Themadcow Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 So this is my first post, so I thought I would make it a useful one. I have been trolling around here for a couple months reading and reading some more. Love this place!! Hopefully between here, Martin Koch's book, and any advice I get from you guys, I will be able to complete this first build in a reasonable amount of time. The specs so far: 5 Piece Maple/Walnut neck 27" Scale 8 String Bolt on neck Hipshot Bridge Locking tuners (Not sure yet, any Ideas?) Ash,Alder or Zebrawood body???? Seymour Duncan Blackouts All sorts of other Stuff Ive forgotten So here we have the neck wood $26 bucks at windsor plywood, thought it was a good deal, and I think the maple and walnut have a nice contrast and the ebony is very nice, should be able to get 4 fretboards out of it. The pieces cut up on my boss's table saw then a really crappy plane job with my $20 home depot special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted January 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) Forget about the hand plane My boss lets me use whatever I want in his garage to get this job done, so half the work will be done in his garage, and half on my dining room table:) Edited January 27, 2011 by Themadcow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted January 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) Not sure why some pics show up and others are links????? Loving the burn marks from the tablesaw Edited January 27, 2011 by Themadcow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted January 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Here's a better picture of my neck clamping job I think I used enough. Tomorrow I will run the neck through the planer, get her down to 13/16th's or so then cut the scarf joint. Still haven't worked out how I am gonna do that yet. What do you guys think of using a compound miter saw? I am thinking about a 13 degree angle, but that is based on nothing but what I have seen others do. I just want to tilt it back far enough to keep the strings tight in the nut. I am open to suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 What do you guys think of using a compound miter saw? I am thinking about a 13 degree angle, but that is based on nothing but what I have seen others do. I just want to tilt it back far enough to keep the strings tight in the nut. I am open to suggestions. I use 12 degrees. 14 degrees is standard so I see no issue with 13. Unless you just don't like the number then you could try 12.99. Or maybe 12.95 if you fancy. [in a Douglas Adams voice] I used a chop saw for years. I now use my radial arm saw cause i am too lazy to get the chop saw out from under the bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I use a bandsaw but used to use a chopsaw with a jig to get the 13deg angle. Either way, it won't come out clean enough for glue up. You'll have to make it nice and even. I rough cut and use my router on a special jig I built - a 13 deg angle router sled. In terms of clamps used on your neck - that's looks like enough to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Thanks you very much for the replies guys. I don't have an aversion to using 13 I would like to have the headstock back as far as I need to to be structurally sound. What would you guys say is the minimum? I'd prefer to keep the least possible angle with the best strength. Here is the neck blank all glued up, I think it looks great with the walnut stripes. Just needs a little sanding, I don't have access to a jointer, so I'll have to take extra care by hand to get it ready for the finger board glue-up. I also managed to get 3 fretboard blanks from the ebony I had so I guess this first build won't be my last \ You might also notice a couple little stripes on those ebony blanks. My bosses planer has a couple small rock chips in the blade so those are tiny high spots that will need to be sanded out. Beggars can't be choosers though so I'll use what I have, big thanks to the boss man for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wademeister Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 You might also notice a couple little stripes on those ebony blanks. My bosses planer has a couple small rock chips in the blade so those are tiny high spots that will need to be sanded out. Beggars can't be choosers though so I'll use what I have, big thanks to the boss man for that Looking good Madcow! Don't worry too much about having to sand your joints after planing, mine came out great and I don't even have a jointer. I just cut my pieces to size on the table saw and sanded them flat with round adhesive backed sanding discs stuck to the saw table. I used a bandsaw for the scarf joint and sanded the pieces flat by hand afterward. Probably would have been easier with a guide of some sort but I just sanded and checked the fit until it looked good. Also on that scarf joint I would suggest clamping your parts together dry and drilling a couple alignment pin holes through the excess wood on either side of where the nut will be. I had some 3/32" pin stock hanging around so I drilled 3/32" holes in mine. When you glue it up, the pins will not only put it back exactly where you had it, they will prevent things from sliding around when you clamp the glued joint. results: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) Wademeister that is an excellent idea I may use. Got to work today and realized I don't have clamps here so I'm looking for some way to clamp to the saw. Might make some clamps from wood and bolts, we'll see. Also, I am tempted to make the body out of walnut. It would be a nice look with the neck I think, and seems to be a decent tonewood. Anyone have any opinions on walnut as a