SawDust_Junkie Posted December 26, 2005 Report Share Posted December 26, 2005 (edited) Finally, I've made some progress on my practice project ! I know I've been promising progress pics for months now, but I've been waiting to get a new router. The cheap Harbor Freight one died on me soon after I began this project. Well, I finally got a new Bosch 2 1/4 HP fixed/plunge combo set for Christmas, and I have now been able to advance on my project. Nobody probably remembers, so I will refresh your memories. I wanted to try my hand at my first carve top, set neck guitar ( only my second build overall also). I chose a Gibson LP double cut away for this project. I did not want to spend tons of money on Mahogany and Flamed Maple, only to ruin it due to inexperience. So, I tried to think how I could come up with wood cheaply. I have a large pile of very seasoned White Oak firewood in my back yard. By seasoned, I mean this wood has been sitting out there for about 5 years. I started cutting the wood up on my table saw, but soon determined that I could not get anything more useful out of it besides some pieces about 20" x 1" x 1 1/2". I have a friend at work who had a Mahogany plank that he had bought with hopes of making a banjo ring, but he gave up. So, he sold me the plank real cheap. I set about making a laminated body blank much like a cutting board for your kitchen. I used this as the top for my body blank and bought some 4/4 White Oak at a local Woodcraft store. The 4/4 White Oak was also laminated in three pieces to create the back for my body blank. I also chambered the Oak and Mahogany top of the body blank to reduce the weight before gluing the top and bottoms together. As seen here: http://home.mindspring.com/~ed5/Project/IMAG0186.JPG http://home.mindspring.com/~ed5/Project/IMAG0183.JPG The neck blank was also a laminate made of Mahogay and White Oak to keep up with the theme of the guitar. I have a shot of the neck with the truss rod channel routed and the scarf joint and head stock cut and glued, and the tenon cut, here: http://home.earthlink.net/~ed5ds/Project/IMAG0257.JPG the rest of my project pics can be viewed here: http://home.earthlink.net/~ed5ds/Project/ Let me know what you guys think. Remember, this is my first carve top and set-neck, and scarf joint. Like I said before, this is a practice project to hone my skills some before attempting these techniques with good woods. Keep in mind that this body is far from being "final" sanded. This is just a rough sanding at 50 grit paper. I also wet the body to show the grain of the wood better. As this wood is basically "scrap", I haven't decided yet whether I will finish this natural or paint it to cover some the blemishes in the wood. There are also a couple of pics of he fretboard. This is my first attempt at slotting a fretboard by hand too. I got the Rosewood at my local Woodcraft shop. The blank was 24" x 3" x 1/2". I had them resaw it for me to give two blanks at 24" x 3" x 3/16" each. I made up a jig on a cheap router table that I have to square the saw, and slotted the fretboard with a Japanese pull saw. I plan to inlay it with the Abalone block inlays from Grizzly. Edited December 27, 2005 by Fender4me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDust_Junkie Posted December 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 Wow, I can't believe it. 114 views, and no one has any comments ? No, "Man, that thing sucks !" Or, "Boy, we can sure tell its only your second build !" Maybe even a "Nice job, but I have a few critiques." I guess its still the holidays, and not many people are posting, but I thought I would have gotten one reply by now. I don't mean to be sensitve, but I was just hoping for some feedback on how my project is going, since it has been on hold for so long. And don't worry about being critical. I don't think anyone here could find any flaws or problems that I haven't already noticed myself. I tend to be my most severe critic usually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 the carving and shaping is nice and clean, you did a good job on that, but i think that the body kind of looks like a cutting board but, its your guitar so you be happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDust_Junkie Posted December 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 Thanks for your coments Nitefly. I know what you mean about the "cutting board" look. That is why I have not decided yet whether to finish it natural or paint it. Sometimes when I look at it, I think the mix off woods looks really nice, but there are some blemishes that turn me off too. With a solid color finish, that would be taken care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullmuzzler Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 It looks really nice... I'd take more wood (carving)... Looks promising... mullmuzzler | OSSMT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 Looks good to me, just keep experimenting until you get everything like you want it. The main thing is that your work looks clean and professional. Keep up the good work... Matt Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 that looks like a very cool guitar...i kinda like that "cuttingboard" top...just something you never