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Black Limba Flying V


Stu.

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Whilst I'm waiting for the purple oddity to cure, I figured I might as well get started on this one. I bought the wood for my birthday, back in July, so it's about time I did something. It'll make good use of a lot of hardware I've had hanging around too.

The drawings look a little like this:

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Plan by S K, on Flickr

The shape is slightly too wide for my body slabs, which forced me to bulk out the centre with black limba, walnut and maple veneer. The neck is composed of black limba, wenge and maple veneer - the maple veneer wasn't long enough to make a complete neck blanks, so I've made a separate section for the scarf/headstock.

The neck laminates are glued and clamped at the moment, and I did lots of prep this weekend. Hopefully next weekend will see more glue action

Oh, and I treated myself to a tiny bandsaw on Christmas Eve (I think it's the cheapest one in the UK at the moment). It's a Titan thing from ScrewFix, which has been amazing so far. I gave it a decent set-up and it's exceeding my modest expectations.

Wood stock:

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

Centre block:

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

Body wood:

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

Neck wood:

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

Bookmatched headstock faceplate:

39561899521_f16e1097c1_b.jpg 

Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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On 08/01/2018 at 8:49 AM, Andyjr1515 said:

That's some very nice timber.  Looks like pretty neat jointing too :)

I look forward to seeing this develop.

 

22 hours ago, ScottR said:

This is going to be wicked!

SR

 

4 hours ago, pan_kara said:

I'm liking this idea and wood combinations. Do you have a plan for dealing with the tapering body chamfers?

Thank you, guys! I think I'll just take it very slow with a Shinto, other rasps, and sanding. Securing a wedge to the wing edge and running a guided chamfer cutter along would work, but I can't imagine I'd find a cutter with the right angle and proportions for that. Cross everything!

1 hour ago, killemall8 said:

That is a great looking V Design. where did you get the black limba?

I wish I could take full credit for it! I wanted something in the Ran InVader (the Jeff Waters signature model), King V or Mustaine V territory, but with a body size and bridge position that are better suited to someone short, like me. The limba was actually a chance eBay purchase; I think it was cheaper than usual, because it's a mess of black and white.

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15 minutes ago, Stu. said:

Thank you, guys! I think I'll just take it very slow with a Shinto, other rasps, and sanding. Securing a wedge to the wing edge and running a guided chamfer cutter along would work, but I can't imagine I'd find a cutter with the right angle and proportions for that. Cross everything!

ah a wedge, never though of that. Would work for the outer bits indeed. Aren't the chamfers simply 45 degrees? So a normal chamfer cutter would work (though might not be long enough). The back side is going to be tricky. Looking forward to seeing how you tackle that!

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On 09/01/2018 at 7:13 PM, pan_kara said:

ah a wedge, never though of that. Would work for the outer bits indeed. Aren't the chamfers simply 45 degrees? So a normal chamfer cutter would work (though might not be long enough). The back side is going to be tricky. Looking forward to seeing how you tackle that!

I'm honestly not sure <_< My Rhoads and Alexi models look like they're 45°, but the Ran looks a looks a low shallower. Hopefully I figure that bit out well before I come to it!

 

I did a lot of planing and glued a few things this weekend. The neck lamination has turned out really well, but I'm worried about how the body will be once I take the clamps off. Also, my bench planer has stopped working! It may have just got clogged with wood dust and overheated, so fingers crossed...

 

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr And the glue goes on:

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

The clamps came off last weekend and I assembled the blanks, after a little sanding:

28058516539_a8c5b496b0_b.jpg 

Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr Back:

39127784974_447cded47f_b.jpg 

Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr All of the wood stock ready for cutting:

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

 

The join is much tighter and cleaner than I was expecting.

Last weekend was also made interesting by my bench planer. It was starting to smell funny, kept cutting out, and the knives were slightly high at one end. I spent the weekend stripping it apart, so I could drill the knife retention bolts out and adjust everything - the hex heads were shafted. It turns out the motor brushes were also in a pretty bad state; one was just worn, but the other had snapped off and melted somewhere. Hence the lovely smell!

I bought one of these a couple of weeks back too:

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The plan is to use it for lighter routing tasks, because my 2kW Trend can be overkill.

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On 26/01/2018 at 2:49 PM, ScottR said:

That's an impressive assembly of parts.

SR

I'm trying my best not to ruin them!

PS. I wanted to roll with "that's what SHE said", but I shouldn't embarrass myself.

 

On 26/01/2018 at 3:52 PM, Pariahrob said:

This is going to be a pretty V! What finish are you going for?

Fingers crossed! I'm going to test a piece of scrap with grain filler and clear coat only. If it doesn't have enough warmth to it, I'll consider a light amber stain. It's too pretty to cover though!

 

Here's progress from the weekend:

39238926394_3a60e94445_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr : 25077661877_40016d0fe1_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on 39050877625_0a52a6cb9b_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 26076397528_747148a656_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 26076438388_667349e7c6_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 39948931431_2cf22fe2fa_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 39948930971_27d61d4358_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 39050879175_a416f50982_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr  39948930901_5be3eac43e_b.jpg 

Untitled by S K, on Flickr

 

I'm looking to improve repeatability of my methods with a few more jigs this time around. Winging it has been pretty stressful in the past, and I can do better. I've also been scouring eBay for secondhand no.5 planes!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Despite having loads of guitar stuff planned for last weekend, I spent most of it doing THIS for my brother:

25494875657_67de4e5b8b_b.jpgUntitled by S K, on Flickr

I made a template from the sink and then routed out the oak worktop. The drainage grooves were a NIGHTMARE. They needed a shallow degree of fall-away, which I incorporated with a jig, but everything shifted for the first cut; we had to duplicate the kicked line on the opposite end, to make it look like a deliberate feature <_< I'll stick to microbiology.

