Guitarfrenzy Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 We'll it's been a while since I've actually posted a project that I'm doing, but this one is interesting enough that I thought I'd at least post some progress pics. Here are some of the specs I decided upon before I started anything. -Swamp Ash (ultra lightweight) body with wild grain pattern. -Set Neck -3° Neck Angle.. I had to draw everything out full scale in order to figure the correct angle for my bridge. (tip: If you don't know how to correctly figure this out.. read Rhoads post, or Melvyn Hiscock's book on page 26 of Make Your Own Electric Guitar.) -Deep Carved top.. -24 Fret Rosewood Fretboard with Abalone inlays -Two Seymour Duncan pickups... JB Model (SH-4) for the Bridge Pickup, and a Jazz Model (SH-2) for the Neck Pickup. -No pickguard -Bone Nut -Leo Quan Bad Ass Bridge (Wraparound) Gold -Grover Tuners Gold -Gold Knobs -Black Cherry Burst Finish -Jumbo Frets, with Gibson type flat crown* May go with Stainless Steel though>> -MOP Inlayed Headstock -Thin neck for fast play -And no Heel design, I don't want a PRS fat heel getting in the way. -Carbon Fiber Rods to make the neck really strong and eliminate dead spots So I might as well get started.... Here is a picture of the guitar after it was cutout using my own templates I built... And here's a different view. JV-1 body pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 The Leo Quan bridge that I'm going to use came from Brian Calvert. Click on this llink to go to his site if your interested in buying a bridge like it also. He's got great prices on most everything, check out his site if you have time. The Leo Quan bridge is a wrap around bridge that gives you alot of adjustablity, plus it looks cool.. lol Leo Quan pic I wanted to show this bridge since Brian was kind enough to get me one in quickly. Thanks again Brian!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Nice ash Matt, how are you going to carve it, like a PRS type of a rounded body type like driskill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 Good luck with that bridge. Every guitar ive played with that style of bridge has been impossible to intonate. They were all stock guitars ill admit, but i have yet to play one i like. Nice wood tho mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 Good luck with that bridge. Every guitar ive played with that style of bridge has been impossible to intonate. They were all stock guitars ill admit, but i have yet to play one i like. Nice wood tho mate! ← That bridge got intonation saddles like the TOM, there should be no problem with intonation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 That bridge got intonation saddles like the TOM, there should be no problem with intonation. ← It has, and im sure that they *ARE* intonable, but every guitar ive played with that bridge has caused me trouble. I genuinely hope that GF doesnt have any trouble with it and I will be watching this thread to see how he does in case there is something i have missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slabbefusk Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 That bridge got intonation saddles like the TOM, there should be no problem with intonation. ← It has, and im sure that they *ARE* intonable, but every guitar ive played with that bridge has caused me trouble. I genuinely hope that GF doesnt have any trouble with it and I will be watching this thread to see how he does in case there is something i have missed. ← Ash is a hard wood right? Then you shouldn't have any problems with it. BCR Bronze Series come with that style of bridges and they have Agathis bodies, Agathis is soft and the bridge has a tendency to lean forward, but if the wood you have is hard there shouldn't be any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 Nice ash Matt, how are you going to carve it, like a PRS type of a rounded body type like driskill. ← Yes, it's gonna be deep carved ala Driskill, PRS.. And as far as the bridge goes, It shouldn't be a problem with the wood.. also I'm gonna use the Tone Pros Locking Studs on this guitar so it will be even that much better. I'll let you guys know if I have any intonation problems, but I don't think I should. We'll see... Also, I don't think this wood will give at all.. so that shouldn't be an issue either... Like I said, I'll find out a month or so after it's finished.. I got more pics to post tomorrow.. MaTT Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 Ok.. got the neck scarf jointed together and has already dried. I haven't cleaned up all the glue yet, but I will later today before routing the Truss Rod channel, and Carbon Fiber Rod slots. I didn't want to waste any wood thus I made a scarf joint using the table saw jig to cut the proper angle. I got some pictures of the process if anyone is interested, just let me know.. Here is a couple of pictures of the neck after it was taken out of the clamps. You can still see some glue