mickeysg Posted November 11, 2006 Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 (edited) I have started my own archtop hollowbody build. It is a harmony double cutway design. It will have a 24 3/4 scale with 24 frets. Specs: maple neck, cherry wings, cherry headstock with a walnut face, walnut fret board all parts ordered off ebay, gibson knock off pickups, tuning machines from guitar fetish, all parts bridge and stop piece, all parts nut, and electronics from guitar fetish aswell. The wood i have used is pritty much anything good i can find in my high school construction class. the neck is a piece of maple. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi...sg/Image015.jpg the body is cherry which i will soon route out to make it hollow (this is the back of the guitar) http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi...sg/Image017.jpg http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi...sg/Image016.jpg This next pic is of the body neck and headstock. It isnt glued together yet but will shortly i hope. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi...sg/Image001.jpg The headstock has a walnut cap over it mostly for looks and fluck. The piece of cherry i had was to thin after planning to use as a headstock so the walnut was added for thickness. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi...sg/Image003.jpg there will be a binding on the headstock, on the body and maybe the fretboard aswell. here is the channel routed on the headstock. The binding will most likely be birch. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi...sg/Image014.jpg these are all my parts which i had a little trouble getting to over ebay. it took over six months to receive all the parts from various sellers so my first ebay experience wasnt to pleasant http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mickeysg/parts.jpg Edited November 11, 2006 by mickeysg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielM Posted November 11, 2006 Report Share Posted November 11, 2006 should be good. good luck! and i hope it's gonna work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted November 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 Here is a shot of the fretboard wood. Its a piece of walnut. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../fretboard1.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 Interesting start. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted November 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 (edited) well there hasn't been any progress on the hollowbody but i recently purchased a mann les paul a copy gibson from a local pawn shop for 50 dollars so too keep you PG'ers happy for the moment i'll post some pics. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../Image016-1.jpg http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi...sg/Image020.jpg the guitar is from the 70's it has a lot of of problems. Theres a tuner missing, the nut is broken, the frets are worn, the paints cracked, the binding is cracked, the pickup ring is broken, theres saddles missing in the bridge, theres stickers all over it, the neck pickup volume doesnt stop spinning. the neck is made of mahogany and the body is plywood which is a bit of a bummer but it has a dimarzio pickup in the bridge which makes me happy. this is mainly a project to learn from. so far i learned that the finish is very thick and the bridge and tailpiece anchors are a bitch to take out. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi...sg/bodyneck.jpg http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mickeysg/body2.jpg ive sanded off the finish off the neck and filled in the old tuner screw holes on the back of the headstock. all the stickers took me around 2 or 3 hours of peeling and rubbing off with alcohol to completely take off the residue. the guitar is now completely disassembled. the new finish will hopefully either be a yellow to red to black burst or a light to dark red. if that doesnt work out then i'll just gp with a very glossy black. Edited December 4, 2006 by mickeysg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted November 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 the pickups i got from ebay are at 3.76 and 3.8 k ohms resistance and comparing to my dimarzio pickup pumping almost 9 k ohms they seem a little low. Is this gunna b a problem and if so is there anything i could really do. If anyone can tell me the connection between resistance and the effect it has on the sound of the pickup it would help out a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted November 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2006 Im not getting any comments but im pritty sure people have taken a look at my build Work has been slow in my shop class many classes wasted if i need to ask the teacher something, cleaning days or days the teachers not there. In the past week ive gotten the neck joint rough cut. I had to do it the old fashion way chisel and mallet and i think i did a pritty good job since its the first time ive chiselled anything in my life. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../Image017-1.jpg a pic of the joint on the headstock http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../Image015-1.jpg the reverse on the neck http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../Image016-2.jpg and the two together if everything goes to plan im going to file it down tom. and maybe have it glued if im lucky. I had to do this kind of joint because i didnt leave enough wood at one end to glue to the neck. It would really help if you guys have any comments, constructive criticism or any questions about the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 27, 2006 Report Share Posted November 27, 2006 Im not getting any comments but im pritty sure people have taken a look at my build Work has been slow in my shop class many classes wasted if i need to ask the teacher something, cleaning days or days the teachers not there. In the past week ive gotten the neck joint rough cut. I had to do it the old fashion way chisel and mallet and i think i did a pritty good job since its the first time ive chiselled anything in my life. