jay5 Posted May 7, 2004 Report Share Posted May 7, 2004 Myka, where do you get your graphite from? Also what kind of wood is that neck?Guitar look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpcustomguitars Posted May 7, 2004 Report Share Posted May 7, 2004 Excellent work! I noticed the way you did the neck/body connection on the acoustic, could you post a pic or two more of that? Is it a bolt-on? I'm also interested in the tube source! Cheers, Goran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted May 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2004 I get my tubes from kite supplier Into The Wind. I use the Avia (Pultruded) tubing. You can get .240 and route a 1/4" groove for it. The neck joint on the acoustic is done with a bolt on system. I use brass threaded inserts into the heel. The heel is reinforced with a 1/2" dowel so the insert has some cross grain to dig in to as well as to provide support for the heel joint. Here is a picture to eexplain it better: The heel block is like a Spanish style guitar. I use this to make the neck area extremely strong and ridgid. The soundboard will not cave in around the soundhole because of it. I also do not need to use a transverse brace. It is a very solid design. Thanks to the old Spanish luthiers! Here is a pick of the redesigned neck block: The neck I have pictured to illustrate the graphite in the last post is Black Limba. The one I will use for this semi-hollowbody guitar will be Honduran Mahogany. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted May 7, 2004 Report Share Posted May 7, 2004 This is some mighty fine work. I would also love to have your shop. Just think of the damage I could do in there. *sigh* Making a carved top jazzer like this is on my list of guitars to make, so I'm keenly interested in seeing this one finished up. Ace job so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mynamesucks Posted May 7, 2004 Report Share Posted May 7, 2004 Wow that koa acoustic is beutifull. all your guitars are beutifull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh Posted May 8, 2004 Report Share Posted May 8, 2004 wow, amazing work. i've just bought the benedetto book, so i actually have a slight remote idea about what's going on, and i can see the complexity and attention to detail a guitar like this requires. been to your site, and you have some fine examples there. absolutely fascinated by your work, so keep it up, and i hope you'll share with us many more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKGBass Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 is it confusing building a left guitar? or is it any different? I think given my previous history, i would look at it and think i was working on the wrong side or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted May 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 I appreciate all of your comments. I will post whatever info you all want to know about how I build guitars. I just wish I had this forum when I started out!~ I made a little more progress yesterday at the shop. The neck taper and headstock shape was routed into the neck blank after the veneer was glued on. The veneer is a layer of ebony on the back and ebony and koa on the top. This adds a good deal of strength to the headstock area. Along with the carbon fiber tubes the headstock shoudl be plenty strong enought o handle a drop or two if it ever should occur. Here are some pics: I also cut the soundhole into the top. To do this is used a coping saw and took my time. Once cut I smoothed out the hole with a razor blade, files, and a sanding stick. I often use wood glue to adhere a piece of sandpaper onto a shaped piece of wood to make sanding sticks. They work great especially for areas like this. I cut a knife edge into the wood so I could get into the ends of the soundhole better. Here is completed pic: The top was then ready to glue onto the body. I simply used a bunch of c-clamps around the perimeter with a longer clamp to put pressure on the pickup area. Then I trimmed the spruce with a bearing bit that used the lacwood as a template. The body is now complete. It is also pretty lightweight! The neck will have to b eno more than 22 frets, possibly just 21. That and a body join at the 14th fret. The cutaway area and neck heel I use will make it very easy to fret the upper notes still. The second picture shows the tailpiece in place. It matches the headstock pretty well. With the black Bartonini's and the ebony/koa bridge this will look sweet. I have updated my website with additional pictures. Here is the link: semi-hollowbody #015 More pics next week. Enjoy!~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 Great work! [drools over some of the tools, but mainly drools over the guitar]. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeli Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 Did you red my mind when desinging the soundhole? I was just thinking about something like that but one side fatter so it would look like a sperm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted May 10, 2004 Report Share Posted May 10, 2004 More pics!! They are awesome!! Maybe a few of your shop? Also, what are the neck taper and headstock templates made out of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted May 10, 2004 Report Share Posted May 10, 2004 I'd think twice about letting me play that guitar at the Show in June... I can run pretty fast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted May 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 I can run pretty fast Me too! I made the tepmplates out of 3/4" MDF. It is a cheap material for prototyping. If I think I will keep the template I will seal it with shellac or something to harden the edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cr_XD Posted May 11, 2004 Report Share Posted May 11, 2004 that could be the sexiest f hole i've seen so far.... really like the guitar, the neck joint i'd never seen like that before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted May 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2004 Thanks cr_XD! Today