body wood?? Edited January 29, 2011 by Themadcow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Wademeiater that is an excellent idea I may use. Got to work today and realized I don't have clamps here so I'm looking for some way to clamp to the saw. Might make some clamps from wood and bolts, we'll see. Also, I am tempted to make the body out of walnut. It would be a nice look with the neck I think, and seems to be a decent tonewood. Anyone have any opinions on walnut as a body wood?? Walnut is perfectly acceptable (maybe even a step up from Alder or Ash) tone wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted January 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Wademeiater that is an excellent idea I may use. Got to work today and realized I don't have clamps here so I'm looking for some way to clamp to the saw. Might make some clamps from wood and bolts, we'll see. Also, I am tempted to make the body out of walnut. It would be a nice look with the neck I think, and seems to be a decent tonewood. Anyone have any opinions on walnut as a body wood?? Walnut is perfectly acceptable (maybe even a step up from Alder or Ash) tone wood. Thanks for that. Gonna start my hunt for body wood this weekend. Once I glue up my scarf joint I'll be at a stand still for a couple days while I order my trussrod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted January 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Scarf joint adventure begins The scarf joint jig of the century So it worked, but it cut way out of square....... I managed to clean the pieces up with a random orbit sander and a bit of elbow grease We will see tomorrow if all my effort paid off. Next time I'll take my time to make sure the saw cuts perfect. My impatience will be the death of me one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Random orbit for clean-up on a scarf joint? Sounds like a perfect time to by a nice plane Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted January 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Lol the sander was just to start, I finished it off with a sanding block. To be honest this is the first time I have built anything out of wood that requires any level of accuracy so I am trying all kinds of things to see what works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterblastor Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 (edited) Wademeiater that is an excellent idea I may use. Got to work today and realized I don't have clamps here so I'm looking for some way to clamp to the saw. Might make some clamps from wood and bolts, we'll see. Also, I am tempted to make the body out of walnut. It would be a nice look with the neck I think, and seems to be a decent tonewood. Anyone have any opinions on walnut as a body wood?? Walnut is perfectly acceptable (maybe even a step up from Alder or Ash) tone wood. eh? What flavor of walnut? Black? Edited January 30, 2011 by masterblastor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted January 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Wademeiater that is an excellent idea I may use. Got to work today and realized I don't have clamps here so I'm looking for some way to clamp to the saw. Might make some clamps from wood and bolts, we'll see. Also, I am tempted to make the body out of walnut. It would be a nice look with the neck I think, and seems to be a decent tonewood. Anyone have any opinions on walnut as a body wood?? Walnut is perfectly acceptable (maybe even a step up from Alder or Ash) tone wood. eh? What flavor of walnut? Black? Windsor Plywood has a bunch of walnut offcuts which is what I cut the neck laminates out of. I was gonna take some of my left over strips down and see if I can match it up. I honestly don't know what kind of walnut it is, I would have to know more about wood than I do to tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 31, 2011 Report Share Posted January 31, 2011 Wademeiater that is an excellent idea I may use. Got to work today and realized I don't have clamps here so I'm looking for some way to clamp to the saw. Might make some clamps from wood and bolts, we'll see. Also, I am tempted to make the body out of walnut. It would be a nice look with the neck I think, and seems to be a decent tonewood. Anyone have any opinions on walnut as a body wood?? Walnut is perfectly acceptable (maybe even a step up from Alder or Ash) tone wood. eh? What flavor of walnut? Black? I am fond of the expensive ones... Claro, Franquette, Bastogne, Peruvian. But Black or anything from the West coast of the US is fine. Watch out for the cut... a lot of plain walnut is riftsawn and it is tough to find nice quartersawn or flatsawn pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted February 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 Well the scarf joint turned out pretty good, not perfect, but a little sanding and it's good to go. I rough cut the neck with jigsaw, which I know isn't the best way to do it, but it worked. I'm thinking it's time I learn how to use a router properly, so that will be the next step. A little practice building some templates and such, and then I will continue with the truss rod and get going on the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterblastor Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 Wademeiater that is an excellent idea I may use. Got to work today and realized I don't have clamps here so I'm looking for some way to clamp to the saw. Might make some clamps from wood and bolts, we'll see. Also, I am tempted to make the body out of walnut. It would be a nice look with the neck I think, and seems to be a decent tonewood. Anyone have any opinions on walnut as a body wood?? Walnut is perfectly acceptable (maybe even