mpatton Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 Hey all, been lurking these forums around for a bit and have been inspired to give this a shot. I haven't built a guitar before, but I'm hoping it will at least be a good (and fun ) learning experience. The plan right now is to a padauk body with a quilt maple top, and a padauk/curly maple neck. A bit different with the padauk and green, but I think it's some nice looking wood and hope it will work well. I understand it's pretty dense, and was thinking I may do some chambers to save weight. Is this a good idea (also considering the quilt top is only 1/8" thick)? Anyway, I've been doing some planning in Illustrator and Photoshop, here's what I've got at this point: Still not completely satisfied with the shape, not sure what it is about it but it doesn't seem to flow as well as I'd like. I may have given the oval base too much of an angle...it's more obvious when looking at it from other perspectives. What do you guys think, any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 Hey all, been lurking these forums around for a bit and have been inspired to give this a shot. I haven't built a guitar before, but I'm hoping it will at least be a good (and fun ) learning experience. The plan right now is to a padauk body with a quilt maple top, and a padauk/curly maple neck. A bit different with the padauk and green, but I think it's some nice looking wood and hope it will work well. I understand it's pretty dense, and was thinking I may do some chambers to save weight. Is this a good idea (also considering the quilt top is only 1/8" thick)? Anyway, I've been doing some planning in Illustrator and Photoshop, here's what I've got at this point: Still not completely satisfied with the shape, not sure what it is about it but it doesn't seem to flow as well as I'd like. I may have given the oval base too much of an angle...it's more obvious when looking at it from other perspectives. What do you guys think, any advice? i quite like the shape, headstock could maybe be a bit less square, would look better in my oppinion and also get the strings to pull straighter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 Ditto. It's only the headstock holding it back right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redhat Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 I agree with the headstock comments. The only thing I would mention in addition is that it looks to me like the angle of the oval and the angle of the upper horn offset are similar but not quite exact. Maybe matching the angles might work better. Then again, they might match anyways, and I'm just looking at them wrong. Otherwise, I really like the color combo you've picked out. Props. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyroiguana Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 Yeah, I really like the colors you have. They work together really well. And the shapes great, i'm sure that if you just smooth out some of the curves on the shape it'd look perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbanezFreak666 Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 i think the top cutaway being so far forward makes it look a bit weird, maby if you even them up it would work better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Mike will be going with one of my Padauk fingerboards for this build. 25.5" scale, 24 frets. Very sweet, this is going to look great on this project! Let me know if you find Padauk thick enough for the body, I've never seen any thicker than 13/16" and would love to use some for a body. Great wood to work with, it's my favorite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatton Posted May 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 (edited) Thanks for the input all, I'll see about fixing the things you suggested. The headstock wasn't really thought out too much at this point, I'll make sure to go back and make it work with the body. Thanks again for doing the fingerboard Jon, looks great! I've got a nice big piece of padauk already, I'll grab some pictures in a few days when I'm back in town. It's 40x16x1.5" (heavy stuff), so I may have a piece big enough for you to use if you want and if everything goes as planned. Any input on chambering with a 1/8" top? Edited May 27, 2007 by mpatton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Sure, I'd love to buy a thick piece. What about the chambering? Looking for some pictures of chambered bodies? Search for "chambered" under the "In Progress and Finished Work" forum, you'll find a few cool projects that should give you ideas with how to chamber, or what design to chamber. It's a lot of fun to do, I've got a multi-chamber fretless build that I plan on doing when I can afford it. Chambered builds: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=27131 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=20795 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatton Posted May 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Thanks, I'll be sure to check those out. Any idea whether a 1/8" top will be thick enough if it's chambered underneath? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted May 30, 2007 Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 I wouldn't see why it wouldn't be strong enough, just make sure to stick with multiple chambers to add some extra strength for the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 I'm not sure if you're still concerned about the body shape, but here's my thoughts... I would tighten the waist and also bring the horns in towards the center-line. It looks just a little cumbersome in the current shape. Alternatively, you could keep the current shape (which looks large to me) and make it mostly hollow inside. A semi-hollow would probably do well with a large body. BTW, P90's are the perfect choice for the guitar aesthetically! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatton Posted May 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 (edited) Thanks for the suggestions Geo. I cut the shape out of paper to see how it would look, and I'm pretty happy with where it's at right now, feels good to "play". It's actually not too big, basically the same size as a Strat...I was even thinking it seemed small when I cut it out. I snapped a couple of pictures of the wood and the cutout, let me know what you think. Having some trouble with the camera, can't seem to really capture the color of the wood. Shape cutout Comparison to Strat Edited May 31, 2007 by mpatton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 ahh great body and choice of woods the neck is going to look hot with the flame and that fret board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 The shape looks like a cross between a LP and an SG to me. With the wood and finish choices, should be pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pibrocher Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 I'm really digging the colors and wood selection. I think that no matter how you end up shaping it its gonna look stellar. Of course a headstock can become your signature too... I'd suggest maybe making the top (upper in player-position) horn a little longer. Can't wait to see some sawdust fly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted May 31, 2007 Report Share Posted May 31, 2007 Very cool. I think I misjudged the size of the body in the computer-generated drawing. It looks good in front of the Strat body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatton Posted March 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 (edited) Well I know it's been almost a year since this topic got started, but I finally got started on this project. I changed the shape up a bit since I started this thread, could post the sketches but figured you might want to see the progress instead. Not a ton to see at this point, but should get some good updates in before spring break. I'll try to grab some pictures with a real camera instead of off my phone, doesn't seem to catch the color of the padauk or the figure in the maple. Body shot Neck Neck closeup Gluing up maple top Things are going pretty smoothly so far, but I need to start buying some parts before I can really get going. Once I get a truss rod/bit for routing the channel I can get that nice fretboard glued up then start cutting and shaping the neck. I realize now I should have routed the channel before gluing on the headstock ears...ah well, it's all a learning process. Padauk is a crazy wood to work with, you might not guess from my pictures but it creates the most vibrant orange dust, looks very unnatural to see this glowing orange coating everything I'll keep updating, let me know what you guys think, cheers Mike Edited March 13, 2008 by mpatton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatton Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 (edited) Thanks for the reply, MexNoob. I'm still working on finalizing the headstock shape, but it will definitely be very different from what is shown on the original sketch. As for wiring, planning on going dual humbuckers, tone & volume knobs and 5 way switch for the pickups. Not much progress since before, but I grabbed some better pictures that should capture the beauty of the wood a bit better. Neck cut (almost) to width Sketched chambers that will be routed Back of guitar Edited March 17, 2008 by mpatton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ngaa Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 looks great so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Nice contouring on the back there. Are you going to leave the lines sharp, or round them in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatton Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Thanks for the replies. I was originally thinking of rounding the contours in, but I think the sharp look fits the look of guitar better so I'm planning on keeping them that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ngaa Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 what tools did you use to shape the back contours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatton Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I did those on a spindle sander, I'll probably have to do the horn contours with rasps/files since I don't think I can get the spindle sander in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpatton Posted March 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 Got the chambers mostly routed out. Still might clean up the edges some and go a bit deeper to get rid of the holes from the forstner bit...I know it won't be seen once the top's on, but I still like to feel that everything is "complete." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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