 

Scarf joints usually scare me, so I made a jig/brace to hold them. There are also two screws, using just the points to keep the wood in place.

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

 

I cut the fingerboard taper in too, and routed for adding binding BEFORE gluing it to the neck:

40345157401_359620cb07_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 40299980162_89f6f23b68_b.jpg 

Untitled by S K, on Flickr

 

After looking at planes for a while, I figured it made sense to buy a vintage model off eBay and try to restore it. I picked this Record no.5 jack plane (1931-195x) up for the same price as a new Irwin Record model. It was in pretty bad shape, with a crappy plastic handle (no rosewood or beech here), tonnes of rust, and a ruined paintjob.

26495897628_56bde2e13a_b.jpgUntitled by S K, on Flickr

I cleaned the rust away, stabilised the surface, and repainted. I also lapped and polished the sides. The handle needs a little more shaping, smoothing and drilling before it's ready.

40345156431_f9088fb15c_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr
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I went to The Guitar Show in Birmingham for lots of inspiration this weekend. It was nice to check out some independent builders and have a few chats. I've also ordered my templates, so I'm waiting for them to arrive before cracking on with the body. It was basically neck weekend...

 

Inlay test cuts:

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

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Untitled by S K, on Flickr

 

The faceplate isn't actually glued on yet. I'll do that next weekend, followed by truss rod routing. I need to get the inlay drawings finished and cut out too.

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*scrolls down scrolls down scrolls down scrolls down*
*hopes the bridge posts haven't been drilled yet*

Phew, FF for that. Okay, I think you need to re-confirm the location of your bridge. The compensation is great, however you're placing it a bit too far forward since a saddle is never moved forward of the minimum adjustment point when intonating.

I always base mine on the furthest forward that the saddles can be taken, then use that as the minimum. In practice this is still always going to get adjusted backwards, but represents the absolute minimum. The way it is placed in your current plan will easily push most of the saddles to the back of their ranges and possibly leave you without adequate adjustment range. ABR-1s do this very very easily, whereas Nashvilles are a bit more forgiving. ABM's TOM bridges and Hipshot's Tone-O-Matics have a longer throw still.

Anyway. The green line ahead of the bridge represents the absolute end of the scale. The TOM was located by taking the location of the high E saddle's witness point at the front of its range and raking it backwards from there. The more adjustment range you keep on your side, the better.

Love this build. I really think this is going to be a killer V.

Untitled.jpg

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On 26/02/2018 at 9:56 PM, Pariahrob said:

Fantastic timbers. Look great together and I’m  with Scott. That’ll look sweet once carved!

 

On 28/02/2018 at 4:58 PM, SOLLYGTRS said:

I ran out of 'likes'. Really inspiring work. I, for one, appreciate all of the pics you are posting.

Thank you, chaps! I tend to go OTT on the photos, but I find them helpful when I forget my order of work :lol:

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On 28/02/2018 at 7:55 PM, Prostheta said:

*scrolls down scrolls down scrolls down scrolls down*
*hopes the bridge posts haven't been drilled yet*

 

Thank you for the extra info! The drawing is pretty rough and more to illustrate the cosmetic side; I'm re-measuring and plotting as I go along, and I won't tackle the bridge post holes until the neck is in position. I'll definitely follow the principles of your diagram though! I was going to position the treble post at the absolute end of the scale length, so I'll reassess that when I come to drill the holes. I'm using a fairly chunky Nashville style bridge from Axetec too (it's been in one of my boxes for YEARS). Hopefully that'll be kind to me!

 

On 28/02/2018 at 7:58 PM, Prostheta said:

 

A router table in the kitchen?!

I LOVE IT :lol:

If only! I think he'd disown me if I turned his brand new kitchen into a workshop! <_<

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  • 3 weeks later...

The templates arrived a week or two back:

26724925828_3cf2d0b5fe_b.jpgUntitled by S K, on Flickr

40812427431_9f1630a9ea_b.jpgUntitled by S K, on Flickr

39917351385_1039c15ba1_b.jpgUntitled by S K, on Flickr

 

Progress! Headstock faceplate gluing, template prep, body routing and headstock routing: 39074430870_6a078fd164_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 27013850538_e526d498ae_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 26012100927_5170dac14b_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 40176282354_18f6da392b_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 26012100417_7fe32ed1fc_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 40842302962_ce91e85b15_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 40842293922_7f6af73605_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 40884005851_96b9f57fe4_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 40176217074_3a9a10e08b_b.jpg  Untitled by S K, on Flickr 39990465675_a7b881b271_b.jpg 

Untitled by S K, on Flickr

 

I'm pretty happy with the glue joints and the routing so far. I had to take it very slow, using shallow passes and a very sharp cutter for the points. There's a little furring, but no real tear-out to speak of. The only issue at this stage is that the ears weren't quite long enough for the headstock; the faceplate thickness shifted the front of the headstock further than I'd anticipated, so I'll have to sand the sides until the little right angle gets worked out.

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