LoneWolf121188 Posted April 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 with fiber, wouldn't you need 12 fibers (one for each dot) running down the neck? that would take up a lot of room in that tiny neck (dont forget the truss rod). Sudden idea : couldn't you route channels in the neck twice or 3x the depth of one fiber? then you could stack the fibers on top of each other. Is the hard part the light box or the fibers? would you need one LED per fiber or could you do multiple fibers per LED? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 You should put together kit's I'd buy them from you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 with fiber, wouldn't you need 12 fibers (one for each dot) running down the neck? that would take up a lot of room in that tiny neck (dont forget the truss rod). For a 24 fret neck, you would need 12 fibers (unless you are really good at working with the stuff and are able to create a bulkhead inside the neck and split it out). With .75mm fiber, the size of the bundled cable is less than 1/8" so it is possible. Another possibility is to run a 2 or 3mm cable to the neck and then join it with the 12 smaller cables. With a bolt-on neck - it's tricky to deal with the neck/body joint and transfer the light as efficiently as possible. One problem is that the neck pickup takes up much of the space needed to position a 2 or 3mm cable at the pocket (since the larger cable doesn't bend very well). That's why I'm looking into just using the 12 smaller cables and running them into the neck just like I normally do with wires. Is the hard part the light box or the fibers? would you need one LED per fiber or could you do multiple fibers per LED? You would use many cables per LED (as many as you can fit). That's why you can save so much battery life. The hard part is the fibers themselves - they don't bend easily and they are tricky to join together at a split or junction point (at least it is to get a good strong/reliable connection). There are connectors available but mostof them (if not all of them) are made for external applications and are quite large. I have not seen any connectors that would be useful in a tight area such as a fretboard or neck. I think it's worth going through all of this to see if something decent can be figured out. If not, embedding LED's in the neck isn't such a horrible thing . Kits might be a good idea - I'll certainly pass along info at the very least if I make progress. My last order got shipped to the wrong person so I have to wait a while to even get started on my latest plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf121188 Posted April 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 Im not planning on using a neck pup, so that may help me in my case. its cheaper and easyer to do it that way neway. I could put the lights where the pup would go, and that would give me a strait shot at the neck...what do you think? what do you need connectors for? if you route the channels, bolt the neck, add the fibers, THEN put the fretboard on...i have a feeling thats gonna cause problems later in the construction... how do you end the fiber? glue it to the inlay dot? [edit] are you talking about front or side dots here? cuz im talking about front...[/edit] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted April 16, 2004 Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 what do you need connectors for? if you route the channels, bolt the neck, add the fibers, THEN put the fretboard on...i have a feeling thats gonna cause problems later in the construction... I was talking about a connector in the sense that I would need something to gather the strands and focus them into one point so that the light can transfer from the body to the neck. They do exist but they are all way too large. I'm actually going to run the fiber as if they were wires now so it's not an issue. If I didn't do that - I think I would have used shrink tubing and a 3mm piece of fiber but even that is tricky to get everything nice and flat and mated properly. Yes, not having a neck pickup will be a huge help with using fiber. I'm dealing with that issue right now and it's a real pain. I'm dealing with side dots for now. I don't really know what the best way would be for doing the front dots the way you are describing. I honestly would probably go with LEDs since the installation would be much easier. If you decide to go with fiber, the only thing I can think of would be to drill a small hole to feed the fiber into (and epoxy it in) and the lay the MOP over the top oif it. Obviously, if you don't have anything to hold the fiber upright, it's not going to work. What I mean by that is - you would have a hell of a time trying to epoxy the fiber perpendicular to the MOP without something physically there to help hold it. I still don't know how well that would work since you need a very small fiber to make that tight of a bend (and not have the truss rod pushing on it). What size fiber are you using? For me, this is all just an experiment and I'm learning as I go. So far, I miss the LED installation - fiber is very challenging to deal with under a fretboard. I wish I could find right angle light pipes that were small enough to fit under the fretboard. All of the light pipes that I have seen are designed for much larger applications. Any ideas on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf121188 Posted April 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2004 a quick search on google, and nothing... thinner fibers are much more bendable than thicker ones, right? what if, instead of having 12 fibers run down the neck, you had, say, 120 really really thin ones. would that help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsherman2006 Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Hi. I was admiring that awesome LED guitar, and I was thinking about taking a saga kit and taking off the fretboard, putting in some red front dots, and making a kickass guitar.....anyway, i was wondering if you guys could give me the basics of what to do. So far, I'm thinking I will take a dremel and drill holes where the inlays were, then rout two channels parallel to the truss rod channel. I would cut small slits under the fretboard for the LED leads, then hook everything together in a parallel circuit, leaving a hole for the two wires at the butt of the neck, and running the wires to an on/off switch and a 4 AA battery box. I was wondering what you guys think about the feasibility/correctness/chance of happening of this, and maybe give me some hints on how you did them. Thanks a lot. Neal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsherman2006 Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 also, after spending some time on the sims website, I was wondering what you could use to get that magnifying effect for the actual inlay? I'm looking to use something clear and something that makes the led's real bright. Thanks. Neal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsherman2006 Posted April 21, 2004 Report Share Posted April 21, 2004 sorry to be so impatient, but does anyone have any info? I really want to try LED's out(on a saga kit) and really need some info. I would really appreciate any help. Thanks lots. Neal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf121188 Posted April 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2004 read this whole thread and this one (the end of it, anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted April 23, 2004 Report Share Posted April 23, 2004 nsherman2006 - I pulled my pics from that thread - if you have any questions or need info - send me a message and I'll share what I know. I'm currently working on a neck with fiber optics instead of embedding the LEDs. I honestly don't know which I like better yet. The fiber has a lot of things going for it but the biggest negative is the size/bending radius restriction. I guess it depends on what you're trying to accomplish with the lighting and whether or not you like the smaller dots. I have done several necks with LED's embedded in them and I can give you info on what you'll need and the basic approach if that's what you're after. Send me a message, and I'll try to work it out with you. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsherman2006 Posted April 23, 2004 Report Share Posted April 23, 2004 i sent you a PM dave. Thanks for your help. Neal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf121188 Posted May 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 dave, any comments to my last post at the top of this page? hows the guitar comming? got any new pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted May 11, 2004 Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 Sorry LoneWolf121188 - I just noticed that you posted in this thread again- The thinner fibers are certainly easier to bend. I think you just need to experiment and see if you like the look of having multiple light sources shinning out of the inlay or not. I tried it with mine and didn't care for it as much as having the one light source. I've got the fiber inlay done and am working on the rest of the neck in my spare time. I've got some finishing to do before I can continue with it. Overall, I think I like the look and ease of use better with the LEDs. The fibers have both good and bad qualities but I'm leaning towards using LEDs in the future instead of the fiber. I just don't know which I like better at this point. One thing is for sure- not using either makes the building process go much quicker and less painful. Let me know if I didn't answer your questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf121188 Posted May 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 how'd you do the fibers? last I heard, you were still trying to figure out how to do it. any tips there? I'm liking the idea for fiber better, as it would be easyer for the electronics part. Ive got a whole year to do it (2 semesters of woodshop class if I need it), so i can take my time. any pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted May 12, 2004 Report Share Posted May 12, 2004 I'll try to remember to send you some pics. I did it on the side dots and ran the fibers as if they were wires. So when you take the neck off, you'll see a bunch of fibers hanging off the heel of the neck. I separated them into two groups to keep the bundle size down - 1 group for the 12-22 frets and another for the lower frets. I do have a neck pickup which makes it a real bitch to route the fibers. I routed a channel from the neck pickup cavity to the control cavity where the LED will sit. The fibers are held in the fretboard with epoxy (CA glue isn't good to use with the fiber). One tip for installing them is to make sure that the fibers are held into the fretboard routing before gluing on the fretboard. Don't let any of them be loose since that will really create problems when gluing on the fretboard. I used epoxy to keep them from comming out of the channels routed in the fretboard. Also - I used unjacketed fiber since I already had issues with space. I decied not to use the connectors that I was talking about earlier. I just ran the fibers from the neck into the control cavity as one. Hope that helps - I'll try to remember to send you some pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf121188 Posted May 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2004 sweet, ill be looking forward to those pics. my problem is that I wanted to do front dots..routing strait up into the dot inlays is gonna be fun, not to mention dealing with the truss rod... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahelcaya Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Don't know if it can help, but it is possible to make a fiber dot neck, with not too much pain My first project with fiber came out quite well. I installed 1 led in the neck, not in the body, just have the thin wires passing in between the bolt on, so I can even change the led if I wanted to, just removing the neck. Did the same process filling with polieuretan resin, before attaching the fingerboard. Sorry I don't have any other pictures of the construction, but if you need any help, I'll be glad to assist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moreau Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 If you were to use fibers in the neck instead of actual LED's, would you cut and sand the end of the wire to a perfect end, then attach it to the board? or do you have to profile the one side of the fretboard before you add the fiber? I assume a router and such would ruin the fibers... any ideas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahelcaya Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 I install the optic fiber before cutting the neck sides to final shape, give it 5 mm at least extra . I install the shaped fingerboard, jigsaw and route the neck using the fingerboard as template, The 1 mm optic fiber did not shred or stuff, was perfect after the routing, anyway I sanded up to 600 grit, and worked quite well. I must say that I install the optic fiber in the neck wood, in small routed channels that get filled with CA glue or epoxy resin. Hope that helped a little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pibrocher Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Thats an awesome Idea. Never thought about putting LEDs into the fretboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff Beer Man Posted January 10, 2005 Report Share Posted January 10, 2005 Can you link me to the site that has the tutorial you wrote on it. I cant seem to find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swirly Posted January 15, 2005 Report Share Posted January 15, 2005 For me, this is all just an experiment and I'm learning as I go. So far, I miss the LED installation - fiber is very challenging to deal with under a fretboard. I wish I could find right angle light pipes that were small enough to fit under the fretboard. All of the light pipes that I have seen are designed for much larger applications. Any ideas on this? ← Maybe this is a stupid question but have you tried small mirrors, set at 45 degree angles, as a right angle reflector for your fiber? I know, finding mirror material that small is a shot in the dark but mirrors will do right angles for ya 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.