Slabbefusk Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Rawr, me likey likey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted October 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 how have you done the carving on the cutaways? the edge is quite sharp.... I like it a lot, and you really inspire me to build a guitar, laminated neck thru WITHOUT top I used the random orbit on the whole thing. Just some $30 Black & Decker job from Home Despot! The plate on it is rubber-like so I just increased the pressure and angle (until the plate was almost perpendicular to the top) in the waist area and very light in the horn area - so it kind of feathers out. I also used 100 grit which is pretty forgiving - not so aggressive that I had to be REALLY careful, but enough that it didn't take me all night to bring the surface down. In fact, I nicked the fretboard (which really should have been protected anyway ) and the bridge bushings during the process and didn't really do much damage at all. Also, an unexpected side effect of this method was that I got a small recurve all around the edge which looks quite nice. Let me reiterate: I, toddler68 do solemnly swear that my next guitar (if in fact it is a laminated neck-thru with cap) will feature capped wings only: the laminations will be visible from both sides of the body! So help me Dog. Maybe I'll even go so far as to run a lamination or two through the fretboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted October 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 I was going to scream when I saw that you were free handing that router on the edges... too much drama to have that router wonder about and mess that top up! I'm glad it turn out great, how about a wet shot of the top already carved!!!! Believe me, next time I will rout the channel while the top is still flat! I have learned my lesson. But with that little fixture I found it to be so much more controllable moving the guitar under the fixed router instead of the other way around. Like an inverted router table. I think I might even consider making a more finished and stable version in the future. But for now, scrap particle board and a 2X4 did the trick. I know the resulting channel looked a little ragged but the fine side of a 4-in-one file smoothed it right up. And since I was sanding back down to the flat anyway, I didn't even necessarily need to do that. I will say that I only had one desklamp on and it was clear across the room so I was practically in the dark. But it really accentuates the shadows and I could tell immediately where my high/low spots were. Anyway, just a tip. As for a wet pic of the carve, I will bust out the mineral spirits tonight. Expect a pic tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted October 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Holy cow, man! That carve really worked well! Congrats on a great guitar; looks like a cross between a Les Paul, PRS, and Parker Fly! This whole thing just keeps getting sweeeter! Â Â Yeah, if I had to choose my influences those 3 guitars would be it. On a side note, didn't you have a Number of the Beast avatar before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 wow...that carve looks awesome. congrats on that, cant wait to see that bad boy nice and wet...she'll look beautiful. and a laminated fretboard eh...could be cool...you should do a maple fretboard with a paduk stripe down the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted October 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 ... see that bad boy nice and wet...she'll look beautiful. Are you saying my guitar has gender confusion issues!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 On a side note, didn't you have a Number of the Beast avatar before? Yes, I did. But I switched it out for the bass that I built. Befor the NoB av, I had a Jaco avatar. But at least I kept the Maiden reference in my title! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted October 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 OK. Here is the picture as promised. I included the dry version for comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted October 28, 2004 Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 Let me reiterate: I, toddler68 do solemnly swear that my next guitar (if in fact it is a laminated neck-thru with cap) will feature capped wings only: the laminations will be visible from both sides of the body! So help me Dog. Maybe I'll even go so far as to run a lamination or two through the fretboard! Now read it 20 times until you got it engraved behind your forehead!!! , And I like the way that the wet body looks, brought those lines at the bottom alive. Lets have it finished... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryKer Posted October 28, 2004 Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 Just so someone says it, I really dig the way you've chosen to do it. The multilaminate necks look awesome as a subtle thing behind the guitar, but IMO when they're visible from the front, combined with all the hardware and such, it gets too busy! I think the way you've chosen to do it looks awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted October 28, 2004 Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 Not always, stripes shown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 I figured out why the body looks so familiar! EB Musicman Bongo Bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted October 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 I figured out why the body looks so familiar! EB Musicman Bongo Bass! Wow! There's definitely a family resemblance going on. Guess I'm not as