Pointy Stick

[RestorationAD]

Wondering what this thing would look like with a pearly plate.

Pearloid rocks dude, get a pearloid pick guard for this thing.

REAR ROUTE !!!

Route it from the back, screw the scratch panel man.

So I am thinking from your two bits of advice above that you mean screw that rockin pearloid pick guard to your guitar, OK then

There is only one other meaning of "screw the scratch panel man" but I can't do that (not that there is anything wrong with that) because it is against my religion.

Now obviously from the caps shouting you are keen on a rear route, which is in keeping with the Mr. Potato Head guitar philosophy, and all it would need would be a couple of long shaft pots

I am going to think about the feasability of this idea, but it is novel and that appeals to me.

No please...don't do the pickup gaurd. It'll look great with that stain....don't do it.

It would look good with that stain wouldn't it, here is a pic of an ash body stained blue.

Now if I subscribe to the Mr. Potato Head ethos of guitar decoration, it could be played with the pick guard on when the mood takes me or it could be played naked, that means the guitar without a pickguard, if it was me naked I would need to keep my socks on, I need somewhere to keep my picks.

Ughhh. Unless you are completely ruining (structurally) an otherwise good build don't listen to the external interference (no offense pauliemc).

Seriously it is one guitar. Build another one next year without a pickguard. Changing a pickguard is a PITA (i really don't like them)... heck that is why I don't build guitars with them.

It is just a piece of Ash...

And no more about leaving your socks on... that is what double sided tape is for.

[Muzz]

Ughhh. Unless you are completely ruining (structurally) an otherwise good build don't listen to the external interference (no offense pauliemc).

Seriously it is one guitar. Build another one next year without a pickguard. Changing a pickguard is a PITA (i really don't like them)... heck that is why I don't build guitars with them.

It is just a piece of Ash...

And no more about leaving your socks on... that is what double sided tape is for.

Double sided tape ay now that is a good suggestion. I love scratchplates, they give an almost art deco look to a guitar and I love the challenge they are to make. I don't see the suggestion of a rear route as interference, it's a viable alternative, how would it structurally ruin this build? Will rear route be bad for this project?

I ignore or reject bad advice but I am always ready to consider reasonable and feasible advice. I tried a rear route out on the MDF model this arvy, happy to hear what you and others think

Marked out the holes, drilled right through with a 2 mm bit.

12 mm hole for the switch

Routed the cavity down 31 mm, put in a 18 mm wide seating for the switch.

,

Which leaves 2mm depth easily for the plate. That is proof of concept, I'll ponder on which side to route.

[Muzz]

Time to put the hardware on the neck today. I drew out where the strings were heading and measured between them to get the anchor points for the string retainer.

I drilled guide holes on the drill press to make sure they were straight, took, Avengers' advice and reamed them out with the next size up drill bit, then Our Souls' advice and marked off the drill bit with tape so I didn't drill straight through to the other side like I did on the practice neck.

Then put on the machine heads, I never realised that the washers have an up and down side you learn something new

I'll take the stickers off when it's finished and strung up, it's a little ceremony, like taking the clear plastic off the pickguard.

[Our Souls inc.]

Time to put the hardware on the neck today. I drew out where the strings were heading and measured between them to get the anchor points for the string retainer.

I drilled guide holes on the drill press to make sure they were straight, took, Avengers' advice and reamed them out with the next size up drill bit, then Our Souls' advice and marked off the drill bit with tape so I didn't drill straight through to the other side like I did on the practice neck.

Then put on the machine heads, I never realised that the washers have an up and down side you learn something new

I'll take the stickers off when it's finished and strung up, it's a little ceremony, like taking the clear plastic off the pickguard.

Shaping up nicely . My gut feeling is to go for the PG. It just fits the build. *shrugs*

Keep it rollin' !

[Akula]

I'd rear-rout it, because then at least if you want to, you can buy long-shaft pots and use a pickguard - you're not restricting yourself to anything. But I'd still go for the pickguard, I think an entirely blue-stained ash body would look a little monotonous without a burst of any kind.

[Narcissism]

I'm glad someone else has the same methods for figuring out string spacing

[guitarkid4143]

I didn't buy that guitar, it was a small scale thing. But, I'm making a new thread on my Ibanez rip-off, next to the Westone. Keep the front route!