I inlaid the fingerbaord. I forgot to take pictures of the inlay process because I just get into the zone and tune everyhting out when I do inlay. I forgot about cameras. The inlays are done with a jeweler's saw and files. It's time consuming but very fun. The fingerboard will have binding to cover the fret ends. This is taped onto the fingerbaord after the fret slots are cut. I use StewMac binding tape. It is like a roll of clamps. The truss rod is then fitted into the neck. I use LMI truss double action truss rods. They have square ends that I like to round over to fit into the round truss rod slot. After it is fitted into the slot a piece of wood is glued over the adjustment nut to hold the rod in place. The fingerboard is then flattened and ready to glue onto the neck. Here is a pic of the clamping process: The tape over the truss rod prevent too much glue from getting into the truss rod slot. The squeeze out will be enough to cover to the edge of the channel. I use pieces of binding placed on the edges of the fingerboard with a larger clamping board on top to make sure the edges are clamped tight. The board is held in place with tape and the first 2 clamps are slowly tightened until the glue tacks. Then I place as many as I can fit onto it. Once glued the fingerboard is routed to fit using the neck as a template on the router table. Here is a pic of the completed neck: Enjoy! ~David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weezerboy Posted May 12, 2004 Report Share Posted May 12, 2004 thats absolutely stunning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKGBass Posted May 12, 2004 Report Share Posted May 12, 2004 HOT DAMN! Looking very very good. What kind of glue is that I see there? It doesn't look like Titebond, but that may just be the pic? Also the headstock looks pretty long, is this your design, an illusion (or fitting room for 12 tuning pegs )? I guess i can't really gauge it till you get the machines on there, but thats just my eyes speaking to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted May 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2004 The glue I use is Titebond. It must be the flash on the camera. It makes it look greenish or something. Also the headstock might be long, I don't know. It's a design I came up with. It has room for tuners and there is enough space for an inlay. It may look long because it is pretty narrow. Much more so than a Gibson. This makes the strings pull a little straighter across the nut. Today I completed the dragonfly inlay. The Paua wings are a little more intense in real light. The flash washed it out. Here is a pic: I also put in side dot markers. For the dots I used a Paua shell dot (2.5 mm) surrounded by silver tubing. It results in a nicely framed dot. It's a subtle feature but it adds some class to a guitar. You can use brass, copper, etc. I have one guitar where I used brass rod inserted into copper tubing for a nice look. First thing is to drill the holes. The tubing is 1/8" diameter. Then the tubing is cleaned out with a round file to make sure the dot fits into it. Check your measurements and you may be able to skip this step. The tubing is standard and the dots are metric so I had to fix it this way. Then the dots are pressed into the tube. You may need to tap them in with a small hammer. They should fit snug. After the dot is in place the tubing gets cut to length. The measurement is the thickness of whatever dot material you are using. These are about 1/16". The dots are then glued into place with super glue and ready to sand flush. Next step is to fret the neck and shape it. I hope to have time to get a lot done in the next couple days. We'll see how it goes. ~David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted May 13, 2004 Report Share Posted May 13, 2004 I LOVE THAT INLAY!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted May 13, 2004 Report Share Posted May 13, 2004 Hey Myka, is the LMI rod square or is there something covering it in the slot? I know you said they have square ends but it looks like a long silver square in the pic. Am I seeing things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted May 13, 2004 Report Share Posted May 13, 2004 Hey Myka, Really nice work, great documentation along the way. I really like your side dot idea. On the ebony fingerboard; did you get a little tear-out when using the router? I'm getting ready to mount an ebony board, and I'm a little concerned that it might be too brittle for my (semi-dull) flush-cut bit. keep up the good work ebj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted May 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2004 is the LMI rod square or is there something covering it in the slot? The LMI truss rod is sqaure on the top. It is a 1/4" X 1/8" piece of bar stock on top with 1/4" and 1/4" square threaded blocks about 3/4" long at each end. Then there is a 3/16" rod connecting the threaded ends. You are seeing the bar stock from the top of the neck. On the ebony fingerboard; did you get a little tear-out when using the router? What I do is hold or tape the inlay into place on the board. Then I scribe the inlay perimenter onto the ebony with an exacto blade to slice the wood fibers. This way it doesn't tear out (even with a semi-dull bit). After I slice around the perimeter I remove the inlay and rub white chalk dust into the etched wood to show the lines. I follow that with the router. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtommyb Posted May 13, 2004 Report Share Posted May 13, 2004 Looking Sweet! Big Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManWhoSoldTheWorld Posted May 13, 2004 Report Share Posted May 13, 2004 Looking very sweet indeed. Can't wait to see more pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted May 13, 2004 Report Share Posted May 13, 2004 looks like you're using the new tayler neck joint design, is that where you got the idea, or did you just happen to come up with the same idea? or they stole it from u i bet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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