Rista Posted November 9, 2006 Report Share Posted November 9, 2006 Nice to see you're making some progress! I also wonder did you cut the MOP (or whatever material you're using) first and then routed the fingerboard or you're planning to make the inlay later? I'm not an expert by any means at all (never done it on a fingerboard) but I think cutting the inlay first and then routing is how it's usually done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrealize Posted November 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2006 Well, I can only say that I did so out of inexperience. To me it would seem natural to cut the holes first, then make the MOP fit... I didn't know it was normal to do it the other way around.. It might be hard to get it to fit, but I'll make it in the end.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted November 9, 2006 Report Share Posted November 9, 2006 I used my jig saw and got fairly close the the edge, but I left enough room to use the sander or a block sander. it takes longer, uses alot of elbow grease, but turned out ok. Slotting is scarry, it has to be perfect, otherwise no matter how pretty your guitar is, it wont sound right. its like a ferrari that wont turn left. your using the stewmac jig right? looks good. as far is the inlay goes, its a bit rough on the edges, but probobly better then what I would do. for my inset pickuard I routed the channel then spent HOURS shaping the pickguard to inset. if I had done it in reverse I think it would of taken less time and been a tighter fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrealize Posted November 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 More progress... of sorts.. I have been spending a lot of time trying to get my neck to shape. I knew that my neck blank was too big to fit my bandsaw, so I spent like forever before I even dared to touch it. It didn't get as clean as I had hoped for, but by using routers, a normal handsaw, jigsaw, rasps and files I managed to learn that I would NEVER build another neck this way, but it is turning out functional in the end. I have made a few marks on it here and there, but so far I think that I will manage to hide them under the fretboard, or they will dissappear when I further shape the neck. Here are a few pictures, don't laugh, I did the best I could with the tools I have available... Neck shaping 2 Neck shaping 3 Neck shaping 4 It isn't perfectly clean yet, I still have a lot of work to do, but now it finally looks like a neck. Sorta.. I have a question regarding the trussrod. I'm installing a hot rod from Stewmac, have searched a lot on the forum, but I can't seem to find the answer to this. How is the rod placed under the nut? Should the the "brass" parts of the rod go under the nut, or should it stop at the nut..? I have seen lot's of tutorials regarding trussrods, but none I have seen has covered this... Thanks for watching!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrealize Posted November 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2006 More about inlays this time.. I learned quite a few things, like don't route the cavity, and think that you will make the pearl fit. I'm sure it can be done, but the effort it takes can't be worth it. hehe. Another thing I learnt, don't cut pearl without a jig. I messed up badly when I first tried. So, after some thinking, I decided to try out another design for the inlay, a little simpler, so it would more suit my inexperience. I did an Eye of Ra version, made a cutting jig, and it turned out quite ok. I got more skilled with the saw which then again made me want to try my original design over again. That one turned out FAR better than the first attempt I did, so now I'm drawn a lot between the two. I like them both. The thing is that I already routed the fretboard for the star inlay, which doesn't fit to the pearl. I need to rout out even more wood to make the new cut fit, so I'm wondering, will it look ok to remove more wood, and use some glue/filler to make up for the gaps? I will stain the board, cause I want it completely black, so I hope that I can salvage the board. I have another board that I can use, but I was hoping to salvage the first, so that I can use the second for the Eye of Ra inlay. Can someone give me some input on this? I know the gaps will be kinda severe, but since I want uniform black I am hoping that it can be done. Here are some pictures of the last progress: Star inlay. Being very thin lines here it broke off on a couple of places, but I think there is nothing that I can't save. Still needs some fiddling with the file, but all in all an ok outcome I think... Here is a picture of the fretboard routing as it is now. Do you think it is salvageable? I'd hate to scrap this board. Fretboard inlay rout Here is the Eye of Ra design. This one also needs some finetuning, but it is coming along. Eye of Ra I'd really appreciate some input on this, cause I'm a little uncertain what to do about it. Also, what kind of glue should I use to get the pearl fastened to the board. Thanks alot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted November 26, 2006 Report Share Posted November 26, 2006 More about inlays this time.. I learned quite a few things, like don't route the cavity, and think that you will make the pearl fit. I'm sure it can be done, but the effort it takes can't be worth it. hehe. Another thing I learnt, don't cut pearl without a jig. I messed up badly when I first tried. So, after some thinking, I decided to try out another design for the inlay, a little simpler, so it would more suit my inexperience. I did an Eye of Ra version, made a cutting jig, and it turned out quite ok. I got more skilled with the saw which then again made me want to try my original design over again. That one turned out FAR better than the first attempt I did, so now I'm drawn a lot between