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../Image017-1.jpg a pic of the joint on the headstock http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../Image015-1.jpg the reverse on the neck http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../Image016-2.jpg and the two together if everything goes to plan im going to file it down tom. and maybe have it glued if im lucky. I had to do this kind of joint because i didnt leave enough wood at one end to glue to the neck. It would really help if you guys have any comments, constructive criticism or any questions about the project. I wouldn't use a finger joint like that for a neck. It is asking for failure. A scarf joint although simple to exicute produces a larger gluing surface, and you can apply adequite pressure to achive good glue penetration. Peace,Rich Maybe you could do a simple test. Recreate that joint on another piece of wood. thin it down to your neck dimensions(ruff). Then hit it with a 3lb. hammer. That will tell you if you can achive the joint strength required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted November 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 I think its to late to start a scarf joint, i could have done one before but it would have taken up a lot of time and maybe even redoing the headstock. Is there anything i could do once im done the finger joint that would make it stronger. or would i just b wasting my time trying to make it stronger once its done. I originally thought that it would b strong enough with the joint being sandwiched between the neck wood and the fingerboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted November 28, 2006 Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 Just make sure you make the fingerjoint nice and tight - it should offer sufficient strength for a 6-string guitar. Awesome work so far, I'm a big fan of hollow-bodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted November 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 Can any one give me some help or guidence with my pickup problem.... if it is one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 28, 2006 Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 Just make sure you make the fingerjoint nice and tight - it should offer sufficient strength for a 6-string guitar. Awesome work so far, I'm a big fan of hollow-bodies. How do you clamp it to achieve good glue joint pressure as thick as those fingers are? Here is a handy resource for info on using adhesives.-Click Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 28, 2006 Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 the pickups i got from ebay are at 3.76 and 3.8 k ohms resistance and comparing to my dimarzio pickup pumping almost 9 k ohms they seem a little low. Is this gunna b a problem and if so is there anything i could really do. If anyone can tell me the connection between resistance and the effect it has on the sound of the pickup it would help out a lot. I'm no expert, but I'm going to guess you'll be disappointed with those ebay pups--seems to me that's low even for single coils? The lower the resistance, the weaker the output --they're not going to rock like the dimarzio. You'll probably get more of a vintage type jangle. (Which is something I personally like, but I don't play metal) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted November 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 I was thinking about the clamping and i came to the conclusion that there will be one clamp holding the joint down and i have these straps that you can tighten which i'll run from the tip of the headstock down to the bottom of the body which will force the joint to be fully seated in the channels. I will also have a clamp on the sides of the neck. I dont know if that explaination makes sence to anyone else other then myself because im pritty bad with explaining things with out showing someone a picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted November 28, 2006 Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 Just make sure you make the fingerjoint nice and tight - it should offer sufficient strength for a 6-string guitar. Awesome work so far, I'm a big fan of hollow-bodies. How do you clamp it to achieve good glue joint pressure as thick as those fingers are? Here is a handy resource for info on using adhesives.-Click I have personally never clamped finger-joints that size. But I'd clamp from the sides to get it moderately tight, but adjustable, and then put two pieces of scrap wood on the top and bottom and used multiple C/G-style clamps to clamp vertically. Say 4 clamps? Then tighten the clamp on the side after that is done. I really think that would be the best bet. I was thinking about the clamping and i came to the conclusion that there will be one clamp holding the joint down and i have these straps that you can tighten which i'll run from the tip of the headstock down to the bottom of the body which will force the joint to be fully seated in the channels. I will also have a clamp on the sides of the neck. I dont know if that explaination makes sence to anyone else other then myself because im pritty bad with explaining things with out showing someone a picture. Clamp it first without gluing and take pictures, maybe we can come up with a good method for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted November 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 I sanded off the paint on the neck and top of my les paul and the neck by coincidence has a joint similar to the one im making. Its a litttle hard to see in the pic but its the best i can do. Im told its made of mahogany. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../Image001-1.jpg heres the top sanded. not sure what kind of wood it is. I havent sanded the top all the way to bare wood yet i did a little on the right side thats why its two colors. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../Image003-1.jpg On the hollowbody project I only got half a hour of work done on it in class today so not to much progress on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 29, 2006 Report Share Posted November 29, 2006 Honestly, I see using a tapered dovetail or something along those lines. It would not be my first choice though. I honestly hope you can get a good strong joint. If it is really closely fit and you are able to get the pressure to the glued surfaces without forcing the glue out when you slide the pieces together. It should be ok. With more thin fingers you would have more surface area, and a better shot at getting good clamiping pressure. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted December 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 Well work is slow as usual and this joint has taken me way longer then i had expected the small adjustments took forever and I was getting really frustrated i couldnt figure out why it wouldnt sit completely flush. In the end im not happy with this joint I think i could have done a lot better with more patients. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../Image003-2.jpg http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi...neckclamped.jpg those are to different angles of the headstock and neck clamped up. It took forever to clamp and very awkward because of one side not being perpendicular to the other the clamps would slide off. This was the easiest way of clamping it up. Im not at school today because of health problems so there is no further progress on the guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_the_damned Posted December 6, 2006 Report Share Posted December 6, 2006 the pickups i got from ebay are at 3.76 and 3.8 k ohms resistance and comparing to my dimarzio pickup pumping almost 9 k ohms they seem a little low. Is this gunna b a problem and if so is there anything i could really do. If anyone can tell me the connection between resistance and the effect it has on the sound of the pickup it would help out a lot. from the picture of the pickups in the first post I can just about see that they're 4 conductor wiring. I'm guessing you've measured 3.76kohms and 3.8kohms per coil (making them 7.52kohms and 7.6kohms respectively) I'd personally say that that was a little low (though I do play metal and normally use pickups in the range of 15Kohms to 27kohms). They should be fine if you're playing Jazz/blues/light rock but for anything else you'll want a bit more power. Nice build by the way. I'll be intrested to see how this one turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted December 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2006 The pickups actually have 3 wires coming out. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mickeysg/Pickups.jpg and i dont really know what you mean by... I'm guessing you've measured 3.76kohms and 3.8kohms per coil (making them 7.52kohms and 7.6kohms respectively When i measured 3.76 and 3.8 that was for the whole humbucker thats why im wondering what kind of sound im gunna get out of these pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted December 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 So after the neck was clamped for a good 4 days I wasn't able to work on the guitar at all But ive come back with pictures of it glued. really not happy with the quality of work i did. http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi.../neckglued2.jpg http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r148/mi...g/neckglued.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Sand down that wood and show us how tight the joint is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeysg Posted December 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Its pritty embarassing but i'll do it anyways.. the joint unglued was tight enough so that the neck didnt fall off when holding the headstock so i think it was pritty tight somewhere in the middle but getting frustrated didnt help at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova9 Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Why not just drop a few bucks and get a new neck blank, and do a standard scarf joint? It won't cost you much, and if you carry on with this one, you'll just end up more and more frustrated as the project goes on, and you'll always notice it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 You are at a crossroad in your project. If you do not think the joint went well. You would be wise to stop and think about a do-over. I backed off my stand on the joint because Jon believes it is an adequit joint configuration(and I am not going to say he is wrong, because it is only my opinion and I am a hobbiest same as he). That said.. Look at your joint. imagine how much surface area(glue area) you will have when the neck is shaped. It is not going to be anywhere close to the area you would have in a scarf joint. Now evaluate how well you believe that remaining glued surface went together. For every few thousands of an inch of gap you will lose significant strength in the glued joint. I do believe you will need near a 100% strength bond to have a chance of this adequitely holding. Larger suface area actually give you better than 100% strength(this "strength" relates to wood strength without a joint). A larger area that gives you better than 100% can help offset some of the losses due to extra gap. There is also an assumption that the surfaces were prepaired well and adequit pressure was achieved to press the glue into the pours and fiber of the wood. Not achiving good penetration and adhesion will also cause a loss of strength in the glue joint. You are the only one that can evaluate the joint and surface prep, clamping etc... This is a critical joint, and in the weakest area of a neck(weakness will lead to failure). Evaluate and make your call. Bear in mind you have a lot of work do from this point forward. You are not even a quarter of the way to finishing. Now would be the time to make a change as you will have a LOT of wasted effort if you proceed and it fails a week after you string it up. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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