jay5 Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 Nice! I was just about to call you out for not updating this thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 How do you get at the truss rod? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 How do you get at the truss rod? ← In my previous post I already made a point to mention that I route it out later. I use a dremel for this. Just the way I do it.. I don't recommend anyone else trying this though.. lol Gorecki, you must think the headstock is blue? I guess the picture made it look like a blue headstock, which in fact it is an ebony veneer with a bad picture angle... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 Very tasty and elegant headstock design Matt. I can't believe people can keep coming up with original and unique headstock shapes, you would think for such a small piece of wood that most of the plausible designs would be all thought of by now, but you guys keep coming up with zingers! PS, I also veneer most all of my headstocks, and I also remove the truss cover area with a dremel bit, it's the best thing I can think of to use as long as you're reeeal careful and cautious, I've done a lot of them that way and never blown it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 Thanks Drak. The main reason I route it with a dremel is because one time I glued the veneer after cutting the hole and it slid some by accident and was off center.. yikes.. so it kinda made me leary of doing it that way again. But, that was a long time ago when I didn't know any better, but for some reason, I still would rather do it with the dremel still to this day.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Here is the template I made and will use for routing the humbucker pickups also. I need to make a 3/4" one of out good plywood before I start routing. I don't want to take a chance of messing up my master template, that way I can store this one in a safe place and have it if I need it later on. My friend Robert May gave me some gold fretwire and stainless steel wire to try out. I'm thinking since this guitar is going to be decked out in gold hardware, why not gold fretwire. Thanks Robert! I'm going to buy some from him if I like it. I think you can order some from him here.Soapbar's Fret Wire Page. Closeup Of The Gold Fretwire Believe it or not I have just now glued the heel area on to the neck.. lol So I'll take some pictures of that and more today. Later. Matt Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 (edited) Are the gold frets gold all the way through or just a coating? If it's just a coating won't it wear off when you level and polish? very nice design. Like Drak, I love your headstock. Very classy. I'm digging the body style and you have a killer peice of ash there. This is going to make one sweet guitar when it's done. Edited August 26, 2005 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Are the gold frets gold all the way through or just a coating? If it's just a coating won't it wear off when you level and polish? very nice design. Like Drak, I love your headstock. Very classy. I'm digging the body style and you have a killer peice of ash there. This is going to make one sweet guitar when it's done. ← First off, thanks Godin. I'm hoping the Cherry Burst finish will look good with everything, especially the gold hardware. I really think the Swamp Ash will have a swirl pattern after the deep carve I'm planning on giving it, I sure hope it does. I'm wanting the back of the neck to be red in the middle and fade to black on the sides also, In my head it seems like a good look, but sometimes ideas don't work out the way you invision them. lol As far as the fretwire goes, here's from his site: "Gold" (copper alloy that looks gold) - Vickers hardness rating : HV5-230 I took a piece from the side of the fretwire and filed it some, it's gold colored all the way through. I got the .090" X .055" wire, can't wait to see how it looks like with all the gold hardware once it's finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 (edited) If it were up to me I would make it trans green But that cherry burst is gonna look awesome also. Espicially with gold hardware and a nice deep carve. I can't wait to see this one done That fretwire is prety sweet stuff, I gotta check it out some time. It looks very reasonably priced. I'm due for a fretwire order here soon. I wish they made black fretwire. It would sweet on a maple board. Or you could make the WHOLE guitar black and use black strings and everything. I think it would be interesting to see an all black guitar. Edited August 26, 2005 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Like I said, I glued the heel on last, which I don't really recommend you doing it this way. It's just the way I ended up doing it for this guitar, I guess I got in too big of a hurry on everything else. Here's a picture of me gluing the heel with a big vice. Heel Gluing And another close up. Closeup Of Messy Gorilla Glue.. lol Also from that picture you can see that the MOP side dots are already inlayed and sanded flush. After it dried I took a picture of it before it's taper is cut with a bandsaw. From this picture you can see that I have the MOP dots inlayed on top of the fingerboard also. For everyone who was wondering about the truss slot, here's a closeup of it, I might end up having to dremel away a bit more of the veneer, but I won't know until I test the truss. Truss Slot Routed More work to do.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted August 26, 2005 Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Very cool... Why do you use gorilla glue? It seems like alot of mess for resuts that could be had with regular wood glue. Are you going to do a cool inlay on the trussrod cover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2005 Very cool... Why do you use gorilla glue? It seems like alot of mess for resuts that could be had with regular wood glue. Are you going to do a cool inlay on the trussrod cover? ← I don't use gorilla glue all the time, it was just quicker to grab today, so.. lol. Actually no rhyme or reason for it, except that I like to use it on ocassion, when I have the patience for it.. . I will use it for the neck joint though, since I feel safer using it than Titebond for that particular job, other than that, most of the time I use just regular Titebond. Gorilla glue does make a mess like Wes suggest, but in some cases I feel it's worth it. As far as the trussrod cover is concerned I had hoped to do something special for it also, so we'll see. MaTT Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2005 We'll didn't get much done this weekend because I played both Friday and Saturday night. I can't complain much because I made $190 dollars playing Saturday.. so.. it was worth it, but I didn't get to work on my guitar until Sunday. ........ Yesterday I bandsawed, and sanded the heel flush. I had to remove some of the width because the heel would have been too big if I'd have left it like it was. Here's a picture of what I got done. The fingerboard still looks rough, but that's because I haven't sanded it with the 18" long radius block yet. I want to get it on the neck jig for the final sanding of the neck, but before I can do that I'll have to carve the neck. I'm going to do it the old fashion way on this guitar, just because I want to... lol Spokeshave time.. Today I hope to make a neck pocket template, and if everything fits good, I'll route the pocket out and the pickup cavities. Bout time I got something done with this guitar though.. sigh.