Juntunen Guitars Posted March 28, 2010 Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 (edited) So this is going to be my first attempt at building a seven string and neck through electric. I finished drawing the plans today. Specs: Wood: I am thinking Black walnut and either tamarack or maple for the neck. Pickups: Seymour Duncan Full Shred Electronics: 1 vol. and 2 tone knobs Tuners: Gotoh Schaller-style tuning pegs Nut: Camel bone Bridge: Fixed bridge off Ebay Finish: hand rubbed Danish or Tung Oil Fretboard: Black walnut but Stewmac's Pyramid frets Truss Rod: I will build a dual action truss rod on Monday I plan on cutting the wood on Monday and going from there. The body and headstock are of my own design. I had some trouble with the neck dimensions because there just isn't much info on the internet on seven string measurments so the neck is subject to change to some point or another in this build -Ryan- Edited March 28, 2010 by Juntunen Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Aaron Posted March 28, 2010 Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 Some material considerations BEFORE you start cutting: Black walnut is probably not hard enough to use as a fingerboard, as it is about 30% softer than Hard Maple and 40% softer than East Indian Rosewood. It would likely wear easily and the frets might work themselves loose after a couple seasons of fingerboard expansion and contraction. It will also make a very heavy body wood if it's the only thing you use, as it is about 40% heavier than Alder and 30% heavier than Mahogany. You CAN use it for a body, but it's bound to make your shoulders sore. It makes a lovely top wood for electric bodies, though! I've used it for top plates with great success in the past. Perhaps pair it with a lighter back to reduce the weight and keep its tonal presence? The neck: I would choose maple over Tamarack. Although most kinds of Tamarack are nice and stiff and strong, many species are veeery soft (i.e., some are nearly as soft as western red cedar) and prone to nicks and dings. Being as this guitar will be a neck-through, you definitely want to make sure you never have to replace the neck, because you basically can't: it needs to be perfect on the first try, and it can't age poorly. (This applies to the walnut fingerboard too.) StewMac pyramid frets: I like these better than their super duper jumbo frets because they're quicker to level and re-crown, but their Medium-width/highest fretwire is essentially the same height and easier to bend by hand if you don't have a fret-bending machine. It's very close to 6105 fretwire. If you're bending by hand, you might consider the medium/highest instead of the pyramid just because it's easier to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 28, 2010 Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 Like the body shape, I have just used Stuart Mac super duper jumbo fret wire, great stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryM Posted March 28, 2010 Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 Thats one nice looking shape. What pickups are you using Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted March 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 (edited) Black walnut is probably not hard enough to use as a fingerboard ... It would likely wear easily and the frets might work themselves loose after a couple seasons of fingerboard expansion and contraction. It will also make a very heavy body wood if it's the only thing you use ... You CAN use it for a body, but it's bound to make your shoulders sore. It makes a lovely top wood for electric bodies, though! Not to be rude or anything but, in my opinion, walnut works great for both fretboards and bodies. I have built two strats out of walnut and they sounded great and were slightly heavier than a strat (my prefrance compared to a rip your arm off from weight les paul) about the expansion and contraction, I live in northern Minnesota where the humidity and temp. are never the same one day to the next it can be 70 degrees in the summer with high humidity then the next day have very low humidity and in the winter it ranges from -40 to 30 degrees farenheight with very low humidity so it's is hard to keep wood in the same range (esspecially seeing as I use three different shops in my area) but besides all that I have never seen a guitar where the frets came loose on a walnut fretboard. I got the idea to use the wood as a fretboard from Kevin Skaja (Skaja Guitars) who builds acoustics with walnut fretboards and I have never seen one of his guitars frets come loose over seasons. I'm not saying you are wrong I'm just going with my personal experience on this one. And yes walnut does make beautiful tops especially with maple binding. The neck: I would choose maple over Tamarack. Although most kinds of Tamarack are nice and stiff and strong, many species are veeery soft ... Being as this guitar will be a neck-through, you definitely want to make sure you never have to replace the neck, because you basically can't: it needs to be perfect on the first try, and it can't age poorly. (This applies to the walnut fingerboard too.) Yeah the tamarack I have is pretty freaking hard, I looked up and compared it with maple and white ash (the book was printed talking about trees native to Minnesota so I know what to expect out of native woods instead of say maple from some other state, there are differences) and they were almost identicle and I want to try using it, I have thought about the fact that it would be kind of hard to replace it, unless I took the guitar to a band or table saw to cut the center out. I might just end up using it for the body wings though like I said before I haven't fully decided what wood goes where yet. StewMac pyramid frets: I like these better than their super duper jumbo frets (agreed ) ... If you're bending by hand, you might consider the medium/highest instead of the pyramid just because it's easier to work with. The reason I chose these frets is I have never seen them on anything and I am curious as to if they are any good, and seeing as I am keeping this guitar and not selling it I thought it would be the best one to try them out on. I do bend by hand (no point in buying a modified can opener for $90 when I can do it myself) but I don't just hammer or press them in, I fill the slot with super glue then "slide" my hammer across the fret with even pressure and then squeeze clamp a radius block equal to the FB radius to it and let the glue dry. Doing this I have only had to level one fretboard (my first neck) and yes i do check the frets with a straight edge when I'm done to double check it. Thats one nice looking shape. What pickups are you using Thanks and I'm using Seymour Duncan Full Shred humbuckers http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation?q=full+shred Edited March 28, 2010 by Juntunen Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 28, 2010 Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...st&p=458703 Thats the SM Pyramid wire in that neck there. First time I tried it , but I'll probably use it again. I haven't strung this neck or played it yet , but install was easy and I like the "pointy" profile compared to the fat roundy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Aaron Posted March 28, 2010 Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 