Eco Guitar Project (lots Of Pics Inside)

[Scott French]

Hey Everybody!

It's been a long time, eh? I have been mostly out of commission with work and family so very little action of the guitar front from me. I started a new project in 2010 and (almost) finished it last year. I just pulled it out of it's bag with the intention of readying it for it's owner. That's should give you an idea of the pace things move at around here. Anyway, I figured I would share it with the folks @ PG in the hopes of finding ways to improve the next one. The original idea was to build a bunch of these but once I started a few I realized it would be best to go one by one leaving room for new ideas with each progression.

The basic idea behind the eco/green project was to reevaluate every area of the guitar to look for products and processes that would be the most local, sustainable, recyclable, and earth/people/health friendly. I could go on and on about this stuff but will spare you the details.

Here are the final specs for the prototype:

• SF3 Bolt-on Body Shape

• One-Piece Claro Walnut Body Blank

• Flat Top & Back with Comfort Carve/Belly Cut & Roundover

• RPI Black Plastic Pickguard - Recycled, Made In USA

• Natural Oil Finish

• 25 15/32" Scale Length

• 3-Piece Maple Neck with Green Lams - FSC Certified

• Obsidian Paper Stone Fingerboard - Recycled, FSC Certified, Made In USA

• 12" Fingerboard Radius

• Maple Headcap with Green Lams - FSC Certified

• 22 "Gold" Evo Medium Frets

• Standard "C" Neck Profile

• LMI Double Adjustable Truss Rod - Made In USA

• Individual String Guides with Zero Fret

• Light Green Anodized Hardware Finish with Brass Accents

• Nordstrand NCD Humbuckers - Made In USA

• Sperzel Locking Tuners - Made In USA

• Custom Strap Buttons

• Hipshot Baby Grand Bridge - Made In USA

• Volume/Tone/3-Way Pickup Selector

• Precision Electronics 500k Pots - Made In Canada

• Switchcraft 3-way Pickup Selector Switch - Made In USA

• Switchcraft Locking Output Jack - Made In USA

• Consolidated Hookup Wire - Made In USA

• Hipshot O-Ring Knobs - Made In USA

Some Photos:

More posts to follow with progress photos and details about the various features.

[Scott French]

To start I should say I am from Northern California, so when I talk about "local" stuff that is my frame of reference.

It all starts with lumber! These claro walnut blanks are from trees that grew within 50 miles of my house. My goal was to find all reclaimed or certified wood for this project. This stuff is probably riding the line but I know the guy that harvested all of this wood and without him this would likely end us as firewood or pulp or who knows what. These were all trees that were either dangerous (standing dead in residential areas, etc) or removed because of city growth around Sacramento.

There aren't a lot of great neck wood choices close to home (or even domestically really) so rock maple it was. Maple happens to be my favorite neck wood anyway so it didn't feel like a compromise when trying to keep everything at least domestic (USA). I got a bunch of FSC certified maple from a local supplier.

Here's the first glue-up of neck blanks. I used a really thin green dyed maple veneer between the main maple pieces. Sadly the veneer is not FSC certified. You can also see the paperstone fingerboard blank. This is a cool product made in Washington state using recycled newsprint. It is FSC certified, recycled and made domestically. More on this stuff later.

I can never resist posting a picture of the ol' B-dog! Beatrix my Great Dane is a regular fixture around the shop.

[RestorationAD]

Scott...

The dog is beautiful. The guitar is amazing.

Ok here is my best attempt at what I would do different. Take this with a grain of salt as there is nothing wrong at all with this guitar.

<opinion>

Move the input jack. I hate input jacks on the front of the guitar.

The Volume/Switch/Tone are too close together... looks like they might be hard to switch.

Need a bigger belly cut.

</opinion>

So that is all I have and it was a stretch to come up with that.

Nice work as always.

Cheers!

[Scott French]

Thanks, RAD! I agree the belly cut is not great and the arm carve is even worse... Doesn't line up with the pickguard. I got it right on Marnie's guitar but even on that one the belly carve is very small. I'll have to try a larger on on the next iteration. There's not much to do about the control spacing but that front mounted jack has been a bone of contention for just about everyone. The next one will certainly have some kind of side mount. I'll have to figure out a way to retain the locking output jack without being too wide for the thickness of the guitar... these blanks are all pretty thin, 1 5/8" is the thickest, most are around 1 1/2".

[RestorationAD]

Scott for the record we are splitting hairs on a 64 corvette.

So moving the jack to an end mount gives you some room to expand the pickguard to follow the body and spread the controls out a bit.

I have dealt with the locking jacks and they are huge and hard to place... so the answer is a Long Threaded Barrel Input Jack.

You know my guitars are rarely more than 32mm thick. It is the only style jack I can use.

I think the Arm carve is fine and while I think expanding the belly cut would be great it does not have to be deeper. Just remove the sharp edge (or push it out far enough to not hit the belly).

