Crusader Posted October 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2019 Cool idea I will try that! So I've glued veneer on one side so far and I am confident it will work. With the f-holes cut it allows the top to flex and get better contact between the two surfaces. So without further adieu some pictures (as we say here) "or it never happened" I got it all prepared to do both sides but will decide later. What I did today is the RH side here I used a piece of veneer I made to protect the top when clamping. Bizman, I frantically looked around for some rubber matting to follow your suggestion but after a dummy run I decided it should be okay Too many clamps? I gave it 3 hours, hopefully long enough for Titebond I think this will work out just fine but I really wish I would not mess things up in the first place. I could have put the time into cutting frets or something useful So here's something different, fitting a door that someone else has measured. I'm not always fixing up my own mistakes! I do other people's as well. In this case when people measure a door they don't realise there is a rebate at the bottom. They always measure from the wrong side. I just glued a piece of wood along the bottom, not all that difficult but takes up a bit of time The other thing I got done today is a start on the back 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted October 3, 2019 Report Share Posted October 3, 2019 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Crusader said: Bizman, I frantically looked around for some rubber matting to follow your suggestion I save every piece I get from the Chinese little packages containing guitar hardware. Another source might be your local hardware store as it's widely used under laminate flooring to reduce clacking. 6 minutes ago, Crusader said: I could have put the time into cutting frets or something useful Fixing issues is the most useful skill to learn in guitar building - as well as in anything. A trained monkey can put a square block into a square hole but can it reshape a round block to fit that hole? Edited October 3, 2019 by Bizman62 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted October 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2019 Got the Back shaped and its a bit thin but fairly even. It ranges from 3mm to 4.2mm some pictures 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted October 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2019 I got around to measuring the thickness of the back all over and its mostly 3.5 to 4.0 millimetres and I'm happy with that. I used a "Beaver" drill bit on the f-hole patch (I think I bought that thing in the 1980's and finally found a use for it!. I blended the patch into the underside of the top with an orbital sander Pictures = Proof Now all I gotta do is buy some popsicles..... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 12, 2019 Report Share Posted October 12, 2019 Nice carve work you've done there. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted November 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 On 10/13/2019 at 1:28 AM, ScottR said: Nice carve work you've done there. SR Cheers, thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted November 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 Hey a bit of progress lately. I glued the back on Then trimmed it with a nasty machine Then used another nasty machine After sanding round the edges I wasn't happy with the result... So I made yet another Template so I could router the back And finally smoothing out the dips and bumps Then onto the other end using some High-Tech graphic design tools And now shh THE SECRET NUMBERS! I made this Fret Scale ruler with an angled edge to help transfer the line to the Fretboard, don't know if you can see it Now just check with the R9 and it was spot on. I know I should use A STEEL RULER but they're just so hard to read from! And on with the job Now with the slots cut I have a dilemma, should I Radius then bind or bind then Radius? If the slots end up being too shallow afterward I will be in big trouble. I cut down to this line which seems rather deep but after doing the Radius its surprising how much comes off. I think I should Radius then bind, any opinions or thoughts? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted November 3, 2019 Report Share Posted November 3, 2019 2 hours ago, Crusader said: I think I should Radius then bind, any opinions or thoughts? That should keep your fret slots deep enough. Solid logic there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Yes, do the radius before you bind so you can double check the slots are deep enough once the binding is on, otherwise it's a real PITA to make the slots deeper once the binding is on (although your slots look plenty deep enough from the above pic). You'll also have the option of doing nibbed frets if you want to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted November 9, 2019 Report Share Posted November 9, 2019 fantastic build. thanks for sharing here as this thread will be a great resource for folks traveling this route. nice work. looks like it will be a beauty build. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 11, 2019 Report Share Posted November 11, 2019 Hi I visit the forum a LOT. But, to my shame, I tend to go straight to the 'Members Builds' section rather than the 'Tech Area' section. This is a wonderful build and very, very well illustrated. And as for 'unorthodox methods' - well, that's my middle name Apols for not finding this earlier but I'm very pleased I've found it now! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted November 11, 2019 Report Share Posted November 11, 2019 13 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said: Hi I visit the forum a LOT. But, to my shame, I tend to go straight to the 'Members Builds' section rather than the 'Tech Area' section. This is a wonderful build and very, very well illustrated. And as for 'unorthodox methods' - well, that's my middle name Apols for not finding this earlier but I'm very pleased I've found it now! The Unread Content button shows all! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted November 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2019 Wow thanks everyone for your kinds words, I haven't been on in a while and thought its time to update the progress and what a pleasant surprise to find these comments, cheers! Well the frets are in now and it went surprisingly well. I used to find if I did the fret slots first they would clog up when doing the radius. But this time I had no problem and I think the board is very well dried, its a beautiful piece of Rosewood Its the first time I've done nibbed frets and that also went very well. I have strung it up and played a bit and there's not too much buzzing with about 1.4mm action at the end of the fretboard! I had this timber from an old dunny door and decided to use it for a radius jig... However it was hard to use so I soon made another one ...And I found that rubber matting I was looking for the other day. The neck fits snuggly into the jig with that blue foam in place. This jig is far superior to the other one. The guitar just goes in and out with ease, so I can check the straightness Before I did the radius of course there were the fret dots. I looked high and low and couldn't believe I did not have a 7mm drill bit!. So that was a trip to Bunnings, and once in the shed it was time for some modifications to make it suit the needs. I didn't do a very good job of it and it wandered a bit Dot Dot Dot ... a couple of them were too deep so I used some Plastic-Bond