dh7892 Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 I've been building this for about 8 months now (I know, I'm very slow) and I've been meaning to start a thread about it and I've finally got my act together and done it! Technically this is my second build but my first is an unplayable mess. Now I've got shed to work in, I'm having a more serious crack this time. The idea is that I needed a new work-horse guitar to replace my aging (and frankly falling apart) Jem 555. If I touch the trem it goes out of tune and there is a dodgy connection on the pickup selector so I can't always get any sound out of it. But I loved the feel of the neck and how it plays so I wanted to have something similar. The other thing is that I recently bought a roland VG-99 effects box/guitar synth and (since I'm very much a bedroom player) I now get all my sounds from that (i.e. I don't even use the Jem pickups, just the GK-3 hex pickup). So, I wanted a new guitar that had a working trem and stable tuning; slim, fast neck; and only a hex pickup (so I could show off the wood without having to cut horrible pickups into it). I originally had delusions of grandeur and was planning a neck-through with a crazy body design but, as I got going, I quickly realised the limits of my skills and decided to play it safe in order to have a working guitar at the end of it. So the final thing is going to end up quite a lot like an SG-type guitar but with a few tweaks here and there. Most notably: Single hex pickup (internal GK-3 kit)Wilkinson (non-locking trem)Wilkinson locking tunersLSR roller nut24-frets but with extra (up to 27 frets for some strings - I want to play some Bumblefoot tunes and don't have a thimble to tap above 24th).Double bound fretboard (outside ebony, inside maple to give "tramline" effect)Maple, purpleheart, maple, purpleheart, maple laminate for the neckThin quilt maple top (backed with dyed black backing) bent around arm contour. Mahogany body. So, here are some pics: Firstly, the ubiquitous shot of raw wood: I thought I took more WIP pics but I can't find them so here is the neck after laminating, scarfing (put black fillet in scarf to accent it) and rough shaping. Pick of headstock after rough shaping. Fingerboard and frets in place Detail showing the binding, I'm rather pleased with how this turned out. I just cut thin strips of maple and ebony on the bandsaw and glued them (with some planing to get smooth edges). For the body, I made a template (I used dowels to keep it aligned to the body so I can replace the template exactly later for cavity routes etc). Then I had to shape the arm contour before gluing the maple and backing and bending it over the curve. Then I used a bearing bit on the router to follow the template. You can see the protruding bits on the edges where the dowels go. I'll remove these by hand when I don't need the template anymore. Close-up of the arm curve. That's where I'm up to so far. Still a fair bit to do but I'm pretty pleased with how it's coming along. Let me know what you think. I know there are some mistakes and details that show me up as a beginner but I think I'm going to end up with a guitar that I really cherish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feral_smurf Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 (edited) I really like that headstock shape and the colour. Looking alot my professional than mine. Nice idea with the template to use dowels, although might you have trouble making the protrusions flush and follow the contours of the body. Nice work with the angled heel, must have been difficult to get that perfect. Just curious are you going to dye the maple or leave it natural? Simon Edited May 21, 2009 by feral_smurf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dh7892 Posted May 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 Should have no problems removing the bits off the body. I'll bandsaw most of it off then use a spokeshave to get a nice flowing curve. That's why I put the "knobbles" on the convex parts of the body. That way I can use the spokeshave. If I'd put them on concave parts, I'd have to use rasps etc and I find the spokeshave gives a much nicer shape. I'll need to go around the body anyway as it's a bit rough from the router. I meant to say that the neck has already had several coats of Danish oil and I'm planning to do the same with the body (i.e. a natural looking finish). Any suggestions on how to get the best out of the grain on the maple would be appreciated. It still needs a lot of sanding/scraping but I'm not entirely sure on the process for raising the grain/sanding/oiling etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalhead28 Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Looks like it's going to be a pretty cool guitar. The only thing I'd like to see is binding on the body, I'm not too keen on seeing the veneer thickness there on the sides. Well, I'd also like to see pickups, haha. I don't know anything about that VG-99 setup, but I'd hate to have a guitar that I couldn't just plug into an amp if I wanted to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halfaed Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Can you show a better pic of the scarf? Please? Looks great so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Should have no problems removing the bits off the body. I'll bandsaw most of it off then use a spokeshave to get a nice flowing curve. That's why I put the "knobbles" on the convex parts of the body. That way I can use the spokeshave. If I'd put them on concave parts, I'd have to use rasps etc and I find the spokeshave gives a much nicer shape. I'll need to go around the body anyway as it's a bit rough from the router. I meant to say that the neck has already had several coats of Danish oil and I'm planning to do the same with the body (i.e. a natural looking finish). Any suggestions on how to get the best out of the grain on the maple would be appreciated. It still