Batfink Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 Okay, i have no woodworking experience past putting up shelves and fixing the fence but i, like many here, have had the desire to build my own guitar for some time now. Like others i have read that nice Mr Hiscock's book and trailed the internet looking for as much information as possible BUT in the end all this did, in a perverse sort of way, was put me off with my mind awash with thoughts of bandsaw's, planners and other such woodworking exotica that i NEEDED to start my project. It got so bad that after starring at a neck and body blank for almost 8 months i was really questioning myself on if this was such a good idea or not. Anyway after reading some re-occurring posts about people who 'thought' they knew what they were doing i had a moment of clarity and thought 'well hey, whats the worse that can happen - i waste a $10 peice of maple'. OK, thats not the worse thing that can happen but i just fired myself up so i much i picked up a rip saw and without further ceremony proceeded to decimate my neck blank. First off, cut about a ten degree angle for the scarf joint (badly), square up the cut with a surform (not so bad but not brilliant) and glue the two together (went reasonably well). Next i cut the truss rod channel out with a chisel (again, not the best idea i've ever had) which was a bit scrappy but it's reasonably straight and the aluminium U section's in there good and tight. Next, with coping saw in hand i rough out the general shape and taper keeping well away from my lines. Hmmm, looks a bit of a mess but nothing that an hour's work with a surform, microplane and sandpaper couldn't (within reason) fix. Check my lines and glue on the fretboard, match taper and that's abaout as far as i've got after around 12 hours work with nothing more than a surform, a microplane, a coping saw and some sandpaper. OK, the reason for this rather tedious post is hopefully this may help other's out there who, like me, have no woodwork experience and also have picked up so much conflicting information about what you need to get started that they never do. Jem PS: I'll be taken commissions soon for necks and bodies - like TEN YEARS soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68 lost souls Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 (edited) Nice work, especially with no experience. Also did you do that inlay? Edited September 7, 2005 by 68 lost souls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeiscosRock Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 Interesting inlays. I may have to try this, too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haggardguy Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 I too like the inlays although this seems like something one of those people who is obsessed with the nightmare before christmas would buy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeiscosRock Posted September 7, 2005 Report Share Posted September 7, 2005 Whats up with the headstock? is that the scarf joint all the way up there past the nut??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 8, 2005 Report Share Posted September 8, 2005 Whats up with the headstock? is that the scarf joint all the way up there past the nut??? ← Perfectly normal, bog-standard way of scarfing necks. The vast majority of acoustics are done that way, IIRC, and I've taken to doing my scarf joints that way as well, on both electrics and acoustics. Two basic ways of doing it: gluing the scarfed bit on 'under' the neck blank, so the fingerboard gluing surface is continuous, or on top, so part of the scarfed on piece becomes part of the gluing surface for the neck. Advantage with this method: you can pretty near hide it completely if you veneer both front and back of the headstock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bytrix Posted September 8, 2005 Report Share Posted September 8, 2005 Nice inlay, Helloween influence there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyunsu Posted September 8, 2005 Report Share Posted September 8, 2005 Wonderfull .. inlay.. i want to see next work.. good.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted September 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2005 Thanks for the support guys. I did the inlays - again not the best i've done but i wanted something a bit different. To be honest it was 'inspired' by an inlay by Ron Thorn although his is light years ahead of mine but that's the wonder of CNC and actually knowing what your doing. Re the scarf joint. I followed Alex's tutorial on how to do a simple scarf joint and whilst the glue was drying i looked at it and suddenley thought i'd put it back to front so to speak but checking on the tutorial it's as Mattia says, there's two ways to go either on top or down below. I'll veneer the front face but will probably leave the back depending on what sort of mess i make of the shaping The main thing though is: if you've always wanted to make your own neck and are too scared don't be. Grab the bull by the saw and go for it, the only thing you've got to lose is your dignity and perhaps the odd digit or two Jem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 8, 2005 Report Share Posted September 8, 2005 Nice inlay, Helloween influence there? ← This was my first impression, good job, but I'll keep my virginity for a little longer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 8, 2005 Report Share Posted September 8, 2005 Aww, c'mon! Neck making is a lot of fun, and it really isn't that difficult to do right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 8, 2005 Report Share Posted September 8, 2005 Been thru this before, the only one that got me close to do it was Setch, but Igot my reasons, and here I got none of my tools, so I don't know how long more it will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted September 8, 2005 Report Share Posted September 8, 2005 Good going Batfink.. I think the neck looks great for a first build, especially considering the tools you used to do it. It just goes to show that if someone sets out to do something, then they can find a way no matter the obstacles. Again, looks great and keep building them. If your using a headstock veneer, you want to make sure that the total width of the headstock is as close to 1/2" as possible, after veneer is glued, otherwise you might have a problem when you get ready to mount your tuners. I'm actually suprised at how many people have never built a neck on PG, not that it's a must, but it's not as hard as some would make it out to be. Just have to be patient and take your time to get things as accurate as humanly possible, especially the fingerboard leveling, and fretwork. That is, if you want a great playing guitar, with low action. It doesn't matter what the guitar looks like if you can't play it, and the fretwork is where it's at. Get better at it, and your guitars will be better for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!!METAL MATT!! Posted September 8, 2005 Report Share Posted September 8, 2005 Sweet man I like that Inlay!! Good work On the neck aswell And I just Gota Say that It's Good to no longer be A neckVirgin !!METAL MATT!