jmrentis Posted June 7, 2008 Report Share Posted June 7, 2008 Nice, glad to hear you were able to pick up some decent wood for a decent price. Definitely a smart buy as it will make for a nice guitar, won't break the bank and if something happened making it unusable for a guitar, you won't be broke and upset. Its cool you have some tools on the way as well, a router is very important and will do much of what you need, as long as it has the power and capabilities. Anyhow, sounds like you're on your way and off to a decent start. Glad its working out and keep us posted on progress. J As for router bits-I've grabbed them from numerous places. Rockler has them for sale, I think a few different brands now, though you might find better deals and much bigger selections online at places like Routerbits.com or MLCS woodworking where I grabbed my last lot from, they were all decent bits that are still nice and sharp. Many swear by Whiteside bits and routerbits.com sells mainly whiteside I believe. MCLS bits have worked great for me and I find their prices decent, I believe you can get free shipping most of the time as well, so thats a plus. Best of luck. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarter Posted June 7, 2008 Report Share Posted June 7, 2008 Good score on the Khaya, that will make a very nice body for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddW Posted June 7, 2008 Report Share Posted June 7, 2008 Hi Dave, Congrats on the wood. Glad not ordering a glued up body blank worked out for you. Now for the bad news Ok, it's not really bad news, just some advice. I know Mahogany is very stable, but let the wood sit for at least a week before you cut it. If it cups a little, it'll be easier to flatten while it's still squared up. Also, carbide.com is another source of router bits that's worked for me several times. They also sell single drill bits of odd sizes, so when I needed a 9/16" or such and the smaller one for the sperzel tuners, that's where I found it. Best, Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted June 8, 2008 Report Share Posted June 8, 2008 Also, carbide.com is another source of router bits that's worked for me several times. They also sell single drill bits of odd sizes, so when I needed a 9/16" or such and the smaller one for the sperzel tuners, that's where I found it. Yeah, another bookmark to add to my guitar list!! I always think I have enough of them, then I'll find another bunch of good ones. I'm now having to scroll the list on my 17" screen, lol, just way too many options for an indecisive person to have. It'll probably now take me a week to decide on where to order my next lot of bits from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Ok, today I picked up a portable workbench, six good clamps, a 14" jack plane, a bunch of Titebond III. The other day I got cheap calipers, and a set of files. I've decided I'm going to try and build a neck as well. If I fail, it will be a good learning exercise, and neck wood shouldn't be all that expensive. So as for router bits, I was hoping somebody might help me know exactly what to get. My best guess is to order #3019 from this page: http://www.routerbits.com/cgi-routerbits/s...3759570_1473+47 It's rather expensive, but for a 2" body, that's what I need, right? I guess I'll also need something for routing the cavities. Your specific suggestions are welcome. Anyway, I'm heading to TH&H tomorrow for some neck wood. I'll glue it tomorrow night, and I guess I start cutting this weekend...which for some reason is scary to me. Thanks, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 One thing I might mention is that most people here will tell you to stick with original titebond over any of the other versions. I have not tried them, so I cannot say personally, but I know enough people have said this to make me stick with original titebond. I would try and exchange what you have for the original, maybe some of the others can explain exactly what those problems are with the other versions. I just don't remember, though I have read about this numerous times. As for the router bit, you don't necessarily need a 2" inch cutting length and personally, I don't like having that much of a cutting length, though if you cut in small enough amounts it'd be fine. With templates the nice thing even if you used a 1/2" or 3/4" bit, that first 1/2" of the body you routed can now become your template as the bearing can now run along this portion as it will be exactly the same as the template. Just be careful that you use some decent double sided tape and maybe some clamps to ensure that your template stays in place. Some people and some woods can get dents around the body from the bearing or if the bearing goes bad, you can get burns, though I end up sanding after the routing anyways, so its of no concern. A 1/2" or 3/4" bit should work for your cavities as well, maybe get one of each because sometimes depending on the depth of the route, like say the neck pocket, a 3/4" might be too tall if depending on how you route it. Will you be