that hasn't been cleaned up on the picture and notice that the headstock had wings glued to it in order to be wide enough in certain spots. Scarfneck pic 1 The maple wood started at 2 3/4" wide x 27" long. It needs to be that wide in order for the table saw jig to cut the full width. On some bigger table saws you can cut a bigger piece though. In this picture you can really see how much wood you save from doing a scarf joint. Also there is no end grain runout like you would have with a solid one piece neck in the headstock area. It's a really strong joint. ScarfNeck pic 2 Close observers will notice I used a PRS headstock drawing to make sure the headstock pieces are wide enough. It's not going to be a PRS headstock, but will be the same width, which is all I was using it for. Since I don't have my template drawn of the headstock design at this moment. Any problems? We'll so far I noticed that I got in too big a hurry and should have routed the truss, cf rod slots first before I glued the headstock wings on. lol.. Oh we'll, luckily I have some of the same size strips lying around, so I'll just place them on one of the edges with double stick tape and route it. haha.. I guess we never can learn too much.. Later today I'll be working on it some more, hopefully I'll have more picture tomorrow for you guys. MaTT Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 I thought these illustrations of drawings I did would be neat to show. The first one is a diagram I drew to make a perfect neck template. First I started off by drawing a perfect centerline that will be a center guide for everything else I draw. Basically you find the string spread for your bridge your using, and the width of the nut you want to use. Measure out the scale length your going to use.. in my case it is 25". Draw out the bridge and nut perfectly centered and distance wise. Now at the nut draw two lines from the outside edges 1/8" in. This is the optimal place for the strings, any closer and you'll have problem with the string falling over the fretboard. Next I drew two lines on the bridge that is the string spread. In my case (2" string spread), I just measured 1" from the centerline and made two marks from each side where the bridge is. Now all you have to do is draw lines to connect the bridge to the nut on each side of the neck. Now starting from the nut at each end draw a 1/8" line away from the lines you just drew and that is your neck taper. I hope this makes some kind of sense. lol This diagram was drawn to find out the neck angle I'd need. Drawing of Neck Angle I'll edit this post later today and explain it better.. I'm running out of time.. I'm late for the shop as it is.. lol MaTT Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 hey Matt, it might be me but that angle looks too much, remember that the line that goes to the tip of the bridge saddles comes from the nut. and I don't see it on the drawing. That angle looks like almost 10, and a 3-5 degree should be most than enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 hey Matt, it might be me but that angle looks too much, remember that the line that goes to the tip of the bridge saddles comes from the nut. and I don't see it on the drawing. That angle looks like almost 10, and a 3-5 degree should be most than enough. ← No it's not a 10° angle, it's 3°. I used the method that Melvyn Hiscock explains in his book Make Your Own Electric Guitar page 26. What you don't see on that drawing is the end of fretboard mark, etc. This guitar will have a flush mount neck, ala. Les Paul. Only the fingerboard will be above the body, so that's why it's done this way. I'll add marks to my full scale drawing like I did on the Neck Taper diagram. Those are just overhead pictures of full scale drawings I made for this guitar. This afternoon after I get out of the shop, I'll explain the drawing in detail.. but thanks for keeping me on my toes.. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 We'll yesterday I didn't get as done as I wanted too, but I did make some progress. Like I said earlier I had added the wings to the headstock in haste and that made it impossible to use a router table with fence. So basically I had to add some wood to the neck side for it to lay level on the guide fence. I decided I'd route and epoxy the carbon fiber rods, then do the truss rod later. So first I had to establish a centerline in the neck wood, and knew this would be the center for the truss rod. Then at the nut area, I drew out the width of the truss, and then marked the locations for the carbon fiber rods using that as my guide. I used the thinner carbon fiber rods that Stew Mac sells (#4403) .200" x 1/4" x 18" just so I could built a thinner neck without issues. The carbon fiber rods are really light but add tons of strength to the neck. Below is a picture of putting the epoxy in the carbon rod slots. Carbon Rods pic 1 As you can see it can get pretty messy.. lol I'm using alot of epoxy, but you don't