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Rizh

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About Rizh

  • Birthday 03/24/1996

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  1. Wow it's been a while! This has been a busy month but I finally can update the thread. I glued the new layer and got it to shape. Sadly... it kind of moved when using the clamps so the shape end up wrong on the top layer. Rookie mistake. After I finished that I just put the body away (I was tired of working on that new top layer!) and kind of wanted to try out the paint, so I used it on the headstock. I liked that reflective effect The next day I thought about painting the guitar body, which was scary because I didn't know how would plywood react. In my country, when you ask hardware store workers for wood primer they look at you like if you had asked them if you can lick their ears. They literally don't know what that is. I looked up something like homemade primer and saw something about using a mixture of wood glue and water. Tried it out but it didn't work, which I assume is because I used a lot more water than glue. Something else to have in mind for next time, would love to try it out. So, started painting the body even with that questionable layer of homemade primer And meanwhile, working on the neck, just as Dan from Guns And Guitars taught me A total 8 layers of paint with no intention of covering it with lacquer, I dig the exposed paint look. It was kind of dissappointing the look it got without primer, but it wasn't like I'd ruined a great guitar body anyways Besides, I also think that looks is part of its charm haha. I took no photos of the wiring process as I kind of rushed it at 3am so I could finally use my guitar hahaha. But it was very rustic, and also the first wiring I've done that fully worked (thank god). A thing to mention is that I didnt know how to ground the bridge. I've seen it done with standard tremolo bridges but never on a top loading one like mine. So I just cut through the pickup's ring and pulled the cable out of there to make it get stuck between some saddles. Rustic but works. (It wouldn't solder directly to the bridge so I just put it in there) When I put the strings on I noticed a huge fret buzz and the 9th fret wouldn't let any other fret before it make sound. I rushed to make it work without taking into account that It would be 'fixed' by the effect the strings would have on the neck. That is a thing right? I think that's what happened, because after a while I could lower the action/saddles and got no buzz. A bad thing with this cheap bridge is that the high E saddle got stuck and it's at a ridiculously high action. I have no idea how to make that work out. I'll find a way. The final step was installing the chinese strap locks with a little bit of glue. I'd never had a guitar with strap locks before and I really like the feeling of having them on this guitar So, I reach the end of the road. There you can see some cheap covers I improvised with plywood scraps. Welcome to the family (I wouldnt use the bridge position for playing clean haha) Thanks a lot everyone, for helping out with my first build. I feel like I'm more proud than I should be But yes, this feels like a huge accomplishment. Can't wait to get to a new project
  2. Thanks for your answers! Actually, the new layers are going on top, the drilling is to be done on the body I already have. I'll make covers for the cavities from the rest of the plywood. I'll glue the new layers on top so I can repair that broken thing on the top. You can see I haven't drilled the holes for the neck screws. This is a magnificent idea! I'll look forward to get the thing done. For now, I'll glue the plywood blanks together, then drill the holes for pickups, switches, knobs, etc. and then I'll cut out the body shape. Then I'll glue them onto the body and finally do the holes for the bridge (which scares me the most since I already did it and it was okay)
  3. It's been some days since sunday haha, but I've finally gotten everything I need to finish this up (maybe) two 3mm plywood... blanks? and the neckplate arrived yesterday I traced the back of the body, some cavities included, on the new top (lower layer) The plans are to glue them together, then drilling the cavities, cut the body shape with the jigsaw and then glue them on to the body. But the layers are... bent, like warped. Do you guys think I could glue them like that? Also I dont have anything to make the clamps' pressure even, so I thought I could use construction blocks weight for that. Or I could find something to use the clamps? Another thing... the neckplate's screws are different. Two are smaller and I am not sure if they are supposed to be like that. I suppose I could get two that are as large as the bigger ones. Do you guys have any advise on drilling the neckplate holes on the body? I guess a drill press would be ideal but that's some technology I dont have! Thanks for reading, I'll be reading your answers
  4. So, I've tried to cut a 3mm shim to add a neck angle (which I was scared of because the neck would be angled forwards, and not behind the body as it's usually done) but I can't seem to find a reliable way to test it without drilling the neck to test it with a neckplate. (Which I still don't have). The 3mm shim only works if I keep the bridge higher with the coins beneath it haha. I think this method might have some bad consequences, like maybe the whole thing would be fragile for some reason, or that I could have intonation and tuning problems, specially when applying a little force to the neck. I tested it with the high E and B strings and it seemed okay. Left: 3mm wood shim Right: WIP of a 5mm plywood shim so I can use it without adding coins beneath the bridge I found out how hard it is (to me) to peel off the layers with an exacto knife, maybe I dont have the right method haha. Also I only have a huge chisel, which i dont think would be useful for a precise work. The neck w/o fretboard is 21mm, so 6mm plywood on top would be ideal. I'm waiting till sunday so I get the money to buy it. So I've been avoiding this method but ultimately seems like the perfect one. The thing that worries me the most is making the holes in the right place in the new top. I'm trying to think a good method to do it but we'll see in the future! See you guys on sunday!