[RestorationAD]

Double sided tape ay now that is a good suggestion. I love scratchplates, they give an almost art deco look to a guitar and I love the challenge they are to make. I don't see the suggestion of a rear route as interference, it's a viable alternative, how would it structurally ruin this build?

I didn't say it would structurally hurt the build.

I was just trying to point out that you should just build what you want.

[Muzz]

I didn't buy that guitar, it was a small scale thing. But, I'm making a new thread on my Ibanez rip-off, next to the Westone. Keep the front route!

Great, I'll have a look right after this.

I'm glad someone else has the same methods for figuring out string spacing

Yep, it worked well, can't wait to play Round and Round on it.

I'd rear-rout it, because then at least if you want to, you can buy long-shaft pots and use a pickguard - you're not restricting yourself to anything. But I'd still go for the pickguard, I think an entirely blue-stained ash body would look a little monotonous without a burst of any kind.

A little bit of a burst would look good, yep whatever happens pickguard on will be the main state for this guitar.

Shaping up nicely . My gut feeling is to go for the PG. It just fits the build. *shrugs*

Keep it rollin' !

Yep, to me the PG is now an important part of the build, I don't have the wood obsession to the point where I can't cover up a few square cm.

Double sided tape ay now that is a good suggestion. I love scratchplates, they give an almost art deco look to a guitar and I love the challenge they are to make. I don't see the suggestion of a rear route as interference, it's a viable alternative, how would it structurally ruin this build?

I didn't say it would structurally hurt the build.

I was just trying to point out that you should just build what you want.

No wucking furries.

Tonight, I drew out the profile I wanted for the arm rest, split it into 20 x 3mm divisions and measured the depth of cut for each one. The router bit travels 55 mm in front of the router edge, so I marked out the lines of cut 55 mm back from where they would occur.

I used an Ikea shelf as a router edge guide, hey there is a use for Ikea stuff and look Mike, I have the same toolbox as you

Just got to smoth over the steps now

[Our Souls inc.]

You are a patient man , my friend.

I make my arm contours with a belt sander........ 40 grit , then 50, 80, 120 and then 220. Makes it a quick and easy process.

Love the toolbox.

oh - and the look af the mock-up. Very nice, indeed.

[Muzz]

You are a patient man , my friend.

I make my arm contours with a belt sander........ 40 grit , then 50, 80, 120 and then 220. Makes it a quick and easy process.

Love the toolbox.

oh - and the look af the mock-up. Very nice, indeed.

Hey mang, absolutely I have taken an experimental approach at various stages and tried to do things using some different techniques than you might usually see on this forum, but I never want to get stuck in my own rut or get imprinted with the first technique that works for me, so I am putting a belt sander on my Christmas list added your grit progression to my methods list

The steps have gone, just a bit of tidying up to do,

Running a craft blade along the crease

Close to finished

Marking out the tummy tuck

This is going to be done the old fashioned way with hand tools.

[Muzz]

Doing the back counter was a great part of the shaping process, there is just something so relaxing for a bloke about being in the shed, shearing off bits of wood.

I started off with the sureform

When I started getting close to the lines, I switched to the rasp, see the lesson learnt at kindy, stay in between the lines was useful.

Then when it was almost flat, I started bringing it in really flat with a spoke shave, you can see the parts of the wood that have been shaved at this point. The spoke shave reminds me of a crab for some reason.

After this, all it needed then was the ends neatened in with a mini file and a tiny bit of sanding.

If you have only done tummy tucks with an angle grinder or a band saw before, give yourself a zen treat sometime and try it the quiet way for a change

[supplebanana]

there is just something so relaxing for a bloke about being in the shed, shearing off bits of wood.

only if they're the bits of wood you intended to shear off...

[avengers63]

there is just something so relaxing for a bloke about being in the shed, shearing off bits of wood.

Yea....

All alone.

In an isolated room.

Playing with your wood.

Naked.

if it was me naked I would need to keep my socks on, I need somewhere to keep my picks

[Muzz]

there is just something so relaxing for a bloke about being in the shed, shearing off bits of wood.

only if they're the bits of wood you intended to shear off...

Hey Supp, yep it's the risk of the FUBAR that somehow makes it even more fun.

there is just something so relaxing for a bloke about being in the shed, shearing off bits of wood.

