al heeley Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 (edited) Came across a big slab of really nice mahogany from a fireplace surround ripped out when we moved house. It sat in the garage forgotten, for the last three years. Decided it was about time to move up from ebay partscasters. The plan is a chambered thinline, mahogany body, maple top, maybe piezo saddles, P90 soapbar pickups. Here's the start of the project. Big mistake number 1: cutting out the shape before sanding away all the crap, oops grain goes across the body width and not longitudinal. http://www.niw-files.com/alheeley/music/woody4.jpg With only a basic set of tools available, I started on the body chambers with a drill and chisel. Hard work. More prep for the back, a few coats of tung oil, some wet'n'dry 600 grit, more tung oil, the back is starting to build up a nice rich shine. Here's my two strips of flame maple top I just ordered, ready for gluing together and sanding down. http://www.niw-files.com/alheeley/music/woody3.jpg Got myself a decent router, getting slowly used to working with it and the importance of good template prep. After a week's hols I spent all day on her today, got the body chambers finished and stuck the top on. http://www.niw-files.com/alheeley/music/woody6.jpg Shaved all the sides flush so the top fits perfectly. (well as perfectly as I can...) A few more coats of red mahogany stain and dark oak stain, more sanding, smoothing and the control cavity routed in the back. Also made a start on the neck pocket. Wow, this project is mopping up hours and hours. The maple top is just about finished, tomorrow I'll start laying on the Tru-oil. The back needs some work, it's been bashed about a bit with all the routing and sanding. Edited August 5, 2006 by Maiden69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted July 30, 2006 Report Share Posted July 30, 2006 that's a pretty nice looker so far! i wouldn't be too bothered about getting a nice shiney smooth finish till you've routed out for the pickups though. the top will probably get a few little scratches on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 How did you do the control recesses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwhiteandthemaple Posted July 31, 2006 Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 I'd guess a roundnose bit + router Btw, the control recess looks really small... what kinds of knobs will you be putting on? and the top looks great. A hella nice figure, curly and flamed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted July 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2006 Yep, roundnose bit + router after drilling pilot holes thru from underneath. Thx for the comments, btw! I got the recess ctrls idea from my prs I'm afraid. I will have a pair of conventional gold knurled metal tele knobs for master vol and master tone, with a gold les-paul type toggle switch for pup selection instead of the normal 3-way tele slider switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord-of-the-strings Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 Picture posting rules. 1 per post. That's some dead sexy mahogany though, and some really nice craftsmanship. You look like you know what you're doing please tell me you'll be using two humbuckers on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted August 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 Comments and noises of encouragement much appreciated! I actually posted 4 separate posts, each with 1 pic on but the forum cleverly joined them all together for me. So sorry about that. Unfortunately the craftsmanship on the small details leaves a lot to be desired, I'm learning lots of stuff 'on-the-hoof', and making quite a few mistakes on the way. (no close-up detail pics!) This body is heading for 2 x P90's I'm afraid. I guess if I don't like 'em I can slot in a couple of PAF humbuckers later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 I don't like Tele's at all but that's looking quite cutesy and P90's will make a nice change. Jem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted August 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 I've just had a thought, going thru the wiring for this. How on earth am i going to get a wire out to ground the bridge? Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 What sort of bridge will you use ? If it's the ashtray, without stating the obvious, just drill a teeny hole straight into the control cavity. Jem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted August 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 (edited) Its a gold hardtail strat-type bridge, but I guess the same principal is involved, only I don't have a small drill long enough. [update] Tried last night to drill a small hole through to the ctrl cavity, the drill bit snapped off inside the wood. I need a thin drill at least 6" long to get in there Edited August 2, 2006 by al heeley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batfink Posted August 2, 2006 Report Share Posted August 2, 2006 Its a gold hardtail strat-type bridge, but I guess the same principal is involved, only I don't have a small drill long enough. [update] Tried last night to drill a small hole through to the ctrl cavity, the drill bit snapped off inside the wood. I need a thin drill at least 6" long to get in there Into the pickup cavity and follow the pick up wires into the control cavity ? You should be able to do this with a fairly short drill. Jem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted August 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2006 (edited) Progress Update. Pickup cavities routed for the P90's, and long holes drilled thru to the ctrl cavity for the wiring. Bridge rout for grounding wire done with a new 150mm longer drill bit, and a little ctrl plate cover knocked up from a maple offcut. Started to apply a few coats of Tru-Oil. Here's a shot with the bridge and the gold knurled knobs in place. http://www.niw-files.com/alheeley/music/woody7.jpg My P90's have just arrived, plus all the other hardware I ordered. Electrics are done. The body needs more finishing and I haven't got a neck sourced yet, but we are getting there http://www.niw-files.com/alheeley/music/woody8.jpg Only one pic per post, this doesn't mean to post multiple posts with one pic each a few minutes apart!!! Edited August 5, 2006 by Maiden69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierdOne Posted August 4, 2006 Report Share Posted August 4, 2006 wow. that's beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted August 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 Only one pic per post, this doesn't mean to post multiple posts with one pic each a few minutes apart!!! I have a question: these 2 posts were actually couple of days apart, so how do I add a new post (with a pic) without the forum automatically merging them into one, if there have been no other replies in between? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 Only one pic per post, this doesn't mean to post multiple posts with one pic each a few minutes apart!!! I have a question: these 2 posts were actually couple of days apart, so how do I add a new post (with a pic) without the forum automatically merging them into one, if there have been no other replies in between? I don't think it's possible. I'd suggest using thumbnails or just linking the pictures. Very sweet top, keep up the great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 I would just go ahead and post it, the Mods are aware of the software glitch, it's not your fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 Only one pic per post, this doesn't mean to post multiple posts with one pic each a few minutes apart!!! I have a question: these 2 posts were actually couple of days apart, so how do I add a new post (with a pic) without the forum automatically merging them into one, if there have been no other replies in between? I was refering for the first 4 posts at the start of the thread. This is why the board merged them. On the one a day apart, I merged them, and the pics were linked because they were too big per forum rules. I would just go ahead and post it, the Mods are aware of the software glitch, it's not your fault. I would post them, but it will get edited anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted August 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 The fist 4 pics/posts were all posted separately, albeit a few minutes apart. I have not seen this on any forum before where consecutive posts get merged together. Anyway, sorry for the hassles, I'll try to avoid oversized future pics but I can't seem to stop consecutives getting merged together, it seems unrelated to time gap between posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted August 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 Body nearly finished now, all the hardware fitted and electrics done. Got a neck off ebay but pretty unhappy about it (building my own is a bit ambitious for me at this stage). The neck has a bit too much of a twist in it, very disappointing, been stalking ebay for 3 weeks to get an affordable neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al heeley Posted August 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 She's finally finished: my first build (not neck!). Routing of pickup cavities and neck pocket leave a lot to be desired. She needs a good setup and fret dress now, I need to deepen the p'up cavities a bit, but she is sweet and resonant, plays nicely unplugged, and the neck P90 is fat and warm. I made a lot of mistakes and learnt a hell of a lot, and I have really caught the bug for making another a lot better learning from all the errors I made on this one. Thanks to all the forum members for the tips and guidance on this, I would not have dared to build a guitar if it wasn't for you lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkielad Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 Looks like a good job to me! Great job. My second project is going to have a neck made by me - you up for it too? Go on, you know you wanna! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 sweeeeeeet! nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsnhavoc Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Awesome man. Love the wood on that baby. -AJC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 Congratulations man. I like the look of the dark body, maple fretboard and cream P90s. Matches up real sweet visually. What's your next project? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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