willliam_q Posted November 14, 2013 Report Share Posted November 14, 2013 I have posted a couple of guitar builds in the past. the first one was dire, I freehand routed everything and made a hash of it. It was just about playable. The second one I posted I made my own templates, got most of the shaping work done, neck built etc but I got a throat infection and forgot about it. When I went back to work on it again I found the cheap mahogany body blank I had shaped to my own design had split right down the middle! It was a one piece body blank and I think the difference in temp / humidity caused the split. Obviously there must have been a weakness in it somewhere. All of those threads have now been lost in the forum crash so I've decided to start up a new thread for a new project! I've always liked the look of the Jackson Dinky and I love 80's hair metal bands. Being a bolt on I thought a nice easy project to ease me back in to this guitar building malarky! This is being done on the cheap being built from guitar spares I’ve had lying around. The only thing I’ve bought is the wood. Intended guitar specs (although may change over the course of the build): Alder Body Maple Neck Ebony Fretboard 24 frets HSS pickup configuration Tune-o-matic bridge Reverse headstock My intended finished product should look something like this (I know this is a Jackson Soloist but it’s the closest I could find on Kisekae): I started taking pictures late-ish into the build so here's what I have: Neck pocket routed at an angle Neck fitting after body routed Tuner Holes drilled (the only way is with a drill press!). Notice the "knot" on the high 'E' tuner hole. that's one of the mistakes I made. I screwed the template down thinking that it was well outside the routing line. By my calculations it was but by the time I did some planeing (spelling police!) I had removed so much wood that I had to use wings either side but when the neck was shaped and the wings glued on the screw hole was inside the neck profile. I'm still learning how to plane properly, I think I am well on the way though. I found out the usefulness of shooting boards when planing narrow stock such as this. Anyway it's not so bad, I filled it with scrap splinters of maple and glue. It's leveled ok and won't be seen with the washers for the tuners. Nut slot cut, I used chisels for this. To do this I cut down either side of where the nut should be with a fret saw and chiseled it out. First time using chisels and the job was so handy. I'm very pleased with this attempt. I welcome any criticisms but would prefer if they were accompanied with advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 14, 2013 Report Share Posted November 14, 2013 So far it looks like you've got this build under control nicely. The pic of your headstock does make me a bit curious. The grain seems to change direction across the face of it. Other than the ear how many pieces is made from? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted November 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2013 The headstock is spliced at the head not the neck, and then the wings are glued on so it's made up of three pieces. It will be painted black so I'm not that bothered about it. It's invisible at the back as the headstock is spliced as it joins the neck so there is no unsightly glue line at the back of the neck. I'm not sure I have this under control at all. I'm just in from the garage. I've drilled the inlay holes but try as hard as I could they didn't work out straight! There's one in particular is very noticeable . The bit I was using didn't have a centre point as such so it was hard to line it up accurately. It didn't help that where my drill press is, it is in poor light. Anyway nothing I can do about it now will just have to work on at it. I was planning to glue the dots in tonight but only just realised my superglue had dried up as it was so old! Will have to wait for another day. I lost a couple of the MOP dots I had, they rolled onto the floor and were almost invisible against the concrete and wood dust (they're only 4mm). Try as I might I couldn't find one of them. Hence the reason I haven't yet drilled the double dots for the octave markers. On a positive note I did get the transition done from the headstock to the fretboard. I'm quite pleased with how it's turn out . I've yet to finish radiusing the fretboard so it will come into line when that is done. I've left a little bump so that I can put a truss rod cover up against it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 Like ScottR says - very much under control other than the occasional thing like your drill bit issue. Worst comes to the worst, dowel them up and re-drill. This guitar should make you very happy when it's complete! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted November 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 Thanks for the support so far! I wish I felt like I was in control Tonight I glued the inlay dots and finished radius sanding the fret board. I think I went overkill polishing to 2000 grit but I enjoyed it and that's the main thing! The fretboard is so smooth now I just wanna string it up and play it! See if you can spot which inlay dots are off line. There are at least two but they aren't 'that' noticeable, hopefully once the frets are in it shouldn't be too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 Don't sweat the fret marker alignment thing, you'll always see it but hardly anyone else will. Do get a brad point bit for the next one though. Get one for every size hole you need on a build. Bit wander will drive you crazy otherwise. I always polish my fretboards all the way through the micromesh ranges (12000) too. They hardly ever look as good by the time the build is completed, but it greatly pleases me to see that brilliant shiny surface for as long as it lasts. