JimF Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 Hi All, I'm starting a build thread mainly to keep track of my progress and also for hints & tips if anyone stops me going wrong somewhere, and encouragement if I get disheartened! As per the title, this is my first build from scratch. Like everyone else I've done a few parts builds, but I've also got experience with woodwork from a little knifemaking sideline I've done until changing jobs recently. For those who are interested, here are some pics: Back to the case in hand! I'm building the following: 6 string Blackmachine type guitar Tulip Poplar body Maple top (below average figuring) Padauk neck with wenge centre strip & white laminates (0.6mm thick), scarf joint into headstock. Ebony ferret Fixed Hipshot-style bridge Locking tuners Still undecided on pickups, I have a single Sentient, but I fancy white/zebra pups in this build so am toying with the idea of a set of Irongear pickups. For the price I don't think I can go wrong. Colour and finish wise I'll be going for an unfinished neck, oiled body and stained top. Haven't decided whether to go for oiled satin finish on the top or wipe on poly buffed to a high gloss. Colour will be a light brown/dark amber non burst. I'm cheating with this build as I have bought a pre-slotted, pre-radiused fretboard, and I'll be using router templates On to pics! Router templates from http://www.templatesandjigs.com/ Photos from the eBay listing of the top wood: This is the type of finish I'm aiming for colour wise: Pics of the raw materials: Looking forward to getting started in the coming weeks! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 2 hours ago, JimF said: Still undecided on pickups, I have a single Sentient, but I fancy white/zebra pups in this build so am toying with the idea of a set of Irongear pickups. For the price I don't think I can go wrong. I reckon you'll be more than happy with Irongear. For the price of a dinner at your local they're hard to beat. 2 hours ago, JimF said: I'm cheating with this build as I have bought a pre-slotted, pre-radiused fretboard, and I'll be using router templates That's hardly cheating. You've still got to chop all the woody bits to the right shape and do that joiny-gluey thing to stick them together properly. 2 hours ago, JimF said: Ebony ferret I hope you asked his permission first 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF Posted March 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 Thanks! Just need to get stuck in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariahrob Posted March 17, 2018 Report Share Posted March 17, 2018 Nice assortment of materials you have there. Keep an eye on that tulipwood. It can be soft in places and needs care not to chew itself up when you route. Slow and steady will get you there though. Templates are not cheating and a preslotted board isn’t a bad thing for your first build. Good luck and prepare to be bitten by the build bug! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu. Posted March 18, 2018 Report Share Posted March 18, 2018 On 17/03/2018 at 6:29 PM, JimF said: I'm cheating with this build as I have bought a pre-slotted, pre-radiused fretboard, and I'll be using router templates Cheating? That's some smart outsourcing in my eyes If you're short on time, it's worth spending the extra £15-20 to have the board slotted and radiused. You'll need to check the slot depths and polish the board up, but it'll give you more confidence. Everyone uses router templates too; only real thrillseekers go freehand! Oh, and IronGear pickups are excellent, especially for the price. Pace yourself and enjoy the ride! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF Posted March 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2018 I have to admit I did wonder if the slots were deep enough, but we shall cross that bridge when we arrive at it! I have broken down the whole build process in my head, and (I may regret saying this but) the whole guitar building thing seems not so much complicated, but a series of relatively straight forward but highly accurate tasks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariahrob Posted March 18, 2018 Report Share Posted March 18, 2018 Couldn’t agree more. Break it down into small neatvtasks and take care with your measurements and cuts and you’ll do just great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 18, 2018 Report Share Posted March 18, 2018 Hey JimF. Taking the plunge? Go for it mate You look all set and plenty of support here should you need it. Ditto on the templates and pre-slotted fretboard... Use those myself. Look forward to seeing this progress into a work of art. Nice knife handles too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 18, 2018 Report Share Posted March 18, 2018 Nice to see some knife work, I do a bit of that myself. It looks like you've got a Bo Diddly half way done! SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF Posted March 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 15 hours ago, KempGuitars said: Hey JimF. Taking the plunge? Go for it mate You look all set and plenty of support here should you need it. Ditto on the templates and pre-slotted fretboard... Use those myself. Look forward to seeing this progress into a work of art. Nice knife handles too! Thanks! Flattered you like the knives! Means a lot coming from you. I just need my own Lion Blanket ™️ now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF Posted April 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 Ok - stupid question number one. When gluing neck strips together, I’m alright to use white PVA aren’t I? Im finding conflicting info online, and I hate using epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted April 6, 2018 Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 You're gluing Padauk and Wenge into a laminated neck? Information I can see with a five minute search is that Padauk may be the most troublesome of the two, but PVA should work provided the glue is fresh. Wiping the surface of the Padauk prior to gluing with acetone to remove any potential oily residue may also assist the adhesion. If in doubt, do a test on an offcut of each to see how well it holds together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF Posted April 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2018 Thanks! I’ve been searching too and have already bought the acetone and also some 0.6mm veneer to help the two adhere to each other. As long as white PVA wood glue will ok I think I’m good to go! test glue is a fantastic idea. I’ll try that shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted April 9, 2018 Report Share Posted April 9, 2018 I did glue a padouk/wenge neck with titebond without any problems. Should look cool with a maple veneer! You're gonna have a lot of fun when aligning the scarf joint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF Posted May 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2018 Overdue update, but I'm determined not to rush things. I've also sold my car, bought a new one, resigned, job hunted and then started a new job - so plenty on my mind & to keep me busy! Pictures are pretty self explanatory, but that's never stopped me waffling before! First pic is the obligatory layout photo, showing the padauk strips, wenge centre, and white mystery veneer