a step up from Alder or Ash) tone wood. eh? What flavor of walnut? Black? I am fond of the expensive ones... Claro, Franquette, Bastogne, Peruvian. But Black or anything from the West coast of the US is fine. Watch out for the cut... a lot of plain walnut is riftsawn and it is tough to find nice quartersawn or flatsawn pieces. Awesome, I saw i nice looking walnut board the other day. I thought it was labled black walnut. The price was good, maybe I'll give it a shot. It'll give me something to play around with until the tops and fret boards show up for my other builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 Wademeiater that is an excellent idea I may use. Got to work today and realized I don't have clamps here so I'm looking for some way to clamp to the saw. Might make some clamps from wood and bolts, we'll see. Also, I am tempted to make the body out of walnut. It would be a nice look with the neck I think, and seems to be a decent tonewood. Anyone have any opinions on walnut as a body wood?? Walnut is perfectly acceptable (maybe even a step up from Alder or Ash) tone wood. eh? What flavor of walnut? Black? I am fond of the expensive ones... Claro, Franquette, Bastogne, Peruvian. But Black or anything from the West coast of the US is fine. Watch out for the cut... a lot of plain walnut is riftsawn and it is tough to find nice quartersawn or flatsawn pieces. Awesome, I saw i nice looking walnut board the other day. I thought it was labled black walnut. The price was good, maybe I'll give it a shot. It'll give me something to play around with until the tops and fret boards show up for my other builds. Hmm, interesting. It's a quote inside a quote inside a quote inside a quote. Inception? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiscabob Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 [quote name='RestorationAD' timestamp='1296263143' post='483208'] Inside another quote? Wademeiater that is an excellent idea I may use. Got to work today and realized I don't have clamps here so I'm looking for some way to clamp to the saw. Might make some clamps from wood and bolts, we'll see. Also, I am tempted to make the body out of walnut. It would be a nice look with the neck I think, and seems to be a decent tonewood. Anyone have any opinions on walnut as a body wood?? Walnut is perfectly acceptable (maybe even a step up from Alder or Ash) tone wood. eh? What flavor of walnut? Black? I am fond of the expensive ones... Claro, Franquette, Bastogne, Peruvian. But Black or anything from the West coast of the US is fine. Watch out for the cut... a lot of plain walnut is riftsawn and it is tough to find nice quartersawn or flatsawn pieces. Awesome, I saw i nice looking walnut board the other day. I thought it was labled black walnut. The price was good, maybe I'll give it a shot. It'll give me something to play around with until the tops and fret boards show up for my other builds. Hmm, interesting. It's a quote inside a quote inside a quote inside a quote. Inception? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cactus Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 [quote name='RestorationAD' timestamp='1296263143' post='483208'] Inside another quote? Wademeiater that is an excellent idea I may use. Got to work today and realized I don't have clamps here so I'm looking for some way to clamp to the saw. Might make some clamps from wood and bolts, we'll see. Also, I am tempted to make the body out of walnut. It would be a nice look with the neck I think, and seems to be a decent tonewood. Anyone have any opinions on walnut as a body wood?? Walnut is perfectly acceptable (maybe even a step up from Alder or Ash) tone wood. eh? What flavor of walnut? Black? I am fond of the expensive ones... Claro, Franquette, Bastogne, Peruvian. But Black or anything from the West coast of the US is fine. Watch out for the cut... a lot of plain walnut is riftsawn and it is tough to find nice quartersawn or flatsawn pieces. Awesome, I saw i nice looking walnut board the other day. I thought it was labled black walnut. The price was good, maybe I'll give it a shot. It'll give me something to play around with until the tops and fret boards show up for my other builds. Hmm, interesting. It's a quote inside a quote inside a quote inside a quote. Inception? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 So it's been a while since I updated this thread. My main post is over on sevenstring but I though I'd give you guys and update. After I slotted the fretboard, I routed for the trussrod Then it was time for glueup Now it was time to think about body wood. I decided on maple with a walnut top..Went down to my local windsor plywood and grabbed 60" of 8/4 walnut. They cut it into 20" pieces for me. The plan being that I could bookmatch all three pieces and end up with enough for 2 guitars...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themadcow Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 I used the second set for my guitar, and the first one will be for a PRS copy I decided to build my dad for his birthday..More on that later. And the maple blank I surface both blanks down to about 7/8th's of and in and sandwiched them together... And after a couple minutes on the bandsaw \ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Well the scarf joint turned out pretty good, not perfect, but a little sanding and it's good to go. I rough cut the neck with jigsaw, which I know isn't the best way to do it, but it worked. There is nothing wrong with using a jig saw, it's basically a mini hand held band saw almost. I used those for a long time until I learned how to use a bandsaw properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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