original as I thought. It's a little over the top for my taste, but I have to admit there's something about it I like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 the upper horns look similar, but Ithink that the bass is ugly as it can be, but I like the guitar, somenthing about the body makes it look much better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 I agree; the bongo bass is ugly as snot, but this one looks really good. It's because the bass' upper horn is way too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryKer Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Not always, stripes shown See, that is a perfectly good looking guitar, and I can definitely see why (from an aesthetic point of view) many people would dig seeing the stripes. Unfortunately, I'm just not one of them! Frankly, though, despite my tastes even if the stripes were showing on this guitar, I'd still think it looked fantastic! I can't wait to see it finished! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeli Posted November 1, 2004 Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 The figure looks indeed like an evil smilie. The padouk strip is a beauty and the contrast it creates is gorgeous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaughthammer Posted November 13, 2004 Report Share Posted November 13, 2004 any progress so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted November 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 any progress so far? As a matter of fact, yes! Thanks for keeping me honest. I haven't been as diligent lately at documenting the work in progress, but I've got pics of the results. I'll try to fill in the details: I finally drilled the tuner holes in the headstock and the string holes through the body. For the string holes, I used a 1/8 inch brad point chucked in my drill press and drilled the holes on an arc pattern. They looked great from the front but AWFUL from the back. Evidently, the bit must have flexed while I was drilling and the pattern lost its nice arc on the back - I had to drill larger non-concentric holes on the back to make up for the misalignment. What a pain! I think it turned out OK though. The ferrules fit great on the back and I used steel rivets for the holes on the front. It's just a little tough feeding the strings through from the back since the holes don't quite line up. I did a bad job cutting my bone nut (I still giggle like Beavis & Butthead when I say that!) but since I have a zero fret it didn't really matter all that much. The string spacing is a little off on the top two strings but that is all. I installed the frets like a caveman. I just pushed them in with an oak block - walked them in from one side to the other. (Please, don't anyone scold me for not using a caul. ) After 24 of those, my palm was black and blue. Of course I CA'd the ends just to be safe. I have yet to level or dress them. Everything sounds pretty good regardless. It tunes up great and the action is right on. I'll have to get some advice from the forum when it comes time to fix a little fret buzzing I've got going on, though. Anyway, enjoy some pics. Here's the headstock: a full length shot: and the rear: I put a Duncan JB in the bridge. I thought I might stick a 59 in the neck at some point, but for now I'll keep it to one pickup. As you may have noticed, there are no controls on the front and you're asking "what the hell is going on with the back!" Well, I haven't finalized the layout yet so I made a panel for the back and attached the pots and jack to it and just taped it on. I'm also experimenting with various caps and a varitone from Big D. Here's a closer look: what do you think of the ferrule job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 I dont really like the headstock. Its just my opinion. I really like shorter PRS like 3x3 headstocks. But i like everything else! This is going to be one sweet guitar man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slabbefusk Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 This makes me want to build a guitar, really man. Awesome guitar . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 isn't having the pots on the back going to make it a problem while playing and moving around? i really like that headstock design, and like the look of the simple 1 pickup design...very uncluttered top, but not totally naked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 Here's a closer look: what do you think of the ferrule job? Having just gone through the same process, I would say you did a fine job on the ferrules. Definitely not as trivial as it seems. I really, really, really like this guitar. A lot of original designs just end up looking weird, but yours doesn't strike me that way at all. Great Job. Can't wait to see how it looks with a finish. Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 Nice, I like it, One question is the thruss rod sticking out too much or is that the way you set it up? From my guitars the thing is always almost inside the neck right under the nut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddler68 Posted November 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2004 Nice, I like it, One question is the thruss rod sticking out too much or is that the way you set it up? From my guitars the thing is always almost inside the neck right under the nut. Yeah, it is sticking out a little too far. I can still access it just fine for adjustments and it doesn't protrude past the face of the headstock. I'm not going to worry about it unless somebody gives me a reason to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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