justin squire Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I am getting close to being finished with my first guitar build and thought I would share some pictures. The style is taken from the Ibanez iceman but there are some modifications that I made. Here are a few pics. I would have posted more, but this image posting business is quite painstaking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 In hindsight I probably would not have used purpleheart for the body because of its heavy weight, but this piece was too pretty to pass up. With all the cavities routed out, the guitar is not too terribly heavy. Specs: 25 1/2" scale length 24 frets Rio Grande Humbuckers Schaller Roller TOM Bridge with string-through body design Schaller locking tuners Graphtech black nut Two volume/two tone with coil tap I ended up keeping no neck angle and recessing the bridge the appropriate amount to account for the action adjustment. I am hoping to still get good results with this method, as I have seen several other guitars like this. For me, this was alot easier than working with the neck angle. Here is another view showing the bridge recess Any constructive criticism or comments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I worry about your angle on the strings after the bridge. One thing to always consider is you need at least 8-9 degrees of break angle on a string to get enough downforce to hold it in a nut/bridge/saddle. I think you will end up having to recess the string ferrules and a a path to the bridge. That thing is going to be really heavy. Coming from a known Destroyer builder I can tell you never build big guitars out of heavy wood.... Other than that looks well enough. Look forward to more progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 Having made two Iceman (Icemen?), I can assure you that you will regret using such a heavy wood in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I made a 59 Flying V out of all purple heart, neck included, it weighs in around 11 or 12 pounds. I don't play it standing up much though it does balance well, usually sit down on the couch with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I worry about your angle on the strings after the bridge. One thing to always consider is you need at least 8-9 degrees of break angle on a string to get enough downforce to hold it in a nut/bridge/saddle. I think you will end up having to recess the string ferrules and a a path to the bridge. That thing is going to be really heavy. Coming from a known Destroyer builder I can tell you never build big guitars out of heavy wood.... Other than that looks well enough. Look forward to more progress. Thanks for the input, I will have to go and check how much of a break angle I have for the strings after the bridge. It's alot easier to fix now than when the guitar is almost done. Yeah I have come to accept that fact that I built too heavy of a guitar.... There's not alot I can do about it at this point I guess, except learn from the mistake. Hopefully it will still turn out looking good though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I made a 59 Flying V out of all purple heart, neck included, it weighs in around 11 or 12 pounds. I don't play it standing up much though it does balance well, usually sit down on the couch with it. I think that will end up being how I play mine haha. By the way, since you made a guitar out of purpleheart, might I ask what kind of finish you used? And if the purpleheart looks good with it? I'm still contemplating finish choices right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 will be heavy. agreed. in the future, you can hollow out the wings before glue-up to save some weight. I shaved off 2 Lbs from my bass doing it that way. I've used Watco's Teak oil on purpleheart with nice results. not glossy, but still has a nice 'sheen' to it. It's easy to apply too. Nice looking build you have going. edit : pic added Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 will be heavy. agreed. in the future, you can hollow out the wings before glue-up to save some weight. I shaved off 2 Lbs from my bass doing it that way. I've used Watco's Teak oil on purpleheart with nice results. not glossy, but still has a nice 'sheen' to it. It's easy to apply too. Nice looking build you have going. That is one cool looking bass! So how long has it been since you finished that and applied the teak oil? I'm sure you are familiar with the big question of whether various finishes will cause purpleheart to turn brown or lose its color over time. Is your bass still holding the color well? Because right now I am considering using an oil finish or a water based lacquer finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyonsdream Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I made a 59 Flying V out of all purple heart, neck included, it weighs in around 11 or 12 pounds. I don't play it standing up much though it does balance well, usually sit down on the couch with it. I have a solid acrylic Telecaster that I built about 12 years ago. It's a standard 1.5 inches thick and comes in at 17 1/2 pounds. It hangs on the wall and never gets played... I'd like to build another one and make it a thinline semi-hollow. This would drastically reduce weight without sacrificing the look. I've also built a guitar out of solid purple heart. If you don't want it to turn brown, use a VU protectant in your finish. After a few hours exposed to light, it will start to loose its purple look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted January 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 I've also built a guitar out of solid purple heart. If you don't want it to turn brown, use a VU protectant in your finish. After a few hours exposed to light, it will start to loose its purple look. What kind of finish did you end up using on yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 (edited) Here's two pictures of mine. The color has not changed and these pictures are from a few years after the guitar was completed. Not that it gets any sunlight on it anyways. I used Martin Senour 2 pack Automotive Poly. The neck is finished in Minwax PAste finishing wax and has held up quite well without any recoats of the