Mr Natural

Mahogany Body Mahogany/purpleheart/flame maple/purple heart/mahogany neck Ebony veneer on front of headstock 5 ply ebony/maple/ebony/maple/ebony veneer on back of headstock Indian Rosewood fretboard my attempt at the rotating pickup- not sure what I will use for the pickup yet-it will have active circuit. This is a build for a friend and co-worker. He is a huge Lindsey Buckingham fan. This build is on my tab, so certain decisions along the way may be based on economics, vs what I would do if someone was paying me or if I was building for myself. here is the Mahogany blank. Gotta a deal due to the knots- the wood is clear outside the lines- and I gave myself plenty of margin to avoid any potential issues with cracks etc due to the knots. These model ones are 2.5 inches thick in the middle- so the plan here is to cut from the same board (8/4), flip one piece so backsides are glued together and then thin down from there. about 30 minutes with the safe-t-planer and it was down to size.

I dont normally comment on GOTM entries- but ERO hit me the day it was posted- nice work man.

Nice job man- that is so sick. Especially when you consider how different this guitar is from a solidbody build. Thanks for posting

any news on this one? I cant wait to see it finished.

Its really cool to look back and see the builds you were doing 3 or 4 years ago- and now the ones you are cranking out. Your skills have come a long way and your builds are getting better and better. Great job man.

hate to hear about your eyes with that dust. Hope you heal soon bro. Cocobolo dust makes my skin breakout- especially my arms- around the wrists and the inner fold of the elbow joint- I get all red and pimply- itches like hell. I now wear long sleeves- even in the dead of southern US summer- when sanding or filing cocobolo. Nasty shite!! build is looking good-

for what its worth- Chapman Stick Enterprises make a bamboo model. http://www.stick.com/instruments/bamboo/ Some of those are 36" scale - I count over 20 laminates on the 10 String Stick models.

Great build Will- very cool- and a thank you for the video on the pickups. I have a question- are those the standard P-rails or the "hot" P-rails version? thanks

hey our souls- SHAKA ZULU!!!!!!!!!

ouch- that sucks. Keep steady with it John- its coming out great- hate to see that happen with the fretboard. Always something to learn when you build- its just some lessons hurt more than others. Your builds have been great to watch- keep up the good work.

I dunno- at first- I thought- ewwww- but then I thought- hell- I think that is exactly what makes this sweet. SHAKA ZULU!!!! +1 on the wood score- always cool to find something and recycle it for something as sweet as a guitar. Remember- no one has to see the back- I say leave it- when people say- nice explorer you can flip it over and say 'Shaka Zulu!"

found this on a schenker fansite Its original control knobs have been replaced with Stratocaster-type knobs. Front pick-up is Duncan "THE'59/SH-1". Rear pick-up is Duncan "Custom/SH-5".) link here- hope it helps- I am not saying it is accurate- just what I found for ya! http://www.rbaraki.com/misc.htm#photo6 peace Natch

Nice work. Cant wait to see these puppies with finish. may I ask how /what tool you used to blend in the front of the guitars (neck pocket) where it meets the neck (- how did you blend in the angle of the front of the guitar to match the neck) hand plane? Other method? Peace, natch

So after reading this review by Woodenspoke I thought to myself- nuts- I bought one of these last year- havent had a chance to use it- and sure enough- when I did use it last week I ended up really be disappointed. The cut was rough at best- I blew out an inside curve (test guitar- no biggy) when the thing got away from me- but- not wanting to put it up on ebay and getting pennies on the dollar- I thought- how can I still use this- is there a way to get the router under control. So- I looked at my router table and came up with this. Basically a crude way of attaching it to the router table insert- but it works- and it works so well that I will hang onto this tool until I can afford to buy a better set up. I used some scrap hard maple for the base, small hinges on the outside and used a screw to create a compression fit if you will. I lined the hole in the center with leather from some old gloves. It took me some time to get this exactly square with the router insert top. At first I used a couple of pieces of leather in the inside of the hole where the wood holds the dremel/stewmac attachment- but found that the superglue I used ended up creating an uneven surface in the hole that holds the dremel- (leather soaks up superglue so you have to use a bunch to get it to stick-i used so much it made the inside of the hole uneven causing the dremel to "rock" in the hole)- anyway-I removed it, re-filed and I have just one layer of leather to squeeze tight against the dremel- after futzing with it for about an hour- I got it level. I use a reference line on the stewmac attachment to tell me where to line up to the top of the wood, and then the screw you see in the picture clamps the thing tight. I then traced where the screw holes from the router table insert should go and threaded them by hand. It now cuts smooth, I have total control of the body of the guitar- which I like better than moving a router around a guitar anyway- way more control when the cutter is stationary. After HATING this tool-I now like it with this base.

looks great!

