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Justin's guitar


ScottR

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This was another of those weekends where there was a lot of work, but not a lot of change to show for it.

First thing was to take it out of the clamps, and clean up the edges.....mostly.

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Once it was cleaned up I located the bridge and used the string holes as a guide to drill them in the body. I pushed the bit way up into the chuck of the drill press to minimize bit wander.

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I used a 1/8th" bit which just fit the bridge. Then using RAD's method of aligning the holes through the back, I drilled a 1/8th" hole in my backing board and loaded a 1/8th" pin to be a guide. I'm not going to move my backing board with the pin, so I know the pin is centered to the drill bit.

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SR

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Remember me saying I broke my dremel router bit that I was using for the 12th fret inlay? It was 1/8th" and had a nice cone so I saved it to use as my pin guide for this part.

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So I take these string holes which are lined up nicely since I used the bridge as a guide.......

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And flipped the guitar over and place each string hole over the pin. Using the same bit, I finish the holes from the back getting the exact same spacing from the pin guide.

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And using the same pin, I go back with a larger bit and countersink for the ferrules.

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Lined up like a charm.

SR

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A fair amount of my progress this weekend involved making templates. So far, I find that every guitar I build is different from any that have gone before, so I end up needing new templates.

So how do those of you that are not running CNCs making your templates? Starting with MDF seems to be a given. I trace out the part that the template is for and pick the proper sized forstner bits for the corners, and go on to larger ones to hog out the interior. Then I use a straight edge to line up the edges of the perimeter and clamp steel straight edges to both sides of the MDF.

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Using those as a guide I take a utility knife and score along the guide edges and then cut the points off and use a utility knife blade with a curl bunished into it as a scraper. I scrape it flush with the steel straight edge guides I clamped to both sides and end up with a nice square edged template.

Which got us to the point where the pick-up cavities are located and routed.

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Now it is time to go to my mock up of glued up pine. I traced the lower bout of the LP and band sawed it close. Then I determined how deep my carve edges were going to be and routed a 1/8th" roundover to that depth (3/8"). I marked off the bridge location and the control plate location........and made another template for the control cavity route.....and routed it into the pine body. next weekend we carve that and see about how we might use the control plate.

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SR

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Looking great! That guitar is looking insanely thick.

I used to make my templates by cutting the inside out with a scroll saw, then using a rasp to make them flat and square.

Recently i found a new way that seems more accurate. I run some pieces of 1/4" MDF on the jointer then cut them up into the lengths i need and use them to make a template for my template.

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Can't wait to see that carve...

Recently i found a new way that seems more accurate. I run some pieces of 1/4" MDF on the jointer then cut them up into the lengths i need and use them to make a template for my template.


That's the system I use:

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As usual, looking good Scott.

Most of my smaller templates are constructed using a bunch of intersecting straight lines or curves made by taking advantage of the inherent diameter of the router bit or something larger like a holesaw. It makes it easy to build up a complex pattern like psikoT has, and create a master template from it with the router fitted with an inverted pattern bit. Standardising some of the more common templates in your builds helps too (eg humbucker cavities, single coil cavities, control cavities). The less one-off templates you have to make up the quicker you can get the job done.

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Looking great! That guitar is looking insanely thick.

I used to make my templates by cutting the inside out with a scroll saw, then using a rasp to make them flat and square.

Recently i found a new way that seems more accurate. I run some pieces of 1/4" MDF on the jointer then cut them up into the lengths i need and use them to make a template for my template.

Thanks Luis.

All my guitars seem to start out really thick. I like to have plenty to start with when I begin to carve.

As usual, looking good Scott.

Most of my smaller templates are constructed using a bunch of intersecting straight lines or curves made by taking advantage of the inherent diameter of the router bit or something larger like a holesaw. It makes it easy to build up a complex pattern like psikoT has, and create a master template from it with the router fitted with an inverted pattern bit. Standardising some of the more common templates in your builds helps too (eg humbucker cavities, single coil cavities, control cavities). The less one-off templates you have to make up the quicker you can get the job done.

Thanks Curtis.

It looks like we have a consensus on the best way to make templates. I considered that and wondered if the small pieces of double sided tape would be enough to hold the smaller pieces in place. I've got one more to make for this, I think. I'll give it a shot.

I have been able to standardize a few of my templates.....but I keep trying new stuff. I will say I've gotten a pretty good selection in place for future builds. :)

SR

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I considered that and wondered if the small pieces of double sided tape would be enough to hold the smaller pieces in place.

There are some double side tapes which are almost impossible to unstick with hands, but anyway, the MDF is very easy to cut with the router, the lateral force needed is minimal.

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Always look forward to these weekend updates man! Looking great and thanks for the explanations for us noobs :D

I don't really understand how the pin is used to line up the string through holes. Do you have a link to RAD's method?

No, it was just something he detailed in one of his threads......probably that 90 page behemoth he ran last year.