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 16, 2013 Report Share Posted November 16, 2013 Totally. I couldn't emphasise the use of brad point (also called lip-and-spur) bits more. If you're at that point where the bug has bitten and you've got your next thirty builds planned out in your head, don't scrimp at this stage. Buy well from the outset; I'm quite the advocate of Colt Twinland bits because they results are a bit like the polishing the board up to ridiculous o'clock like ScottR mentioned. Clean entry and exit wounds with no burning in between....nice.... Suggested shopping list: awl or some other pen-sized metal tool to mark drilling start points 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm brad bits 14mm and 16mm brad bits (optional but probably won't be used as much on guitars than on basses) Are you hand-drilling? It's a good idea to mark the front and the back accurately and drill though halfway each side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted November 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 Thanks. I have a drill press but the fretboard was slightly pre radiused so I think that may have caused it to wander. I do have brad point drill bits but the 4mm one for fret markers made the holes too small and the 5mm one was way too big. That's why the tuner holes came out perfectly aligned and the fret markers didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 Ah, I see :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted November 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 I only got working on this Tuesday and Today as on Monday I discovered my car had two cracked alloys at the rear! It's a common fault but the car is 6 years old so no manufacturer will replace them. They are currently getting welded as I don't fancy dropping £700 a wheel on new alloys! So on Tuesday evening I started carving the neck using a spokeshave and sandpaper. I ordered a round surform online but it didn't arrive on time so I used 120 grit aluminium oxide paper wrapped around a half round file for the curvy bits. Shaping a neck with 120 grit paper takes a fair bit of time.....about 6 hours total went into this. That was just shaping the back neck profile and shape sanding the volute and final shaping the headstock. I'm very pleased with how this turned out, it'll be a fairly fat neck which I prefer. I have an Ibanez with a wizard 2 neck and it is too thin, no support for chords etc. Anyway pics below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 Wow... 6 hours for a neck. That is pretty ridiculous. You should have just used the spokeshave more and just fine tuned with sandpaper. If it took me 6 hours per neck, i would have stopped building a long time ago, haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 Eh.I use a rasp.I shape a neck in about 1/2 an hour.My first took a lot longer though.You get faster as you do more. It's not about time,it's about results,and the results look good so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 120 is too fine for "shaping". I use a course handmade rasp, they're much much faster than a off the shelf cheapo rasp. Then I attack with a random orbital and 40 grit. It takes me about ten minutes to rough carve a neck then the rest of the time is spent on getting it right, the two ends blended in and getting it straight. It takes longer to carve the heel on my neckthru's than it does the neck itself I rarely use a spoke shave these days, I usually just use a flap disc on an angle grinder which knocks in a quick profile in about thirty seconds then go to the rasp. There's video of me carving a neck on YouTube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted November 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 Yea I know 6 hours is a bit on the long side, but I enjoyed seeing it come together. I think an angle grinder is a bit extreme considering this was my first real proper neck. I had a wood rasp but it's cheap and nasty. It left the wood way too rough. It was also very hard to control as it kept jumping off the sharp edges of the as yet unshaped neck. I could have done more work with the spokeshave. The mistake I made was cutting length ways with it first instead of carving out the neck profile at the headstock and the heel first. Had I done that I would have been able to just join it up from end to end. Instead the spokeshave bottoms out at each end so I wasn't getting a profile to my satisfaction. I was too impatient to wait for the rasp to arrive in the post as I had set myself a target as to what I was going to get done that day. The important thing is that I am still enjoying the process and am learning a lot! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 23, 2013 Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 The important thing is that I am still enjoying the process and am learning a lot! :-) That is indeed the important thing. I enjoy taking my sweet time and savouring the build as well. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted November 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 Frets in - Tuners On! I installed the frets on Monday night, they are now levelled and awaiting crowning. I also took the liberty of smoothing over the fretboard edge for the played in feel and it's worked out pretty good. The tuners are installed, I used a metal straight rule to align them and screwed them down, I'm very impressed with how straight they've come out. So far in this build I've made a few minor mistakes most of which I've been able to correct without been seen, I'm very happy with progress and how it's turning out. That's me finished with the neck for a while. On to the body for the remainder of the week. I'm hoping this bad boy will be ready in time to give as a Christmas pressie to me! My girlfriend is buying me the pickups for Christmas to I need to start my research. I'm definitely going for HSS configuration and will be looking passive pickups. I already have Zakk Wylde set of EMGs in a PRS SE and the sound is ok but I prefer my passive single coils on my Strat at the moment. Any ideas for a pickup set for an 80's hair metal style guitar? Would like to get a full set for around £150. