erikbojerik Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 (edited) Alder body, spalted maple cap Flame maple necks w/walnut skunk stripe & headstock backing, 2-way truss rods 70's style big Fender headstock profiles 25/5" scale, Jumbo frets, 16" radius Lace chrome dome single-coils (TBA), 1 vol, 1 tone StewMac 12-bridge Not sure on the 6-bridge yet (trem or no-trem? hmmm...) Might put a piezo system in there somewhere (12?) Still needs hardware, fret job & buff-out; the necks only have sanding sealer at this point, but the flame is knocking me out! A little brown dye and sand-back really brought it out. The spalt was firmed up with Drak's CA-sealer method (thanks Drak!). Edit: I've edited the first page to include links to pics from the earlier phases of this proj. Original body w/ POS finish Removing the top 3/8" to make way for the cap De-"cap"itated body w/rear pup access routed Gluing up the booked spalt Steaming & bending over the forearm contour Edited February 21, 2005 by erikbojerik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 I would like to see the pics the other way, small headstock pics and a big body pic, I want to see that body in much more detail, looks cool! PS, 1 pic per post dontcha know now. I've thought about making a doubleneck, and if I ever did, it would be a double-necked Rhoads V of some description, but I'm rather exacting about where a guitar neck hangs on me, so I'm not sure I'd even like a doubleneck, so I haven't bothered to build one. But I'd like to see the spalt body in more detail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 Here's a better shot of the body; still learning my way around Photobucket... It's a rear-rout. CA, then sanding sealer, Krylon black-burst, then Minwax poly. Been curing for 2 months, nice & hard now. PS, 1 pic per post dontcha know now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mynamesucks Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 that looks awsome ,that maple looks damned nice, i want one, what did u do withh the back of the headstock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slabbefusk Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 Nice one dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asm Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 thats not my cup of tea but that is VERY nice. alot of work right there. ive never seen that finish/wood combo back of headstock is amazing. nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyunsu Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 Wow Lovely Body.. & Neck... Neck type is very impressive.. upload your pic. ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted September 12, 2004 Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 That must've been some really wide Spalt, how'd you slice it for the book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2004 (edited) Thanks! I had to wait for quite a while to find a slab of spalt with good figure AND was at least 18" wide; then the Maryland connection (Sandi1070 on eBay) came through big time. Drak's CA seal method was critical; the hardness of the spalt was so variable that, if you sanded the raw wood, you'd get big depressions in the softer parts. The CA really hardened everything nicely, but I had to spend quite a bit of time in the CA-sand-CA-sand cycle to get everything level. I used up 4 of the 2oz bottles before I was done. The walnut on the back of the headstocks is to add strength, in preparation for putting 12 tuners on one of them. Props to the guys at the Woodworker's Club in Rockville MD for hooking me up with a really nice piece (the rest of which will make it into a neck-thru bass at some point). Edit: Drak, he had the piece already booked and run thru the joiner. I planed it some more on a belt sander to get rid of some small tear-outs, and it glued up pretty well. Edited September 12, 2004 by erikbojerik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krizalid Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 any progress on the double-neck yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 Definately looks HOT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 on 12-strings they use pickups for 6-strings right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maher Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 ............ . ............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren wilson Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 How the heck are you going to fit 12 tuners on one of those headstocks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowser Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 exactly^^^????? everything looks good though, nice necks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 26, 2004 Report Share Posted September 26, 2004 I don't like double neck guitars... with that out of the way I got to say that this beast is beautiful! I love the bookmatched spalted (which I don't like) and the burst. So you have taken all the things trhat I don't like and made somenthing that I must say I like! My only concern is the thickness of the headstock, it looks much thicker than what the tunners wiull acomodate. anyway, great job, can't wait to see updated pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2004 Thanks everyone. I've run into a busy patch at work, so not much more progress just yet (and I want to finish the travel guitar first). I do have all the hardware though, except for the 6-bridge. I'm still waiting for some waterslide decal paper before I take the next step on the neck. One thing I've learned about 1-piece maple necks; it is easier to cut the slots, then do the neck shaping & finishing, then re-cut the slots and install the frets (in that order). Finish-sanding the fretboard between the frets is becoming a PITA. My idea for the 12-tuners is to mount 2 rows of them at right-angles to one another along the top of the headstock. One row will be in the normal Strat position. The second row (octave strings) will have the posts pointing in toward the center of the headstock, but with the tips of the posts exposed in a channel routed into the face of the headstock (a bit like Rickenbacker 12s). I tried it out on some scrap wood, and the fit is OK, but since so much wood is removed to drill the holes, I thought some extra walnut on the back would add some strength. It should fit 12 standard Fender tuners; the thickness is just right so that the posts will stick out just enough. I'll post a photo once I get that part done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 (edited) Well....after 3 weeks, one step forward, two steps back. The "12 tuners on one headstock" thing (see previous post) didn't work out too well. First, the channel in the face of the headstock looks butt-ugly (even with the tuners on). Second, my sawblade ran away and I cut into the fingerboard; i filled it but it is still a visible scar. Third, the extra thickness of the headstock is too much to allow the screwed bushings of the Fender tuners to catch; I drilled recesses with a forstner bit, but that looks butt-ugly too. Finally, I think the angle of the tuners coming in from the side is probably too flat for the octave strings to stay wound around the posts anyway. So...I gave up; this neck will be set aside for "reconditioning" for a future project. So now I'm working on neck #3 of this "double" neck...with a much more elegant way of adding the octave strings for the 12-neck. More pics soon; I have a Nov. 5 gig that I want to debut this bad boy at. Edited October 17, 2004 by erikbojerik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchool Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 I feel that this will be a great guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 well, if i were you, i'd either depart with the strat headstock, or make it extra long... sorry to hear about the troubles, but it does look great as a whole... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattdowney Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 (edited) i have an idea of how you could do the 12 tuners. put 6 on the headstock like a normal strat, and 6 on the bottom edge of the body. i know this sounds crazy but i have seen it on guitars before and it works well. it also looks good too. i have never seen it on a strat but on some other guitars. this is a BC rich 10 string. it has 4 tuners on the body. i know its a BCrich and has a funny body shape but you will get the idea. bc rich here is a BC rich double neck with 6 tuners on the body. bc rich 2 you could out the tuners on the bottom edge of the body, i think it could look really cool on a strat. hope this helps. later on Edited October 17, 2004 by mattdowney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 Yeah I thought about doing 6 tuners on the body, but it does require some semi-major surgery to get it to work. I even thought of 6 banjo tuners on the headstock (in addition to the regular tuners). But I've come around to a better idea...a 12-string neck with only 6 tuners. I've already built a 6-string travel guitar with no tuners, so it should have occurred to me earlier.... Here's how it'll work. For the 12 string, I'll use a Schaller hardtail bridge with the fine tuners on the tailpiece, and notch the saddles for 12-strings. It is a standard top-load bridge, but I'll also drill for 6 thru-the-body ferrules (just under the tailpiece). I'll first load the octave strings (top-load), tune them up with the regular tuners, then lock them down with a locking string retainer (behind the nut) and snip off the ends between the string retainer and the tuning pegs. Next, load the regular strings (thru-body) and tune them up with the tuning keys, then finally adjust the tuning of the octave strings with the fine tuners. To make it work, I need enough of a step-down from the fingerboard to the face of the headstock (and top of the string retainer) so that the regular strings will clear the top of it and won't pop out of the nut. It should work great, and allow me to keep the classic lines of both a Strat body and big 70s headstocks. I've seen a few other Strat doublenecks, and the extra size of the 12-headstock always kinda bothered me. I've got the walnut laminate on the back of the headstock on neck #3; should be shaped and ready to glue the fingerboard tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 The only thing I would suggest is to do a new neck, make the angle on the top side les pronounced, put 8 tunners on to and 4 on the bottom (kinda like they do the 5 string on the basses). I know it will not be a stock looking strat headstock but it will look better than with the tunners on the body! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2004 Thanks for the suggestion, but I've always been slightly put off by doublenecks with non-matching headstocks. I think the string retainer idea will work. Got the fingerboard on, slotted, neck finish sanded and one coat of sanding sealer. This time, all the finishing will be done BEFORE I install the frets (hehe). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2004 The woodworking on neck #3 is done. Finally got a chance to install the bridges & tuners, string & clamp the necks & drill for the neck screws. Still some neck shaping & finishing, but it is beginning to look like a real guitar now. One interesting thing has come up; while I had the outer strings on, I checked the action on both necks. The 12-neck with the Schaller bridge needs ~2° neck angle (expected), but the 6-neck with the standard bridge will also need ~2° (can't get the saddles low enough). At first I couldn't figure this out, but then I realized that the spalted maple top is probably slightly thicker than the amount that I originally removed from the body; this makes the neck pockets slightly too deep. A little 2° shave off the bottoms and we'll be good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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