needs Valium watching you at work!

I agree about Chris' experience and the weight of information relayed. Whilst the format is a bit long at 42mins, the approach is correct. Well-explained defensible information that allows you to mentally re-build the process from the ground up in your mind. To me, that is the basis of teaching; relaying understanding rather than simply telling you how something is.

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ok, I'm slow: just figured out that that is a member here.  good to know and sorry for 'calling you out'!  I know we all work the way we are comfortable and what might be unsafe for me might be safe for someone else. 

also, router tables make me uncomfortable... but plenty use them and insist they are more safe than freehand.  You gotta do what's right for you.

thanks again for sharing.

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