psw Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 This is all just a smoke screen to distract attention from the horror of the corvus...and a retaliation for my smartass use of google and english-latin converters... Having read the multitudes of posts, there have been some interesting wavering and contradictions...but I have heard no argument for the thing... If a build off is reduced to a faithful reproduction...what really is there? I mean, gibson's invention was pretty cynical and misguided to start with and many features highly reminiscent of fender's approach. Generally we are talking a knockoff neck from somewhere bolted to a bit of wood and some hardware...the only thing that distinguishes this "build" is the shape which is poor (certainly in the eyes of history and most if not all expert commentary). The real challenge surely is to make something of it at least a little worth while! There were early comments that people thought there might be something there, with improvements...but that's easier said than done...some on reflection seemed to retract those things on closer inspection and reflection. But as soon as "improvements" or at least deviations are suggested...oh no, can't do that!!!! It's also interesting that people seem reticent to propose what "improvements" could be...you would think this is where it's at and takes little effort and time. The reality is, it is hard work! I have sat down with a pen and paper in front of the TV and come up with a couple of ideas...but it is tricky, but that is the reward. I think that some of these, if executed well could make some interesting things that might really appeal to some people but I'm hardly going to build them all. However, someone might find some use for it and make it, or apply the ideas to something a little less uglier...or at least refine their designer's eye before taking saw to wood (something that seems to be often needed and sometimes requested)...tackling something like this could be really beneficial if done in the right spirit...but as is so often the case, it seems to be a cursed process... ... Speaking of which...I have tried to lay off the corvus...does anyone want more appraisals of the design or the corvus curse, or are we all convinced? pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Both bodies planed to 1 11/16". bandsawn, routed to the template, and given a 1/2" roundover on the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 I was lucky enough to hear Asimov speak and then get to meet and speak with him about writing. That was ages and ages ago, but he was a pretty bright guy. I remember I liked him, but thought the beard was silly. (Napolean dynamite voice) LUCKY! (end napolean dynamite voice) Yeah...the mutton chops were horrible...but nobody ever claimed nerds were fashion mongers. Sagan was at Cornell when I went there. Also a bright guy, but couldn't say if he was actually brilliant or just provocative. I remember reading "the dragons of eden" and I (half ass) concluded that Sagan was too full of himself,based on his writing style...thought the writing was very dry and boring... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToddW Posted March 14, 2009 Report Share Posted March 14, 2009 At Cornell, at least among the students, Sagan seemed to have the reputation of being very full of himself. I don't know if it was true. I do remember a silly story about a fraternity getting mad for no reason because they assumed it was true. Sagan's house overlooked the gorge, across from the fraternity. My freshman or sophomore year they invited him to dinner, and just got a call from his assistant, who had no idea the invitation was from his neighbor or even a Cornell fraternity, saying something like he wasn't available that week, but if they wanted to book him to speak she would try to arrange it. The fraternity assumed Sagan was just living up to his reputation and would only have dinner with them if they paid him, so they painted a banner saying basically F . . . U, and then put on their roof so it faced his home. Turns out Sagan wasn't in Ithaca that semester. As to being lucky to meet Asimov, I agree! It's funny though, I was just a kid, and while I'd read the Foundation books and a few others, I hadn't realized yet how exceptional he was. Maybe that's why he took the time to chat with me. Unlike the adults, I wasn't in awe of him. I just thought he was a cool guy who wrote entertaining stories and had a goofy beard. Well, OK, that's still how I think of him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cult Classic Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 i really like that so far, great work and look forward to the outcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Body #1 is done. It'll go up on the bay tomorrow morning. Basically, I wanted to do this one as a dry run before doing mine. I made a smaller cavity & cover template set specifically for this. The LP shape was really awkward and the normal Stew-Mac was WAY too big. If this sells for a reasonable price - like >$50, I'll have to consider making more. Poplar is only $3/BF here, and I was able to make this with just under 3BF. I could realistically do all the cutting, shaping, and routing in 3-4 hours, so it'd be worth it to make more if it sells well. I'll not be doing anything else on mine until the hardware comes in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 All the hardware came in. The last of it appeared Friday afternoon. As of now, everything is in it's own "bits box" waiting for some serious action next week. And I'm still painting it orange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 As in "to keep the chicks from touching it" orange? Looking good so far! Can't wait to see it with hardware.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 I should have a mock-up ready Monday sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 Avenger has successfully begun work on the first guitar that will actually DECREASE your chances of getting laid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 U.G.L.Y. you ain't got no alibi you UGLY!(bum-bum-tish) you UGLY!(bum-bum-tish) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 Avenger has successfully begun work on the first guitar that will actually DECREASE your chances of getting laid. guess that would be a concern if his chances weren't already at 0 ..I mean...he only likes dead women,fercrissake... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 Converted the headstock for a (nearly) headless design. It took me a while to decide on the placement of the top ferrules. From last night to this morning, one of them ran away. I'm guessing it's either hiding on my mess of a work area or it rolled under the heaviest thin in the shop and I'll have to buy a new set. I also got the bridge placed, the neck aligned, pup placed & routed. I decided to put an angle into the pocket. I figured it was time to start up with all of those little tings I've been afraid to do until now, like a neck angle. It took a while, but I eventually got it. That "standard 5/8" deep pocket" nonsense just doesn't work very well when it's angled. I still need to work on the end of the body at the neck pocket. On the end you can see the prep for the rear-mounted tuners. Today I hope to route a shelf into the back to accommodate them. With it being a single HB, I figured "what the he11" and went for a gunslinger angle. Last night, Matt was commenting that he didn't feel there was enough real estate to contour the pocket. I made mine about 3 1/2", then went about doing my first AANJ. I had to cut down two of the screws (thank you Dremel cut-off wheel), but there's still PLENTY of screw holding it on. I finessed the recesses for the ferrules by hand. I'm contemplating smoothing out the neck heel. It looks a bit abrupt and out of place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 The only thing I personally don't like is the slanted pickup. Besides that, I think this guitar was a great decision for you, I see you stretching yourself and doing a lot of interesting things to it that will really propel your skills forward in the future, you are learning quickly, and it's looking really good so far (did I just say that? ) I like what you did with the semi-headless headstock design, and can't wait to see how your tuner shelf turns out. Rock On! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 I like the neck joint. Glad to see it worked with ferrules for you. I was hoping to be able to contour that area quite a bit, but figured I wouldn't be able to use the original mounting holes in the neck if I did so. No big deal I suppose. I'm still debating between that approach and making a custom neck plate that follows the design of the guitar. We'll see. Looking forward to seeing how the headless tuner setup works out on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 I plugged the holes in the neck heel and drilled my own to line up with my pocket holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 That's lookin' cool John. I guess now that you have the extra string ferrules (or will when you order the extra set) you might as well use them by making some guitars with extra strings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Man you're racing allong! I'm still stuck in the design phase, but that's mainly because of my internship and my waiting for lefty tuners.. Looking good so far! I toyed with the idea of slanting my soapbar in my entry, but it just looks a whole lot more ugly then when you do it with a hb like you do.. Looking forward to the next steps! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Man you're racing allong! That happens when you're out of work and home all day long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 Today I got a lot of work done. First up was to drill the holes for the tuners. After looking closer at the pilot holes I made the other day, I saw that I clearly CANNOT do them in a perfectly straight line freehand. This should come as no surprise. So it's time to make a jig. Out comes a straight piece of pine I got from somewhere, the combination square, and the fence for the drill press. I made three different lines with different spacings, just to see what might work a little better. The drill press didn't quite make it all the way through, so i had to finish the holes semi-freehand with the hand drill using the existing holes as guides. I wasn't overly worried about the holes staying perfectly vertical because the back was getting routed away anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 On to routing the tuner shelf. First, we take a big forstner bit, set up the height of the press table, and aim the center spike at the tuner hole. Then, we line up some guide blocks and route away everything that's left until we have a 1/2" shelf. The back edges are given a 1/2" roundover to match the rest of the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 Next up was the control cavity and some body contouring. You probably can't see it very well, but there's a contour on the inside of the leg arch. I sloped the area around the neck pocket to make the angle less noticeable. The cavity ended up just a wee bit too thick for the pot, so I hollowed out a small recess with a big forstner. Everything's groovy now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 The last bit of real work was to smooth out the transitions on the neck, both on the heel and into the headstock. I did a test fit of all the parts, and everything went together like clockwork. The balance still isn't perfect, but it's not very noticeable. The neck doesn't dive when released, but will if you move around a bit. Were I to have used a heavier wood than poplar, it might have been better. Then again, with the strap placement where it is, there's only so much that can be done. I'm going to to a little finessing of the bass wing's bevel. The point of it hits me in the middle of my wrist - bad juju there. I'm also going to put a slight belly cut into it - just enough to round it out a bit. Other than that, it's ready for some primer. I have it in my head to paint the neck black. Does anyone have a legitimate reason not to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 Looking great. The tuner shelf looks like it was meant to go there. I think a black neck on this build would definitely give you the 80's vibe you're looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 Still Ugly...mind you getting interesting with two being made like this. The stubby head thing just looks "wrong". And, I'm not sure how you are supposed to get to the low end tuner. Not sure, but you may also come into problems with the length of string behind the bridge. Effectively you have an extended fenderish six in line back there and like leo you may find you require string trees or something to keep pressure on the bridge and to stop unwanted resonances back there...just a few things to consider! pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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