awilcox Posted September 22, 2007 Report Share Posted September 22, 2007 (edited) While I am waiting for the nitro to cure on my two current projects, I decided to build myself a flying V. This will likely be the last guitar I build for a while as I just don't have the room for more guitars and I am not really interested in building them to sell at this point. The body will be mahogany with quilt maple top and flamed maple back, flamed maple neck, quilt maple headstock, ebony fingerboard, gold dot inlays, gold hardware, white binding front and back. Here are a few pictures of my progress. I am not sure what finish to do yet. neck blank http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilco...06/100_1191.jpg neck roughed out fingerboard and headstock laminate http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilcox_2006/G4-26.jpg mahogany body cut out: http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilco...06/100_1187.jpg back of body: http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilcox_2006/G4-27.jpg front of body: http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilcox_2006/G4-30.jpg Edited September 22, 2007 by Maiden69 One pic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted September 22, 2007 Report Share Posted September 22, 2007 Wow, this one came together fast, unless you were holding out pics on us I'm assuming you have been, haha. I like it a lot, despite the fact that it's a Gibson-style V. The maple is just amazing to look at. I'd look into some sort of transparent color for the finish, especially when you have such beautiful maple. You really need to show it off! The first thing that came to mind was an all-over amber stain. Since the mahogany, by comparison, isn't as lovely to look at, you could do a burst over the side and make the side of the guitar really dark. Hope you choose something good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted September 23, 2007 Report Share Posted September 23, 2007 The screws holding the control cavity cover really kill the back. Id look into velcro or small magnets to get a cleaner look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigM555 Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 I think it looks fantastic! ....and the screws don't bother me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted September 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 I thought about trying another mehtod of attaching the control cavitiy cover - but I prefer the gold screws myself, so I went with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 I think the screws looks good, they match the rest of the hardware, and help tie everything together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted October 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Well, I got the guitar completed tonight - well all except for the pickup rings, but I will do that tomorrow night. I was pleasantly surprised when I strung it up and it played great - not a buzz anywhere - and the frets have not been levelled yet or the truss rod has not been touched - and the nut was not custom cut - just an old one I had laying around. So, after I get it finished and set up correctly - it should be wicked. It has a great acoustic sound, lots of sustain and midrange. Anyway, on to the pictures: The Body: http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilcox_2006/G4-51.jpg The headstock: http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilcox_2006/G4-52.jpg The back of the body: http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilcox_2006/G4-55.jpg The neck: http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilcox_2006/G4-56.jpg The endview: http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilcox_2006/G4-57.jpg Now what color to dot it - trans black - trans red - tiger eye - definately not the trans pink: http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilcox_2006/G4-41.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 i really like the transblack do that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheIRS Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 That's black!? It looks blueish to me.. I like that one though, and the trans-red. Actually i like all of them, even the trans-pink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 I think they all look great as well, I personally like the orange one the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Hahaha, I like all of 'em too I think I'd pick the red, myself. Gold and pearl, ebony? Red would be the perfect compliment to the hardware and the fretboard. ::EDIT:: What method did you use to drill the hole for the jack? Did you clamp the guitar and drill freehand, or put it on a drill press? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drftrman Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 OMG! I love that natural color. I personally would leave it like it is, and just do a nice satin finish. Awesome guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Do all colours! Starting black in the centre and fading out red to orange at the edges. one thing... Did you HAVE to do dot inlays? I HATE them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted October 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Do all colours! Starting black in the centre and fading out red to orange at the edges. one thing... Did you HAVE to do dot inlays? I HATE them Of course I did not HAVE to do dot inlays - and at the time I did not know that you hated them, well now I know - haha. Originally I did a nice split block inlay Gold Pearl/Abalone/White Pearl/Abalone/Gold Pearl. It was my first inlay job and it turned out quite nice, but when I radiused the fret board, the Gold part of the Gold Pearl started to disappear - by the time I was done radiussing and flattening the board the gold pearl part of the inlay looked more like nicotine stained teeth. I now understand that when using gold pearl, you either have to get high quality (gold all the way through) or make sure that the inlay is done in such a way that not much will be taken off when finishing - expensive lesson learned. Anyway, I am not particularly fond of dots myself, but after a botched 10 hour inlay job I wanted to get on with the build, so gold pearl dots it was - took about 20 minutes. This was my original inlay before the radiussing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted October 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 What method did you use to drill the hole for the jack? Did you clamp the guitar and drill freehand, or put it on a drill press? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Awesome fretboard inlay! Know what I thought when I took my first glance at it? Man, you can see through the inlay right to the truss rod! It's been a long day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTU 7's. Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 I really like it, amazing idea on the maple "sandwich" body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikester Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 This build is looking great! Love the inlays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted October 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 I finally settled on transparent black. I stained last night, sanded back and restained with diluted black tonight. Here is the results. I just need to clean up the binding and then I can start the clearcoating. The headstock http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilco...06/100_1382.jpg The back http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilco...06/100_1379.jpg The neck http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h7/Wilco...06/100_1378.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 OH WOW! That came out amazing! Very nice job staining! I definitely like the tranparent black idea and it mixes well with the binding. I very much like white plastic binding on certain looking guitars and it always suits your builds very well and this one especially! Keep us posted on the rest of the finishing process, I can hardly wait to see how this one looks completely finished, excellent stuff! J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 looks amazing! it reminds me of black ostrich feathers for some reason. great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerDude Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 Holy cow, this is one awesome guitar! It's been awhile since a killer guitar like this has been shown on PG. The materials used here are beyond top quality. Not to mention the cleanness and precision of the work. It looks killer with the trans black but I loved the natural color the most - it was just blindingly cool: so clean and pure. I LOVE this shot: A high gloss transparent finish over that fresh maple would have been just mind-blowing. Especially some high gloss finish that does not alter the natural color and does not add a yellowish tint. Please, post this in the Guitar of The Month competition thread. You have a voter here and I'm sure that it's going to grab the prize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigM555 Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 Looks fantastic. I'd have to concur with DrummerDude though that it looked really awesome in natural......though I wouldn't have been against just a hint of yellow.....blondes are more fun. One question, you've used the curly maple on a few necks now. I've been hearing curly maple can lead to some strange behavior from the neck in the long run. Have you had any issues with not being able to keep the necks true? I pondered a curly maple/walnut laminate for my LP build but have shied away because of the warnings. What truss rod have you been using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted October 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 Looks fantastic. I'd have to concur with DrummerDude though that it looked really awesome in natural......though I wouldn't have been against just a hint of yellow.....blondes are more fun. One question, you've used the curly maple on a few necks now. I've been hearing curly maple can lead to some strange behavior from the neck in the long run. Have you had any issues with not being able to keep the necks true? I pondered a curly maple/walnut laminate for my LP build but have shied away because of the warnings. What truss rod have you been using? I agree that the wood would have looked very nice if left natural, especially the neck (the pictures can't do the neck justice, it is a beautiful piece of wood), but I wanted to have a go at staining it and I couldn't talk myself out of it. Actually, this is the first guitar that I have built with a flamed maple neck - but it took me 2 tries to get it right - I wasted the first one. Both neck blanks came from the same place and were adequately dried. The blanks were about 3" x 3.5". With the first neck, I ran it across the joiner to get a flat surface for the fretboard, cut the truss rod channel and then cut it down to 2.25" by taking stock off of one side only. Then when I cut out the side profile, the neck warped both back (negative relief) and sideways (the truss rod channel was no longer straight) - and I had cut it almost to finished size so I could not straighten it without ending up wit a neck that was too thin and too narrow. So back to the wood guy to pick up another blank (and a nicer one too, if that was any consolation). He told me to try to take the stock evenly off of both sides when cutting it down to size width wise, and when cutting out the side profile, leave the neck a little thicker in case it bows backwards - which id did silghtly. Then he told me to wait a week - which I did - to see if the wood moved anymore. I then planed the fretbard surface flat again and planed the back of the neck to the proper thickness (using my router planing jig) and carried on - and it worked out nicely. He told me that there is a lot of internal stresses in flamed maple and whenever you cut a piece to a different size it can warp one way or another due to this. Also, he said the heat generated from cutting it will cause it to warp, so cut slowly with a good sharp lade (but that should be the same with any wood?). But, I didn't think properly dried wood would warp when it was cut? I used a martin U type truss rod in the first neck (which I wasted), and a stewmac dual action rod in the second one (which I used). When I strung up the guitar (before finishing), the neck did bow forward a very little, but still very playable. I did not adjust the truss rod at that stage because I wanted to leave it at its zero point for levelling the frets later. So, I did manage to get a good sturdy usable 1 piece flame maple neck, but it was tricky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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