bob123 Posted July 25, 2012 Report Share Posted July 25, 2012 First build ... sucked. Lots of oversights, lots of little things wrong, and a few big things I just absolutely screwed up... Live and learn! Anyway, Instead of a "neck through self design", I am simply copying one of my favorite guitars in my arsenal. Plans -> Neck (already working on neck) -> Maple fretboard, ebonized black. Maple /wenge/ Maple laminate neck. Found a very nice peice of quarter sawn maple, so I cut it in half, and laminted it with a 1/4" stock of wenge. Medium stainless frets I have it cut out for 24 frets, but I'll be sleeping on that before I glue stuff up tomorrow Debating on inlay stuff.... Body -> Im waiting on the body for the neck to come out well. I was thinking swamp ash or mahogany/maple cap. Body mounted floyd of course, Air Classic Bridge, Air norton Neck if swamp ash, and EVO 2 bridge, EVO 1 neck if mahogany. Not much to show for the moment, Ill take better pics when I get the neck sorted tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supplebanana Posted July 25, 2012 Report Share Posted July 25, 2012 interested in how this comes out - i have a neck & genuine pickups waiting for one of these & just need the time to actually start it! good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted July 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2012 interested in how this comes out - i have a neck & genuine pickups waiting for one of these & just need the time to actually start it! good luck! you and me both brother where the hell did you get pups and neck from?!?! Thats almost blasphemous! haha I found a nice drop top, 3A flame maple, so Ill probably be going the mahogany route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted July 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 was thinking about inlays, and I was thinking off set squares would kick ass. But here are some options (I can do red or blue as well, these are just ones my wife has laying around lol) Thoughts appreciated. Guitar will most likely be red. Opinions welcome and appreciated. purple : Pearl : Pearl hollow dots : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supplebanana Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 the pickups came from a guy on evilbay in the states - he'd bought a joblot of them (OEM). I payed about £30 ukfg each for them. but if you want to buy them dimarzio or MM won't sell you them (Mr. VH is very **** that way) however after speaking with a guy that works for DM he told me with a wink what else would to the trick if I couldn't lay my hands on any more. Try DM DP155F's in zebra & you'll be buying "exactly" the same thing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 lol the tone zone has, and probably always will be, my favorite pickup. Thats a legitimately cool story, bro BUT I want this one to sound different Evo 2 should be killer imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 I tried little crosses as markers once - it was an experiment when I was repainting some crappy fingerboard that was painted black - I masked out the white dots to get crosses: Though doing it the proper way as an inlay would probably be a pain. Just something to consider.. Otherwise, the squares look pretty cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Yeah I know squares are very difficult. Im hoping that I can get it close and the black epoxy + black fretboard will hide any mistakes I WILL make lol. Anyway, its beginning to look like a neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted July 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 (edited) Got a lot of work done yesterday/today. Im pretty excited with how this coming along, the neck scarf came out better then I expected it to, and the grain is much better then I was expecting it to be. Its no PRS 5A flame neck of course, but I am pretty pleased I managed to find a good board. I will be staining the neck a deep rich red/brown mix so Im excited at how deep the black sunk into the grain. edit: sorry, couldnt resist most will be sanded off of course... Edited July 29, 2012 by bob123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted July 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2012 since the neck's coming out well enough, it's time for body work... what do you guys think? its 3/4" thick koa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted July 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 (edited) Well got it rough cut out. Im gonna route the bottom wood to match, then drum sand it down to final shape. Im too chicken @#%$ to do the inlays on the neck, so I will let sleeping dogs lie for now. But I got most of the neck finished, some fine tuning on the headstock, and doing the heel, and I will be able to fret and finish this weekend. Edited July 30, 2012 by bob123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted August 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 My oh My how I wish I had a bandsaw righ tnow -.- anyway, glue joints came out pretty solid for me. Not 10000% perfect, but No super obvious gaps, anyway. The body glue line is visible, but im hoping it will sand back well enough. In any case, this is getting REALLY exciting for me I hope the guitar continues to be built smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted August 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2012 Neck is finished, shaping wise. (obviously pictures were taken BEFORE I finished lol) It perfectly fits into the axis body, which means I did SOMETHING right Oh yeah, neck holds into joint wihtout bolts Anywho, got body rough cut to shape, and working on contouring sides. It will test my patience, so I will only be doing small bits at a time. Ive come this far, Im not about to screw it up now Still pleased with this neck joint so far. No surprises anywhere I can see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 The Koa top looks great, is that a chip you need to fix in it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted August 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 The Koa top looks great, is that a chip you need to fix in it? thanks man, and yes ISH. The body is cut out oversized. Koa is probably the hardest wood I've ever worked on so it chipped when I cut it. Im pretty sure my final dimensions will make that disappear, once I get that way. If it's still there, I will inlay a peice to match and cram in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted August 4, 2012 Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 That's another advantage of highly contrasting wood, easy to repair without it showing, everything's looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted August 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Wife has my damn camera -.- I am stuck using my phone to take pictures, and its not sending them for some reason... I managed to get ONE picture through, but since this picture I refined the body shape more, did the neck route, finished the back (3/4" round over around the edges), stained, and am currently oiling the back (want the back done before I finish the front). This whole project is just coming out great, Im pretty much in love with how its going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted August 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 Oiling before routing. Silly? Sure, but it wont matter either way. Rather my bare woods not be exposed to dirt, dust, etc. The back came out quite lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted August 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2012 comin along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted August 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2012 Frets installed, drilling out to finish routing. Not too much work left to do here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted August 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2012 **** routing job, but Ill survive. using flush mount pup rings anyway, so its all good. Neck still has a lot of work left to do, so dont mind the beat up looks ;p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted August 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2012 Oh how I love oil finishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted August 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 (edited) Gettin that fretwork done.... I take my sweet time with this part, so it'll be another few days before I get all of them done.... critiques welcome. Edited August 26, 2012 by bob123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygtr Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Nice semi hemi work! You do this after you install the wire? I would love to hear about your technique. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Looking great, fret ends nicely rounded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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