Now on with the binding. I trimmed it down and it needed squaring off any way, the edges are somewhat rounded Then fun with frets! (much more fun than flags) And now with the frets in I can relax and have the feeling like the WAR IS OVER 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted November 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2019 By the way while was posting these photos I've been listening to this, its exactly what I would have done when I was younger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted November 18, 2019 Report Share Posted November 18, 2019 Alas those aren't nibbed frets, those are bound frets. Nibbed frets are when you fret first, file the fret ends down to be level with the binding channel and the binding goes up to the frets. Watch the master (Freddy Gabrsek) do it in the video below (I must have watched this series 10 times). Great work all the same, I love a bound fretboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted November 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2019 (edited) Oh yeah! thanks for the correction, I have to get my terminology right. I will be doing nibbed frets on another guitar so that video will come in handy. Wish I had MOP inlays instead of just dots, that's a nice looking neck Talking about nibbed frets, when I bought my ES-137 a few years ago I heard they were a bit hit-and-miss with quality and one of those things was the fret nibs. Somebody posting a complaint about their ES thought they were little things that Gibson put on the ends of the frets LOL Edited November 19, 2019 by Crusader further comment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted November 19, 2019 Report Share Posted November 19, 2019 8 hours ago, Crusader said: Oh yeah! thanks for the correction, I have to get my terminology right. I will be doing nibbed frets on another guitar so that video will come in handy. Wish I had MOP inlays instead of just dots, that's a nice looking neck Talking about nibbed frets, when I bought my ES-137 a few years ago I heard they were a bit hit-and-miss with quality and one of those things was the fret nibs. Somebody posting a complaint about their ES thought they were little things that Gibson put on the ends of the frets LOL Well I guess they are little things on the end of the frets. There is always lots of talk about Gibson quality control and lack of it. I've only played a few proper Gibbos - a few of les paul customs and SG standard, I've gotta say none of them have been bad in terms of playability. The SG I played recently had some sloppy inlay work (IMO) but the nibs/binding was done very well and it played wonderfully. As I understand it, they've moved factories again so the Memphis factory where they made the ES models is no longer, that's bound to have an affect on the instruments coming out of production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted November 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2019 Yes well I wonder what it was about Memphis, apparently some were made in the Custom Shop as was mine although it still had sawdust in the body LOL More about nibs, I read somewhere that some people really like them and want to keep them when getting a re-fret. Personally I prefer the way they're done on my Songwriter. Now that I understand what they are and everything I reckon its just slack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted November 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2019 So nobody noticed my little "sort-of' pun? "War is over"....11.11.19 Never mind I still have to do the sanding....and the lacquering...AND the masking. I don't know which part of guitar making is the hardest! With this guitar I made the neck angle a bit too shallow for a regular Tunomatic Bridge. I was going to use a Bone Saddle but the angle is too much for that...so I made one out of Rosewood. I would prefer Ebony but will see how it goes The accoustic style saddle is yet another unconventional way of doing things which I've done before. Its a much easier way of having an accoustic pickup and I haven't had issues with intonation. I just don't change the string gauge I decided to go with the usual 2 Humbucker combo. I've got a middle pickup in the template but don't think I will have one on this project The Neck pickup is at the same location as my R9 but the Bridge is 3mm closer to the saddle. Sometimes I can be very pedantic. When I got around to making the template I had no information with me and was going off memory and I was going off the deep end kicking myself for leaving things at home I knew the centre of the Bridge pu was 39mm from the saddle but which side? I went with the 6th string side but was supposed to be 1st string side making it 587mm from Nut. But that won't make an ounce of difference in sound and it took out all those holes I drilled. (mental note: DON'T drill holes in pickup area close to edge!) AND DON'T LEAVE THINGS AT HOME!! Next was shaping pickup rings. Quite an easy task so I had some fun then found some in my parts drawer that were already shaped LOL Next thing I did was make room for the long pole pieces that Gibbo pickups have Next THE TRUSS ROD I had some that were already threaded but I wasn't happy that the thread is not straight. I did a google and found an idea and made my own version of it The photo turned out a bit blurry but you can see the thread is straight And now for the anchor nut, I have lots of door lock parts around and what a bonus this part has the same thread that I need! I've had a few ideas on how to anchor the Truss rod and this is the best I think A Gibson style guitar with a Fender bullet! And just for the record for anyone who likes the idea of keeping thread straight However if I was to do this I would use a drill press 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 This is a fascinating build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 love this build. I hope to aspire to building something like that at some point. inspiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted December 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2019 Hi, thanks for your comments it's much apreciated Although its bothering me that maybe I should have put some bracing in the back. I can see myself in the near future trying to glue bits of wood through the f-holes. Always making things hard for myself! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted December 5, 2019 Report Share Posted December 5, 2019 32 minutes ago, Crusader said: Hi, thanks for your comments it's much apreciated Although its bothering me that maybe I should have put some bracing in the back. I can see myself in the near future trying to glue bits of wood through the f-holes. Always making things hard for myself! def do a vid if you do that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted December 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2019 On 12/6/2019 at 12:53 AM, mistermikev said: def do a vid if you do that! ROFL...shall I leave out the cuss words? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader Posted December 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 I got this thing strung up and running with a 57 Classic in the neck. It sounds a bit "Wooly" on the 6th string, or perhaps you'd call it "Boomy" but nothing too much of a problem. It sounds good accousticly as well as plugged in. A lot of accoustic guitars sound a bit "Tinny" when unplugged. I've got a set of Phat Cats that I might like to try in this one 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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