First Build: Contoured Londaxe Remake

[trad3mark]

Hey all,

So first things first, yes this is my first post! I am new to this forum, and this is my first build. So i've been working on this for a few weeks now, and i just thought that seeing as how i used this site for so much reference, i'd post my progress. Also, all the pics i made quite small, and are done with my phone. if you want them bigger, let me know and i'll post big pics!

Concept

Well the concept for this came from all over the place really. I do like the look of an old EMEX Londaxe, but the finishes on them are usually horrible, and i also wanted something contoured. I know what you're all thinking, and yes, matt bellamy does come to mind... But dont worry, i can tell you right now, there's no fuzz factory's or kaoss pads in this build!! The other thing i gave some thought to was the colour. I wanted a metallic colour like copper or silver, but without the blinding shine off it. Something like a burnt silver or a melty-wavy-copper. Off to the drawing board!

Design

Ok, so this part came naturally to me. To give you an idea of where i'm coming from, i'm a student of architecture (2nd year). So i work mainly through sketches, sketchup and AutoCAD. This made the design phase EXTREMELY quick. Firstly, i sketched (VERY IMPORTANT FOR DESIGN!!) a bunch of designs based on the londaxe, such as lengthening/shortening the horn. They all couldn't beat the original. Except it needed contouring... I laced out some nice renderings in sketchup to get a good idea of what i wanted. These aren't done to scale or accurately, they're purely to generate ideas. If you're doing this, do not take plans from them. they just arent accurate usually. Then i drew the plans accurately in AutoCAD, and printed them at 1:1, to make a template. Here's one of the sketchup renderings, so you can see how the idea was.

Build

So, the build is still going on today, but it's nearly nearly done! First thing i did was order in parts. I used two places for this. I was trying to stick to as low a budget as i could, just incase it all went horribly wrong! Firstly, the wood. I ordered a nice piece of cedar from http://www.bestguitarparts.com/ . It was expensive, particularly the shipping, but it was also a REALLY nice piece of wood, and delivered to Ireland in about 4-5 days, so i suppose i'd let that slip. Then i went to http://www.guitarfetish.com/ where i ordered basically everything else. Tuners, pickups, the neck, basically everything else (Except the kill switch). They were AMAZING value, and arrived in 4 days. Seriously amazing service, and i'm sure i'll use them again.

Anyway, so for the first stage, i needed to cut the rough shape of the guitar. I traced the body out onto the wood REALLY carefuly, using a really fine pencil (2H). The template was held in place with a bit of tape when i did this. Day 1 of my first build, and already, i've hit a MAJOR issue. I'm measuring out the template on the wood for the londaxe, and i've checked and rechecked this, but i have a problem with the bridge. When i measured it, using the calculator from stewmac, it looks like the bridge is REALLY far down the body. To measure it, i held the neck in place, and measured 25.5" from the nut (as per the stew mac site) and drew a line. I then double checked the template in cad, and it's only minutely smaller than the likes of a tele. Now, when i held up the neck, and took a photo, it doesn't look any smaller than a normal guitar really. and everything will still fit etc. It's more of an aesthetic detail than a technical problem. Right now, as this is my first build, i'm thinking, stop being so over cautious about this and cut the wood.

From one problem to the next... I had just bought a new jigsaw, which, as it turned out, can be VERY tricky when cutting wood that thick. The blade gets REALLY hot REALLY quickly!! So i had to go really slow, but that was ok, cos it meant i was more cautions.

So, before i started contouring, my gut instinct told me it would be a better idea to route before contouring. I started with the neck. And then moved onto the pickups, and finally the control cavity. Unfortunately, being a pennyless student, i didnt have a router. I had chissles, and a lot of patience... The result, wasn't that bad. I also couldn't resist putting in the pickup, not fixing it, to see how they look!!

It was contouring time. Armed with a rasp, a file, and lots of patience, i set about rasping!!! It was slow and steady progress. Especially for someone who had never touched a woodworking tool in their lives. The rasp really was a blessing. For €10, i can see this getting use in the future. I actually belted through this!!! It took a lot of patience, But, here's an idea of how it was going.

(There's more pictures of this stage available, pm me?)

Next, i did a bit of drilling. For the bridge purpose, i needed the neck on. Quick and painless.

NOTE: I'm going to have to do a double post cos the pics wont show up otherwise. SORRY!!!

[trad3mark]

Now, i know what you're all thinking, Upper fret access. Fear not! I did not overlook this issue. BECAUSE it is not an issue!

So now it was the final stretch to get it finished. I did a rethink of anything i missed. And came across a minor problem. The control cavity needed lengthening and deepening. Fortunately, it was a half hour job. But then there was another problem. The neck didn't fit flush in the pocket. There was a small gap at the joint like. So i used an old architectural model trick:

Basically, what you see in this picture is balsa wrapped tightly around the neck pocket before it was sanded to perfection. It's 0.25mm thick balsa, so it's super thin. Now, i know what you're thinking, and yes, with the first (and possibly second) layer of primer, you may notice it. Fortunately, when the thicker paints go on, you dont. This has been done for years in architectural models, with sexy results. i remain optimistic.

The neck holes for the tuners needed a bit of widening, another 10 minute job, then there was a LOT of sanding (NOT a 10 minute job) and then, the neck got masked off for paint!!

The layers of paint are, 2x primer, 2x silver, 2x enamel, 3x gloss sealer. So that brings us pretty much up to today. thursday, friday, saturday and this morning worth of paint, and here's where i am:

This was after the 2nd silver layer:

and this was before the gloss:

Hopefuly later, i MIGHT get a start on the wiring, but i'll have to wait and see.

ENJOY!

tm

[tomrulez]

Nice to see you on PG, it's nice to escape the trolls of K&T now and again. The builds looking very good, it might just be a photographic illusion but your bottom horn doesn't look perfectly round, might just be the photo though. Anyway for a first build it's looking very good indeed.

[trad3mark]

yeah it's nice to get a bit of air from the ol kitten tab. yeah i think it's a photo fail too. Next week, i'll get out with my dad's digital slr (i think it's nikon?) and take some shots of the finished model. hopefuly, the gloss will be dry in about an hour (it says thouroughly dry in 3-5 hours, and it's been drying since 11?!?) and i'll start putting on the hardware.

[hooglebug]

just cos its dry doesnt mean its cured. leave it at least overnight. depends what it is it might need a week or more to properly cure, especially given the cold weather. if it still smells its not cured. if its not properly cured and you start putting it all together the finish might ride up around tuner bushings, bridge etc. you dont want to be rushing it only to have to do it again, trust me.

[trad3mark]

well i wont have time to put stuff on it anyway, i've to go back to college, so it'll be a week anyway. Don't think it'll sell either, but i'll use the parts for my next build. it's getting cnc routed, so it'll be a lot.... tidyier?