Splintazert

19 hours ago, thaumgarrett said:

They say that failure is proof that you're trying...

That's about right. 

It's probably worth pointing out that (on your Tele) the routing between pickups and switches may pass too close to the pickup screws, causing the wiring to get damaged on assembly. A short diagonal path would be better I'd say.

Hi @thaumgarrett. I am currently looking at my 1970s Hohner Les Paul which has a plywood body. It's one of the heaviest guitars I own. It's very resonant though, so no problems for on a tonal level (note to self - don't go there, don't mention the 'T' word ).

I understand that Russian Birch plywood is very strong and stable?

I'm also breaking out the popcorn 

Beautiful guitar, expertly finished and a nicely detailed build log, thanks for sharing @ScottR

Very nice Scott, it seems that each of your updates takes things up a level.

@mattharris75 That's a beautiful starter guitar too, your girls are very lucky!

Very nice. I actually see what you mean about those knobs although I'm sure many others would think that it's overkill. Think I'm with you on keeping the set in the second pic.

What bridge is that?

"AndyJR1515 once did an acoustic with egg whites"

Was that for playing Merengue guitar on? 

Wow, so YOU started the headless trend then? 

Lovely work @ScottR, that top is really pinging.  I never heard of Titebond as a pore filler, that's a new one on me. Hope it works for you.

Nice, the headstock looks tiny in that second photo. Very cool knobs. It's the little things...

Thanks for those replies chaps, all makes perfect sense. It's more or less what I'm doing at the moment, but it's still good to see that there isn't an easier or better way that I'm missing.

I guess I was really hoping that someone would say "Here's a simple jig I made for that...". 

I'm building a few bodies from my own designs without templates. I have cut the outer profile with a bandsaw and then moved onto spindle sander, rasps and sandpaper for finishing. I wondered how you guys get the 'lumps' out from the edges, that is, those inevitable peaks and valleys that you can't see but can feel? Any tips and tricks will be much appreciated.

Coming along nicely Andy, that top looks great too. 

Lol, for info @ScottR it's 30 Celsius (86 F) in my UK office at the moment, and we seem to be in the middle of a run of fantastic weather. Plus, I just checked and I have a hole in the middle of my patio table!

The parasol is further down the garden though over my outdoor workbench...

Thanks @Prostheta, just watched it and it goes some way to explaining their high price.

For those of us following @FINEFUZZ's unique thread with interest, I thought I'd share this new video from the British Museum that shows some steps in the process, taking us from clay modelling to the finished piece:

Thanks for the neck tenon explanation Scott, I was just a bit confused as this sliding nexk joint obviously dictates the bridge location and I thought that your tremolo routing might be affected. I guess we are only talking about a few millimetres of movement though (a few sixteenths!) and that route looks fairly accommodating.

Great work and coming along nicely.

Quote: "Note the tab at the end of the tenon. With long tapered tenons like this, you can set the neck a bit low and then push it back snugly into the pocket...and then add a plug to fill the gap."

I don't quite understand this @ScottR  . Do you mean there's a taper in the pocket that you push the tapered neck onto?

Very nice Scott and a great headstock carve. Looking at the skull a few pictures before though, it must have been a 'walk in the park' for you to carve the headstock.

Thanks @Crusader I'll bear that in mind. I reckon it will pull down OK if glued to a sizable piece that's flat, so I'll do my bookmatching that way..

Very nice Scott, that maple is gorgeous with flame and quilt in the same piece.

I do envy the USA's choice of 'domestic' woods. I struggle here in the UK to source home-grown, interesting figured woods.

Thanks @ScottR, that makes sense. It'll be clamped to a nice beefy board. Would you bother dampening the wood a bit first or do you reckon that's overkill?

Cheers for the link too, some nice pics on there to go through. 

@curtisa Can a moderator move this to a more relevant section such as solidbody chat please?

Looks good FineFuzz! I'm wondering what tools you'll use to get the surface blemishes out. Presumably files, sandpaper and polishing mop? Also, was it TIG bronze welding or oxyacetylene brazing that you used to add the supports in?

Hi all. I bought a really nice, heavily figured plank of wood that was shop planed and looked fairly straight and flat. I split it to make a nice top for a future build, each plank is now 1320 x  175 x 12 mm (52 x 7 x 0.5 inch). Unfortunately, when it was split it warped quite a lot (see the second image where I'm sighting down the length of the plank)

It's thin enough to be able to go back down flat again if it's clamped down (as it would be on a body) but should I expect any problems if I do this? Would be a shame to scrap it.

The other question is does anyone know what wood it actually might be? (see the first image for a close-up)

Thanks in advance.

@FINEFUZZ What an excellent project, I look forward to following this build thread. Interesting shape too. Best of luck.

Very, very nice. If it works for you too then that's a perfect build!