the telecaster kid Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 I just got back from the lumber yard, where i got my wood milled, and borrowed some clamps. I'm getting ready now to glue it, and I figured this is a good enough time to post it here. I'm laminating a body together, with two pieces of ash, and two pieces of maple, the maple being in the middle. I'm going to do set mahogany neck next saturday, when I go back to the lumber yard. Sorry, i can't find my digital camera at the moment. I'll post some pictures when i find it. Oh yah, i got all the body wood from trees in my back yard i cut down a couple years ago. There's a long story behind why i cut them down, but in short, it's becuase there's a train going through, and I figured that I'd cut them down before the train company did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the telecaster kid Posted April 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 Ok, ive succesfully glued it, gonna come back tomorow and see how it worked out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 Ok, ive succesfully glued it, gonna come back tomorow and see how it worked out. i wanna see some pictures!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the telecaster kid Posted April 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 Alright, found my camera, pics will be up in a minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the telecaster kid Posted April 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 Well now i can't find the cord for the camera, whatever, I'll post some pictures once i find it. But for now, the wood is glued, and the shape is drawn. Going back to the mill next saturday to get it cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the telecaster kid Posted April 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 Just got my mahogany for neck and heel. Gonna go cut the headstock pitch, and laminate on the headstock and heel. I'll have pictures tomorow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the telecaster kid Posted April 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 (edited) Well, ive got the headstock laminated on, but it was way ahrder than it needed to be, cuz i messed up the angled cut, so I had to spend about half an hour planing and sanding it to the right angle, and then, getting the clamps to hold it in place was another wonderful project. But now everything's good, except of course, the piece is four feet long, and i dont know how long itneeds to be exactly, so, obviously, i can't laminate the heel on just yet. However, I have also reached another dilemna. My piece of mahogany is about four feet long, and i think i might want it to go through the body, as it simplifies things and from what i hear plays and sounds better. The body isn't one piece anyway, so i wouldnt't be debeautifying anything. However, my piece of mahogany isn't thick enough to be part of the body, so I don't know what to do. I suppose i could laminate something to the back of it, not sure what though. Ok, now im just thinking out loud, if you ahve any suggestions, they would be much appreciated. And like i said, pictures will be up tomorow. Edited April 16, 2007 by the telecaster kid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wwwdotcomdotnet Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 not to be a jerk or anything but dont you think you should plan out what you are doing before cutting anythign? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the telecaster kid Posted April 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 Yeah, I know, but the bad part is that i actually did. I got my protractor out and figured out the angle, just when i started cutting the saw was off a couple millimiters, and byt he timei figured it out it was too late. It all worked out tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmarlin Posted April 17, 2007 Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 You need to draw the plans out for the entire guitar. You need all the measurements to work together before you make your first cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the telecaster kid Posted April 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2007 Yes, I plan on doing so early tomorow. Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the telecaster kid Posted April 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Laminated on the headplate. Some kindof curly ash i had lying around. Looks good, it's a little thick, but everything's gonna get planed down anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levelhead86 Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 THIS THREAD IS USELESS WITHOUT PICS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the telecaster kid Posted April 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 Yep, it is, but I can't find the cable for my camera, so I cant upload any. Whatever, i got my blank cut into shape today, and im now shaping the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the telecaster kid Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 (edited) Well, I jsut realized that my body is huge. It's not really going to work with the 24 fret gibson scale, because the bridge will need to be 2/3s of the way up the body. So, I';m going to change the whole idea, and make it a bass. 5 string, 24 frets, with whatever material fretboard i can get. Anyone have any comments? Edited April 22, 2007 by the telecaster kid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Yeah, I've got a comment. I'm a rookie myself, and everybody makes mistakes, but honestly...Do a little planning. Sure, it takes patience to research everything you need to know and figure it all out for yourself, but even as a rookie I know that if you can't plan you can't build. Period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Well, I jsut realized that my body is huge. It's not really going to work with the 24 fret gibson scale, because the bridge will need to be 2/3s of the way up the body. So, I';m going to change the whole idea, and make it a bass. 5 string, 24 frets, with whatever material fretboard i can get. Anyone have any comments? That's the kind of thing that happens when you don't plan ahead. always make plans, drawings, notes, gather as much info as you can. study them, and after all that, you start cutting the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Draw it out in full NOW, before cutting wood, front and side views 1:1 scale. Then keep moving along, and remember there are semi-hollows and archtops (BIG guitars) with short scales, and bridges pretty far up the body. If the body is so big that it looks too unbalanced, it will likely be way, way, way too heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Draw it out in full NOW, before cutting wood, front and side views 1:1 scale. Then keep moving along, and remember there are semi-hollows and archtops (BIG guitars) with short scales, and bridges pretty far up the body. If the body is so big that it looks too unbalanced, it will likely be way, way, way too heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 ...& before anyone mentions the "measure twice - cut once" saying, please buy yourself a decent ruler that's long enough to measure a guitar eg. 1m. A 10 inch ruler isn't going to help you at all as you've already found out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 I'll just echo what everyone else has said, it's very important to plan everything out. This is a thinking game. There is more science than art here. Very important to put your engineer hat on and think through every step. One more thing, there are 19 replies in this thread, 11 of which are you posting back to back. If you have something to add just edit your previous post rather than posting more. It just clutters up the board and makes it harder to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalwarrior Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 I haven't planned out my guitar very well either, but I find it gives me the oppertunity to learn how to fix mistakes and turn them into design features. I don't know what shape you are planning to make it, but if the wood is too big couldn't you just cut it smaller, or change the neck join? As for the neck not being as thick as the body for a neck through, I think you could probably rout out a channel in a one piece body blank and fit the neck in that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 one other thing. if you post pictures of your progress we can help you a lot. maybe we'll see something that you missed and you can avoid making some mistakes. this forum is about learning and sharing experiences. so, make your plans, draw the instrument full size, and if you have a question, ask us! we are here to help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the telecaster kid Posted April 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 I haven't planned out my guitar very well either, but I find it gives me the oppertunity to learn how to fix mistakes and turn them into design features. I don't know what shape you are planning to make it, but if the wood is too big couldn't you just cut it smaller, or change the neck join? As for the neck not being as thick as the body for a neck through, I think you could probably rout out a channel in a one piece body blank and fit the neck in that way. Well, I suppose this is going to sound really unprofessional, but I've decided to change the direction this project is going in enteirly. I realized that the fact that the body was too big might be a blessing in disguise, and decided that I don't really need three electric guitars, but I do need a bass for recording. So, It's going to be a 34" scale 4 string bass. I suppose you could call that turning a mistake into a design feature. As for the neck, I took it to my friends house, a friend who has a real shop. I did end up cutting a channel out of the body, and setting the neck in that. Im pleased with how It's turning out now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova9 Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Well, I suppose this is going to sound really unprofessional, but I've decided to change the direction this project is going in enteirly. I realized that the fact that the body was too big might be a blessing in disguise, and decided that I don't really need three electric guitars, but I do need a bass for recording. So, It's going to be a 34" scale 4 string bass. I suppose you could call that turning a mistake into a design feature. As for the neck, I took it to my friends house, a friend who has a real shop. I did end up cutting a channel out of the body, and setting the neck in that. Im pleased with how It's turning out now. Stop and draw everything out in 1:1 scale. That's why you had to scrap the original guitar style. I will bet you a brand new 14" bandsaw that if you stopped and planned it out it would go much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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