Matt Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Ok heres the outline for my next project. All black Jem Birdseye maple wizard neck with ebony FB, Hopefully a silver vine inlay, Black body, Scratch plate, and covered PU's liek on the PRS 513, Homewound Evo style PU's, Home made sustainer, PRS 513 style wiring, Home made FR style bridge!! So far I have started to mill the bridge baseplate out of Military aircraft grade hardened stainless steel!! but more will come of that in a few weeks or so, due to limited access to milling machines. I have already started to make the neck and truss rod here are a few pics of the neck, although they aren't the latest. The headstock is a bit larger and different that Ibanez ones but its PP. The Scarf joint is actually the reverse of what Ibanez do, im slightly worried about if this will make it weaker, but judging that the glue is suposed to be stronger than the wood then I hope it will be OK. http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/mcmeat51/100_0369.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Just a quick note Sorry i just re read the rules about posting pics and saw that i could only post one at a time. How do i add a tag thingy, I havn't quite got the hang of posts yet sorry, ill edit it when i know how Cheers Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 press edit on the post above and remove the IMG tags, that should do for that pic. From there on just copy and paste the URL from photobucket. If you want to add a name to your pic, copy the URL from PBuck and then click on the http:// above and paste the URL, press enter, and then add the name for it. That's it. Now to the guitar, AFTER MAKING A NICE LOOKING QUILT, YOU ARE GOING TO ALL BLACK!!!! Oh well I guess its all in the preference of the maker. I find it hard to paint a solid color now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Man i love the grain in that neck. Lookin sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Now to the guitar, AFTER MAKING A NICE LOOKING QUILT, YOU ARE GOING TO ALL BLACK!!!! Oh well I guess its all in the preference of the maker. I find it hard to paint a solid color now. ← Hey, I LIKE painted guitars...but I suppose part of the appeal of making your own is you get to use all kinds of fancy woods the big manufacturers don't use...still, half of the guitars I see here look like tree trunks to me Another reason I like paint...at least for the project I'm working on right now...is the paint will hide all the mistakes I'm making Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 No the neck will be oiled or waxed!! the rest of the body will be black and I will get a nice headstock veneer of quilt maple and stain it black, I might even get a veneer for the body as well and do the same. Im not intending to waste the figuring. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGGR Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 (edited) Hi Matt.......great looking neck you got there. Always love people making their own necks. Took some time for me to realize what you meant by the Scarf joint is actually the reverse of what Ibanez do, im slightly worried about if this will make it weaker, but judging that the glue is suposed to be stronger than the wood then I hope it will be OK. from looking at it.....it is quite similar to what Ibanez is using. Just reverse..... http://www.jemsite.com/axes/htm_features/necks.htm Only thing I come up with that would be issue, might be that with Ibanez' necks you glide with your hand in the direction of the scarf joint when playing. In your case you would slide against it. Am I correct to see you used two different kinds of maple for neck and headstock? Still cool neck. Edited June 1, 2005 by RGGR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 I don't see what difference the 'gliding' direction would make, since in theory it's all uniformly smooth. If you can feel a 'bump' and you're sliding around, you've done something horribly wrong. Your joint should be just as strong. I suspect part of the reason Ibanez does it the other way is simply that it looks a bit better with the visible 'curve' going that direction. Attention to detail and all that stuff. Looking good so far! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Yea the direction of the curve shouldn't make a difference directionally wize, he maple is of the same plank, but the headstock but is just less figured- this will be veneered anyway so it doesn't matter too much, The neck is shown roughly cabinet-scraped (my best friend) and so when its all sanded back, it should look killer, Im just wondering... to go with the black headstock veneer and black body what colour shall I have the neck? -leave it as it is, -stain it black as well, -Stain it a lighter whiter colour, -or a light blue or green colour? Im hoping to oil it so are stains a good plan? thanks Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Right well Due to the fact that I have been GIVEN some walnut fretboard thickness by my Dad then I might be using that instead and staining it black. Is walnut a good choice for a FB, its quite hard and fairly dense so I should think so... Ive actually found that my neck is now THINNER than a wizard neck!!! but it seems fairly strong so well have to see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Walnut is pretty soft for a fretboard, I'd advise sticking with one of the usual suspects, especially if you've got a slender neck - the stiffness imparted by an ebony board will help stability. For the neck finish, go with thinned Rustins. I used it on the maple neck I built for Simo and it turned out great. It looks just like an oil finish, but dries faster and harder, and you can use a gloss finish on the headstock face. I've also used this finish on my homemade carving planes, it holds up very well without going grubby. It also soaks in nicely and 'pops' figure too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 I meant to ask the other day-- Do you have a pair of tapped and split humbuckers for doing the 513-style wiring? If so, where did you get them? I'd be curious about how many wires end up being necessary for a homebrewed 513. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Yea I would use rustins, but I want a nice fast non-stick feel, which I found rustins to be, thats why I was gonna use Danish oil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feylya Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Setch, can you get Rustins in B&Q? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Matt - thin the Rustin's 50/50 with the propriatary thinners, then wipe it on with a rag. Applies and looks just like an oil finish, but is tougher and quicker. It's in the instructions you get with the stuff... Here it is on a carving plane. No gloss, just smoother than a babies bottom, very nice feel,and not remotely sticky: I used Liberon Danish Oil on my first guitar, it took a long time to dry, and gets kind of 'gunky' where you rest your arm or hand a lot. It does look good & feel nice, but I prefer the Rustins. Feylya - I don't think so. You can contact Rustins via their website, and find a local stockist. It's not hard to track down, unlike most finishes in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 Man, I hate to be OT, but do you have a tutorial anywhere for making one of those planes ? That thing's slick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Cavanaugh Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 Man you got your work cut out for you! I'm willing to assist in the R&D of the electronics if you want, it sounds like a really fun project! I've designed a passive, humbucker sized pickup that with the flick of a switch can do many different combinations of sounds (humbucker, single coil which would go along similar lines as the 513. I still gotta makea prototype, but I'd bet that applying an Evo type design to it may lead to further versatility, but it can't be sold that way due to patents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 If it's done the way PRS does it, but without the circuit boards, surely there's no way you can be sued for patent infringment? He didn't invent coil splitting and coil tapping, so there's no way he's got a patent on the technology. You wouldn't be able to market it as a 513 because that's trademark infringement, but the actual electronics themselves should be fine. Mind, that only applies to guitars for sale anyhow. I don't know what the Evo method is, though-- that's a different story and I haven't a clue of it's patented or not. I don't even know what an Evo is. Something to do with Steve Vai. <chuckle> Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 Hey Kyle thanks thats a great idea!! For the Evo's I went to a webiste 'DGB' something but Ive lost the link and cant find it again and looked up the No. of windings Basically its a hummer but one coil uses something liek 42 guage and the other uses 43 guage, thats how it gets its 'dual resonance' cr@p or whatever Dimarzio try and scam. Sorry I havn't had the time yet to experiment so expect it to be a long drawn-out projo!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 Heh! It sounds like you're going to wind them yourself, then? Or get them custom-made? Don't forget to add a coil tap (not just a coil split) if you want the 513 thing. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 Exactly.. Im gonna give winding my own PU on a sewing machine a go and see how far I get Does anyone know approx how many turns of 42 and 43 guage wire I would need to make a the bobbins in the region of 6.8Kohms? Im guessing around 6000, but it would be nice to have an idea:) Looking around for a FB at the mo and also some Alder for a body but that wont be for a few days yet. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren wilson Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 Gorgeous figure on that neck! I'm really puzzled as to how/why you cut your scarf joint like that. Normally, a scarf joint is made something like this: When built like this, the "wedge" on the headstock portion of the neck is sandwiched between the neck portion and the fretboard, which in my opinion, might make it stronger and more resistant to breakage. I'm trying to figure out the cuts you made to get the result you got: Presumably, you started with a much thicker board and you made a couple more cuts to the headstock blank, then after joining it, you cut it down to the right thickness using a bandsaw in order to get the volute. The way you've made it, i'd be nervous about a good whack to the headstock face potentially causing the headstock to break off at the join. Or not. Depends on what kind of glue you use, i suppose... most of the things i've read say that properly glued joints are typically stronger than the wood they join anyway. I'm just curious as to why you built it that way as opposed to the "tried and true" method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 The strength will be fine the way he did it, assuming that the two pieces mated up properly. I'm also curious about how/why it was done the other way, but I'm not worried one little bit about the strength. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted June 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2005 (edited) Ah well I was using left over bits form a previous all-maple birdseye guitar that I made... guitar Due to the constriction of bits I had, then I had to do the headstock in that way as I would have needed a londer middle bit for the headstock which I didn't have.....As well as being a muppet and not taking note which way Ibz did it I glued it with Titebond which is supposed to be one of the best and the bond is supposed to be stronger than the wood itself so we'll see. Edited June 5, 2005 by Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted June 5, 2005 Report Share Posted June 5, 2005 That is a nice guitar. I would have made the bass side shorter and reduced the size of the neck pocket to make it perfect for me, but thats nice. I see some ESP F series resemblance on the carve and the treble side too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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