  5. Thanks for the post! Andy is a total artist with his guitar builds. I think that's the way I made the pickup cavities at first. Hey thanks! Your idea is pretty good and I think prefer that option. Only thing that worries me is that the neck screws (which I don't have yet) could go past the fretboard. Maybe I could add the extra layer of plywood on the back?
  6. I thought 1/4" would be too much, but considering the neck's heel is about 21 milimeters high (not including the fretboard) i think it will suffice. And I dont have a router or anyone who can lend me one, so I think that would be maybe too much of a trouble to get. So new plans; I'll wait till I have money to get that plywood. Do you guys have any ideas for getting the holes from the top of the body to the new plywood? I'm afraid I'll get them wrong.
  7. Lets keep going! After 2 days, I released the wood from the pressure. Put some hardware on just to see it After some time I got a jigsaw so I decided to try and cut the body shape. It then took some days for the neck to arrive, and when I got it I tried to fit it inside the neck pocket, it is such a tight fit! I then installed the bridge, by making holes for the screws with a screwdriver and a hammer And here we are! This is the point I'm at currently. I have two issues: 1) Neck pocket is too high. I'm considering adding some height to the bridge by any means I can... I did a thing that might not be the best choice. I put some coins beneath the bridge so it stays higher. How much of a bad idea could this be? 2) I tried to make a hole for a 3 way swtich, but it accidentally broke. I'm considering following my girlfriend's advise of repairing it with epoxy clay. What do you guys think? That's it till now! Thank you.
  8. Lets hope it turns out good! I thought it that way because i didnt understand that part of If i can figure it out I'll try it, because I'd rather have two positions with sound
  9. That's weird, I thought I saw something about a relation of the control cavity size and undesired humming or such. Thanks! Hey @curtisa, thanks a lot! I really know nothing about wiring even though I've managed to figure things out in the past like when I built a fuzz pedal that didn't work (certainly a story for a different day) So, that wiring diagram is a bit confusing to me, I've made it different for me to understand haha Do you guys think it would work? It seems to me right now that it would... but what do I know haha ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So; I then proceeded to route the rest of the middle layer. The reason I cut it that way between where the killswitch would be and the pickups is because I thought It would be hard to get a cable to that place when everything was glued, but I think the final weight may not be worth it haha. The lines around the body are how I planned to cut it with the hacksaw, crazy, but I didn't have the jigsaw at that moment so ... Top and middle layers 'routed' That pickup there made me feel like I was getting something done; so encouraging! Dremel tool used to get some space for the knobs: It looked beautiful. Then I was so eager to get it all glued so I did it without considering that it still needs the output cavity and without caring that the neck pocket would be only 12 mm deep, whilst I planned it to be at least 15mm; never rush your work, my friends. Yes, only two clamps, but what could possibly go wrong?
  10. It's a chinese fixed hardtail bridge from ebay. Yes the saddles are all the way up. The option of reducing the heel of the neck scares me because of what could go wrong haha. I think I'll try to go with the shim on the bridge, thanks a lot for your help!
  11. Oh dear, those paw print inlays look adorable hahaha I love them So what is exactly offset in your design? I'm really liking it
  12. Specs for the guitar: - 2 Mystery Chinese Humbuckers: I got 2 humbuckers on eBay, and they have two wires each, which confused me at first but then I saw that I could wire them the way single coils are wired (Right? Correct me if I'm wrong haha) $8.50 -Two 3-way switches; one for tone and one to use as a killswitch. $2.90 -Two A250k switches for Volume and Tone 99 cents -22 fret Strat Maple neck with rosewood fretboard from eBay: Because I dont feel ready to try to build a guitar neck, and I don't have the necessary tools $25.37 -6 Tuning Machine Heads from ebay: I bought 6 inline right machine heads but received 5 right ones and a left one, so it will look different. $5.14 -Home Depot 12mm Plywood (0.61meters by 1.22meters) $8.80 -Hardtail Fixed Bridge $13.80 Total cost: $65.50 Tools that I had available: Power Drill, HackSaw, Metal File, Dremel Tool and I borrowed a Jigsaw at the very end only to cut the body. I started by scaling a front image of the guitar to a kind of real size. I dont quite remember how i did that. After that I started drawing the outline and marking the places where screws would be. Then I cut the three layers apart with the hacksaw, which took 3 days haha Then I started "routing" the cavities on each layer, I did it by drilling holes into them and then cutting them with the blade (just the blade) of the hacksaw and finally I tried to file the edges. After reading a lot about this, I realised that the control cavity is way too big. I think it may cause some noise but I'm not too sure. I've done more than this, I'll post more tomorrow, but I'll take this chance to show you my wiring diagram. I'm not entirely sure how the diagram of the switches work, but to synthetize; before wiring the volume to the output, I would solder it to one position of the second switch, so the other two positions would act like a kill switch. Am i right? Cheers x
  13. Yeah haha I wasnt aware of the weight of plywood, the body is as heavy as a les paul's Yeah I've always found manson guitar's bodies attractive, even though they are similar to a Telecaster, which I dont like that much. I didnt take the weight into account and I "routed" it (with a drill) that way so it would be easy to slip a cable to and from the killswitch. The layers are already glued so yeah haha but I'd have definitely taken your advice. Later Ill post more pictures and specs
  14. I mean if you could add a shim to the neck screws that are closer to the nut. It seems to me that then the neck would be angled to the front, which I don't know if would be an issue
  15. Thanks! Yes they are pricey and I have the feel that the Cort model doesn't do justice to mansons. Here I'll leave photos of the process
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