I'll try to explain it a little better. It is not too difficult to get the string holes lined up and spaced properly on the top if you use the bridge as a guide and use a bit as close to the same size as the holes in the bridge as you dare. But unless you are current in your sacrifices to the gods of wood working, and the planets are all properly aligned, AND a butterfly didn't fart in Mongolia, the odds are good that holes that appear on the back are not going to be as straight or as evenly spaced if you drill straight through. Narrow drill bits wander and bend a little as they react to the density of the wood they are passing through.

If you shorten them up by running them further into the chuck, or just using a short bit in the first place, the working portion will be stiffer and less able to flex and wander. Of course , that also prevents it from going all the way through the body. So you need to finish the hole by flipping the body over and drilling from the back, which--happily also allows you to take control of the spacing and alignment of the holes and ferrules. Nothing looks sloppy like crooked string holes.

But when you flip the body over, how the hell do you know where to drill the holes that are expected to match up in the interior of the body when you cannot even see them, you ask. Using the same bit you used to drill your holes you drill a hole in a backing board on your drill press. If you don't move it, this hole is perfectly aligned with the path of the drill bit. With no load on it, the bit will go into that hole every time you raise and lower it. Put a pin of the same diameter into that hole, the shaft off a broken bit of the same size for instance, and that pin is now lined up perfectly with the path of the drill bit. It also happens to be a perfect fit for the string holes you started on your top. Flip your guitar over and place a string hole over the pin and press it in. (That part can be tricky, I needed a flashlight and a good squint to see to get them lined up.) Your guitar body is now in perfect alignment with the drill bit path for the holes to meet in the middle of the body. You are going to need to use more of the shaft from this direction so the bit may wander a little, but the holes will meet and can be cleaned out if need be. The important thing is the spacing and alignment of the holes will be the same on the back as they are on the front.

Repeat the process for each hole, and pick the proper sized bit for your ferrules and repeat it again for them. You can do it one more time to recess the ferrules, if the back is going to stay flat. Mine is going to get carved, so I don't know where the surface is going to end up exactly just yet, so no recessed ferrules for this one.

Clear as mud? Let me know if I need to clarify a point......

SR

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I got an extra control plate to sacrifice during the carve. I want to contour the body around the inset plate and I need to make sure I do not get into the flat area it is going to mount to. I covered the plate in screen tape.....basically a white heavy duty duct tape, to protect it somewhat.

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Dang it! My wife got ahold of my camera while I wasn't looking. I know all you guys were thinking I was young and hip like you.........well, I used to be.

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Not long after that my favorite chair for working on projects broke it's last intact joint. The chair was a perfect height and it was roomy and and had no arms to get in the way of guitar necks........and I've been looking for a replacement for years and cannot find one like this any more. I think it was called a mushroom....fold up chair.

Anyway my butt was on the concrete after that last joint went so it's going to the curb on trash pickup day.

Bad as it is, odds are still good the flea market collectors will get it before the trash man does. :blink:

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A one inch dowel makes a great sanding block for all these curves.

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SR

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Not long after that my favorite chair for working on projects broke it's last intact joint. The chair was a perfect height and it was roomy and and had no arms to get in the way of guitar necks........and I've been looking for a replacement for years and cannot find one like this any more. I think it was called a mushroom....fold up chair.

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I used to have a chair like that when I was growing up. They were popular for a while in the late-70s (at least down here they were). Mine wasn't fold-up like yours. Had a fixed frame with a woven wicker clamshell seat. Was one of the most comfortable chairs I had until the bottom fell out of the wicker.

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Not long after that my favorite chair for working on projects broke it's last intact joint. The chair was a perfect height and it was roomy and and had no arms to get in the way of guitar necks........and I've been looking for a replacement for years and cannot find one like this any more. I think it was called a mushroom....fold up chair.

I used to have a chair like that when I was growing up. They were popular for a while in the late-70s (at least down here they were). Mine wasn't fold-up like yours. Had a fixed frame with a woven wicker clamshell seat. Was one of the most comfortable chairs I had until the bottom fell out of the wicker.

Mine hasn't actually folded in years and the seat fell through a couple of times. I used 50lb test fishing line to stitch it back up both times. I had to wire most of the joints in place after they broke....

I was pretty sure that style of chair was called a papasan so I took a quick jog around the internets. You can still find them around.

http://reviews.cabelas.com/8815/518383/cabelas-moon-chair-reviews/reviews.htm?sort=submissionTime&dir=asc

Thanks for that link Maul. I figured I was going to have to resort to the 'net. The one you found is awfully nice looking. I'm pretty sure I'd be pissed the first time I spilled some CA on it.

Congratz!... finally you did it. That top does not look so rounded as I thought, the plate fits very well.

Thanks. There is just under a half inch of contour in that top. It would be more visible if I had carved a recurve, but I've come to like the smooth gradual arch that I used here. That shape top is much more comfortable......in my opinion at least.

Works with a tele plate better too! :D

SR

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