Adamski23 Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Hey. this is my first attempt at building my own guitar. I have been looking at the website and forums and theres a lot of useful information and handy tips, infact without having read some of the stuff on here i wouldn't have attempted it. Ok so my guitar that i am going to make is going to be based an Ibanez RG series. I like the shape and the feel as my mate has one and its really nice to play. I already have the body of the guitar cut out, that was done today and still has to be sanded, routed and drilled for components. Here is a picture of my guitar body at the moment. sorry about the poor quality, was taken on my webcam. I am a complete noob, and dont have any experience with working with wood, or electronics. Thanks to this website though and various other sites on the internet i have managed to find schematics and diagrams so i am confident about that now. And luckily for me....my dads a carpenter!! so i have practically unlimited supply of tools available and advice. Ofcourse that also reduces the cost which is a big factor for me (im a student!) One of my problems at the moment is the neck and the headstock. The neck is 25"5 scale 24 frets. I have taken the dimensions for the neck from the ibanez product information. I however am dubious, it claims the neck depth at 1st fret is 180mm and at last fret 200mm. Can this be right? I am struggling to see how a truss rod will fit in there (but then i not really sure how big they are either!! ). That is my next question, what would be a good truss rod for this neck as i dont have a clue, i am not bothered about being able to adjust the rod, the simpler the better. And also where in the UK can i get one, i have only found one website but it only has a small range of truss rods, this is the link http://www.touchstonetonewoods.co.uk/ttwp10.html Thank you in advance for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiewarlock Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 hi, i've been to touchstone tone woods, you'll be safe mate I reccomed the 2 way truss rod they sell and they have good prices, but for fretboards i recommend stew mac, touchstone sells they fretboards very rough, even if they come preslotted...so for fretboards go for stewmac, the rest, touchstone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamski23 Posted September 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 thanks for the advice mate, and atm touchstone woods are the only UK company i can find to sell truss rods. Do you know if stew mac ships to the UK? thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simo Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 (edited) http://www.craft-supplies.co.uk also sell truss rods, ask for the catalogue, there's not much listed on the site. Stew Mac are incredibly fast on shipping to the UK, my last order was placed on a Friday afternoon and arrived on Monday morning! Edited September 22, 2006 by Simo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamski23 Posted September 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Stew Mac are incredibly fast on shipping to the UK, my last order was placed on a Friday afternoon and arrived on Monday morning! wow that is fast! Thanks for the help. It's still really the neck thats bothering me. I got the outline for my body by tracing around my mates RG, but taking measurments for the enck and head stock are tricky when attatched to the guitar. I also need measurements for bridge and pickup placements, as soon as i have those positions routed i can really get going. And i just cant get my centre line straight!! Meh, i'll figure it out, but its a pain in the arse having to ask my mate to borrow his guitar for measurements!! Neway thanks for your replies! And in regards to the truss rod eddiewarlock mentioned. the 2 way truss rod, would that be suitable for such a thin neck? I do apologise for all the questions, i am a noob. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prs man Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 go with the stew mac hot rod 2 way adjustable truss rod. they do ship international orders I have used the truss rods in a few guitar now with no trouble and vary simple to put in. stew Mac web site also has info on how to put the truss rod in. they sell a router bit for this all I used was a 1/4 stright bit for this. here is there website. http://www.stewmac.com/ happy building to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamski23 Posted September 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2006 (edited) I have been looking round the site and forum and this stew mac place seems highly recommended, just not too keen on getting it shipped. The rosewood fret boards they do, has anyone ever purchased one of these. Are they negood and easy to shape? Adamski Just looked at the fret boards on stewmacs and the lenth is only 19-3/8'' which is about 490mm(ish) but the ibanez RG fret board is 550mm long, (assuming my measurements are correct) so im guessing this fret board would not be suitable. Anybody built and RG here and know the dimensions of the fret board? I took the measurements from my mates RG (not sure which one). Thanks. Edited September 23, 2006 by Adamski23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamski23 Posted October 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 Hey just an update, got around to routing out the pickup placements and sanding the edges of the body so now its nice and smooth Here is a picture of the body currently: Btw i know the