wax Edited January 14, 2012 by MzI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I found some time to upload all my photos to webshots and I just wanted to document my build so far, if anyone is interested. Being quite inexperienced in guitar building, not necessarily woodworking though, I decided to have my neck built for me and complete the guitar from that point. Here is what I started with: A through neck blank, a big slab of purpleheart wood, and some guitar plans. I soon made a template out of 1/4" MDF to use as a router guide. I drilled holes in the sides of each of the pieces to connect the pickup and control cavities before I joined them together. Here's an example of one: I put about 5 dowels in each side to make sure it would be strong. It may have been overkill but I thought it was a good idea: Gluing it together: Rough cutting on a bandsaw: Safe-T Planing the back side to get it to desired thickness: Starting the router bit with template: Top part done: Sanding the back: Roughing out the pickup cavities: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Roughing out the back cavities: Routed pickup and bridge cavity Electronics and controls mockup: Bridge mock up: String thru holes drilled: Retainer ferrules ready to go in: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Back cavity covers made: Headstock router template: Headstock finished, tuner holes drilled and fitted: Test fit of tuners: And finally, the step that I am at right now: Getting the string through holes recessed a little into the body because my break angle of the strings is borderline at around 7-8 degrees from the bridge. It is very rough right now, and I'm still trying to clean it up and make it look nice! That's all for now, hope you enjoy the pics. I'm a big fan of this forum and have been lurking a long while before I tried to build my own guitar and post on here. I hope to stay involved with the forum throughout my build and hopefully future builds. Thanks for looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Here are a few more pictures from my progress this weekend: The guitar after hours of sanding: The recessed bridge and string-thru locations after sanding: A view in the shadows after sanding: Holding the guitar: I think it is just about ready for the finish next weekend. I am going to apply ktm-9 water based lacquer after a few more finer grit sandings. After I let it dry and harden for a few weeks I think I will be ready to assemble things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted January 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 I am just about to apply the water based lacquer finish this weekend, but I have a question somebody may be able to help out with. Should I apply the ktm-9 to the whole guitar including the neck? Does anyone have experience with the feel of a water based lacquer finish on the neck? The main concern I have is that the neck will feel too sticky and be too shiny, but I don't have a lot of experience with finishing, so I may be wrong. What would be the best choice to finish this thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 I don't know about the water based lacquer, but I expect it will be a little grabby. I have sanded nitro off of a couple necks after they were determined to be too sticky and it's no big deal to do. So you can always spray it and try it that way and sand it back to a matte finish, or take it back down to the wood and oil it later if you don't like the feel of the finished neck. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 I am just about to apply the water based lacquer finish this weekend, but I have a question somebody may be able to help out with. Should I apply the ktm-9 to the whole guitar including the neck? Does anyone have experience with the feel of a water based lacquer finish on the neck? The main concern I have is that the neck will feel too sticky and be too shiny, but I don't have a lot of experience with finishing, so I may be wrong. What would be the best choice to finish this thing? The Hand of Doom, Diablo, and several others were water based lacquer. Also the reason I do not use it anymore. Dig through the Diablo or Hand of Doom threads to see how it went with my first go around with water based lacquer. The main things to worry about with water base lacquer is moisture. Any moisture at all in the compressor line and it will cloud up. I would not spray on hazy or humid days. Put it on in several thin coats leaving plenty of time between coats. Once cured water based lacquer feels hard. I would say it feels a little harder than a good nitro. It remains crystal clear forever as far as I know... never yellows. It is easy to polish to a deep glass like finish. Personally I hate finish on my necks. I oil the necks on my guitars even the ones that have lacquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 I put on 6 coats of the finish in two days this weekend, waiting about 2 hours between coats. I left the neck bare wood and will apply watco teak oil next weekend probably. Here are a few pictures of the finish on the guitar after several coats of ktm-9: It looks really good in the light but a little dark otherwise. I still have a little work to do before it's all finished but I made some good progress this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted February 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Well after about 20 hours of work between Friday and today, I managed to finish my guitar. Here are a few pics: And here's a short video of me making some noise with it: http://youtu.be/thrSxGhU7r0 I was quite surprised to have the electronics work perfectly the first time I played it. This was the first guitar wiring job I have ever done, but I just followed the wiring diagram and added the necessary ground connections. The guitar is not perfect, and maybe a tad too heavy, but I like it for my first one. Thanks for the help along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin squire Posted February 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 The recessed bridge is interesting. The guitar itself is finishing up nicely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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