My Apprentice

[verhoevenc]

So as of today I may just have an apprentice! He figures since I'm here and he can use the tools and my knowledge he might as well fork up the money and attempt a build! Which I think is cool. So he's gunna start working on a designa nd will be building a guitar along side me while I build a bass.

Chris

[fryovanni]

So as of today I may just have an apprentice! He figures since I'm here and he can use the tools and my knowledge he might as well fork up the money and attempt a build! Which I think is cool. So he's gunna start working on a designa nd will be building a guitar along side me while I build a bass.

Chris

I wanna be your apprentice .

Have fun Chris! So is your parter in crime a PG member yet?

Peace,Rich

[Scott Rosenberger]

So I take it you found a shop to use while you're at school?

[verhoevenc]

No. I have MOST of the tools to build in my dorm... there's a couple things we'll need aid with and I guess we'll fork up the dough and venture to the woodcraft shop south a DC. Cause I've got all the hand tools, sanders, OS sander, router table, jigsaw, and drill press here. That can get MOST of the work done. All we really need are a jointer and drum sander for the very begining. And then we need a bandsaw (jigsaw won't cut over 2" thick) to rough cut the scarf joint, and the rear profile of the neck to get it to a good thickness to start using rasps, etc. But that could technically be done with my drill press and safe-t-planer.

So yeah... we just essentially need wood thicknessed and jointed for us. Other than that we'll be pretty self sufficient.

Rich: No, he's not a PG member yet. However, from the limited degree I do know him I don't think he'd be one to post/visit often, especially with me around who can just tell him the answers instead of waiting for replies. He's a huge party animal, so I doubt time for PG would be easy to come by lol. But I'm obviously gunna tell hima bout it.

Chris

[Desopolis]

are they in the dorm, or actually in your room? not alot of space eh?

[crafty]

Having been an RA in college, I really think you should check with yours before attempting any major woodworking projects with large, noisy power tools in a dorm. I worked on guitars in college, but I usually went to either a friend's house or the theater workshop if I was doing any major woodworking. I know a lot of these new residence halls are quite large and spacious, but having a big screen and a keg-er-ator is one thing, a fully outfitted workshop is quite another.

If you are really building guitars in your room, PLEASE post some pics that I can share with some of my friends who are still in the biz.

[verhoevenc]

Oh no. I'm a junior, so I have a sweet dorm! We have a full apartment style, but an added balcony and rock garden area which is where I plan to work. So yeah, all work will be outsdoors on our private balcony area. And our parties are way louder than my tools

But yeah, when I get down to working, I'll for sure post.

Chris

[Desopolis]

yeah, Id defiantly like to see your bed between a belt sander and a drill press...

COVERED in sawdust..

[crafty]

ROCK GARDEN? Where the hell are you going to school?!

In my day, which was only five years ago, we had 10x12 rooms for two people, prison showers, basic cable with no MTV, and we liked it!

Rock garden. Pfft. Don't you kids know it's about cooking Ramen on a hot plate and leaving a sock on the doorknob?

[Desopolis]

crafty, oh its still that way in most dorms,

hes most likely in student housing run by the UV that are "apartment style"

[verhoevenc]

I think you're thinking too much into my version of what is a "rock garden". We have a small balcony area shared with the apartment next door. HOWEVER they don't want the balcony to end at the edge of the roof of the apartment below... cause they KNOW we'll get drunk and fall over them lol

Therefore, they put railing a good 10 feet from the edge, and say "don't go out on that section!" and covered it with small rocks to make it uncomfortable hahahaha

I go to Georgetown

Chris

[crafty]

Oh, so it's not a Hef-style grotto with a waterfall or anything like that. Too bad. That'd really be nice for the ladies.

[Mattia]

No. I have MOST of the tools to build in my dorm... there's a couple things we'll need aid with and I guess we'll fork up the dough and venture to the woodcraft shop south a DC. Cause I've got all the hand tools, sanders, OS sander, router table, jigsaw, and drill press here. That can get MOST of the work done. All we really need are a jointer and drum sander for the very begining. And then we need a bandsaw (jigsaw won't cut over 2" thick) to rough cut the scarf joint, and the rear profile of the neck to get it to a good thickness to start using rasps, etc. But that could technically be done with my drill press and safe-t-planer.

So yeah... we just essentially need wood thicknessed and jointed for us. Other than that we'll be pretty self sufficient.

Right...dude, right NOW is the time to but a #5, learn to sharpen it, learn to tune it, and start using it. I'd get body blanks jointed for me (usually do, sometimes use the handplane) but tops, even for a carved top, are easy to do with a handplane once you get the hand of it. And seriously, a bandsaw for scarf joints? Learn to love a good quality Japanese saw and block/bench plane combo to do it by hand, or use a router jig, whatever. I also rough in the back of the neck profile by hand, with rasps and a straightedge, only takes about 15 minutes. I'd use a Safe-T planer if I felt my drill press was solid enough for me to bother buying one, though...

[verhoevenc]

So we're slowly getting work done. Time's to work are hard to coordinate, but we make the best of things. We've pretty much preped, thicknessed, jointed, and glued up all the woods to work with. We did templates by hand in 1/8" (easier to sand/rasp/file to perfect shape) and then used those to make our 3/4" MDF tempaltes, which we did today.

Me Showin' him how to use/setup the router.

Chris

[crafty]

So is that SEVEN cans of beer sitting next to your router table?

Don't drink and carve...unless you want to pick bits of your fingers out of the rock garden...

[verhoevenc]

Oh no no. Those were from many nights ago... we just never clean

Chris

[ToneMonkey]

Beer and routers don't mix. As I found out when I nearly took my knackers off with one

[verhoevenc]

So even though he's workin' slower than molases on a winter's morning, I've decided to show some of what he's gotten up to to you guys.

That's his body shape, it's a modified Jazzmaster. And then he's got that one piece African Mahogany body (from none other than our very own soundat11... it's some damned nice mahogany, I think I may start going more one piece work myself) and then that's a nice ribboned sapele neck and quilted maple drop from Fryovanni (again, great stuff!).

The current idea now is to stain the top blue, and drop on an ebony fretboard, undecided inlay, and make it like a les paul. Essentially he wanted it to be a LP in diguise. He's doing the mahogany/maple combo, TOM bridge, 24.75" scale, PAF style humbuckers, the works. On diffs is not carved top, shape,a nd he wanted to hollow it out as per the above pattern.

Chris

[SoundAt11]

Pretty Clever, that's close to a non-reverse Firebird (and awesome sounding and looking guitar).

That's a good plan, though, you can't go wrong with a lot of Mahogany with some Maple and Ebony thrown in, it's going to sound great.

That ribbon-stripped Sapele neck is just totally insane, that's awesome. I really need to get some of that, it really makes the African Mahogany look so boring.