have to. Better scrap off most of the epoxy right now before it dries good... Carbon Rods pic 3 MaTT Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 Ok, I finally have time to explain the second diagram better. First off, here it is revised. This is the basic procedure for finding the neck angle like Melyvn Hiscock explains on page 26 of his book. I'm using the procedure that finds the neck angle on the basis that the fretboard will be the only part of the neck that is above the body, just as a Les Paul. First, I just drew a centerline. Then I made a line for the end of body, and drew the bridge out for optimal height (each bridge is different). Make sure you mark out everything correctly location wise as it will affect the neck angle measurement your wanting to get from this. Since I'm using a 25" scale, and 24 fret neck, I'll have to arrange things the best way for my setup. I actually even marked where the pickups would be, to make sure there was enough space for everything. Then I measured out and marked the location for the end of fingerboard. At the end of fingerboard location, since I want the neck wood will be flush with the body at all point where the neck and body are joined. That leaves only the height of the fingerboard plus the fretwire height to adjust for. You could just measure up from the end of fingerboard mark and add another mark however far up you needed to equal the fingerboard, fretwire height; but that's not how Mevlyn did it in his book. Either way will work though. Basically he just marked down from the bridge the height of the fingerboard and fretwire, which is shown as Point B. on the diagram I made. Next, all you have to do is draw a straight line from Point B to Point A, making sure to draw far enough past point A to take the angle measurement. I know I'm probably not explaining it just right, but it's late.. lol Anyway, I ended up for this guitar, with a 3° angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted March 17, 2005 Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 Matt, don't you have to take into consideration the action at the 24th fret too? I think you will be good with a 3 degree, anyway, but on the drawing there is not string height taken into consideration. I made this mistake with the green guitar and I had to set the TOM higher than what I wanted it. Here is a small pic of what I mean, I tried to make it bigger but is not working on my part. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/Maiden69/bridge2.bmp I made the pocket with the measurement that Itook on the doted line instead of the string line. in my case I only had to rout the neck a bit deeper, so if you do it like that and is not to your liking the only thing you will have to do ir rout it a bit more. Nice work on the neck, once you are done let me know (or post it here) if the carbon fiber made any difference on the neck compared with the strat that you did before. in keeping it straight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 Yeah the drawing goes exactly by the method that Melyvn Hiscock used in his book. Basically, the bridge is the only area that you should have to worry about, since you measure the height with consideration for the slots in the bridge to except the strings. I already have that in my calculations, but you do bring up a good point, and the answer to the question is that since the nut will have to be slotted and bridge, then the angle shouldn't change since if done correctly you'll be slotting them almost equally for both, thus your not changing the angle. I'm also sure that 3° will work because I've already laid everything out as accurately as possible to check. Also, the carbon fiber rods are standard on anything I do nowdays. I've done them on the last 2 bass and last 3 guitars we made and they make the neck way more sturdy without adding unneccesary weight to it. The thing I learned though is that they should be as close to the truss rod as possible, with around 1/16" of wood between truss and cf rods on each side. So it's better to slot and epoxy them in first to make for a stable truss slot without possible chipout. Just make sure you measure correctly though because routing a carbon fiber rod wouldn't be a good thing.. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted April 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 I made another neck for the wider carbon fiber rods, and to use with the Allied Luthiere Dual Action Truss Rod. Since they will all fit in a 1/2" wide channel, I just routed a 1/2" channel 3/8" deep for the truss rod and two carbon fiber rods. The carbon fiber rods are first glued to the sides of the slot and then the truss rod is installed. I'm thinking this will not only strenghten the neck, but also will let you use the wider carbon fiber rods with thinner necks, since they aren't spaced farther apart and are the same depth 3/8" for the cut. Here's a picture to show you what I'm talking about. I liked it so much that I decided to use this neck on the JV-1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted April 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 Most of the time I'll cut the neck taper at this stage, but on this guitar I decided to cut the fingerboard to the correct taper first. After it has been cut out, I aligned the neck for proper placement, marked it on the neck wood, then glued it with Titebond and will let it setup over night before the neck wood is taper the same. Picture of fretboard clamped and glued!! I love having the 12" radius sanding block that we made 18" long.. it's great for gluing the fretboard down perfectly tight!