Forgiven? absolutely. Thanked is more like it- that was the first book I ever saw on guitar building and was the best thing since sliced bread back when a friend of mine in England sent me a copy for my birthday back in the early 90s. I couldnt find it here in the states. Actually- I didnt know it even existed. What a birthday present! Wez- hopefully you didnt take me slamming him with that comment-not my intent by any means- I only wanted to check to see if perhaps the original scale length was in fact 32.5"- and perhaps the rick factory re-issues were done with existing fretting machines and they didnt go back to original scale. I have a distinct sound locked in my mind on how a rick sounds- and for years I actually had in my mind that it was a 32.5" scale based on what the book said. I have seen where other mfg (gibson) has "not quite done the reissue to vintage specs" so I was curious if this was the case here. Perhaps by contacting him I may find out even more information on the 32.5", incase it is not a misprint and there is a good reason for it being printed like that. Its all good- only seeking knowledge.

very cool you are keeping this to actual scale length - I think that scale length has a big part of the Rickenbacker sound. I love that "chris squire/geddy lee" sound from the 70's. can't wait to see this one (and hopefully hear it too)- keep up the good work. Has anyone ever noticed in the Melvyn Hiscock book he has the scale length listed for a ricky 4001 as 32 1/2" (i have second edition- perhaps this has been updated), that threw me for a while before rickenbacker posted their scale length- I thought perhaps the re-issues were just made with existing factory machining set ups- rather than going back to "true" scale length if Hiscock's book was correct (I figured a second edition would have had errors like that corrected)- curious- if anyone has the new Hiscock edition- scale lengths are shown in chapter 3- if it still has 32.5 I might just try to contact Hiscock to let him know. (**** retentive information seeker that I am- always hoping to have my facts straight when it comes to talking guitars with people).

Looks great so far. What scale length is this build?

John- I may have the same ryobi benchtop model- i have actually found that I need to run it full speed to get it not to grab and chatter. I have been told the safe T planer works best between 4,000-5,000 rpm. My ryobi only goes to about 3100 I think. I always run it with the planer at top RPM- the lower speeds just dont work unless the wood is something like alder or maybe poplar or soft pine/etc. Also- I have to keep the cutters sharp, especially if I happen to put something like any rosewood family wood thru it. I also use a drill press table I make- it helps considerably when using the drill press with guitar bodies. Squaring the table to the chuck is key- and I found once I really took the time to set up the table correctly- the cuts were alot more smooth and flat- sometimes I would get "swirls" in the wood- I dont get them anymore, nothing that doesnt sand out rather quickly anyway. Spokeshave- +1 on the light cuts comment- I have found even if I can really dig into say- alder- it is best to take light cuts- this eliminates grabbing, and the chatter that eventually makes the chuck fall out. On hard maple I keep the cuts down to like 1/8"or less- just little nibbles. It takes time- but I love the safe-t-planer. I think the design is just really clever, and all in all- its a really safe tool use. Plus I havent plunked down the bread for a regular planer so I am stuck with it for now:-).

This looks like a very cool project. If I may just offer a word of warning though- putting cocobolo next to maple can be a real pain in the butt to sand. The cocobolo bleeds like crazy- and the maple will turn orange. Even after BATHING the cocobolo in acetone/etc- it will still bleed. I am not sure if this will show up or not once I post this picture- but here is a Carl Thompson copy I made while it was in the sanding stage- the center block is cocobolo on the front- and striped maple on the immediate left and right of it- it has turned orange in places. I ended up scraping it and getting rid of just about all of the orange - but what a pain it was. If you want- email me at goooge@yahoomail.com. I can send you a piece of cocobolo and maple and you can see for yourself. You may (or may not) change your mind- or even consider putting some sort of dark wood "buffer" inbetween the maple and cocobolo. I am not trying to kill your idea -it is very cool- but believe me- it is a PAIN to sand. I read on the old bunnybass archive (no longer active) where Ken Lawrence did a cocobolo/maple bass and swore he would never do it again.