the two. I like them both. The thing is that I already routed the fretboard for the star inlay, which doesn't fit to the pearl. I need to rout out even more wood to make the new cut fit, so I'm wondering, will it look ok to remove more wood, and use some glue/filler to make up for the gaps? I will stain the board, cause I want it completely black, so I hope that I can salvage the board. I have another board that I can use, but I was hoping to salvage the first, so that I can use the second for the Eye of Ra inlay. Can someone give me some input on this? I know the gaps will be kinda severe, but since I want uniform black I am hoping that it can be done. Here are some pictures of the last progress: Star inlay. Being very thin lines here it broke off on a couple of places, but I think there is nothing that I can't save. Still needs some fiddling with the file, but all in all an ok outcome I think... Here is a picture of the fretboard routing as it is now. Do you think it is salvageable? I'd hate to scrap this board. Here is the Eye of Ra design. This one also needs some finetuning, but it is coming along. I'd really appreciate some input on this, cause I'm a little uncertain what to do about it. Also, what kind of glue should I use to get the pearl fastened to the board. Nice progress so far! You're right though, you going to have to fiddle with the pearl to make it smoother - I know - this takes forever to get right. As for your fretboard, I think that you could salvage it. Try drawing the inlay over what you have now and see what you need to rout out. I suspect you need to rout more wood. If you have large gaps, you're the only judge that can determine if its acceptable. Since you're on black, the imperfections shouldn't be too noticeable. I love the eye or "ra" design. You're not going to believe this... but... I had the exact same design idea for one of my guitars. You did a good job on yours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdizzle Posted January 21, 2007 Report Share Posted January 21, 2007 loooks great man, cant wait to see finished product Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrealize Posted March 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2007 Whoop, time, where did all the time go... Right, just updating with a few new pictures here. Firstly the headstock with the trussrod cover. Turned out quite nicely I think. You can see on the first fret, a little chip flew out as I was hammering the frets in. Bummer. I'm not sure how to fix that one, or if I'm even going to try, it might make more of a mess than it already is.. Learning tho. Here is my Chaos inlay on the 12th fret. Turned out ok too I think. I still need to bevel the frets and make them look all nice and dandy, but it will be done in time.. Chaos inlay A shot of the entire neck. It's coming along, I just hope it will be playable in the end... Neck Finally I found some time to play a little with my diamond plate. It was actually easier to work with than I feared. Not finished of course, but I had to testdrive it on the body to get an idea how it will turn out. Yay! Diamond Plate I have been buried in studiowork for what seem like ages, and I still have about a month of work still, but hopefully I can find time for some quality relaxing in the basement in between... Maybe I can have it ready by summer..?? lol Cheers guys!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
METALSUSTAIN Posted March 18, 2007 Report Share Posted March 18, 2007 WOAH thats a great job man those inlays are superb great guitar , amazinfg for a first build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted March 18, 2007 Report Share Posted March 18, 2007 Wow thats one crazy awsome looking guitar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rista Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Nice. Both inlays are pretty cool, especially the truss rod cover one. BTW is it just the angle or did the headplate slip to the right when you were gluing it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrealize Posted March 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Thanks a lot! :o) Rista, I believe it is the angle, also the trusslooks wrongly placed in this picture. I still think the right side of the headstock is a wee bit narrow, but nothing more than I can live with... Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rista Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 Thanks a lot! :o) Rista, I believe it is the angle, also the trusslooks wrongly placed in this picture. I still think the right side of the headstock is a wee bit narrow, but nothing more than I can live with... Cheers! Yeah, the right side seems a bit narrow compared to the left. That's why it seemed like it slipped to the right: What kind of finish are you going to use? Are you going to paint it or leave it the natural color? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levelhead86 Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 I still think it's just the angle.... notice how the truss rod cover points right at the tip of the point, rather than where the point is "supposed to be"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rista Posted March 19, 2007 Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 I still think it's just the angle.... notice how the truss rod cover points right at the tip of the point, rather than where the point is "supposed to be"? I know, I was just pointing out why it looked like that to me The right side of the headstock is a bit narrow and the left side doesn't follow the headplate, that creates an illusion that the headplate is off center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrealize Posted March 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2007 (edited) Rista: This guitar will be painted black. I initially wanted it black, with a matt black diamond plate, but