Mike.Mara Posted September 27, 2017 Report Share Posted September 27, 2017 I've decided on a new build... This time not an original design but one that over the years I've started to admire. The body will be slightly offset as to not be a direct copy and take a bit of influence from my first build through to my second. Here's the specs: 5 Piece maple and black walnut neck. 25.5" Scale. Indian rosewood fretboard. (Provided I can get the slight twist and bow out... If not, possibly maple again.) Poplar body. (Maybe with a 5 piece maple/black walnut "strip" down the middle, or possibly a curly maple top I have stored, thoughts?) Pearl pickguard. Humbucker in the bridge, Possibly an EMG 81. Never been a fan of active pickups but willing to give them a go again. Single coil in the neck, Probably some kind of EMG if I go active. Graphite nut. Transparent black finish if no figured top or purple if figured. Either oiled or an acrylic urethane high gloss if I feel brave enough. Locking tuners. Standard 6 string fixed bridge. 10.8MM bridge spacing. 42MM nut. 12" radius. Here's the plans so far: I'll get a picture of the woods later, not that there's anything particularly special about them, they're all pretty common looking specimens of the woods they are... But wood is wood and wood is good! Mike. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted September 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2017 And as promised, here are the woods: The curly maple is bookmatched from the same billet as my first build. Still not sure if I want to use it on this one or save it for another original design. I have enough of that maple/black walnut neck stock, depending on how I use it and imperfections to work around, for about another 3-4 guitars. I also have a second poplar blank to use so apart from a fretboard, I'm set for number 3 too... Unless I can find some reasonably priced wenge and bubinga for a neck... Or a pure rosewood neck... So many woods, so little money! If I could afford it, I'd make an ancient Kauri whitebait carved top, mahogany back, rosewood neck and Macassar ebony fretboard. Damn that would be pretty. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 27, 2017 Report Share Posted September 27, 2017 21 minutes ago, Mike.Mara said: ancient Kauri whitebait carved top Amazing stuff, that. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted September 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2017 Just now, ScottR said: Amazing stuff, that. SR Indeed, the first time I saw it, my immediate thought was... Why is this not on a guitar? Although the tables and stuff are still awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 27, 2017 Report Share Posted September 27, 2017 It's probably not the easiest stuff to get your hands on.... SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted September 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2017 11 hours ago, ScottR said: It's probably not the easiest stuff to get your hands on.... SR That it's not... Unless you have a lot of money at your disposal of course . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted September 28, 2017 Report Share Posted September 28, 2017 (edited) Gorgeous wood - I'd never heard of it before. However, from http://www.ancientwood.com/what-is-whitebait/ ... Quote Whitebait is very rare, is difficult to dry, and thus is expensive. Considered the Best of the Best, pricing ranges from $100.00 per board foot to $60.00 per board foot, depending on the size of the order and the amount of Whitebait activity in the piece itself. I don't think I'll be using any soon But you could certainly make a guitar out of it Quote We have 1 inch thick boards, 2 inch thick boards, 2 1/2 inches to 4 inches thick Various shapes and sizes up to 7 feet wide and 40 feet long. Edited September 28, 2017 by Norris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted September 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2017 9 hours ago, Norris said: Gorgeous wood - I'd never heard of it before. However, from http://www.ancientwood.com/what-is-whitebait/ ... I don't think I'll be using any soon But you could certainly make a guitar out of it Indeed... But unfortunately it's well out of my price range. Maybe when I've finished my qualifications and I can afford a fair few hundred to throw at a piece of wood . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted September 29, 2017 Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 Kauri is normally native to New Zealand. You've been lucky to get your hands on some up there. Came from some recycled furniture perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted September 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 Got the neck stock planed down today, looks beautiful! Never mind the stuff behind it, this room is currently for storage . Ohh to be left alone in this room... Getting a qualification has extra perks! Wish I had thought of this room more before when doing my first build... Ohh well, I'll be utilising it well this time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 29, 2017 Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 6 hours ago, curtisa said: Kauri is normally native to New Zealand. You've been lucky to get your hands on some up there. Came from some recycled furniture perhaps? Andrew, I think this falls into the wouldn't it be wonderful to have some (drool) category, rather than the look at what I scored category. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted October 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2017 New updated plans... Partially because the first set for some reason I'd made 25" scale . I have so many drawings I've done that I tend to take parts from some to design new ones... Bit me in the ass this time! I couldn't decide on inlays so I let my other half decide for me... So paw prints walking up the fretboard it is! Need to wait for my new spindle mount to arrive before I can make templates for this one on the CNC, the set for my first, although they worked, had their issues because the spindle is slightly out of true. I could just chuck all the wood on the CNC but where's the fun in that? Need to figure out how I'm going to route that direct mount EMG though... Maybe cheat and do the pickup routes on the machine and the rest by hand. Will decide after more coffee and getting some bikes fixed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 3, 2017 Report Share Posted October 3, 2017 I like what the offset does to the tele shape. