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Revisiting My Wenge Guitar (again...)


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In the last few months (since the double cut quilted maple) I havn't been working on any "new" guitars. I've been making the ones I already have (four of um, the mahognay bubinga semi hollow, the two identical wenge ones, and the maple double cut super thin) perfect.

Okay so once again I am not happy with the wenge guitar and think it can be better. (one of these days it is bound to come out perfect :D:D )

Soooooooo I stripped the finish, re grainfilled everything, pulled the old fingerboard, put on a new ebony fingerboard with maple binding (a first for me), and I recarved the neck to be more comfterable. As it stands It's the most comfterable neck I've every played on (for me at least) and thats where I stand today. I just need to sand the sides of the body and I'm ready to finish. This time insted of rattle cans I'll be using a SATA spray gun.

Here are some pics of the frets (best ones I've done so far, very very comfy and FAST) and fingerboard.

(this pics make the frets look lower than they are. There nice and comfy and the perfect hight (in my opinion anyway)

frets1.jpg

pic 2

pic 3

pic 4

pic 5

I did a purdy good job on the binding considering it's the first binding I've ever done. There are no gaps whatsoever.

So what do you think guys?

Edited by Godin SD
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Little tip for binding and purfling using wood. Use wood glue, not stew mac's binding CA, to install them. That way, if you mess anything up or have small gaps, you can lightly hit it with a heat gun to gel the glue and put pressure on the gap, or remove the binding if need be, while the glue resets.

Good job though. I always have a tendency to jump into new things headfirst; most of the time it turns out excellently. So I can't discredit that method yet. You seem like one to touch their toes to the water before jumping in though. That's respectable in it's own right as well; it's probably a better method if you haven't researched ad nauseam like I tend to do. Anyhow, it's respectable that you're going back and tweaking everything. I repainted my first guitar within the year I made it, and I've been debating recarving a neck I made a while ago. But I digress...good luck with the remodeling!!!

peace,

russ

EDIT: I just looked at the pictures you linked to. I like the touch of not routing the binding to the full depth of the fretboard making the bottom of the ebony fretboard look like purfling...unless that's actual purfling :D . Also, I don't know if it's just the angle, but in the last picture you posted, it looks like the neck is thicker at the 1st fret than it is at about the 5th. If so, have you considered recarving it for more uniformity?

Edited by thegarehanman
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There's nothing wrong with that method. I'd just be worried about cutting the sides of the board at the right angle and width without making it so rough that you have to sand a lot, changing the dimensions. I find it a lot less nerveracking to use a router template to get the profile of the board, glue that to the neck and use it as a template while routing the taper on the neck. Then use a binding router bit set to route for the binding. Although, you haven't done that much binding yet, so I guess you have yet to justify spending $90+ on a binding bit set. If you're like me though, you'll soon be addicted to binding and purfling. I don't think I could bring myself to build a guitar that wasn't at least bound. A bass I'd build with out it...but not a guitar. I guess I've been conditioned :D.

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To add a dissenting view on wood bindings: I always use medium thickness CA, and just tape it all into place. Sticks well, and particularly if you've got a curved bit at the endgrain, CA (in my experience) does a better job 'holding' than titebond does. I plane my fingerboards to size (takes but minutes), slap on the binding, hodling in place with masking tape, and voila, done. I hand-shape the neck to fit the fingerboard, no routers, because I always fair the edge of the board into the shaft (it's not square, and it's angled differently on each edge).

Re: maple binding (which I dealy love), you'll want to seal it with something. I just take an artist's brush (tiny) and paint on a few coats of shellac. Prevents it getting grungy.

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Currently the body is just a peice of grainfilled wood.

On tuesday the finish is coming in from stewmac, if I get everything right and follow the finishing books scheule it will take me 8 days to apply the finish, 1 week to wait before buffing.

So the earliest it can possiably be done is the 21. I'll post again when I get it finished. :D

Edited by Godin SD
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wenge2.jpg

I had to turn the contrast way up so you could see the outline of the body better

I know it's a horriable picture but thats prety much what it looks like. It's a single cut design that I made from scratch (not to be copied without my permission)

Just so you know, I know the pickups arn't strait. I fixed it, thats a really old pic but im to lazy to go take a new one. :D

Edited by Godin SD
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not to be copied without my permission

:D

I doubt saying that's going to stop anyone from stealing the design if they truly want to. Anyways, it just looks like you melted one of myka's single cuts :D(that's not to say that I don't like the design though) . But on a serious note, just build them with such quality and detail, that they're impossible to perfectly copy. As we've seen from gibson and prs, you can't count on your body profile to be what's going to sell your guitars...if that's your intention, that is.

peace,

russ

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Suck on a Milk Dud for little bit and then spit it out in your hand. That's what it'll look like. tongue.gif

gotcha

not to be copied without my permission

:D

I doubt saying that's going to stop anyone from stealing the design if they truly want to.

I know, it was fun to put in anyways :D (it was more of a joke than anything, like anyone would even want to copy my body style.

Anyways, it just looks like you melted one of myka's single cuts B)

I don't think so. It's completely diffrent with the only similarity is the fact that they are both single cut. I hadn't even seen mykas stuff when I made it.

(that's not to say that I don't like the design though) . But on a serious note, just build them with such quality and detail, that they're impossible to perfectly copy. As we've seen from gibson and prs, you can't count on your body profile to be what's going to sell your guitars...if that's your intention, that is.

Eventually I wan't to start selling them. And yes i know the body shape won't sell the guitar, it's the workmenship. I'm working on getting better. Maybe in a few years (or longer) I'll be making guitars worth buying.

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