jnewman Posted April 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 Never try to do fretwork without a good pair of end cutters. Please. Just don't. It takes way, way, too long. I used a heavy duty pair of wire cutters on some of them, but you don't get a flush cut, and filing them takes FOREVER. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 Never try to do fretwork without a good pair of end cutters. Please. Just don't. It takes way, way, too long. I used a heavy duty pair of wire cutters on some of them, but you don't get a flush cut, and filing them takes FOREVER. ← I "file" the ends down on a 100-grit belt sander; edge bevel too. I still use good nippers though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted April 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 Well, I still haven't managed to get back into the shop for any appreciable amount of time, so I haven't been able to get a lot done with only the tools in my dorm room - I did finish the fretting though, and finished up the body and neck contouring and sanding to 100 grit (not doing any finish sanding until after the routing's done). Here's a picture of the guitar as it currently stands (or lies on my bed ): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pibrocher Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 That guitar is looking great. Can't wait to see some hardware getting attached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted April 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 Speaking of hardware - there's JUST enough neck angle that a ruler across the fret tops just sits in the string slots if the schaller roller bridge is sitting flat on the face of the guitar. I guess I still need to route out a tiny pocket for it, but it couldn't possibly need more than an eighth of an inch, so I guess I'll be doing about that much. Also, should I countersink the little flanges around the tops of the studs for the bridge, or just let them sit resting on the surface of the guitar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted June 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2005 (edited) Finally an update! I stopped work just before finals ended and hadn't done anything at all on the guitar until Sunday. Since Sunday, I've worked 2-4 hours each day, and am almost done! I chiseled out the neck heel more to almost a normal AANJ except for the little ledge that I always thought was silly. Next I routed the pickup cavities, drilled the holes for the pot shafts, drilled the rear cavity with a forstner bit and chiseled it out clean, chiseled out the ledge around it, drilled with another forstner bit recesses for the knobs. I then chiseled out the recesses for the bridge and tailpiece (the tailpiece posts aren't there in the pictures because I accidentally left them in the wood shop), then drilled the hole for the bridge grounding wire and installed it and put in all the studs. I glued wings on the headstock, sanded them down, and cut out and shaped the headstock. I chiseled off the ledge for the gibson-style nut. I also drilled the jack hole in the side (tele-style) and put a hole in from the electronics cavity to the rear pup cavity. There was already a channel there that I routed in before I glued the wings, so the front cavity's already connected. I don't think I forgot anything... all that's left to do is drill out the tuner holes, use the Nordic Oil (a tung oil/phenolic resin mix I got at Rockler) I bought to finish the guitar, and put on all the hardware. Oh, and make the nut from a little piece of fossilized mammoth ivory. Anyway, pics: It's not all sanded yet, so there are still little scratches all over the body. I'm really, really happy at how it's been going. EDIT: Oh, there'll be pickup rings, too... I just stuck the pickups in so everyone could get a better idea of how it's looking. Edited June 16, 2005 by jnewman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted June 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 Woohoo! Started finishing, here it is still wet with its second coat of General Finishing "Nordic Oil" an oil and resin varnish sort of thing. I have it hanging from a coat hanger. I like how the Nordic Oil is looking so far - with even just the first coat dried it darkened almost this much and looked great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 I just.....LOVE.....the way walnut transforms like that when you start applying the finish. Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 looking great man...it's definately a very cool guitar... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted June 23, 2005 Report Share Posted June 23, 2005 I like it so far, the only thing that catches my eye is the way that you did the recess for the bridge, It could have looked much better if the transition were a lot sharper than it is now. Like Carvin's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted June 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 I like it so far, the only thing that catches my eye is the way that you did the recess for the bridge, It could have looked much better if the transition were a lot sharper than it is now. Like Carvin's. ← I did it that way because it's the only way I can get to the intonation adjustment screws - it has that big fat schaller roller TOM that needs a big pocket, and it has to go down low enough because of the no neck angle that there has to be a little taper there for the screwdriver to fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted June 24, 2005 Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 I love that schaller because of the roller design (I haven't used them because of their price). I already checked one out and the intonation screws are in the same place as the TOM's, the only thing you needed to do was enlarge the holes to the side to be able to adjust the height from the side. Just like I did on this one and the new strat that I made. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/Maiden69/DSC01774.jpg (Unless the fretboard is too low on the body, that will realy cause a big problem with the TOM set up). They have the stew mac TOM and the screws are a bit bigger than the TOM so you have to rout a bit more to the side. Granted I got the height screw on top and you don't, so that's a little more that you would have to rout. I'm not saying that the guitars is not good, I'm just pointing that it would have looked a lot better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted June 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 For what it's worth, when I bought mine LMI had them SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than any other place I could find them. They're showing up as on backorder right now, but the price is $28.15. Stewmac is $39.36. I understand what you're saying about the recess, but I kind of like it . To each his own, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pr3Va1L Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 hey man, how deep have you recessed your ToM, and how high is your fretboard? thanks mate, and nice job!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted June 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 hey man, how deep have you recessed your ToM, and how high is your fretboard? thanks mate, and nice job!! ← Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted September 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 Well. Finally an update. The guitar's been pretty much done for a while, but my camera's been funny so I haven't posted any pictures - here they are, though. I did six or seven coats of General Finish's Nordic Oil, which I actually kind of like (it's a polyphenolic resin varnish), put all the hardware on, and so forth - two vol, two tone, volume knobs are push/pull to turn each's pup on. There's a piece of veneer under the nut that I haven't trimmed to fit yet (or replaced the nut) - I cut the nut a bit too deep. I also haven't made the cavity cover, although I have the wood for it - about eight pieces of flame maple veneer laminated together. It's about a little more than an eighth of an inch thick and it's solid as a rock - I just need to cut it and finish it. I haven't had a chance to yet as I've been moving back into school. There are only two functional problems with the guitar. First, the neck's really thick because of the fretboard, which is more than 3/8" thick (it's comfortable for me, but I have really big hands). Second... the frets aren't perfectly spaced, despite my care, so it's not perfectly in tune with itself all accross the board. I may redo it (or have it professionally redone) at some point in the future, but at this point I'm inclined to leave it be and move on to the next one. This being my first, I'm not gonna WOD it like Drak, but if the next one starts to go wrong I'm going to carve it up into little bitty pieces with a jigsaw and glue it together as sculpture . Anyway, here's the front: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted September 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 And the back: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted September 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 Heh. I forgot to mention a couple things. I still need to make/buy knobs, and I need to get some lemon oil to clean the fret dust out of the fretboard. Other than that, I'm all done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 Well, I'll say that I think you had a great recovery and that patch doesn't look nearly as bad as some have made it out to be. How does it sound and play? Also, Walnut? I'm lovin it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 well,the patch does look bad..but i expect you will not make thatmistake again.other than that i like it as far as the fretboard...lmii sends them out extremely thick...what you have to do is run it through a jointer and take away some thickness from the back of the board before you attach it.otherwise you will have a very thick neck no matter what you do. trust me...i have a few thick necks right now because of that same thing later on i will have to go back,pull the frets,and shave it down from the top,which means reradiusing and reslotting...much better to do it from the back before glue up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 I'm not saying I would make it a feature, but for a first guitar, and a neck through at that, I think it turned out pretty darn good. Especially compared to some people's first builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted September 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 well,the patch does look bad..but i expect you will not make thatmistake again.other than that i like it I don't think the patch looks terrible, but no, I won't be doing it again . as far as the fretboard...lmii sends them out extremely thick...what you have to do is run it through a jointer and take away some thickness from the back of the board before you attach it.otherwise you will have a very thick neck no matter what you do. trust me...i have a few thick necks right now because of that same thing later on i will have to go back,pull the frets,and shave it down from the top,which means reradiusing and reslotting...much better to do it from the back before glue up. ← Yeah, I really should have thinned it out first (it was just a blank, no slots or radiusing) - this being my first experience with building a guitar, I didn't really realize how thick the truss rod was and though having a thick fretboard would actually be a good thing . The board isn't actually from LMI, but it was definately too thick. I have a macassar ebony fretboard blank (also no slots or radiusing) for my next guitar, and it's actually already the right thickness, thankfully. I imagine at some point I'll get out my handplane and knock it down some and refret it (my slotting/inserting wasn't perfect), but right now I'm more interested in getting started on the next one. This guitar does have problems, and if it weren't my first I wouldn't have finished it - but I figured I'd keep making mistakes, and if I kept going with it I'd get some of the big ones out of the way on my first build and do better on my next one. How does it sound and play? It plays a little rough from the thick neck, and I can't quite get it intonated, but it does sound really good. The Bartolini PBF-49/57 set are really, really detailed and responsive, but probably better than this guitar deserves - I may replace them with some cheaper pups and reuse these in a better guitar. The tonal balance isn't actually missing anywhere, but it does have pretty thundering midbass from the walnut - it's not a bad sound at all, I turn down the bass knob a bit on my amp (Marshall JTM-60) and it's pretty even and rich. I'll see about recording and posting some samples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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