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Marino Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 (edited) For 80's hair metal you can't go wrong with Dimarzio Super Distortion, Evo's, or PAF Pro's... My favorite combos are Evo's neck and bridge, and FRED bridge, PAF Pro neck.... Hair metal all the way, the bridge Evo really screams in Alder, it's not ice picky like it can be in basswood... Good job on the build so far.. looks to be coming along really nicely Edited November 27, 2013 by Sancho Marino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 A million different combos can get you there.I like the Tone Zone.... Duncan has the JB/59 combo which works well. GFS has some really inexpensive pups...the crunchy pat is perfect for that sort of thing http://www.guitarfetish.com/Crunchy-PAT-High-Output-Humbucker-Black_c_139.html Almost anything can do glam metal with the right amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 27, 2013 Report Share Posted November 27, 2013 DiMarzio Super Distortion? <edit: this was not meant to sound like a question for Sancho Marino - it was actually a suggestion :-)> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted November 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 Thanks for the suggestions. Had a look last night on dimarzio website. Am thinking dimarzio fast track in neck position, cruiser in middle and tone zone in bridge. I Really like the sound from the tone zone when I listened to the clips and YouTube. I only really get the chance to work 3 nights a week on this, weekends are out even though I'd love to spend more time on it. Am now tucked up with a hot whiskey trying to shake off a cold. I am officially the worlds worst patient! I Was gonna go out and do some work on the guitar but I am too tired and ws afraid of making any big mistakes. I'll hope to get at it again tomorrow night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 28, 2013 Report Share Posted November 28, 2013 The tone zone is great,but the amp is more important than the pups. Some "hair metal" to get you inspired Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 29, 2013 Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 I would disagree with that on several levels. Whilst an amp has a definite signature, so does a pickup. "Strong flavours" further up the chain still affect the overall result. You can dial some of a pickup's characteristics out but it is a magnitude of difficulty dialling them in if they weren't really there in the first place. Same applies for any affect the wood has on the guitar, etc. You can poke a man's eyes out but you're not going to make him Ray Charles now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 29, 2013 Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 (edited) You can poke a man's eyes out but you're not going to make him Ray Charles now. Is that one of those "anecdotal evidence" things you hate so much? Regardless,it's true.Amps have a much wider scope of sounds than a pickup.I remember a guy telling me that when I was a teenager and I argued with him a long while about it,but it's only now that I am the age he was at the time that I agree.A pickup is important,but if you are playing through my Engl it is going to sound really good no matter what decent humbucker of moderate output that you use.The type of pup provides a bit of tweaking,but no more than that.The difference between a Tone Zone and a JB is very slight.... And whatever extra bit of treble and mids the Tone Zone provides can be tweaked right out with a good 15 band EQ.I have experimented too much with pickups on my amp to think otherwise. It is all important.But don't expect to get glam metal from a Gorilla amp.It isn't going to happen...but if you have a good tube amp set for glam metal,then it is going to sound like that no matter what superstrat you plug in.If you don't believe it,take another listen to that video I posted.Those are EMG...but through his system you would never know it. Edited November 29, 2013 by westhemann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted November 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2013 To be honest I probably need to invest in an amp more suitable for my needs. I play through a 100w laney supergroup all tube amp in a home made 4x12 cab. It's a bit overkill for a bedroom guitarist methinks! I'm rarely getting the volume past 1 so I'm not even pushing the speakers or the amp. I'm using distortion effects to make the 80s sound that I want. So I've just admitted that pickups don't really matter too much. Having said that when I connect my emg powered guitar and compare it against my rio grande equipped strat the sound is miles apart on the same amp settings. I've actually come to prefer my strat with bridge single coil for the 80s sound for some reason. I get a killer Metallica tone for enter sandman from it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willliam_q Posted December 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2013 Ok so I finally got over my head cold and did a little bit of work this evening. I've started work on the body at last! I drilled the post holes for the bridge which came out great! No so happy with the string ferrule holes. The bit I was using had a twist in it which I didn't find out until I'd drilled my 2nd ferrule hole, this meant the hole was slightly off centre . See pics! That's what I get for using cheap drill bits. I'll have to learn to follow advice more often - see Prostheta's advice earlier in this thread! I drilled the holes in the body for the neck screws. I then used clamps to attach the neck and ran two strings to line up the neck with the bridge. I've now got the neck bolted on straight! This is the first time I've built a guitar and remembered to do this so things are looking up! Next up will be to route the pickup cavities, drill for neck bolt ferrules and do a small amount of carving - I'll start that tomorrow evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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