Xanthus Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Excellent progress, Rick! Looking less and less like a standard LP, but I still like it. Keep it up! Did you already mention what pickups you were putting in it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted December 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Thanks. Those are DiMarzio Mo'Joes; the idea of the soon-to-be owner of the guitar. I'm eager to hear how they sound. Their specs look like the pickups are just what I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Ah, ok. They're pretty decent pickups, my favorite of Joe's signature picks. Can't stand the Fred, though Sounded like junk when I fiddled with it! Of course, you're using better woods than Joe's Ibanez, so my prediction is that they'll sound even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted February 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Got the fretboard glued up, and taken down to finished taper. Almost time to do the inlay. pic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim290280 Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 (edited) Looking good Rick! Had a look at your other progress pics as well; the beauty of this guitar seems to be in the little details, like the electronics cavity at the back, the two tone fret board, etc. Though a question; How is the balance of the guitar at this point? Where will you place the strap button at the front of the body? Edited February 3, 2008 by tim290280 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Nice as always, Rick Had a question, though. What size was the bit you used to do the bridge recess? I've got the forstner post holes drilled for my TOM/tail setup, but the channel connecting the two is just a hair larger than my template bit. How'd you get yours so nice? I think I'll have to make a template like you did, except it'll have to be an inch thick because the blade on my template bit is so tall. Sigh. Looks snazzy, though, I can't wait to see it completed. Where are you putting the pickup switch, the traditional LP way? And from the looks of it, those pickups are sitting pretty proud. Direct mount? I'm glad I didn't want to direct mount mine, that StewMac template leaves a TON of wiggle room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted February 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 (edited) Tim, I intend (so far) to put the strap buttons in the usual positions. Should balance fine. If it ends up that the button being on the end of the bass side horn puts it too close to the side of the neck, I'll either recess it a bit, or find another place for it. Xanthus, I used a half inch cutting diameter template following bit with a cutting depth of one inch. (I had to make the template an inch and a half thick.) The route is just a hair wider than a half inch: maybe 17/32". I just had to be very careful to position the router so that the bit wasn't touching anything when I started the router, and to hang on tight to it so that it didn't move when I turned it on. (It helps that my router has a soft gradual start feature.) The template I used was the fourth one I made. Took a while to get it perfect. The pickup cavities need to be taken down another 1/16" or so. I'll be direct mounting the pickups. I cut the pickup cavities smaller than the average humbucker cavity; just big enough to fit the DiMarzios. The one thing that bothers me about direct mounting them is that they have brass-looking baseplates and all the rest of the hardware is black. I'm thinking I might be able to hit the baseplates with some black somehow. Edited February 3, 2008 by Rick500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted February 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Side inlays turned out nice, although I did superglue my finger to the fretboard for a brief moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 i like the contrast there! cant wait to see more pics.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Side inlays turned out nice, although I did superglue my finger to the fretboard for a brief moment. Everything is looking great, I'm looking forward to seeing this build complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gr3y Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 amazing.. love the contrasting wood! I believe a nice and simple inlay over the fingerboard and some nice logo on the headstock will make this instrument alive right away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Love that finger board. When I first saw it, I thought that you took two pieces of different woods to make that up. Love it. I'll have to make something like that someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted March 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 (edited) No finish applied yet; just wiped it down with a little naphtha after sanding. Obviously, still a little routing and drilling to do. That mahogany's gonna look great oiled. front Edited March 23, 2008 by Rick500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 2 questions? how did you get the prefect circle for the channel changer and you got a little router happy didnt you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 Nice Rick, that is going to look killer, it actually already does! I had to take a second look at the route before I could see the idea, but I see it now! You can see the little outshoots to support the cover and add magnets/screws and the other little indentation which leaves room for the volume pot. And you managed all that and still got the shark fin shape, nice work! I can't wait to see how it finishes, its going to look great. Keep the progress pics coming, this is a cool project. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted March 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 (edited) Thanks, guys. Kenny-- to get the circular routes for the pickup switch cavity, I used a really big Forstner bit (2 1/8" I think) to cut the smaller diameter (inner) hole about 1/4" deep, then I used the walls of the hole as a template for the router and routed the hole to depth. Then, with a slightly larger Forstner bit, I made a template for the larger diameter hole, and used the template to route it on the body. Here's the jig I made to cut a cover of exactly the right diameter: I just thickness sanded some black limba left over from the neck, and stuck a piece to the turntable on the jig, then took it to the router table and rotated the stock on the turntable (with a bearing bit; the bearing resting against the edge of the base of the jig) to cut the cover. As for the control cavity, I haven't cut the ledge for the cover yet; the weird shape is a sharkfin shape with tabs for screws. Edited March 23, 2008 by Rick500 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 (edited) i didnt see it at first :-p i feel silly :-p yea, i have something like 100 bits, and i sued the bearing bits to do the majority of my shaping but i cant figure out how to use them on templates :-p haha *unless your routing from below.* and yes, i hvae no wood working experiance;) edit: never mind :-p it took a quick search to find out that my bits...are on the bottom end of the bit and tahts why :-p, i knew i wasnt stupid..just slow! Edited March 23, 2008 by Kenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 They make forstners larger than 2-1/8"??? :D Damn. Know how there are just some bits that you don't feel safe putting in a drill press? hahaha In other news, I like the color you're getting out of that mahog, even if it is just naptha. What's your oiling procedure going to be like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted March 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 I've been experimenting on scrap mahogany from the body blank. I think I've settled on: Sand (180, 220, 320, 400) Apply one coat of Tru-oil, as much as the wood will absorb, wipe away excess, let dry 24 hours Wet sand with Tru-oil and 400 grit wet/dry paper, wipe away excess across the grain, let dry 24 hours Repeat wet sanding until pores are filled Apply finish coats, leveling with mineral spirits and 400 grit paper between coats Wax and buff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 do you have the end result on a finished peice of mahog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted March 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 No, no pics of the test piece grainfilled yet. Here's one after the first round of grainfilling, but you can still see some pores. I'll get some more pics after I get a few finish coats on the test piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPboco Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 crazy stuff! looking great Connor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Well I have no experience grain filling with tru-oil so I can't help you there. But it's looking amazing. That piece of mahogany has a beautiful color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassisgreat Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 It's looking great, Rick! I dig the design, and the wood choices are going to look really great when it's all finished up! I REALLY like how you were able to get that little bit of coloring in the heel part of the Limba neck. To me, half the fun of designing is seeing a piece of wood and finding a way to let nature help you along in the design process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted March 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 To me, half the fun of designing is seeing a piece of wood and finding a way to let nature help you along in the design process. Yeah, me too. I try to get every last little piece of cool grain pattern and color that I can, into the guitar. Got the control cover cavities and covers finished today. No more routing on this guitar. That's black limba from the same piece as the limba in the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.