Blackdog Posted August 13, 2007 Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 I'm sure this will not surprise most of you, but while I work on confining the dust at the attic-shop for my first top carving I'm already thinking about my NEXT build. I have a honduras mahogany blank about two inches thick. The original idea was to build a one-piece PRS-ish body with 3 p90s and a wilkinson tremolo. But I started with a prototype that's coming along real well (sans the tremolo, because it's thinner) and so it would be silly to do exactly the same on the second body. So the specs would be a slightly different shape (more LP double-cut), a 24 fret set-neck, two humbuckers AND the tremolo. I was thinking about having the blank "sliced" into a 2cm thick "top" and a 3cm thick "back". Do some half chambering (bass side only) and glueing them back together before cutting the shape. This way I could add one f-hole to the top but it would still look pretty much one-piece. I know this is done on some tele bodies and on some Hamers, so in principle it should work. I could even go the extra step and put some "scandal grade" quilt maple top on it instead of the mahogany one (though that could be considered a waste of mahogany). But in any case do you think that a half-chambered body, with the front pickups and the rear tremolo cavities, will still be structurally sound ?? Thanks for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 13, 2007 Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 Almost impossible to do. The wood, if not super-dry and stable, will start to warp and cup on you once you slice it, you will lose some in the resaw process, and you will then have to re-plane all surfaces before regluing, the grain lines won't line up 100%, a lot of time and effort for little in return. I've seen people do this before, mostly with pretty poor results. Basically, one of those, 'sounds good on paper' ideas that does not transpose well into the real world most of the time. OTOH, I have built a few (heavily) chambered Floyd bodies, so I have no problem or issue with thar (if done correctly), it's just the 'slice the blank and glue it back together' stuff that I think is not really viable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Sounds similar to the Ibanez Maxxas. Honduran's one of the only woods I'd even consider this with since its so stable, but...have you found someone that can actually resaw a body that wide? Accurately? ie, experienced resawing guitar woods or veneers, not your regular joe woodwork resaw jobbie. Chambering on trem guitars isn't a problem (have done it frequently). Slicing off thin caps (6-8mm, drop top style) is very doable, overall, as long as you sticker and stack the slices as soon as they come off the saw, keep them in a climate controlled environment, and get things back together sooner rather than later. Stickering thicker wood and preventing it from moving is a little more difficult. As for the maple, well, that's really a matter of taste. Some consider it a waste (I don't, really, although I do love me some mahogany, and there are too few all-mahogany guitars out there), but if that's the look you want, go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdog Posted August 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Thanks for the info. So summarizing: Chambering and tremolo is not a fundamental problem. So far so good. Resawing the blank, the good fellows at Vox Humana (I got the blank from them) said they could and would do it. They didn't even raise eyebrows much. Stability issues, the idea was to have it sliced, come back home, do the routing for the chamber, clean and reglue right away. Within the day. I know that material will be lost in the cut, some replaning will surely be necessary, so the grain lines will not match exactly. I don't mind that much. I'm not sure I really want to go that route, I'm just exploring the possibility. My wife is pretty sure that even a third build is coming down the road, so maybe that would be a better time for a figured top and the chambering. I'm not THAT sure YET. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Dude, seriously, you're completely doomed. Stopping after two? I think not. Before you know it, you'll come with new ideas, new designs, new variations on a theme you want to try out, and you'll go look at guitars in stores, look at the price tags, realize you've already invested in the tools anyway, so it's actually getting cheaper and cheaper, and you can build a guitar using far nicer wood and hardware for the same price.... You're royally screwed. Trust me. There's no way back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdog Posted August 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Dude, seriously, you're completely doomed. Stopping after two? I think not. Before you know it, you'll come with new ideas, new designs, new variations on a theme you want to try out I am already...... and you'll go look at guitars in stores, look at the price tags, realize you've already invested in the tools anyway, so it's actually getting cheaper and cheaper, and you can build a guitar using far nicer wood and hardware for the same price.... It's happening !!! Even before looking at the price tags. Now I see a nice guitar and I think: "That's great, I should BUILD me one like that !!!" You're royally screwed. Trust me. There's no way back. Funny thing is that I should know better. Last year I designed and built the tube amp I wanted. It ended up so well that I wouldn't even consider buying an amp now. If I find a set of specs I like I KNOW I can make a design and build it. This is the Blackdog DualClassic-Reverb: Now, if I could really play music.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 If you chamber it, then it's likely you will need to have it passed thru a large sanding machine, a planer will more than likely chip and rip it all to hell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Nice amp! I may very well have to pester you about amp building info and the like (free exchange of info and all that), because while I have what I consider to be a more or less perfect amplifier (Rivera TBR), I wouldn't mind a smaller, simpler combo, and I wouldn't mind building one.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdog Posted August 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Nice amp! I may very well have to pester you about amp building info and the like (free exchange of info and all that), because while I have what I consider to be a more or less perfect amplifier (Rivera TBR), I wouldn't mind a smaller, simpler combo, and I wouldn't mind building one.... Feel free to do so. I'll be happy to help to the best of my abilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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