While benchtop tools are not ideal- I have had good results with the sears craftsman jointer. I had read about it on Kathy Matushita's (amaetuer luthier's)site I think- and she mentioned using it on neck blanks. I had limited tool budget after selling everything I owned to get the house I am in now- and was dying to get something- thought i would give it a shot and return it if it didnt cut the mustard. It is alot studier than the delta benchtop, I had read different review about the delta- which I was leaning towards-but after reading up on the craftsman-I went for it- its very solid- and I have not had any complaints (other than the dust port is full 4"- so you cant easily attach another four inch vacuum tube or other with out an adapter of some sort (I just use duct tape) Yes- the bed on it (or any benchtop jointer) is short- and you have to watch something like a neck thru neck blank- but I have had great luck with it. It works great on joining tops, and I know I paid about $200 even on sale-(2 years ago) this link shows above your limit- but perhaps you can find on sale sometime. just my $.02 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_0...ers+%26+Shapers

I think it has been (somewhere) posted here before-but ReRanch is apparently a part time gig for the cats that run it. It may take a bit longer than your typical place like a stew-mac or LMI where they have a dedicated service staff waiting to take your cash. I think - dont quote me- but I think i have read of 2+week turn arounds- especially if the guy(s) are touring. (apparently they have a band?) I know this topic has come up before- I took a quick look to see if I couldnt find and link the topic- but I may have read it on another forum like talkbass or LesPaul forum perhaps. If I recall correctly there was no negative experience other than perhaps a bit more wait than what the purchaser may have expected.

I was thinking from looking at the pic (and I guess I really can't tell from this angle"- it looked like the truss rod adjustment was snug against the wood. Apparently not. If it was- you could basically carve out some wood running parallel to the rod- so it could turn freely incase the wood swelled. Since it is not snug against the rod you should be fine- I was just suggesting that you could take an exacto knife- run a couple of lines parallel to the rod (to cleanly cut thru the headstock veneer) then then carefully chisel out the wood surrounding the adjustment piece (micro chisels would be a handy tool here). Basically widening the channel a bit. If the bottom of the headstock channel is against the adjustment piece that would be tough- getting wood out from underneath would be a task. Natch

The first acoustic build (at least mine was) was a scary experience. I didnt have enough (or the proper) tools and further I didnt realize some of the techniques to employ If I may make a suggestion- it looks as though you have some significant tearout around your tuning holes and also a rough area around the truss rod adjustment. You can minimize the tear out on the tuning holes by placing a block of wood against the side of the headstock that you are drilling thru. It looks as though you drilled from the back(?) since you are missing some chunks in the front. Also- use a brad point bit if you didnt the first time- that will help as well. You can try filling in the missing chunks by using the old super glue/wood dust combo- but it may not finish as nice around those areas. I did the same thing on my first guitar- no worries! also- even though it will be covered by a truss rod cover- the wood surrounding that truss rod adjustment looks to be tight (the part towards the nut area)- you may want to clean that up a bit- you can use an exacto knife or razor to cut lines thru the head stock veneer and then clean it up a bit with a small sharp chisel. Just a suggestion- if it is tight in there and the wood swells/shrinks any with humidity- it may impair the ability to turn that rod. Looking good all in all for a first build. DONT GET DISCOURAGE> Make sure you keep track of the issues you encounter and seriously- review that list with the next one- you will be surprised how much more smoothly the next goes. keep on track with this build- and if you arent sure of something- ask- there are plenty of folks here that can help. Good for you for taking the jump. Natch

Have you (or anyone) used Danish Oil at all? I am curious how it compares to the True Oil. I used Danish Oil on a CT copy I made and it was super easy to use- Nice build Erik. I have always loved that CT bass. peace- Natch