paulhinton

Hi All, I have finally started building my first guitar and I am loving it, I have hit one snag so far and that was during routing a suffered some awful tearout and had to recut the shape around the neck pocket. This has meant my neck pocket has had to be revised (Does it matter if its a little of centre?). I will upload some pictures later when my phone starts to play ball. But has anyone had any experience with building a neck off centre or someone have some advice how to fix it. I am tempted to move the pocket back a little a centre it up providing that the bridge doesn't sit too far back from the body. If not will there be any major issues if the neck and bridge slightly off of the central line of the body. Obviously they will be in line with each other still.

Thanks for that info unfortunately I am little short of space, I share a workshop with my dad and I don't want to invade his half anymore than I already have, do you think this would be ample? http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-axminster-awbrd550-bench-radial-drill-prod719353/ It looks suitable unless I am missing something blaringly obvious

Hi all, I need to get a drill press for all guitar building tasks such as predrilling cavities and string holes etc. Can anyone suggest a good drill press in the uk to suit these tasks?

Thanks dpm99 thats extactly what I was trying to define, I was just a bit unsure of whether the taper was needed at the edge of the fretboard where the neck ends and body starts but now I know. I am building the guitar myself just got to figure out the best way to taper it all now.

Hi Guys, I have been collaborating with a guitar designer over the past few weeks to map out the templates of my first build, I am extremely happy with the finished result but I have just noticed that the neck pocket and heel of the neck have a taper to them. Is this something that is purely decorative and I could just forget about and just adjust the plans to have angled joints rather than a curve. If not can some suggest what I can do to create a taper. Looking at many of the builds on here it is not a necessity. Here is the template. Construction starts next week

Ahh excellent news, thank you for that information, I have some spare1 piece maple neck blanks which I am going to practice on before I get to the real thing (Maple/Mahogany laminate) if they come out any good I will hopefully begin a second guitar a month after the first is truly underway so I don't waste some good wood

Hi guys, since I last posted on here I have read Melvyn Hiscock's book and it has provided some much needed clarification but one question still troubles me. Do I need a headstock angle? I am well aware of its purpose but I am seeing many guitars using the same hardware and scale as myself which are instead using retainer nuts but at the same time other manufacturers are opting for the 14 degree neck angle of their RG clones with the same hardware as me. I am using a .125" hipshot bridge across a 25.5" scale with a flat top. I personally think that retainers can ruin the image of a guitar and if it is simply a matter of preference I will go the way of the scarf joint. But if you guys can provide some input that would be great. P.S I did promise progress pictures in the last post but my bandsaw arrived broken which has obviously halted any progress but has also allowed me some time to redesign.

When I say evenly mean that the bridge and top nut are perfectly level with one other so the action would even across the neck. But seen as I cannot stand any other bridges other than Hipshot/Gotoh I am hoping that it will remove any potential issues with this aspect of the build. Good to see another member of SS.org on here, I go by the-emerson on there

That is the most helpful answer anyone could have given, do you think a hipshot bridge will create to much of any issue providing it sits evenly with the nut or am I wrong?

Hi all, I am setting out into the wonderful world of guitar building this year, I feel uninspired my playing the damn things anymore but I really want to learn how to make a descent instrument. For my first build I am trying to keep it as simple as possible, I have taken a template of my girlfriends RG7321 and added a few tweaks to the shape as there is no point in not being unique. Having settled on timber, hardware etc it has now come to my attention that neck angles are quite important. I mainly play RG style guitars with hipshot bridges and have never noticed an angle on the neck. Am I right in thinking that if the top nut and bridge sit level it means there is no need to create an angle? I maybe barking up the completely wrong tree with that statement and if so can anyone advice me neck construction mainly the angles of the headstock and the actual neck specifically bolt ons? Many thanks, Paul P.S I will start an actual build thread this weekend when I have got to work on getting the template through the band saw the neck laminates glued together. But it will feature Swamp ash, walnut, birdseye maple and Dimarzio's