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted October 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2017 19 hours ago, ScottR said: I like what the offset does to the tele shape. SR I wasn't sure I could make it work at first... The first few designs were terrible looking, like Frankenstein's monster if he had an ugly twin. Glad it worked out in the end though and that it's being well received by others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizh Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 Oh dear, those paw print inlays look adorable hahaha I love them So what is exactly offset in your design? I'm really liking it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted October 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 1 hour ago, Rizh said: Oh dear, those paw print inlays look adorable hahaha I love them So what is exactly offset in your design? I'm really liking it The body is ever so slightly offset, if I remember correctly the bottom of the body was moved 10mm back and the top 10mm forward compared to a "normal" Tele. If you compare it to a normal Tele, you can see a subtle difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 5, 2017 Report Share Posted October 5, 2017 On 9/29/2017 at 2:34 PM, Mike.Mara said: Ohh to be left alone in this room... Getting a qualification has extra perks! Wish I had thought of this room more before when doing my first build... Ohh well, I'll be utilising it well this time! Damn right you will! How are the machines set up? Good sharp blades and snipe-free? Those are excellent machines when they're in fine fettle. If the planer is sniping the ends, hot glue on some sacrificial sticks either side a foot longer both ends so the rollers engage before the piece and after it has gone through. Tip of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted October 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 19 hours ago, Prostheta said: Damn right you will! How are the machines set up? Good sharp blades and snipe-free? Those are excellent machines when they're in fine fettle. If the planer is sniping the ends, hot glue on some sacrificial sticks either side a foot longer both ends so the rollers engage before the piece and after it has gone through. Tip of the week. It's funny you should mention snipe . Fortunately the snipe is at the headstock end and doesn't come into play again until after the neck will end. But that tip is going to come into great use when I don't have over-sized stock! Thank you very much! The jointer is in real need of some up keep, the blades need replacing but unfortunately the college control the money and they consider it secondary. The hand tools there are in terrible condition and should really all just be thrown out, so I take my own. The rest of the machines in that room are actually set up pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 7, 2017 Report Share Posted October 7, 2017 The jointer only needs to set up a pair of 90° faces anyway, in which case you're good to finish it off with a thicknesser or even a table saw. Since a thicknesser that doesn't snipe or simply leave a clean face end-to-end isn't readily available to myself, I tend to use table saws for that. The school I gained my degrees at have machines which were astoundingly-well set up by the technician there. He was (still is) a great guy, and knows the game really well. Thicknessers don't snipe, jointers have co-planar beds with an outfeed perfectly level with the TDC of the cutter head, that kind of thing. Once you know a machine's eccentricities and "individual personality" you can work around the flaws and get your end product anyway. That is, as long as kids don't screw the machine's setup day after day, sitting on the beds and all that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted October 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2017 Right... I got off my ass yesterday and jointed and glued up a body blank. Really would love a bench jointer but the No. 7 Stanley does the job nicely, have an almost invisible joint this time round. Been working on the CNC too, trying to get it a bit more stable and rigid... Accuracy has yet to be tested since I'm considering making this one on it since there's some parts like the direct mount EMG I'll have trouble with by hand. If nothing else, the CNC makes a decent thicknesser. Back of the body isn't so pretty but I imagine the transparent black finish will take care of the look a little. Front is much nicer... Came of the CNC at a hair under 42MM. Will hopefully get some more done tomorrow provided I can find one of my longer bits... If not I'll have to order one in, I traded in Z axis movement for rigidity, now I need longer bits to compensate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 29, 2017 Report Share Posted October 29, 2017 Rigidity is always better for cut quality. A superior choice to a Z axis flapping in the breeze, blowing wood out and wandering as it wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted October 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2017 1 minute ago, Prostheta said: Rigidity is always better for cut quality. A superior choice to a Z axis flapping in the breeze, blowing wood out and wandering as it wishes. Indeed it is, when I first assembled this "kit" CNC, you could just look at it and it would wobble around. Slowly but surely it's getting better with every upgrade I'm forced to make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 30, 2017 Report Share Posted October 30, 2017 Well, that's the first thing you do with a CNC....build a CNC or make parts to upgrade your CNC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted October 30, 2017 Report Share Posted October 30, 2017 Replicators. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted October 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2017 11 hours ago, Prostheta said: Well, that's the first thing you do with a CNC....build a CNC or make parts to upgrade your CNC. You would have thought that after 3 years I would be done with the upgrades though . I did indeed have to buy new bits too... And a new collet, and a collet extension for my smaller bits so they can reach thinner work pieces. Time will tell if the extra length added will be a mistake for runout, but I did upgrade the bearings in my router a while ago as the stock ones lasted all of a few months with very little use. But that's what you get by buying a cheap Chinese knock-off Makita router . The runout did appear to improve a decent amount though . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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