First Build, so many lessons learned

[Prostheta]

If you have a contour pin gauge, it's worth comparing back and forth to paper. That is, tracing any target neck profile template to paper and also from the neck with a pin gauge to paper. Relying on one method alone can sometimes leave you guessing or less than confident about what to remove from where....if at all. Chalk and pencil marks help provide a guide to highlight any low spots.

You'll find what works for you very very quickly. Everybody's approach is unique in its own way, but it if works it works. I'm constantly refining how I work, which is most of the joy I take from it. That constant sense of improvement, experience and refinement. Have fun!

[beltjones]

In the KEA 2017 Builds thread Killemall8 (I think that's his handle) has used 8 forum pages to document upwards of 198 guitar builds. I'm on page 9 and haven't finished my first build. 

[beltjones]

Ok, at long last the neck carve is complete. 

I also gave the volute a bit of a carve, but I didn't get a picture. I will later.

I adjusted the truss rod a tiny amount to flatten out the neck, and I'll let it sit overnight to see if it moves at all before I start flattening, crowning, and dressing the frets. 

[beltjones]

And here's the cleaned up shaped up volute. 

It's still pretty beefy, but I'm going to leave it for now to see what it's like to play with it like that.

[curtisa]

Have you tried sitting with the guitar and 'ghosting' some chord shapes on the fretboard to see how it feels? A few open position chords and maybe a F barre chord in the first position would give you a pretty quick indication how the volute sits against your hand.

[ScottR]

On 4/4/2018 at 7:48 AM, beltjones said:

In the KEA 2017 Builds thread Killemall8 (I think that's his handle) has used 8 forum pages to document upwards of 198 guitar builds. I'm on page 9 and haven't finished my first build. 

Luis (@killemall8) pretty much shares finished or mostly finished product these days. He showed progress in his earlier days. He has always been a remarkably fast builder, particularly considering the high quality of his builds. He's got his process very refined at this point.

On the other hand, compared to @Norris and @mattharris75 you are blazing right along.

SR

[ScottR]

11 hours ago, curtisa said:

Have you tried sitting with the guitar and 'ghosting' some chord shapes on the fretboard to see how it feels? A few open position chords and maybe a F barre chord in the first position would give you a pretty quick indication how the volute sits against your hand.

My volute has a similar look, and one of the constructive criticisms I sometimes get is that it gets in the way of this particular players thumb. Not mine so much. I have taken to ramping the transition from neck to volute to guide my thumb around it when playing in that position.

SR

[beltjones]

13 hours ago, curtisa said:

Have you tried sitting with the guitar and 'ghosting' some chord shapes on the fretboard to see how it feels? A few open position chords and maybe a F barre chord in the first position would give you a pretty quick indication how the volute sits against your hand.

Ok, I did that and the volute didn't seem to be in the way at all. I'm going to leave it as is for now.

[mattharris75]

5 hours ago, ScottR said:

Luis (@killemall8)

On the other hand, compared to @Norris and @mattharris75 you are blazing right along.

SR

Hey, I..... Yeah, that's true. 

[Andyjr1515]

21 hours ago, beltjones said:

Ok, at long last the neck carve is complete. 

I also gave the volute a bit of a carve, but I didn't get a picture. I will later.

I adjusted the truss rod a tiny amount to flatten out the neck, and I'll let it sit overnight to see if it moves at all before I start flattening, crowning, and dressing the frets. 

Still difficult to believe that this is your first build!  From a personal perspective the volute is a bit large for my taste-  but I LOVE the heel to body transition!!!!

[beltjones]

A little progress pic for the day. I leveled, crowned, dressed, and polished frets. I still need to clean up some superglue mess here and there, but then I'm ready to make a nut.

[killemall8]

On 4/4/2018 at 6:48 AM, beltjones said:

In the KEA 2017 Builds thread Killemall8 (I think that's his handle) has used 8 forum pages to document upwards of 198 guitar builds. I'm on page 9 and haven't finished my first build. 

Is that how many its been? i lost track a long time ago.
Ive been thinking about how i should take more progress pics these days as well as instructional/ documentary videos.

[beltjones]

Spoiler alert:  Everything turned out ok.

With the nut cut it's time to mount tuners. So I used a template I made earlier (top right in the picture) to lay out where the tuners would go, then double checked against the nut slots to hopefully get as close to a straight string pull as possible. 

Then I marked the drill points with an awl, and drilled pilot holes with a small drill bit. 

The hipshot tuners call for a 10mm bit, and previously I purchased a 10mm brad-point bit just for this task. I aligned the brad point with the pilot hole for the low E string tuner and reminded myself to go slow, keep the bit straight, and the pressure light. My plan was to drill about half way through from the front, then flip the guitar over and drill most of the other way from the back, and then lightly, lightly finish from the front. 

I began to drill and quickly learned that this drill bit was the dullest piece of crap I've ever used. I began adding more and more pressure to try to get the bit to bite, and mostly I just created enough friction to burn a hole through the wood. 

I should have just stopped there and bought a new bit. 