strips. Why mystery veneer I hear you say? Because I forgot what I ordered. The laminates were cut on the bandsaw, before being trued up with the Safe-T-Planer, planes, spokeshave and scrapers, each used in differing orders with varying degrees of success. Glue applied liberally, and then clamped up, I applied a secret weapon to stop the veneers curling as they were glued... Staples! It was then brought into the house, and left in the dining room to be forgotten about and subsequently tripped over. A few days later it was time to straighten everything out, make sure it was true and flush. N.B. Wenge is brutally hard compared to what I'm used to with my knifemaking history! I thought maple was hard! Artistic shot, including delicious looking curls Off centre, I know, but starting to look more like it should! Sanding belt cut, and then double-side-taped to the bench for sanding on a larger scale Distance shots including messy bench! If your bench/workshop isn't messy, are you even making progress?... Scarf angle measured! Then cut on the bandsaw, then sanded on the bench mounted paper. Then to the belt sander as the guard worked as a handy guide at the correct angle. There's a slight low spot at the nearest edge (hence the curve in the line) but I'm not overly concerned about this at this stage. Then I started with the piece I intend to scarf onto the neck blank. This was about 50mm thick, so I ran it through the bandsaw, then due to inexperience/lack of attention/not enough coffee, it ended up slanted/wedge shaped and needed correcting. Out came the Safe-T-Planer setup including the trusty old-shelf rest. My fence/guard for the setup was the same height as the piece of wood I was working on. So I got the double sided tape, and fixed two offcuts to the base to even it up (after sanding flat & true). Sanded again on the bench mounted paper, and ran it through the planer. Action shot - mind your fingers! Back to the bench-sandpaper, to remove any marks And a bit of light sanding later: Then a cheeky mock up - Looks alright I think! Not bad progress for a weekend in my opinion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted May 21, 2018 Report Share Posted May 21, 2018 5 hours ago, JimF said: Not bad progress for a weekend in my opinion! Not at all! Looking good. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF Posted May 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 Thanks! Realised I’ve done an 11degree scarf instead of 7 as per the norm for BM style builds. Can’t see it being an issue but want to research a bit just in case before I glue anything up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 IMO you went from too shallow to just perfect. 11-13 seems to be the sweet spot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 good work so far- gotta love the safe-t-planer! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 13 hours ago, JimF said: Realised I’ve done an 11degree scarf instead of 7 as per the norm for BM style builds. Can’t see it being an issue but want to research a bit just in case before I glue anything up PRS headstock angle is pretty shallow. Some sources suggest between 7 and 10 degrees. I've used 14 deg for all my builds without issue. I can't imagine you'll have any problems with 11 deg. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF Posted May 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 Thanks! Phew! Remembered I need to take the fretboard thickness into account so need to remove another approximately 6mm from the neck blank. Going to try and borrow a thicknesser as I’m not a fan of the Safe-T-Planer on larger pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 All very by the numbers Jim! Headstock angles are - in my opinion - a combination of personal taste and the demands of the build. Shallow angles are crap for tuners (and headstock designs) than require a bit of break over the nut, larger angles crap for necks without scarf joints to get rid of short grain. I choose mine whimsically, or if I'm not in a thinking mood, randomly. At least, I can't recall having any rules I try to stick to, anyway..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF Posted July 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2018 Slow progress... Wasn't overly impressed with the results from the Safe-T Planer. No real issue with the product, I just think the bearings in my bench drill have seen better days, leading to play and a not-so-good surface finish. Also the working 'throat' of the bench drill now setup as a planer meant I would need to find another way to thickness my body blank. Most of the planer thicknessers were either insanely expensive or only had a 11"-12" max width. Now my body blank is 12"-13" so things were against me. I decided to make a router thicknesser jig! I've always been a big fan of the most complicated way of doing a simple thing, but here it is: It works well! and with molegrips to avoid any unwanted movement, I've a pretty damn good setup! I've already ran the neck blank through this (more on this later!) and decided to make a start on the body tonight. One thing I realised was when standing at the table, was just how close my balls were to the router. Having heard horror stories, I decided I needed to protect the boys. Not quite bulletproof, but should provide peace of mind at least! And there's more protection than before! Spent a decent amount of time tonight on it, playing with it, tweaking, setting it up etc, and managed to two a good two or so passes over the entire body width. This takes longer than you think! My plan is to keep on with the passes, and get it down to approx 32mm. Then flip it and do a pass on the back as the blank is ever so slightly cupped. I believe most Blackmachine guitars are 30-35mm thick, and I have a 5mm maple top to add to this. I also have a guitar with a 40mm body and because it is heavily contoured on the back it feels pretty thin. I suppose with the blank currently being about 46mm I should have this down to a working final thickness by October :D Also, I mentioned earlier on about the neck blank; tonight started with gluing that up! With plenty of excess wood at either end, I believe we're going to be okay with this. Quietly confident with this, or, more humbly, not concerned with potential errors. I think I earned this! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted July 19, 2018 Report Share Posted July 19, 2018 I'm a bit late to the party on this. Great looking neck woods! I was interested to see your experience with the safe-t-planer. I have a pro builder friend who uses one for hesdstock plates and swears by them. Personally, they scare the willies out of me! Good call to opt for a slotted board first off - the learning curve is steep enough as it is and the main objective for a first build is a successful result. Watching with interest and yes, you deserved that ice-cream 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woden Posted July 19, 2018 Report Share Posted July 19, 2018 Jim, I'm also from the SS forums (Walshy) and it's nice to see you posting here as well. The guys are extremely knowledgeable and helpful - Pros is like 24/7 luthier support! Did you get that bookmatched top from a certain seller in China, by the way? I thought I recognised the picture as I love me a bargain off eBay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.