during the course of the build I got second thoughts about it. Normally I am no fan of 'wood' colored guitars, but after spending way too much time here my mind has changed a little about it. Still, I decided that I will go with my initial idea, also because I still want to use the diamond plate, and a 'chrome' diamond plate on a natural colored guitar won't look very good. This just means that I have to build another one with natural colors. My GF told me that after spending all this money on various tools, she'll kick my ass if I only build one guitar, so I guess I can't stop now!! Edited March 19, 2007 by Unrealize Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrealize Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Righty, found some time yesterday to get a little more done on the guitar. Pupholes were done this time, I think they turned out nicely, pretty perfect. And here is a closeup of the pupholes: Pickup Holes I also started to make the template for routing the hole for the diamond plate. It still needs a bit of finetuning before I can use it, but I hope that I will have time for it sometime this week. I'm excited to see the metal inlaid in the body. :o) Now, I have a question also, for rounding the edges, what size is standard for the roundover (typo?) bit to use..? Cheers folks, it's starting to look like a guitar.. Yay!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 the body looks nice. For the roundover i normally use 1/4" or 1/2" bits but most of the time i do it by hand - but that suits more organic shapes better. For this i would use 1/4" because it feeld that little bit squarer which will suit the industrial feel of this guitar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR/ESPM-II Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 Hey here. I've just started the journey into guitarmaking. I figured an Explorer would be relatively easy to start with, and I simply love the shape. I'll probabably have thousands of questions as I move along, but at least I have come to a start. Not too good quality on these pictures, just used my phone in the basement, better quality pictures will come soon. Here are the specs as I have them: * Bolt-on neck "ESP EXP" Explorer body shape. * Mahogany body. * Mahogany neck. * 24 3/4 inch scale. 22 medium frets. 44 mm nut width. * 14 inch fingerboard radius. Graph-tech nut. Ebony truss rod cover * Ebony fingerboard, as dark black as possible. * No fretboard markers (except 11-12-13 inlay, as noted below). Side dots. * "Chaos star" MOP inlay on the 12th fret. * “KL-style” headstock, at 13 degrees angle. * Sperzel 3+3 machines, Gotoh T-O-M set. * All hardware black. * EMG 85 (neck) + EMG 81 (bridge) . 100% cavity shielding. * 2 knobs, individual volume controls for each pickup. * Switchcraft (USA) Toggle switch in the ESP Explorer position. * Output jack mounted on the side of the guitar. * Battery for the EMG's mounted in separate box on the rear of the guitar. Another thing, I probably shoud angle the neck before I cut the shape, right? Here is the drawing I made attached to the plywood template. Finished tracing the drawing onto the template. http://www.dimensionf3h.com/images/gitarby...late-layout.jpg Cut the template, and started to sand and finetune it. Pup-holes next up. http://www.dimensionf3h.com/images/gitarby...te-cutout-1.jpg HI, Im new here.I love your project.Looks Great! I was wondering were you got the template or if you could send me a copy,I also want to build a KL Explorer,Ive always loved that body and headstock.Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 (edited) that body looks great! Edited March 10, 2008 by killemall8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mista SCARY Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 nice headstock design! Great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnn_h Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Hey !! Very nice progress pictures so far. Do you had any problems concerning the fret slots using the miter box ? I have one and i think it is really difficult to find the center line after slotting. How was it for you ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrealize Posted April 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Thanks for the comments. johnn - no, I didn't have any problems at all. It shouldn't be harder than to mark up the centerline before you cut the slots. Cutting the slots won't erase the centerline. And IF it were to do that, just measure and draw it back up. Shouldn't be that hard. Cheers!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unrealize Posted September 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 (edited) Alrighty, it's been waaaay too long now, but finally I'm back. I have gotten a lot done in this puppy and for the first time today I just had to put some strings on it. First thing I noticed was that my neck angle was a little too steep, so I had to raise the bridge to unknown heights to get it to play, I guess I need to shim the neckpocket a little to get it down to a more normal level. Could anyone give me a hint on what to use to get this done properly? Wood, or some other material? Should I shim the whole pocket and drill holes through the shim, or..? Other than that it is coming together nicely, pretty much only sanding left, and fitting the magnets for the cavity cover. Then color it, and get ready to play some thrash.... Anyway, here are some pictures of the new progress... Diamond Plate Cavity Cavity / Batterybox Tuner holes Body Tune O Matic Edited September 17, 2007 by Unrealize Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted September 17, 2007 Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 I like it a lot! You recessed the diamond plate right? It looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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