Once again I hate saying anything about these great guitars.

Nice work as always!

--RAD

[Scott French]

I said before the original idea was to build a bunch of these. That's no longer the plan so please excuse the piles of parts in some of these photos.

Here are some Paperstone fingerboard blanks. This is a pretty cool product that can be used as an ebony replacement. It's super dense, very dark in color, and takes a nice polish. The downside is it's tough to glue and does not compress at all. That means you need to widen your fret slots otherwise the neck may backbow (assuming you could even get them seated).

Here you can see the scarf jointed headstock. There's very little waste in the neck. I was even able to save the front part of another headstock to use as the headcap on this one.

The one-piece claro walnut body blank use the standard SF3 shape with an added nub to make room for the third neck bolt.

It's tiny but you can see one of the little neck bolt ferrules I made. These were anodized green along with all of the other aluminum parts.

This isn't a great pic but you can see how the neck goes together. First the main neck blank, then the scarf jointed headstock, next the fingerboard is glued on and finally the headcap goes over the headstock and a small wedge of the fingerboard. You can also see the great green and gold colors on these Sperzels.

Hopefully I'll have time to add more this week!

[Scott French]

I have dealt with the locking jacks and they are huge and hard to place... so the answer is a Long Threaded Barrel Input Jack.

I used these a lot when I started building as I tend to make fairly thin guitars as well but I've had a lot of problems with them going bad. Some of my touring guys have even resorted to carrying spares as they fail so often. They are my first choice for ease of installation and aesthetics on the thin ones though.

Once again I hate saying anything about these great guitars.

No prob! There's always room for improvement and sometimes it's tough to see issues in your own work. Nothing better than the mirror of the community to at least bring things to your attention.

[Bukoffsky]

I have dealt with the locking jacks and they are huge and hard to place...

besides that;

after I suggested these to my friend, he just said that if he stepped on a cord during a gig, and accidentally jerked it, the worst thing that could happen with the non locking one is pulling the cord out of the guitar. With locking ones, you would have to repair something.

I guess that the cord under a strap is quite enough.

other than that, I like your work a lot. Especially the headstock and the zero fret.

[Scott French]

I can't speak for the Neutrik model, but on the Switchcraft ones I'm using the locking mechanism doesn't feel so strong that it would tear a guitar apart. I think the lock would give before the jack was pulled out of the guitar. In this situation I was more interested in a robust jack, not necessarily the locking feature. In the end I'll probably go back to the football style plate with standard Switchcraft jack. That's been my favorite for a while but I didn't want to deal with making my own plates out of aluminum. I have the stock now so may as well give it a try for the next one if a side mount option for the locking jack doesn't work.

[WezV]

I used these a lot when I started building as I tend to make fairly thin guitars as well but I've had a lot of problems with them going bad. Some of my touring guys have even resorted to carrying spares as they fail so often. They are my first choice for ease of installation and aesthetics on the thin ones though.

i was beginning to think it was just me that had problems with them

also, i used locking neutriks for a while but stopped because they are only secured with 2 screws and the locking mechanism is very sturdy - they probably would rip straight out the guitar if you stood on the cable

[RestorationAD]

also, i used locking neutriks for a while but stopped because they are only secured with 2 screws and the locking mechanism is very sturdy - they probably would rip straight out the guitar if you stood on the cable

They do... ask me how I know.

[redwhiteandthemaple]

You take beautiful pictures. I love the colors

[Workingman]

Very nice work. Would your fretboard material be suitable for glue in frets or are gluing problems do great?

[SwedishLuthier]

Great to see you back Scott. I just love that guitar, the look, the concept, everything.

The paperstone got me really intrigued. Looks like a good ebony substitute. I have not been able to get jet black ebony for some time now. How well does it machine? Whats the prize? And what sizes are availible? I have already contacted the company to see if there is a suplier in europe. I guess that this:

would take care of the lack of compression in the material

[Prostheta]

I'm very interested also Peter. I wouldn't mind exploring the possibility of acquiring some if it is economically viable. If it is a little painful to glue up, perhaps dovetailing the underside 45° to the centreline would yield cosmetically unique options in addition to the security.

http://www.craftsmanspace.com/free-projects/impossible-dovetail-joint-puzzle-plans.html

Edited January 10, 2012 by Prostheta

[Campylobacter]

Very nice, especially the headstock shape...

[Scott French]

i was beginning to think it was just me that had problems with them

also, i used locking neutriks for a while but stopped because they are only secured with 2 screws and the locking mechanism is very sturdy - they probably would rip straight out the guitar if you stood on the cable

Nope, you're not alone. I had lots of problems and switched to a standard style jack on a football plate.

I think the Switchcraft ones also only use 2 screws, but I am not using the main housing, just a set screw from the side. Even less secure but pretty sure it would not hurt the actual guitar if the cord got stuck on something.