see on anything other than...well..cutting boards. keep up the good progress...i can't wait to see this thing finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDust_Junkie Posted December 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 (edited) Thanks mull ! And especially you Matt ! Coming from someone of your skill, I take your words as a compliment. I know what you mean mull, about taking more wood. I feel like the shape is still a bit "fat" if you will. It doesn't quite have the gentle slope of a real Gibson yet. One concern I have about that though is the relationship between the face of the carve where it curves downward and the depth of the control cavity. I didn't want to take a chance of carving too severe and intersecting that cavity. As it is right now, the holes for the pots and the three-way switch have about 5/16" of wood left. I am thinking about leaving it as is and using a forstner bit to drill on the inside of the control cavity, to get the wood thickness to the depth required for the pots and switch. The pots won't be a problem, but the switch I currently have is an offset three-way like Gibson uses on their SGs. Its made for a shallow cavity, so the threaded part of the shaft of the switch is only about 3/16" deep. the pots have 3/8" on the threaded part f the shaft. I have also seen a three-way switch that Grizzly sells that has about the same 3/8" threaded shaft like the pots. I think I will get one of those and use the forstner bit method I spoke of. Edited December 27, 2005 by Fender4me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanKirk Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 Everything you and others have said here seem to cover all I've noticed. I do think that a solid color would look good such as a gold top or pearlescent, dark red. Can't wait to see it finished. Who knows? It may play and sound awesome even with a non-tradition tone wood. I like the idea of a nice strong strip of oak down the middle of the neck to strengthen around the truss rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSo_Spencer Posted December 28, 2005 Report Share Posted December 28, 2005 I do think that a solid color would look good such as a gold top ← +1 love the gold tops, it does almost every guitar good.. as long as it is done right... Very nice work so far glad to see some progress... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted December 29, 2005 Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 I like it a lot! It's very clean, and has a classic look to it while still maintaining (jeez that's a funny looking word!) its originality. Give it a natural finish. If it keeps the cutting board look (oh god please forgive me for this pun), maybe it'll be good for practicing your chops? (I'm sorry. Really, I am.) Anyway, the only critique I would have is that the carving on the top looks a little abrupt. If you were to go back in with some heavy sandpaper and just smooth out the carve a bit, it'd be a lot more pleasing to the eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDust_Junkie Posted December 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 (edited) Give it a natural finish. If it keeps the cutting board look (oh god please forgive me for this pun), maybe it'll be good for practicing your chops? (I'm sorry. Really, I am.) Ba dum bum ! Thanks folks he'll be here all week I appreciate your input skibum. I know what you mean about the carve being abrupt, as I said in and earlier reply it still looks a little "fat" to me too. I do plan on doing a little more shaping before I am through. Also, as I said earlier, there are some blemishes in the wood, as it was created from firewood. I will decide how it looks after I do the grain filling and then make up my mind whether to spray it with a clear coat of laquer or go ahead and spray a solid color. I am thinking about a maroon or wine color like vankirk had mentioned. I have always been partial to that color, and it would match my wife's set of Ludwig drums ! On another note, the Mahogany I used for the neck is a very light color. I would prefer it be a little darker when finished. Can anyone tell me, will the wood "darken" noticably with the application of grain filler and clear laquer ? Or should I use some Mahogany stain to get a deeper Mahogany tint ? Edited December 29, 2005 by Fender4me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodBlessTexas Posted December 29, 2005 Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 I like it. I'd finsh the top clear so you can see the butcherblock look, which I personally this is awesome, but paint the sides/back. I'd mask off the first 1/4" from the top on the sides before painting for a faux binding effect where the butcherblock will show through on the sides. but that's me. GBT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawDust_Junkie Posted December 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2005 That's an interesting idea that I had not thoght of GBT. But I'm not sure what color I would paint the sides and back if I did that. I mean, what color would go along with the scheme of the butcher block top ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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