GCollier Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 It's been a while since I last posted, but I check in all the time to see everyone's projects. In any case I started this build last summer but only got as far as cutting out the body before work and family obligations put a rapid halt to any progress. In the last few days I have been steadily working on the build again and have started to make some progress. The Plan: Below is a sketch of the guitar I whipped up in CorelDraw. I call it the Jazzmonster because it sort of reminds me of a Fender Jazzmaster. The body is semi-hollow sapele with a figured cherry top. The neck is a 5 piece cherry/maple/cherry/maple/cherry. The fretboard is ebony bound with makore with maple and makore inlays. The Body: The Neck: The Fingerboard: The Top: I found this figured cherry board at a local sawmill over a year ago, it just called out to be turned into a guitar. Ive wiped it here with some methyl hydrate so you can see the figure better. Hardware: For the hardware I have decided to go with chrome parts. I've been picking up bits and pieces I find on sale for the last year or so. The bridge is a Graphtech Resomax tune-o-matic style, with a Graphtech nut. The tuners are top locking Schallers. Pickups are a matched set of Bare Knuckle Black Dogs. I plan on using a PRS wiring kit so the pickup switching will be rotary rather than a 5 way switch. Did I mention it is a string through design so there are chrome ferrules front and back. Anyway I need to consider finishing options, I have been considering translucent black, but I am a bit hesitant to dye the cherry for fear of blotching. Any suggestions are welcome. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted June 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 I love when people share jigs and techniques so here is my fretboard cutting/sanding jig I used. Basically it is a box made with 1/2" baltic birch ply with sides that extend 1/2" above the top. I added a few pieces of plywood to guide the fret saw. I printed a fret slot template on my inkjet...surprisingly accurate...checking with a set of digital calipers the measurements were spot on (go figure, it can print photos by placing picolitre drops with high accuracy...why should I be surprised). The template was adhered to a piece of 1/8" hardboard that is cut to fit snugly into the top of the jig. To use the jig, I simply square the end of my fingerboard at the nut end to one side of the fingerboard. Then I attach the board to the template with double-stick tape, line up the marks on the template with the cut slot on the jig and saw the slot. The template and fingerboard can then be slid forward to cut the next mark. The hollow box allows you to clamp the fingerboard and template for cutting. I was fortunate enough that when I built the jig it happened to fit the Stewmac radius sanding blocks nearly perfectly. I can attach the fretboard with double-stick tape and sand it in a perfectly straight line. I can also use the jig to store the fret saw and sanding block inside. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripthorn Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Nice looking build. What was your technique for the fretboard markers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I like this a lot. I'm not normally a big afan of offset shapes, but this is nice. I love the fretboard and markers, love the headstock shape. Are you going to cap it with some of that cherry? The cherry top is awesomee--I would not get any black dye anywhere near it. The cherry will darken with time as it is, I'd be afraid you'd lose sight of that gorgeous figure. I'd maybe seal it with amber shellac to warm it up and deepen the figure and then clear it. If you are set on translucent black, you could add some tint coats to yoour clear. Personally, I wouldn't go further than a very subtle transparent light burst. That cherry is too nice to cover up! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Nice looking build. What was your technique for the fretboard markers? The inlays were done with a simple template and a 1/8" spiral bit. The pictures below show both sides of the template. The top and bottom are made with 1/8" hardboard. I used a 3/4" bit on the router table to cut a straight slot about 1.5" long. I glued the works together then used the router with the 1/8" bit and a 3/4" guide collar to cut the slot in the bottom of the template. After that it was a matter of placing the template on the alignment markes I had drawn on the fretboard, clamping everything down and routing the slot. For the inlays I just cut some 1/8" thick strips chopped them in section and rounded the ends with some sandpaper. They are held in with epoxy. I had thought about numerous options for the fret markers and knew that I wanted something very simple and clean. what I liked about this idea is that the inlays also work as the side dots. Everything here is only sanded to 120grit and I haven't radiused the fretboard yet. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I like this a lot. I'm not normally a big afan of offset shapes, but this is nice. I love the fretboard and markers, love the headstock shape. Are you going to cap it with some of that cherry? The cherry top is awesomee--I would not get any black dye anywhere near it. The cherry will darken with time as it is, I'd be afraid you'd lose sight of that gorgeous figure. I'd maybe seal it with amber shellac to warm it up and deepen the figure and then clear it. If you are set on translucent black, you could add some tint coats to yoour clear. Personally, I wouldn't go further than a very subtle transparent light burst. That cherry is too nice to cover up! SR Thanks for the suggestions. I'm leaning strongly toward a natural finish now, but I will experiment on some of the leftover pieces of cherry to see what I can do with it. As for the headstock, I plan on covering it with some cherry, but I need to find a suitable section with a good grain pattern. The headstock is not large so finding a section with tight enough grain to mirror what I see in the body has been difficult. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 One option for the headstock cap would be to bookmatch it so you could double up what figure you do have, and carry over that chevron shape you're getting from the figure in the bookmatched top. RAD did that once....and didn't really like it, but I think that was because of the difficulty of making it fit on a Parker Fly inspired headstock. I liked his and I think it could look good here too. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Over the last few days I managed to add the veneer to the headstock. I found a piece of cherry with a reasonable grain to match the body. I used the bandsaw to resaw it then stuck it to the workbench with double stick tape and used a simple router sled to plane it to about 1/16" thick. I also got the fretboard radiused and glued in place. It's sanded to 600 grit. I'm happy with the way this is coming together so far but I still have a ways to go. My next step will be to shape the back of the neck. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymuffler Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 (edited) That fingerboard looks great! Edited June 25, 2011 by fuzzymuffler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted June 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2011 I spent the day working on carving the the neck and shaping the volute. I went a bit different with the volute and decided on a heart shape. I'm happy with how it turned out, but I may work on the heel a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menapia Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Wow ! Very nice . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted July 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 I am finally getting back to this project after a being away for a few weeks in Brazil for work. Since I have returned I was able to make some progress getting the top glued on, the neck pocket routed and the pickup cavities routed. I have added a few pics below. I am still debating on exactly what kind of top carve to do. Suggestions on the top carve are welcome. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 I love the way this guitar looks. The figure really compliments the shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted July 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 Today I carved the top. I opted to draw some profile lines around the top, then free-handed the profile lines with the router. I used a curved scraper to smooth the profile. I wanted to see what the figure looked like after the carve was finished so I wiped on a little mineral spirits. I'm very happy with how the build is turning out so far. Next I need to make a fret bender so I can get to work on fretting. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted July 27, 2011 Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 This is coming along nicely and looking great. The carve looks excellent. These shots make the back look pretty thick. Are you going to carve that too, or have the chambers taken away that option? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted July 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 This is coming along nicely and looking great. The carve looks excellent. These shots make the back look pretty thick. Are you going to carve that too, or have the chambers taken away that option? SR Thanks for the positive comments. Yes it's pretty thick, about the same as a LP. I may carve out the body rest, but other than that it will stay fairly thick. As you mentioned there is not a lot I can remove due to the chamber. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xadioriderx Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 i was gonna ask about the thickness too! my current build may end up about 2.5" thick, which its a but much i also agree that i normally dont like shapes like that, but yours flows so well! youve done a lot of interesting things that makes me think "awww shoot, i should have done this differently..." haha i look forward to seeing the finished product! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted July 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 What an awful sticky hot humid day today! I did manage to get a fair bit of work done. The frets are now installed, leveled, and re-crowned, still need to polish them and also do some cleanup work on the fingerboard to restore the shine. This was my first time fretting a bound fingerboard, my first build had exposed fret ends, definately more challenging with a bound board. I don't have a lot of fancy fretting tools besides a Stew Mac fret hammer and one of the brass 12" radius fret press cauls. I made a bunch of my own tools/jigs including a fret bender with the 3 wheels, some flush fret cutters and I also ground the corners off of a triangular file on the belt sander to make a fret crowning file. I removed the tangsfrom the tips of the frets with a dremel and a grinding bit. No fancy jig, I just held the fret section with pliers and ground the tang off carefuly. I hammered the frets in then wicked some CA glue under the wires (especially the ends which wanted to lift with no tang at the tip) then I squeezed them until the glue dried with the 12" press caul mounted in an aluminum block. I drilled the tuner holes and tested the fit. The tuners required a 10mm bit the closest I had was 3/8" which was too snug. Fortunately I had a 3/8" concrete bit which was a hair larger than 3/8" that I used to widen the holes. In the end the fit was absolutely perfect. I also decided on how the controls will be arranged (got some guidance from the wife on this one) and dished out the control recesses. I drilled a 3/16" hole at the center of the control location. Then I chucked a cove bit in the drill press with the bearing removed. The 3/16 nib for the bearing mount on the tip of the bit fit perfectly in the holes I drilled and guided the cutter so it wouldn't chatter. Finally I did a "dry fit" just to see how things will look when finished. Rear control cavily and cover are up next. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xadioriderx Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 wow, its really looking great! good work! all these great builds put the pressure on me for my current build, i dont want to be one of the ones that people look and go hmmm... im not gonna even comment... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCollier Posted July 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 wow, its really looking great! good work! all these great builds put the pressure on me for my current build, i dont want to be one of the ones that people look and go hmmm... im not gonna even comment... lol Thanks, I just hope I don't screw it up when I put the finish on. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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