[Scott French]

You take beautiful pictures. I love the colors

Very nice, especially the headstock shape...

Thanks, guys!

[Scott French]

Very nice work. Would your fretboard material be suitable for glue in frets or are gluing problems do great?

Thanks! I always glue in my frets after pressing. If you mean glue in frets like where they just slide in with no resistance then I don't know. I'm not sure how well the glue is actually sticking, it seems like more of a gap filler that locks everything together.

[Scott French]

Great to see you back Scott. I just love that guitar, the look, the concept, everything.

The paperstone got me really intrigued. Looks like a good ebony substitute. I have not been able to get jet black ebony for some time now. How well does it machine? Whats the prize? And what sizes are availible? I have already contacted the company to see if there is a suplier in europe. I guess that this would take care of the lack of compression in the material

I'm very interested also Peter. I wouldn't mind exploring the possibility of acquiring some if it is economically viable. If it is a little painful to glue up, perhaps dovetailing the underside 45° to the centreline would yield cosmetically unique options in addition to the security.

http://www.craftsmanspace.com/free-projects/impossible-dovetail-joint-puzzle-plans.html

It's fairly inexpensive if you can find a deal. I got about 20 guitars worth for $85 shipped (over 1/3 was the shipping cost). I haven't been able to find it again, but PanelTech used to have a PDF floating around of all of their offcuts. You could buy weird pieces (sometimes slightly bowed, very narrow, etc) for pretty cheap as that sort of thing would be useless for countertop makers but no problem for a guitar builder who would only use a small chunk at a time. The thicknesses vary but they do offer some stuff in .22" or .25". I'm pretty sure mine was slightly thinner than normal.

Other than the compression and gluing it doesn't work too much differently than a very dense wood. For gluing just scuff it up like normal and use epoxy. On the slotting I just ran it through the normal table saw/template process then widened the slots slightly by resawing them all by hand fairly aggressively. That did it for me. I wouldn't go straight from the table saw to the fret press, that's for sure.

I turned most of mine into fingerboards but I know there is still some left. I can chop some up into little samples if anyone wants to play with it. I also have a bunch of tins of homemade polishing wax that I wouldn't mind getting some feedback on.

[Scott French]

Here's a little more about the polishing wax I mentioned in the last post. Finishing was something I wanted to think about a lot of this project. All the oils I've used in the past were full of weird chemical drying agents and the wax I had been using was also full of weird stuff... why does a wood wax need petroleum distillates? More on the oil later but back to the wax. I decided to make my own blend. There's a lot of info on this kind of stuff floating around the web but to summarize you basically need a tough protecting kind of wax, a softer wax to blend it with (as the tough ones are usually too brittle) and a cutting agent to make it easier to apply. Carnauba wax seemed to be the standard for the hard/brittle side of things and beeswax was very popular for the softer side to blend with. I'm not so strict as to avoid honey but after eating a vegan diet for a few years I decided to try and make the blend animal free. No bee products! I went with soy wax as as replacement for bee's wax as it is also very soft. It's also a little greaser (and I'm not sure that's a good thing). For the solvent I absolutely wanted to avoid something super toxic. I ended up going with citrus solvent. It's made from distilled orange peel oil and a tiny amount of water. The stuff is still pretty gross but not as bad as some of the alternatives. Here are some photos of the process for anyone curious.

Measuring out the wax flakes. The darker is the carnauba. I ended up adding A LOT more soy wax as the first test was way too hard to apply.

Bringing the double boiler up to speed. I used the bottom half to cook rice for years but lately it's been in the camping box. Glad I had it!

Dump the flakes in.

Pretty soon they start to melt. At that point I added the solvent and stirred that in real quick.

Then started pouring into the tins.

A little goes a long way. I mainly bought the soy wax for my wife to make some candles. I also got the tins from a candle making supply website. Pretty easy!

[SwedishLuthier]

I love this build more and more.

I'm very interested also Peter. I wouldn't mind exploring the possibility of acquiring some if it is economically viable.

I think I have found a local suplier. They got the stuff in 6mm (.236") and 4 mm as well. I will try to get samples and if I get more than I need for one test fretboard I can send you some.

[mwcarl]

Am I right in noticing that it doesn't have a nut?

[Prostheta]

Scott uses zero frets and individual guiding "nuts".

[HuntinDoug]

Cool build I have worked with this type of material in the past when I worked in a countertop fabrication plant. We didn't use paperstone, but I'm familiar with it. It is basically phenolic resin and thin sheets of paper compressed at high pressure. Commercial laminates (Formica, Wilsonart, Pionite..etc) are a thin version of this material. The only way I know of to get it to adhere to another surface long term is contact adhesive, which would most likely effect the tone. Epoxy may work...never tried it. Phenolic material is very dense. It will dull tooling very quickly.

I would look into a "rail" type fret stock similar to what is on a chapman stick.