Well, it was just a guess as to whether or not the walnut would work as a fingerboard! If you've tried it and you know it works, then I'm just straight up wrong about how hard a fingerboard needs to be. (Gluing the frets in would certainly help, as you do!) For the body, I know that Carvin makes walnut-bodied neck-through guitars too (DC400W). It's not like it can't be done... they just aren't very light! What kind of tamarack do you have access to where you live? (Which species?) I love the pyramid fretwire once it's on the instrument. I've used it on 5 of the electrics I've built for myself. My only gripe is that it's no fun to bend compared to something skinnier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted March 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 Well, it was just a guess as to whether or not the walnut would work as a fingerboard! If you've tried it and you know it works, then I'm just straight up wrong about how hard a fingerboard needs to be. (Gluing the frets in would certainly help, as you do!) For the body, I know that Carvin makes walnut-bodied neck-through guitars too (DC400W). It's not like it can't be done... they just aren't very light! What kind of tamarack do you have access to where you live? (Which species?) I love the pyramid fretwire once it's on the instrument. I've used it on 5 of the electrics I've built for myself. My only gripe is that it's no fun to bend compared to something skinnier. I apreciate the opinion though because since you mentioned about the different species I decided to do a bit more research and I'm glad I did because the tamrack I looked at before was different from what I have so thanks just goes to show it's best to double check everything . the species I have, as far as I can tell is Larix laricina I could be wrong though seeing as it was originally bought as tounge and groove paneling and couple years ago for a house my dad built. The wood has been sitting in storage for a year now so it is good and dry. And about the heavy body I know it will be slightly heavier than most but I'm used to les paul style guitars so I'm used to heavier guitars and to me a walnut guitar is light. If you want I can post some pics of the boards so you have an idea of what I'm using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted March 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 Got the wood mostly set today. As of now I am planning on using the tamarack for the body wings and then just putting a walnut top on that. I will post pics of the walnut later (camera is not working quite right). Here is the tamarack. I am going to use maple for the neck and I will laminate some walnut strips up the neck length to. Here is the maple. I bought some Minwax ebony stain today. I plan on trying it out and if I don't like it simply sand it off and start again with that. The neck will still be oiled though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 (edited) Got the neck glued up today. I'm hoping to plane it tomorow and get the body wings glued tomorow. And this is where I do all my work. I decided that I didn't like the way the ebony stain looked on the walnut and tamarack so I decided to just put a hand rubbed danish oil finish on it seeing as I can't find my tung oil. Edited April 5, 2010 by Juntunen Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryM Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 Is that a bass body hanging at picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 Is that a bass body hanging at picture. Yeah I'm making a replacement body for my precision bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 I got all the wood cut out now I just need to get it all jointed and glued up then I'll start cutting out the shape. I'm going to cut the walnut for the top later on today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 Just finished planing and cutting the top wood. Learned planing when it's really windy out isn't fun when you have sawdust blowing is your eyes. Anyways been working on this all day trying to catch up a bit. Here is some pics of the top wood. Rough cut I just taped the walnut to the plywood so there was more wood going through the planer After planing I have some flamed Hicory somewhere that if I can find it i might put it between the walnut what do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 Flamed Hickory .... Cooool. ( Nice planer ! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 Flamed Hickory .... Cooool. ( Nice planer ! ) Thanks and yeah that Hickory looks really nice I just need to find it first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 5, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 Found/cut/planed the hickory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2010 I got the body glued up tonight here are some pictures I'll run it through the time saver tomorow or the day after and start cutting by friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryM Posted April 8, 2010 Report Share Posted April 8, 2010 Woods look very good. I will follow this build closely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 (edited) Woods look very good. I will follow this build closely I'm just about to go run this through the time saver, I just have to wait around for auto shop to be opened so I can get at the air compressor (I'm at my high school ) Edited April 9, 2010 by Juntunen Guitars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 I got the wood all leveled, cut and rough sanded today. I didn't get to the neck musch because I don't have the fretboard cut yet or the truss rod made. I will be getting the top glued on this weekend and I am planning on ordering parts to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryM Posted April 10, 2010 Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 Are you going to do any carve? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2010 Are you going to do any carve? Do you mean a carved top? Not on this one I got the walnut pretty thin for this but I wish that I had thought of that earlier, I could have done a nice kind of carved top I'm thinking of now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuffinPunch Posted April 11, 2010 Report Share Posted April 11, 2010 Now Im really impressed!!!! How did you manage to take this picture while the camera was on the table???!! Seriously though, looks like this is shaping up nicely. Cant wait to see this come together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted April 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2010 Now Im really impressed!!!! How did you manage to take this picture while the camera was on the table???!! Seriously though, looks like this is shaping up nicely. Cant wait to see this come together. Thanks it always is good to know people like your work. mirrors ha no I couldn't find my camera so I tryed to use that one but it didnt work for some reason and then go figure I found my camera on the table under some papers Anyways I got the top wood cut out today. The one piece just looks lighter due to the lighting in the room. I am planning on getting the neck cut out and getting the headstock glued on and cut this week as well. Here are some pictures of the top Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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