Couple Of Quick Questions

[wolfcoast]

Ok it's been a while since I've been on the forums (Naval Submariner, going to sea, that sort of thing).

My wife (she spoils me) just got me a good deal on some mahogany. She traded an old futon we had and got me the following pieces:

1. 8ft x 11.5" x 1.5" board

2. 33" x 11.5" x 1.5" board

3. numerous smaller pieces that were cut from another 8ft board (#2 was part of this board) (almost all of which are suitable for glueing ears onto a headstock)

From board #1 I could cut 5 bodies (based on my Jem template) but I have 2 small areas where the questions come in.

1. Obviously the board is not quite wide enough (template in widest spot is 12 1/4") Would it make a difference on the sound if I were to glue on a small piece in the lower body area to make up the difference in width? Obviously it wouldn't be a "true" one piece but damn close.

2. Based on measurements from StewMac on bodies, the thickness is 1/4" on the small side. Would this really matter on the final guitar or would I need to laminate a top (maple, etc) to make up the thickness?

Ok from Board #2 I'm looking to make necks. Based on dimensions from Stewmac again, I can only get 2 necks out of it. (13/16 x 4 x 27). I'm thinking I can shave a tiny bit off of each and get 3 necks out of the entire board.

Now for the questions regarding the necks.

3. I know mahogany is good wood for necks/bodies. What about fingerboards? The boards I believe are thick enough to build the fingerboard onto it, much like people do with maple necks.

4. Can anyone see how I can get more than 2 or 3 necks out of board 2? LOL

With my first rough sketching it looks like I could get 5 bodies and maybe 3 necks out of all this wood. Quite a score considering they gave us money + wood for the futon hehe

On the lighter side of things since I got back from australia, I finally cut my first "real" body (made a couple of practice ones out of pine LOL) This one was from an alder blank I bought from stewmac. Building a Jem style (not brave enough to try my own design just yet)

Let me apologize in advance if any of this has been answered before. I did a couple of quick searches but it's getting late (I'm in guam) and wanted to see if anyone had some answers.

[thewrathofraf]

1. no, that should be ok, just paint it so u cant see the line.

2. should be fine with 1.5", its pretty much preference there. I would put tops on 'em.

3. not to sure, but i would buy some rosewood or ebony and just make fretboards to put on top.

4. not sure about that one. sounds like the plan you have is pretty good tho. i think if you wanted 2 more necks you would be best off buying a little extra wood seeing as how you got such a deal on this.

-RAF

[TeiscosRock]

I'd stick with the 1.5" body thickness, but that's just me. I tend to prefer thinner bodies.

[Southpa]

You could go that route. Another option could be to rip your plank leaving approx. 6 1/2" then cut your body lengths from that and glue together for 2 piece bodies. The 5" wide part you ripped from the plank could then be made into 4 bolt on necks or 2 neckthru necks. You have lots of options, it depends on what designs you want to build. If you want to make neckthru guitars then the width of the body pieces isn't as crucial.

Edited October 31, 2005 by Southpa

[thegarehanman]

With scarfed headstocks, you could probably get about 4 set necks out of the 33"x11.5"x1.5" board. If you were meticulous about your cuts, you might be able to coax 6 necks out of it. If you can resaw the boards, you could stretch them even further if you're going with bolt on necks. You wouldn't even need to laminate a heel on. I would advise against the mahogany fretboard, mahogany is a bit too soft for that sort of thing.

Edited November 1, 2005 by thegarehanman

[wolfcoast]

By scarfed I assume you mean the angled back headstocks. Those are exactly what I want to do. I like the looks and also don't have to worry about string trees for pressure on the nut.

I planned on doing bolt on necks for all of them. Only thing I'm brave enough to try as of yet. The measurements I quoted above were from the electric neck blank I bought from StewMac. Gonna look at actual measurements on my Jackson to get a better idea of how much I will need.

Not sure about resawing them. I have a 9" Delta tabletop bandsaw but one of the phenolic blade guides broke (cheap ones) and I had to be extremely careful when I was cutting the alder blank to ensure I didn't bend the blade. Made things real difficult when I used the 2" flush cutting bit on the router to trim to the pattern. I had to leave a bit much on the blank so the router was having a hard time. Next body I'm goig to try and use a rasp or my spokeshave to trim it closer to the blank before routing.

The main thing I was worried about regarding the thickness is installing a tremolo. I have a floyd rose licensed one I'm going to install on one of them and wanted to be sure it wouldn't stick out the back LOL.

I've got one ebony fretboard blank atm. Bought it to try and make a fretboard (obviously) but also to make an attempt at some sort of inlay. Just haven't decided on the inlay I want to do yet.

Southpa: It may just be a preference thing but isn't a one piece normally preferred over 2 pieces? I liked the idea of just gluing on a small piece in the area needed because it keeps the majority of the body one piece. (forgot to mention here, all of these will be some type of solid color, fabric, or swirl finish. Didn't plan on a natural wood finish so the location of the line doesn't matter)

I'm gonna try to get some pictures up in the next few days of my projects as they start. Only thing I've done so far is cut the alder body out and drool over the mahogany. LOL

Thanx for the advice so far guys. It's helping solidify what I want to do.

Edited November 1, 2005 by wolfcoast

[Southpa]

Since you are going with solid finish, then yeah, glue pieces of scrap on to make the full width and cut out your bodies. Ya can't beat a solid block of wood.

Edited November 1, 2005 by Southpa