westhemann Posted September 15, 2012 Report Share Posted September 15, 2012 This guitar is going to be similar to a Charvel San Dimas Model 1 Basically,picture this guitar with a recessed Floyd and a sculpted set neck Obviously that one is Koa,but I am going with mahogany The neck is birdseye maple and Spanish Cedar I am going to do some things differently on this build.i am planning on using a different style of set neck,nickel frets,and I am going back to using Floyds as the import Kahler bridges are inferior in every way to the USA ones(regardless of what we were told by the salesman).I recently came into possession of two USA Kahlers and everything about them was different from the imports,including the string locks for the ball ends and the screws on the saddles.Almost all of my import Kahlers have developed sympathetic vibrations that the real ones don't,and the USA models work more smoothly....They even look better under even the most cursory inspection. But since it's almost impossible to buy the real ones,I give up...Floyds are easy to buy and they work very well indeed... The main object of this build is to see if I can build it in under a week starting tomorrow morning.There will be no skipping steps or anything like that.The idea is a basic,high quality workhorse..NOT a beater... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 I hope you guys didn't think I was going to center my body up on the blank like a doofus... This one is going to be the full 1 3/4" thick.for one thing it needs to be for the Floyd,for another I am starting to think that body thickness has little to do with comfort after building a few super thins and having them be no more comfortable than my others..in some cases less comfortable.Most important thing seems to be the belly cut and the forearm contour,as well as just plain balance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 I think I am going to change the neck joint around....I still don't like end grain to end grain even if it is how Gibson does it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 What do you think about the spanish cedar? I just got like ten neck blanks and a five body blanks home made from spanish cedar and even though I haven't had the chanse to try it yet, it looks very promising. Fanstastic tap tone in the pieces I have here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 I used it in another couple of guitars and it has been quite tough to keep scratches out of,but it smells nice and is very light...jury is still out for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted September 16, 2012 Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 Should be a killer. Good to know on the Kahler. I don't use tremolos much but have liked the Kahlers I have tried better than the Floyds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 Today I got started. The sled for the truss rod rout access rout fretboard curing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 On to the body Everything lined out.I swapped the neck pocket design for this because I really don't like sculpted heels as much as I used to,so I am making the pocket 1 1/4" deep and just shaping the heel a bit at the body,and I will make the neck mirror it,but not blend in to it. template clamped on.Clamps are at the near end out of the picture I get it as deep as i can with the template,then remove it And finish up without the template,then repeat the process for the pickup rout As you can see by the water drops,it started to rain,so now I am inside and I need to wash the sawdust off and take a breather before I tackle the floyd rout... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 Because of the rain I have to change my work station...uggh Cut out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 This type of mahogany("genuine") tastes and smell foul....just FYI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 Clamps off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2012 Laying out the rout for a Floyd is soooooo not easy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supplebanana Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Queue Jack Black - "This guitar didn't sound anything like that guitar - coz this is just a Tribute!"... going well so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Plenty of time to screw it up,don't worry about that Nobody around here ever gives credit where credit is due,so allow me to express my deepest affection for the drive behind my building and the only reason I get up in the morning This is my second cup...i should be mobile in a few minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hey dude, that looks pretty badass! I love the classic super strat, 80's power rock guitars. You staining the mahog or goin au'natural? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Going to put an amber wash coat on before I clear it so that the color of the body will match the spanish cedar in the neck more closely.Thanks for the support So I fit the neck joint Ignore the tracing on the body.i was thinking about extending the fretboard in that pattern,but I didn't like the look..I am putting an extension there but it will be square,not funky shaped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Neck taper and profile shaped to dimension. Since the spanish cedar is where the truss rout is and it is pretty soft IMO,and since that is the part of the neck under the most stress,I figured this would be a good time to flood it with thin CA to hopefully penetrate and help make it stronger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 I keep gluing my hands to the neck...how droll... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 So I use my spindle sander to get the ends And use my bench sander to connect the dots Then it is time for the rasp After rasp and sandpaper to 100 grit I get this 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 One tuner hole slightly out of wack.I'll fix that in a bit Next I need to thin the fretboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Fretboard thinned and sanded to 100 grit Now I have to shower and eat before I die Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted September 17, 2012 Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 I really like that fretboard. Not sure about the Spanish cedar though... sounds kinda soft and light. Thanks for the past few very detailed threads. Now that I have a CNC someone needs to post the old school hand builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Yeah,I don't know..Spanish Cedar is well documented as a neck material,but it does seem to go against everything I know about neck woods. I left a bit more behind the truss rod than usual because of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2012 Glad this is done with no horrible accidents I think that's it for today...I am tired Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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