onealguitars Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Hello everybody! I'm new to projectguitar.com and to guitar building. However, this is something I have studied and researched for several years, and with quite a bit of woodworking experience, I decided that it's time to build my first...AND second guitar, simultaneously. Outrageous! you say... Well, aim high, right? Plus, everything I've read has been "your first guitar is a learning experience for your second guitar." So I am eliminating the amount of time in between...that's all. Ok...to get started. I started with an existing guitar shape, and modified it quite a bit to suit my eye a little more, and a unique headstock design...that was the hardest part of imagining the instrument...a classy, unique, and organic headstock design. After having come up with the basic idea of what I wanted to see, it was time to trace my drawing onto tracing paper. Now that's done, I cut that out, and trace the cut-out onto my template material. And............let's cut them out. The body was a little jagged, and the curves were rather bumpy (it's been a while since I used a bandsaw), so I gave it the bondo treatment so that I could fine tune each curve. Fortunately, my headstock template was a much better cut, and it only required a little sanding to get it where I wanted. NOW........what am I going to do? Bolt on? Set neck? Neck-thru? Neck-thru construction wins. Why? More sustain, and damnit, it looks cooler. Now that I've determined it's going to be neck-thru...time to buy some wood and start gluing. Here's what I'm working with: Neck: 5-pc Bubinga/Avodire/Wenge Body: Paduk Top: Flamed Curly Maple Let's check out the wood! Here's the bubinga, avodire, and wenge for the necks. And here's half of my slab of paduk being cut into manageable lengths for body wings. And last but not least, my maple tops after being bookmatched and glued and clamped. I bought my maple as a slab via eBay (so that I could be more selective than just what's in stock locally)...and one set came out VERY figured...another was kinda "eh"...but I digress... Now that I have my wood cut down to size and my maple bookmatched...time to start thinking about the necks. So, I do a mock-up with the bubinga, avodire, and wenge. And time to glue them....and yes, I used way too much glue. The avodire was just soaking it up, so I kept applying. Oh well, no worries about delaminating! Again, it was way too much glue...i know. I learned as I saw much of my hard work dripping onto the table, making a mess. Time to wipe off some of the glue and tease myself with how it looks. So yeah, that's pretty much where I am now. I started the build Saturday Nov. 10, working on templates. Then on Monday Nov. 12 I bought my woods, except the maple I had already acquired, and had it milled to size and the maple bookmatched (because the machines in the shop I'm using won't accomodate certain larger sizes of wood). I also fixed a line in the master body template that was bugging me a little bit. Then today, Tuesday Nov. 13 I glued up my neck woods and clamped it up trying to make sure every seam was nice and tight between every piece of wood. Quite a bit of progress was made in the first couple of days, but I'm about to the point where I know the progress is going to slow drastically. However, I'm meticulous, and I'll take however long it takes to ensure everything is right. I will have tons of questions, I'm sure, as I get into it a little deeper, and that's why I'm here! I appreciate any and all input. And don't forget, I'm doing 2 at once...so hopefully I can have an extra to pass around and let everyone play! Thanks for reading! Chase O'Neal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdshirtman Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 You have a nice selection of materials there and it looks like you're off to a good start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onealguitars Posted November 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Thanks SD. Fortunately, we have a great local hardwoods shop where I got everything but the maple. There's some beautiful figure in the bubinga i can't wait to see when it's finished....but that's a long ways from now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob123 Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Those harbor freight aluminum bar clamps are the bee's knees! I've been meaning to pick up more! Much more useful and easier to use then pipe clamps imo. You look like you have the tools. Now just work on the art form. p.s. one key problem I note.... you want a neckthrough you claim... yet your blanks (both top and bottom) are already glued up.... you get to chop em up again if you dont change your mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madhattr88 Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Looks great so far. Remember, just take your time. Never Ever rush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 nice build! I'm also doing my first build in parallel.. in fact I'm doing three guitars - but only one got its build thread. I guess that's cheating My neck laminate is similar to yours - wenge - (flame) maple - bubinga 5pc. Good luck with neck-thru! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onealguitars Posted November 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Those harbor freight aluminum bar clamps are the bee's knees! I've been meaning to pick up more! Much more useful and easier to use then pipe clamps imo. You look like you have the tools. Now just work on the art form. p.s. one key problem I note.... you want a neckthrough you claim... yet your blanks (both top and bottom) are already glued up.... you get to chop em up again if you dont change your mind The blanks are about 3.5" wide and about 6.25" tall...so I should be able to get 3 necks out of one blank. And yes, there will be chopping to do, but at least this way, I have plenty of room to work down from. Thanks for all the kind input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onealguitars Posted November 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 nice build! I'm also doing my first build in parallel.. in fact I'm doing three guitars - but only one got its build thread. I guess that's cheating My neck laminate is similar to yours - wenge - (flame) maple - bubinga 5pc. Good luck with neck-thru! That's awesome. I had thought about doing maple...that was my original intention, but when I saw the avidore in person after being jointed on one side, and the shimmer it has, I opted for it. Also because I've never seen it used before. I'm sure plenty of folks have used it, but it's new to me, so I figured I would give it a shot. If it turns out good, I have enough material to do another neck blank...so if anyone wants a neck like that, let me know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onealguitars Posted November 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2012 I also wanted to give a little update: I have decided that instead of building 2 identical guitars in construction, one will be a solid body, one will be a semi-hollow. Now, I just have to figure out what I want to do for the "f-hole"...something a little more artistic and modern. Saw another thread on projectguitar where a guy was doing a butterfly themed tele which was awesome. Maybe a theme would be cool...any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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