needs a lot of sanding/scraping but I'm not entirely sure on the process for raising the grain/sanding/oiling etc. Knobbles...hahaha...I had to backtrack, and yep - sure enough you're a fellow UK resident :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dh7892 Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Looks like it's going to be a pretty cool guitar. The only thing I'd like to see is binding on the body, I'm not too keen on seeing the veneer thickness there on the sides. Well, I'd also like to see pickups, haha. I don't know anything about that VG-99 setup, but I'd hate to have a guitar that I couldn't just plug into an amp if I wanted to. Yep, I was thinking about binding the body as I agree that it would look better. I was thinking about a black binding. Will I have problems doing the arm contour though? I never use my amp. It seems a shame to have all that stereo goodness only to throw it away by sending it through a single channel amp. Most of the time I use headphones. I can get much better control of the sound that way. Can you show a better pic of the scarf? Please? Looks great so far. Yup, I'll post it tonight when I get home. Knobbles...hahaha...I had to backtrack, and yep - sure enough you're a fellow UK resident :-D I thought about that when the (presumably American) spell checker didn't like it. I couldn't think of a better word! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian d Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 I also made a guitar to use with a VG unit (though I'm a generation behind on the VG88). How are you mounting the GK3? I routed into the back for the GK2 so as not to hide the wood. You can have a look at it here- (the lahav entry) . Looking forward to seeing your progress, Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dh7892 Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 I also made a guitar to use with a VG unit (though I'm a generation behind on the VG88). How are you mounting the GK3? I routed into the back for the GK2 so as not to hide the wood. You can have a look at it here- (the lahav entry) . Looking forward to seeing your progress, Brian. Yup, I remember seeing your post (I PM'd you about it if you remember) and I was one of the builds that inspired me to make a VG guitar. I was originally going to make a much more interesting body design sort of like you did but, as I said above, decided to play safe to ensure I got a working guitar. I confess that I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to fit the pickup yet. I'm going to route from the back for the main electronics but I wanted to see how much clearance I had from bridge to body before seeing if I have to recess the pickup or can just flush mount it. I will install the pickup "upside down" with the cable pointing towards the bottom rather than the top of the guitar (otherwise it gets in the way of where I put my palm). Then I just reverse the string order in the VG setup so it knows that the 1st string is actually the 6th etc. This is how I have my external kit mounted on my Jem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormLeader Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Haha, at first glance I thought the "knobbles" were going to be a finished part of the guitar. Looks great so far! -Stormy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dh7892 Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Haha, at first glance I thought the "knobbles" were going to be a finished part of the guitar. Looks great so far! -Stormy Actually, I've glanced at them a few times and thought: If they'd been a little more refined it would have made quite a good shape. Maybe another time I'll try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dh7892 Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 As requested, more pics of the scarf: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wood is good Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Wow, that looks like a super flat profile. Is that intentional? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dh7892 Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 Wow, that looks like a super flat profile. Is that intentional? Yeah, kind of. It's not as flat as it looks from the photos. I think the flash squared the sides a bit. I just shaped the neck by hand until I was happy with how it felt. Shaping the neck was one of my favorite parts of the build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dh7892 Posted June 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Update on progress: Added binding on body (ebony), routed cavities, finished shaping of the body. Two coats of Danish so far. I'm in a bit of a hurry to get it finished now as I'm going to be moving house so I'll have to stop then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feral_smurf Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Thats a very fine choice of drill press, is the light still working on yours? Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dh7892 Posted June 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Thats a very fine choice of drill press, is the light still working on yours? Simon Nope. Actually, it never worked even straight out of the box. Any idea where I can get new bulbs from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feral_smurf Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Thats a very fine choice of drill press, is the light still working on yours? Simon Nope. Actually, it never worked even straight out of the box. Any idea where I can get new bulbs from? Not really but it is really a bit annoying because it was quite a brilliant idea. Mine stopped working after like 10 goes with a forstner drill bit. I do know it is a halogen bulb but i think it is more likely that the whole thing is wired poorly and the vibrations made mine fail out. Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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