fehgalloway Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 Hi everyone, Well, after finishing uni for the year, my next job is to start (and finish) my guitar in the christmas holiday. I have 4 months, so if i don't get a fair chunk done, i'll be very annoyed at myself. I started last weekend. Working full-time is VERY bad. I would prefer to be poor and have time to myself. So the only time I have is weekends, and even then, trying to balance building a guitar with hanging out an acceptable amount with my boyfriend is annoying. So this is a slow warning - letting you all know that this is going to take a while. Anyway, i've finally begun. I had a thread previously with info on my timber and hardware. As i'm from , I wanted to use only native timber, so I've scrounged around and got everything I need, for not too much. To cut a long and boring story short.... I designed my guitar about 2 months ago on graph paper I glued it to some cheap second hand perspex I bought and cut it out with a jigsaw I sanded and filed the sides of the perspex, till all the lumps and bumps were gone. I screwed the perspex onto my timber I cut out the guitar with jigsaw. here are some progress pics. Plan and timber plan on timber perspex, jigsaw, plan template on cut out body body Timber: West Australian Rosewood Body Queensland Maple Neck Cooktown Ironwood Fingerboard Victorian Ash Binding finish: clear of some sort Hardware: 3&3 tuners hotrod truss rod tune-o-matic bridge 2 humbuckers (hopefully made by me) wiring setup same as les paul Inlays: Timber or shell - undecided NEXT.... To sand down the sides and start the neck. i'm using Martin Koch's method for sanding - i'm getting sanding drums tomorrow and making a router table on the weekend. I did want a triton router table, but for $200, I can live without it! Any comments, questions or suggestions are welcome! just be nice, I'd only used a jigsaw once before then, and I've never done any woodworking, so it's all going to be a bit interesting i think! Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 And...I forgot to mention the NOT TO DO THING I LEARNT! The timber i cut the body from was really long, and as mentioned in the old thread, my uncle had cut up an old stair tred and laminated it into 8 pieces for the body - mainly to get the good grain. i cut through the middle of the timber to cut it in half and make the end with the template more workable, and having it balanced over two saw horses, of course it fell in. I presumed it was going to do this, but as it was less than a metre, and it was going to fall onto scraps, i didn't worry. Well, it snapped, completely down the centre, along the glue line, except for 3mm at the top, where it split the timber. Luckily the template held it together, so i cut it out, went to Bunnings bought some clamps and wood glue and fixed it up. There is a slight glue line at the neck end, but other than that, it's fairly un-noticable. Or at least no more than what it was before. And it seems solid as a rock. So, lesson one..Patience, and proper working surfaces.. It's all good now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 Well, I got nearly nothing done this weekend! Dad bought the Triton workcentre, router table, and jigsaw attachment. so i helped him put it together... he's the slowest and most finickity person i've ever met, so it took all weekend.. but...it's together, so work will begin soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 good stuff! looks like nice wood! heavy? looks quite thick. hope you enjoy building it! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 It's 45mm thick. It is quite heavy, only slightly more so than my cheap plywood strat copy. I'm probably going to carve the top a bit...well, maybe i'll carve the top a bit - not sure yet, i'll see how i go! What does everyone else think - carve yes or no... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 What is West Australian Rosewood? Is it similar to Indian Rosewood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeR Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 Hey Fi! That looks great! Luke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 carveing is IMO an ausome thing to do to a guitar. Provided your comfterable doing it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted December 13, 2004 Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 Nice that you finally started, I know how tasked out you can feel with the Uni and all. So far looking good, on your to carve question, it all depends to you. Like Godin just said, if you are comfortable with it go ahead, I found pretty frustrating to make a carve even on both sides if you don't have some kinda template to follow. On my next one I will make a template before carving, and I suggest you do to, that way the carve turns out more even and easier. On this body it will look better carved, or just with the edges rounded over, I say with a 1/2 to 3/4" round over bit. Good luck and keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2004 javacody I don't know, actually. I got it as a freebie.. As you can see from the pics, it's really red, not as brown, like indian rosewood, and I don't know if it is as dense/hard. It's a hardwood, that's all i know. Sorry.. I think a carve would look really good on this guitar, as i'm trying to make it a bit less heavy, and a carve would not only take a bit of the weight out of it, but would make it look a little less like a huge chunk of wood with a neck sticking out of it... I probably will, so thanks for the advice, i will most definately use a template! makes a lot more sense! Will hopefully sand sides during week, and probably get my order from Stew Mac. Even with xmas rush, should be here this week! I have 3 weeks holidays coming up after xmas, so i'm hoping to get a lot done then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Well, there's not a lot to update. I've sanded the sides on the body, measured and re-measured the plans, and everything's set to go... this week or boxing day, i'll cut out the neck. It will be laminated 2 piece Qld Maple neck. I will cut it out completely from one piece. It has a 2degree neck angle and 12 degree headstock angle. the 2 questions i do have, if anyone can answer, are: how much wood should be left underneath the truss rod. I have a hot shot double aciton truss rod from stew mac. in my plans i've left 5mm at the thinnest point, near the headstock, however, this still seems like a really thick neck when you include the thickness of the fretboard at 6mm...i'm going to have a look at some plans if i can - from MIMF, but if anyone can give me their opinion, that would be great, thanks.. AND