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryDolman Posted September 10, 2005 Report Share Posted September 10, 2005 First let me say, nice job, especially the inlay work. Secondly I agree completely with you regarding the myths of building a neck. I am currently putting the finishing touches to my first ever build, and I have even less experience than you, I have built shelves but never fixed a fence LOL. When planning my build, I looked at the expense of buying a premade neck. I had enough wood left So I came to the same conclusion, How badly could I mess up? So I went ahead and made a neck, and I have to say I am very pleased with the result. I did however feel very intimated when it came to the fingerboard. I'm lucky if I get withing 1/8" when working with wood, and after seeing 4 decimal places of measuring when cutting for the frets, I decided to buy a premade fretboard. anyway enough rambling. Once again good job, hope to see more pics of your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted September 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 OK, i'll try to keep this updated with progress reports and the odd picture. This weekend i've managed to get a few things done. Fretting: This is my first fret job and there's some good news and some bad ! Firstly, my choice would have been to press these in but i have no easy access to a drill press so i decided to use a dead blow hammer and hammer them in. This went reasonably well for fret's 1>9 but after that i had problems in that it seems that i didn't cut all the slots deep enough and ended with some sitting proud. All in all the fretting looks a mess but it's all part of the learning curve and i now know that in future i must set the saw to cut at least .5mm>1mm deeper than the tang rather than setting the saw depth exactly for the tang depth. To be honest i think the only way to go now will be excessive fret levelling - if i was more experienced i'd rip the whole lot out but then again if i was more experienced i wouldn't have made such a monumental cock up in the first place. Next up was a headstock veneer to cover over the scarf joint. I ventured down Timberline, who are less than a mile from my house, in search of some ebony but Bob didn't have anything small enough and i couldn't justify (afford) walking away with a £30 peice of ebony so i plumped for a black pressure dyed veneer of non specific species: £2.70 for a peice 4"x36" ! This was glued using a smear of titebond and a spring clamp. When dry i trimmed it with a scapel and sanded the edges flush and i think it looks cool enough. Whilst i was at Timberline i had a dig around in the offcuts bin and out popped a stunning peice of cocobolo 2 1/4" x 8" x 1/4" for the princely sum of 50p ! I've used a peice of this for the truss rod cover and i've purposely not inlayed this as the whole thing could start to look like a banjo With this in mind the jury's still out concerning any inlay on the headstock. With only the machine head holes and the side dots to go before i start shaping i'm rapidly coming to realise that a drill press is high on my shopping wish list. Jem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkielad Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 Looks great fella! Shame the frets didn't go right but is it not worth taking them out and re-doing? I don't think I'd attempt a neck just yet - not even made a body - you're sure one brave man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 12, 2005 Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 (edited) Quick one re: fretting. Do yourself the favour of pulling the frets, sawing the slots to the right depth, and re-fretting. You want positively seated frets, and while you might be able to level them propely, it's decidedly the worst possible solution short of doing nothing. Pulling the frets and doing them over will be a few hours' work, total, and very much worth it. If you had a bound fingerboard, it would be annoying as hell, but you don't seem to, so it really shouldn't be all that much work. Read up on fret pulling before you start, though (basically: heat the frets before pulling them out, helps chipout some). Edited September 12, 2005 by mattia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted September 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2005 Mattia, your right of course. Looking at it frets 1>10 i would say are acceptable but up from that it's a complete dogs dinner . I'm a bit strapped for cash at the moment (when am i not ), but i'll try to take a trip to David Dykes on saturday and get some more fret wire and when i get paid i'll get some end cutters and grind them flush. Also i must look into a drill press as well as i can't possibly see me being able to drill the tuner holes at 90 degrees by hand and also the bridge i'm planning to use is string through and again trying to do the ferrule holes by hand is a disaster waiting to happen. Jem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 OK, thanks to the loan of an 8 1/2" Jet bandsaw from my nextdoor neighbour the body's been rough cut and i've done the back and front contour's with my trusty Surform and Microplane. Also the routing for the neck pocket and humbucker have been done all of which went suprisingly smoothly although there's still some material to come off around the neck pocket. With just the single volume control and jack socket left to route and the neck screw holes to be drilled hopefully this weekend i'll get some base coats on the body as winter's moving in fast and i have to do everything outside in the open. Jem Body shot Together shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Lookin' good man! Way to go with the neck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Oh, just some quick specs: One piece scarf jointed maple neck Ebony fingerboard with 24 frets 25 1/2" scale Schaller 'Hamer' branded machine heads One piece Ash body ESP string through body bridge Seymour Duncan JB humbucker Single volume control Output jack will be edge mounted and upside down as per Hamer Californian ie: the cord will run parallel to the body over the strap button Finish will be trans purple / ultra violet'ish in nitro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Alex, i know what you mean but bear in mind the guitar is leaning quite far back in the photo. I've run a string on both E's and there's around 1/8" clear space on either side at the 24th which should just about be enough, although i admit it's tight. If all's not well i'll make a new nut or hang it on the wall and start again Jem Morning edit: I took the dimensions initially from a Hamer Centaura neck just because it was laying around unattached to anything. What i did find out when i received my SM Strat neck pocket routing template is that Hamer's, or the one i took the dimensions from anyway, are about 2mm thinner across at the heel than Fender's - Centuara's have famously skinny necks so no suprise there. Also the width of the board at the nut is actually 3mm wider than the Hamer and the nut itself at around 45mm so with the heel end at just 56mm the whole thing looks very straight. For my next one i'm of the mind to use a template rather than my rather blurry eyes ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOJO Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 (edited) Thanks for the support guys. I did the inlays - again not the best i've done but i wanted something a bit different. To be honest it was 'inspired' by an inlay by Ron Thorn although his is light years ahead of mine but that's the wonder of CNC and actually knowing what your doing. Jem ← actually your inlay came out pretty damn good especially if by hand here's Ron's "original" (in case no one's ever seen it before ) http://p092.ezboard.com/fthornnewsanddiscu...opicID=32.topic Edited October 6, 2005 by MOJO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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