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2005 Yesterday afternoon I spent making a neck joint template onto a 3/4" piece of good quality plywood. I took my time to ensure the neck will fit perfectly with no space. I will be able to use this to route the neck pocket centered at the correct neck angle by shimming the side toward the bridge and clamping it down to hold it in place. Here's a picture of the template I made. You'll notice I just have it laying flat in the picture, but this afternoon when I route it it will set at the correct angle, so the neck pocket will be angled correctly. The way I'm doing it, I can leave the neck heel flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2005 This afternoon I got the neck pocket routed at the correct angle and also the pickup holes (3/4" deep). The reason it takes a while is because you must be certain that you have a tight neck joint since it's a glue in, and also the correct angle for the neck to sit. Another critical thing is making sure everything was perfectly centered so that when I mount the Leo Quan wrap around bridge, everything will align. Pickup routes are important also, you don't want the pole pieces to be off center. Here's where I stand so far with the guitar body. After I took a shower and got all the sawdust off of me, , I double checked to make sure the routes was deep enough for the Seymour Duncan pickups. I tested them out, and found that the sides will need to be routed about 1/8" deeper for the mounting ring pickup adjustment screws to fit properly. Everything looked pretty nice even though this is a crummy picture of it.. Seymour Duncan pickups with Gold Mounting Rings... I'm glad I decide to buy the Tone Pro Locking Studs for the Leo Quan bridge I think it will make it have better tone and stability. Now to align the bridge and mount the Tone Pro ... More work ahead, but I can finally see some progress.. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Today I decided to bandsaw the body at the pocket area since it was too bulky. I also worked the neck heel down to a closer shape, but plenty more to do to it. Here's a picture of the back of the body with the neck already in place, you can tell I bandsawed the body at the neck pocket area if you look closely. After the neck is glued in, I will contour this area to flow smoothly so you can play up to the 24th fret with ease. Here's a picture of the neck joint from the front of the body. You can see how tight a fit I got. I also have to bandsaw some of the neck that is in the pickup cavity so it's flush, I'll mark it and do it tomorrow. Also I still need to route for the mounting ring pickup screws so that they are deep enough, but one step at a time. More pics later.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Looks good man. I think the bansaw was a good idea, you have plenty of surface to hold that tenon. It looks like you should be able to make that joint flow really nicely now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Now for the moment of truth, the time to tell if everything went ok with the neck shape, neck pocket, and that everything had been centered correctly even the pickup cavities. I like to use a laser light to check to see how everything aligns up. I align the base so that on both sides it's center marks, front and back, are with the centerline where the body was joined. I was so glad that it centered the pickup cavities, and centered each and every inlay dot, telling me that everything was setup correctly and ready to move on to other areas of the building process. Here's another picture of the laser light treatment. Laser Mania.. I advise everyone to get and use a laser light while building to make sure everything is aligned. Yikes,, still a lot more to go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Looks good man. I think the bansaw was a good idea, you have plenty of surface to hold that tenon. It looks like you should be able to make that joint flow really nicely now. ← Thanks, If you look real close to the photo you can see another line that runs across and joins the body straight across, that's going to be my guide for where it starts to contour. I hope to make it a real smooth transition with no bulky heel. At least that's the plan.. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Today I got some spare time to work on the guitar. I used a surform to rough out the neck to body joint contour, although I didn't go all the way with the contour for obvious reasons (mainly that the neck will need to be glued first.. lol), but you can get an general idea of what it will look like. I want a guitar that can be played with ease all the way up the neck, so to do that I will have to carve away until it's comfortable. Here is what the body looked like after I worked it over with the surform using a line I drew as my guide. Here's another angle. Neck Joint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 This is coming on nice and well GF, Keep up the GREAT work ~~ Slain Angel ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Here you can see what I did as far as the neck goes. I drew a line where the heel meets the neck(actually you can still see it.. lol) and surformed a nice curve in the neck heel. It should turn out great after I have a chance to get everything like I want it and glue the neck in place. Then I can finish carving the heel area into a seemless transition. Tonight I plan to route the pickup ear deeper so that the mounting ring adjustment screws will fit, and mark where the bridge will be placed. I must insure that there is 1/8" space from the outside strings to the edge of the fingerboard on both outer E strings, while also making sure it aligns with the pickups properly. I also hope to drill the holes for the pots and so I can start making the control cavity. I still have a lot to do.. ummm. like.. -carve the top -carve the belly contour -carve the neck.. and that's just stuff off the top of my head.. Plenty more work to be done.. Maybe it will be finished before GOTM.. oh well.. Until later.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 What are you using to carve the top? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 What are you using to carve the top? ← I'm going to use a router bit to get the side to the correct depth of carve, then I'm using all hand tools with lines to guide me to carve the rest. I'm going back to the old way of doing things for this one instead of using the copy carver like I normally would. Once I get the master I'll make a copy on the carver just to keep if I want to duplicate it exact, but I actually enjoy carving in a strange way.. lol This picture will give you an idea of how it all starts for me as far as carving goes. Still a lot more carving to do though.. .. more dust!!!!!!!!!! Hurray.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 Oh yeah.. got the mounting ring ears routed out deeper, but didn't drill for the bridge just yet.. still measuring to make sure everything goes perfect. I'll have to angle the bridge a slight bit ala Gibson. After I get that placed, I can get the control cavity ready to route.etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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