Yea....

All alone.

In an isolated room.

Playing with your wood.

Naked.

if it was me naked I would need to keep my socks on, I need somewhere to keep my picks

you need to get a new 'happy place' to go to I'll start you off, the two 22 year old Scandinavian girls that moved in next door, come round to your place to use your sun lamp, its been raining and ............

Guide hole for the output jack

Widening out the guide with a 22 mm spade, making sure the distance from the hole to the edge is 11 mm.

Edited May 27, 2010 by Muzz

[guitarkid4143]

Absolutely loving the progress. One of these days I'll convince my mom to take a trip to Australia w/ me.....

[Muzz]

Absolutely loving the progress. One of these days I'll convince my mom to take a trip to Australia w/ me.....

Cool, it's coming along OK

Marked out the route

Transferred the template to a bigger sheet, at this point it's 15 mm deep, time to switch to a longer bit for the last 3 mm

I used a spade bit to cut out the jack hole, I don't think I would use a spade again, it was a bit juddery and not real clean around the top, I'll try a forstner bit next time.

Channel route finished.

[avengers63]

I used a spade bit to cut out the jack hole, I don't think I would use a spade again, it was a bit juddery and not real clean around the top, I'll try a forstner bit next time.

A forstner is cleaner, but a spade is faster. I like to start with one and switch to the other. This also saves the forstners as they dull a LOT faster than a spade.

[Muzz]

A forstner is cleaner, but a spade is faster. I like to start with one and switch to the other. This also saves the forstners as they dull a LOT faster than a spade.

I saw another type of bit that might be good, like a big chunky bit with a screw on the end, don't know what they are called or if anyone has used one for an input hole.

I used a guide to connect the humbucker route to the control cavity

Testing the fit

I had my first slip of the router, the guide wasn't clamped hard enough, if you want to see mild guitar injury click here

But I took it out with a spade router bit

And that's it for the routing on this project, just some hand shaping around the neck area and drilling to do

[avengers63]

I saw another type of bit that might be good, like a big chunky bit with a screw on the end, don't know what they are called or if anyone has used one for an input hole.

Speedbor

http://secure.newellrubbermaid.com/irwin/c...IrwinProd160002

I have one. I didn't like it. The screw end pulled the rest of the bit faster than the wood would allow it to go. Made a real mess of the whole thing. Maybe I was doing it wrong - I don't know.

[Muzz]

I saw another type of bit that might be good, like a big chunky bit with a screw on the end, don't know what they are called or if anyone has used one for an input hole.

Speedbor

http://secure.newellrubbermaid.com/irwin/c...IrwinProd160002

I have one. I didn't like it. The screw end pulled the rest of the bit faster than the wood would allow it to go. Made a real mess of the whole thing. Maybe I was doing it wrong - I don't know.

Hmm I better be careful when I try one of those

I used a guide to point a 3mm drill in the right direction

I was holding my breath hoping I had got it right until I saw the end poke out

Reamed it out with a 6 mm

Close enough to on target

[Stewey]

Those speedbor bits are horrible for precision work, as Avenger said they pull through the timber way too quickly, I would avoid them for guitar work.

Everything is looking as precise as usual around here, no comment required other than a well done and get a wriggle on. I'm getting old watching this build.

[ray]

Those speedbor bits are horrible for precision work, as Avenger said they pull through the timber way too quickly, I would avoid them for guitar work.

Everything is looking as precise as usual around here, no comment required other than a well done and get a wriggle on. I'm getting old watching this build.

here we call em auger bits

pull straight into the timber real quick - slow speed and powerfull drill required

great for fence posts or construction work

crap for guitars and other light wood work

[Muzz]

Hey ray and Stewey, delivering the good oil on the auger/speedbor bits, I have crossed them off the potential guitar equipment list, they sound nasty. Just got to knock the corner off the heel and drill the holes for the neck screws and I am at the stain and finish stage.

Drilled the earth wire hole today, I drew a diagram to get the angle and used a piece cut out of a wire coat hanger for a long bit.

[Our Souls inc.]

Me and you gotta start the McGuiver club...............

Nice work , as you've displayed throughout. Don't get in a hurry at this point - the finish is the last half of the journey .