second pickup hole is a different shape, its not finished yet, need sum chiselling....slight measuring mishap with the jig Newho my question is, how the hell do i drill the holes for the wires? Have i made a huge mistake? i cant see how its possible to drill these holes. I need one from the neck pickup cavity down to the neck pickup cavity then one from there across to the right where my switchs will be. Help please Adamski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 for the neck pickup to the rear pickup, you'll need a long auger bit. When the neck pocket is cut you can drill through from the neck route, through the neck pickup cavity & into the rear pickup cavity. for the hole to the control cavity you just need to drill at an angle from the edge of the bridge pickup hole through to the controls....alternatively you can do what Wal does & route the control cavity so that it overlaps the pickup route a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 +1 on long bit from the neck pocket, as far as stew mac goes. I got the hot rod and the bit they sell for it, im building a few guitars and I can honestly say that it made it alot easyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamski23 Posted October 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 When the neck pocket is cut you can drill through from the neck route, through the neck pickup cavity & into the rear pickup cavity. Ofcourse! cheers mate, why couldnt i see that! Thank you for your help Adamski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGman Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 I have been looking round the site and forum and this stew mac place seems highly recommended, just not too keen on getting it shipped. The rosewood fret boards they do, has anyone ever purchased one of these. Are they negood and easy to shape? Adamski Just looked at the fret boards on stewmacs and the lenth is only 19-3/8'' which is about 490mm(ish) but the ibanez RG fret board is 550mm long, (assuming my measurements are correct) so im guessing this fret board would not be suitable. Anybody built and RG here and know the dimensions of the fret board? I took the measurements from my mates RG (not sure which one). Thanks. Neck Dimensions Width at 24th fret: 56mm Width at nut: 42mm Total fretboard length: 496mm I also have a 1:1 scale (i think) tracing of the headstock i can PM you if you wish. Also, your fretboard widths have alot to do with the bridge, so what are we using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamski23 Posted October 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Neck Dimensions Width at 24th fret: 56mm Width at nut: 42mm Total fretboard length: 496mm I also have a 1:1 scale (i think) tracing of the headstock i can PM you if you wish. Also, your fretboard widths have alot to do with the bridge, so what are we using? Thanks for the dimensions, i posted that a lil while ago and have got the measurements myself now, and made a template. The neck at 24th fret is 58mm and at nut 46mm, so no too far off lol. As for the bridge....i have no idea, my mates RG has a floating bridge, but thats way over my head especially for my first build (at least it looks complicated) so i have bought just a standard 6 string bridge, i dont know the proper name cos im a noob, but its practically identicle to the bridge on my fender strat. Does the headstock tracing include machine head positions? I have PMed you anyway that will be very handy Ty Adamski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGman Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 Neck Dimensions Width at 24th fret: 56mm Width at nut: 42mm Total fretboard length: 496mm I also have a 1:1 scale (i think) tracing of the headstock i can PM you if you wish. Also, your fretboard widths have alot to do with the bridge, so what are we using? Thanks for the dimensions, i posted that a lil while ago and have got the measurements myself now, and made a template. The neck at 24th fret is 58mm and at nut 46mm, so no too far off lol. As for the bridge....i have no idea, my mates RG has a floating bridge, but thats way over my head especially for my first build (at least it looks complicated) so i have bought just a standard 6 string bridge, i dont know the proper name cos im a noob, but its practically identicle to the bridge on my fender strat. Does the headstock tracing include machine head positions? I have PMed you anyway that will be very handy Ty Adamski Seing as its a strat knock off bridge with F spacing, this means that the fretboard at the 24th fret will be 56 mm. And seing as your mate has a floating bridge (fat 10 maybe unles it is a floyd) it should of been 56mm at the 24th and 42mm or 43mm at the nut. 46mm is closer to the 49mm or so 7 string RG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamski23 Posted October 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 Just A quick update showing you the current.....state...of my guitar. The last few picture just show the test fitting of my components, they looks all out of line but thats just because the components arent secured. I finally got a chunk of wood for my neck which i have marked out, and im now looking to getting the fingerboard. Which is still puzzling me but i will figure it out. Anyway here are the pictures. My Webpage My Webpage My Webpage My Webpage My Webpage Btw, can anyone spot the c**k up i made, its nothing major but you can see it in one of the pictures Adamski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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