using a router table or just a fixed or plunge router? I'm just trying to throw some thoughts out there, I'm sure some others here will have some better info and specifics, I'm just going off of some things I ran into. As for the neck you can generally get away cheap wood wise. For mine I just found some regular hard maple, and a thin piece of jatoba which is cheap and made a 3 piece neck. The price does go up though as you buy truss rods, possibly carbon fiber rods if you want, fretwire, and so on. I'd probably buy a slotted fretboard, but that is up to you. If you check under the public classifieds section here at PG on the second page Eric sells fretboards, I think the thread is Fretboard Extravaganza. Just type in the length, width, and thickness and choose what wood and scale you want slotted and you'll get a price, you can even have him radius it for you, which if you don't you'll need to buy a radius block to do it yourself. As I think someone might have already said earlier, try to buy tools as you require them because there are so many ways to do things that your project may not require certain tools or may require very specific tools. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarter Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 (edited) A big bit like that 1 1/8" x 2" is probably best used in a router table. You don't need a full 2" cutting surface to do it in one pass. A 1" bit half at a time is fine and safer in a hand held router. Edit ... jmrentis beat me to it Edited June 18, 2008 by Quarter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Well, thanks to both of you. I'm definitely planning on buying a pre-slotted fretboard. I haven't completely lost my mind...yet. I have a fixed based router. Since my portable workbench has one of those tops consisting of two boards you can spread apart, kind of like this.... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0...228013&s=hi ...but cheaper, I'm considering building a sort of insert from two pieces of MDF that would do nothing more than hold my router upside-down. Do you think that would be better than holding the router? I tend to think so. Also, with a 1/4" shaft, will it be long enough to reach all the way to the far side of the body, even with a template? Do I need some kind of extender or something. (I apologize in advance for being so basic here.) Thanks also for the tip on the Titebond. The guy at Rockler said I should go with Titebond III, so that's what I did (and bought it at Home Depot for about 1/3 of the price). I can exchange it. It was just eight bucks anyway. Wow. 12:30. Gotta stop thinking about this guitar and go to bed. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 I think you may lose much of your height adjustment and/or not have a perfectly flat table, which it needs to be. For router tables, some use metal inserts to hold the router that way you can have a very thin piece which leaves you most of your height adjustment, it sounds like you may be short on height adjustment as it is. Personally I might be nervous making some type of router table out of those stands, even with a proper router table I get nervous with an extremely sharp bit spinning from 25,000 to 30,000 rpm right in front of me. Its your choice, but I think I'd prefer just holding it.I prefer router tables, but prefer a nice and heavy table with metal insert to offer some safety. I saw quite a few router tables for sale on craigslist a while back, I'm sure you could find one, or as I did buy one from Rockler, it was just the table top part with the metal insert. Its decent, you just setup some leg system and you're good to go. Its nice because you can take apart the legs and pack it away anywhere as its just a table top essentially. Plunge routers are often suggested for doing cavities, but there are ways around them by using a drill press with a forstner bit to get the holes started and such. If you ever find the need for a plunge router I have one that I got off craigslist that I don't use much since I bought my Hitachi fixed/plunge combo set. Its a Ryobi 2hp plunge router, both 1/2" and 1/4" capable, works well and even has speed adjustment which is very nice when you find the wood burning or not cutting properly. Just a thought. It what I used to do all my work, I only just got my new hitachi, only used it once or twice and I already love it. Also, the maple/jatoba/maple neck blank I cut my neck from, there should be plenty enough for another neck. What type of headstock are you looking for? A straight one or angled? If angled are you planning on a scarf joint? That way I can figure the thickness you would need in a blank and see what I got left of it. Here is a pic before I cut my neck from it, its not high dollar or special, but should make for an alright first neck, in the pic I think I had it wiped with some naptha to show what it looks like, Neck Blank. Just throwing it out there as you wouldn't have to worry about screwing it up or losing money on it. But if doesn't suit your project or you just wanna do it all yourself, no biggie. I think its length would make it only useable for a bolt-on, though it may work for a set neck depending, I just used it for a bolt on. Best of luck in starting your project too. There are some great books out there you may want to check out as well, many of these answers are all explained in details better than some of us could explain. They are really helpful and well worth the purchase and anything you don't find in them, the guys here will have answers for. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted June 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 (edited) Well, I already bought my neck wood, but I may contact you about your old router in a few weeks if I decide I need one. Thanks. I found a piece of 5/4 African mahogany that was pretty close to quarter-sawn, and had them cut 32" of it for me. It's about 5.25" wide, so I was thinking I could cut it in three pieces of about 1.5" each and glue them together, or go Fender-style and just leave it as one piece (except for the scarf neck I'm planning on). Hiscock's book illustrated a laminated neck that's 2.25" thick, but I see no reason 1.5" wouldn't work. What would be the recommended course of action, in this case? I realize that mahogany probably isn't as strong as hard maple, so I'm sure that's an influencing factor. And if I need to go buy more neck wood, I can always go tomorrow before band practice. (EDIT: Why do I have the feeling someone is going to mention Carbon Fiber Rods? Jason, is there a place to buy those in San Diego?) I also broke down and bought a band saw today. They had one of the 9" Ryobi ones at Home Depot that had been used once or twice, so it was marked down to $75. I also bought the $10 warranty, so if I ever have a problem with it, they'll replace it with a new one. Seemed like a good deal to me. So yeah, Saturday it's on. I'm setting up the band saw in the parking lot and seeing how much I can get done before the neighbors start complaining. I'll start a project thread this weekend, and through up some pictures. -Dave Edited June 19, 2008 by dpm99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted June 19, 2008 Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Carbon Fiber rods never hurt and definitelty add something to the neck. However, one piece mahogany necks have been used for a long time now, they don't seem to be especially prone to issues really and if you are laminating 3 pieces you are even less likely to run into problems. So the use of carbon fiber is totally up to as far as I see. There is thread about cheap places to buy CF rods and what its benefits are, you may want to check it out. I ended up buying my carbon fiber from Los Alamos Composites, the 1/8" X 3/8" X 18" rods. Since then I have seen cheaper places, but I liked the fact that I didn't have to do anything other than epoxy the rods in, most of the places you find it cheaper you will end up cutting the stuff to fit, not a big deal, but this was easy, plus I didn't know of the other places when I bought these. This is Setch's page and he has some info on doing scarf joints and even gluing up a laminate mahogany neck, worth a look, plus a bunch of other neat stuff. I really found his scarf idea to be super helpful. As for the thickness of the neck, it depends on the type of headstock you want and how thick the heel needs to be, with a scarfed headstock and a regular bolt on heel you can get away with a much thinner neck blank, 1.5 should be plenty enough in that case. Best of luck with everything and hope it all works out for you. Let me know on if you do need that router, I got it for like $40 practically new and while I put it to use a little bit, its still in fine shape and you're more than welcome to it. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted June 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 Yeah, I found the CF rods thread. I'm going to order some right now. Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneslinger Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 Great topic. What about what bare minimum tools to carry in your gig bag for your guitar? Top 10 Things Every Guitar Player Needs In Their Gigbag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 Re Glue: TITEBOND ORIGINAL ONLY. Titebond II and III are not ideal; designed for more flexible joints, or longer working time, or other things, and don't have the track record Titebond has. I heard a rumour somewhere that Titebond Original is now called Extend, and that the Original is a newer, faster setting glue, but I can't find any evidence to back that claim up. Regardless, II and III are nice if you need waterproofness and can sacrifice hardness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddW Posted June 26, 2008 Report Share Posted June 26, 2008 Hey Mattia, I'm not a fan of II, but I love III. Seems to dry pleny hard and no creep issues. 6 of 1, half dozen of the other by me. 1 is cheaper though! Todd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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