Instead I applied pretty much all the pressure I could and drilled that mother. By the time I finished drilling the first half of each of the 6 tuning peg holes the drill was almost too hot to touch. I let it cool off for a second and flipped the guitar over and started again from the back. Finally the joint between the shank of the bit and the cutting end failed, and I tossed it in the trash. 

I ended up finishing each hole with a reamer and a small circular file and then did a test fit of the tuners, and everything fit well. 

Instead of straight sides on the nut, I made them fit the curvature of the headstock. I'm not sure I like it though. I might straighten all that out later.

[Prostheta]

I love receiving good news like this. 

[Norris]

On 06/04/2018 at 2:20 PM, ScottR said:

On the other hand, compared to @Norris and @mattharris75 you are blazing right along.

SR

Oi! 

That bleached wenge looks fantastic - even more so as the rest of the build comes together. Lovely stuff!

[pan_kara]

On 4/7/2018 at 3:57 AM, killemall8 said:

Is that how many its been? i lost track a long time ago.
Ive been thinking about how i should take more progress pics these days as well as instructional/ documentary videos.

Yes!!! do that

[beltjones]

I'm at the stage of the build where a backordered part or tool sets the whole timeline back. Previously if I didn't have a part I could just look at my list of to-dos and pick something else to work on, but now everything is sequenced to the point that if I can't work on the next step then I can't work on anything. For example, I pulled out my little can of shielding paint only to find that it was solid as a rock. I ordered more, but until it arrives I can't really proceed to wiring anything, and in the meantime I have the whole thing masked off so final sanding of the body and finishing is going to have to wait. 

[Prostheta]

That is literally my life. No so much backordered parts, more the ability to get everything together whilst keeping bills paid! Stop-start-stop-start.

[Stu.]

I don't know if this is helpful, but I've seen people using these Bosch tile bites for tuner and bridge holes:

I've bought one myself in the hope that it'll drill clean, accurate holes... particularly through cured finish, which has a tendency to crack.  It seems worth experimenting with.

[beltjones]

I ordered some shielding paint and painted cavities, and drilled the string-through holes with a drill press.

The bit wandered a tiny amount in the wood, but I think I can square the holes up a bit when I drill the recesses for the string ferules. 

The shielding paint looks good to me, but I can't get a read with my multimeter on it at all. I used www.guitarfetish.com's shielding paint, and it specifies 105 ohms per square inch of resistivity (not sure how that differs from resistance), but if I set my multimeter to 200 ohms it doesn't show a resistance reading at all. Anyone know about this stuff?

[curtisa]

Try setting your multimeter to the next highest resistance range (probably 2000 ohms). Put your probes a bit closer together when probing the painted surface.

IME the conductive paint isn't so great when used for shielding, but it's better than nothing. More coats helps. A smoother surface helps.

[beltjones]

4 hours ago, Stu. said:

I don't know if this is helpful, but I've seen people using these Bosch tile bites for tuner and bridge holes:

I've bought one myself in the hope that it'll drill clean, accurate holes... particularly through cured finish, which has a tendency to crack.  It seems worth experimenting with.

Let me know how it works out (or I"ll just keep checking your build thread(s), that's probably easier).

[beltjones]

I got this message back from guitarfetish.com.

It is NOT going to show resistance on a meter- Try this- run a 9 volt battery to a lightbulb- attach negative to one post of the  the bulb, touch the other to the dried paint and touch the positive from the battery to the paint as far away as you can- you'll find this paint will pass current like nothing else- You could paint two stripes on the floor and light up a lightbulb 30 yards away! It produces a near perfect faraday cage and we have sold thousands- and people are reporting excellent results!

[Prostheta]

21 hours ago, Stu. said:

I don't know if this is helpful, but I've seen people using these Bosch tile bites for tuner and bridge holes:

I've bought one myself in the hope that it'll drill clean, accurate holes... particularly through cured finish, which has a tendency to crack.  It seems worth experimenting with.

 

I wouldn't use either. Mostly because those bits grind rather than cut/slice, but also because they move waste from the centre outwards which produces a ragged edge. Forstner bits or lip n' spur. Nothing else.

[Prostheta]

20 minutes ago, beltjones said:

I got this message back from guitarfetish.com.

It is NOT going to show resistance on a meter- Try this- run a 9 volt battery to a lightbulb- attach negative to one post of the  the bulb, touch the other to the dried paint and touch the positive from the battery to the paint as far away as you can- you'll find this paint will pass current like nothing else- You could paint two stripes on the floor and light up a lightbulb 30 yards away! It produces a near perfect faraday cage and we have sold thousands- and people are reporting excellent results!

 

They're being very emphatic with that response, and it involves a LOT (hah) of distinct claims which might not stand up for many reasons. Even pure copper tape over 30 yards will show a lot of voltage drop/resistance, so how they claim this stuff is better than that is puzzling.

Perhaps you should ask them if anybody in fact HAS (hah, more caps) painted two thirty-yard lines and tried to light a bulb. I would say that this is unlikely.

Additionally, re-read the last bit in the voice of Trump. It possesses many of the 3rd grade aspects of one of his tweets.