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted April 12, 2005 Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 Hey Matt, I like your idea of the carbon fiber rods there, but some how, my brain tells me that it will do a better work inserted into the wood.this could be a nice add on to regular carbon fiber rods, I think it will be too extreme, and a bit costly, but the neck won't bow foward a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted April 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2005 Hey Matt, I like your idea of the carbon fiber rods there, but some how, my brain tells me that it will do a better work inserted into the wood.this could be a nice add on to regular carbon fiber rods, I think it will be too extreme, and a bit costly, but the neck won't bow foward a bit. ← I thought about that also, but the carbon rods can't move because they are epoxied real good to the wood, then the pressure from the truss rod won't let them move, and then on top will be the fingerboard wood that will really seal it off so that it can't move anywhere. It's just an experiment and I'll let you guys know how it works. The main thing you want to do before using carbon fiber rods is make sure the neck wood is perfectly straight before you begin with and that you dont' need to change anything. Since it's not really a good idea to sand carbon fiber rods down as far as health issues goes. I'm sure it's not good for the lungs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted April 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 After the fingerboard was glued, I took the clamps off and bandsawed the neck wood about 1/8" away from the fingerboard so I could later use a flush trim router bit to finish it up. Next was to glue the small wings on the sides of the headstock, I didn't need much wood on either side, since the original piece of wood was 2-1/4" maple. Here you can see the whole neck tapered and everything. Today I'll glue a neck heel on and hopefully cut out the headstock. Headstock wings pic 2 So far things are going as planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted April 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2005 Yesterday I cut out the headstock basic shape, I'm still refining the top design some before I cut it out. After the glue dried on the wings I was able to clean up the glue, then with bandsaw I cut out most of the headstock, then used various grit's of sandpaper and alot of hand work and it ended up like this. As you can see in this photo, alot of time and effort went into making sure the wings I glued on was.. 1. a tight fit and 2. matched the grain pattern of the headstock as much as possible. Here's a closer look at the headstock at this stage of building. Headstock Closeup I'm in the process of gluing the heel wood on right now, and will have more progress pics later this weekend. MaTT Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 We'll the design phase of building this guitar has taken more time than I'd like, but I wanted it to be as nice looking as I could get it. I finished off another guitar before I got back to actually working on the JV-1. Also, I had to practice inlaying which was new for me. Now with the final templates made and time on my hands I started working on the JV-1 again. Here is a picture of the headstock with the gold tuners just pushed in place to get a better idea of how the guitar will look. I still have to route the veneer for the truss rod slot. Some would say I should have already done this, but I do things the odd way.. lol Another angle. I will start carving the neck later this week, and get the body ready for gluing the neck. I'll keep you guys posted. MaTT Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 Well it's about damn time Matt! I like the shape, it resembles many but doesn't look exactly like any. The blue and gold look great with the V inlay, very tasteful! Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 Well it's about damn time Matt! I like the shape, it resembles many but doesn't look exactly like any. The blue and gold look great with the V inlay, very tasteful! Great work! ← Thanks, I can see that many had lost faith.. lol I almost did myself, but I simply had to finish it. More work ahead.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.