what is a "normal" action. I've got the string set at 2mm above the fret board. is this too little? too much? it doesn't leave much room for error! no pics yet...nothing much to show.. Oh...and my stew mac order came on Friday...1 1/2 weeks postage at XMAS, that' not too bad!!! thanks in advance for your opinions and comments! fiona Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted December 20, 2004 Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 (edited) Stewmac recommends 1/8" (3.175mm) wood left beneath the rod. I like about 1/16" (1.587mm) at the 17th fret for the low E string and a little less on the high E. Some people go lower than that but I think that's pretty close to the average you would find in a guitar shop. I guess it also depends on if you're planning on doing any slide. Looking forward to seeing this one built - I hope it turns out well. Edited December 20, 2004 by daveq Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2004 Thanks for your help daveq - i'll go and have a look at my drawings and see if i can't fix them a bit to make a slicker neck! and congrats on the little one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2004 (edited) Ok, well, i started to get my neck organised last night: I cut my big chunk of timber into two pieces, that are a bit over half the width of the neck. I have to plane them down and then glue them together.... I can fit the whole neck on, headstock and all, from the one piece...all i'll have to do is glue ears on. I'm paranoid about mucking the fret slots up, so i got into cad (at work today ) and started....then i couldn't finish, so i took cad home, loaded it up, and this is what i got.. the graphic is really big, because it's hard to make out otherwise, its about 1100x1600 i think, so i'm just warning everyone. I would appreciate any comments, pointing out of errors, bad points, anything. As you will probably see, i've copied a few bits here and there.. firstly - Perry, i really liked the volute on the headstock, neck join, so i've kind of copied it - if this is a problem, please tell me and i'll remove it. it's a very gibson-esqu headstock, but i like them.. the body will be carved (hopefully) to accomodate the neck angle. And what i forgot to write on the plans...my headstock is 13mm thick. anyway, have a look and tell me what you think. 800x600 1200x1600 EDIT: it doesn't seem to be linking to the individual photos, just my account, but i'm sure you can figure it out: picture 1 is 800*600, picture 2 is 1200*1600. Bye Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom! Edited December 22, 2004 by fehgalloway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Just a quick question... i'm just trying to figure out if my design will work properly frets are about 1mm high, strings are 1mm above that, so an action of 1mm, is this going to be too little for a newbie builder to get right???? i don't know what 1mm is in inches...between 3/64 and 2/64 i think.. Thanks very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 I think it should be tight, I think about 2mm above the fret should be OK. But you can always play with the bridge saddles to bring the action up. In inches it should be between 1/16 to 3/16 depending how good the fret job and the neck is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Thanks Maiden, i'l go over it a bit. I'd rather have it a little hight than a little low, personally. I've set up my whole design based on 2mm above the fretboard, so my neck angle and everything will change a bit, but that's ok.... i'll show you all after Christmas.. Have a good one everyone, and take care! God Bless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 remember to check the main site for guitar set up. And that the distance above the top of the fretboard (close to the headstock) is going to be lower than the bottom. In mine it goes from 1/16at the 1st to about 3/16 at the 24th. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G_urr_A Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 i don't know what 1mm is in inches...between 3/64 and 2/64 i think.. 1 inch is about equal to 2.54 cm, meaning that 1 mm is slightly more than 1/25 inch. But then "you people" measure inches as fractions with a denominator which is a power of two, so 41/1024 would perhaps be better. But a 1024th of an inch is a bit small, so 5/128 is better. So between 3/64 and 2/64 is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 Ugh...Imperial, why wouldn't you change over! the world would be a better place! and so much less confusing! Drawing updated and ready for Boxing day work! (only 4 hours till Christmas! ) Ignore most of the text in the middle, the details have changed a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 for guitar building..i mostly use metric...it is just superior....but for bridge placement i use imperial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted December 24, 2004 Report Share Posted December 24, 2004 I realy don't mind what system I use, I was tought both while going up in school. we were suposed to use imperial because of the books we had, but our math teacher was a spanish nun from Cataluna, Spain, and she made sure we know the metric system too. I think it's a pain to use the fractions and that te metric is much easier for precision measures. But I got a handy 6" ruler that have the sides ruled in 32nds and 48ths on the other, and instaed of fractions I refer to the measurements in the numbers, like 16 or 35. Lot easier that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 My boyfriend got me a Dremel for Christmas, I am the luckiest person alive!!!!!!! How cool is that!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 25, 2004 Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 sounds like he is the lucky one...most of the rest of us have to go try to buy the right clothes in the right size,or the right perfume,or the right jewelry...and it's gauranteed that if we get it wrong her feelings will be hurt because we don't "know her size" or just plain "know her" "how could you get me a size 4 when i am a size 3?are you saying i look fat?" or "how could you get me a size 2 when i am a size 3?are you saying you wish i was that thin?" madness and all he had to get you is a dremel and you are all warm and fuzzy about it... yep this social commentary brought to you by bitter old man enterprises,inc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted December 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2004 Hmm...of COURSE he's lucky to have me!!! LOL, that goes without saying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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