Flying V Neck-thru build

[pan_kara]

hmm not sure about the chip, depends which place is that exactly. you could try making the neck section narrower, or if you were adding in some neck angle the part with the chip might get removed..

For the back of the neck - the way I've been doing it (as I also have no access to a bandsaw) was to get the thickness down with a saw before gluing on the headstock. I did that before cutting the scarf in fact, but thats optional.

[psikoT]

Sadly, after cleaning up after the mess did i make quite a chip in the side of the neck where it's glued with the wings.. What in the world should i do to fix it??

That chip should not be a problem... you can square it and glue a piece of wood, then clean up the remain. If you make it right, nobody will notice it.

[Lycking]

Going to reccess the bridge instead of adding neck angle, so the first one wont work But thanks for the suggestion! And it's a nice idea to cut it before adding the headstock joint, i'll remember that for another time

And the other one sounds like a great idea! Going to try that for sure

[Lycking]

Progress!

I've finally had both an afternoon without plans, and finally got the components i ordered to make the next step... And also a bandsaw because im dead tired of not having one

The day today has been in the name of pickup winding, which is the first time i try this...

I've made a winder+counter setup as seen on the pictures later (looks and is a mess but works like a charm). The bobbin is screwn onto a piece of scrap, which is then placed with a bolt into a electric hand drill. The spool with 42 AWG wire on the floor, standing up so that the wire can run freely off, since the wire broke every time i tried with it having to drag the spool around...

I had a goal of reaching roughly 10.000 windings, and by that reaching roughly 8,5 KOhm in output. To keep an eye on this, had i bought a Reed switch, which works like a normal on/off switch, apart from that it's not triggered by a click on it, but by a magnet getting near it. So i placed a little magnet on the scrap going with the bobbin.

I then soldered that switch into the circuit of a calculator instead of the button triggering =, and then coded it to 1+1, and every time the magnet on the bobbin went past the reed (which is 1 winding), 1 was added to the result, and by that could i read the amount of windings i got

The setup as described before, the laptop is not included in any way with it, that's just for rocking out some Boston

Since i wanted a p90 in humbucker size, i had to cut the bobbin so, that it could fit under a humbucker cover, because it was too long.



Almost there..


Compared to a non-resized bobbin



And the final size ready for winding!



__________________

[Lycking]

Spin Cityyyyy!


And the finished pickup ready to go to the next parts..

[Lycking]

To minimize feedback am i potting the pickup in melted, hot candle wax, which fills out the air holes/bubbles in the copper. Usually would you use 80% paraffin and 20% beewax, but since i havn't got either am i using plan B



And assemblied and with cables soldered on stands the finished pickup

[Lycking]

It comes in at just under 6KOhm, which is very low compared to usual p90's which is on about 7,5-9,5 KOhm. It got that low, because i simply ran out of space on the bobbin. Since i had reduced the size of it to humbucker length, was it faster filled out. This isn't always a bad thing i think, because the humbucker in the bridge has a vintage output (like 8 KOhm), so they should work decent together, but also because it'll get a more trebly, clear and bell-like tone reaching near a normal single coil. Pickups with a high output in the neck tends to get muddy as they get higher and near the strings in the neck pos, but i guess this one with stay more clear and just become fatter, so i can get a clear but yet warm tone..

That's at least what i have read

So maybe the low output isn't that bad, and if it's all wrong, do i have the parts to make another p90
And to finish it, here's a pic of my new toy

[SwedishLuthier]

DCR isn't really that interesting. Turn count is what it is all about. How much was you able to get on the bobbin? My guess is around 7000 to 7500 turns. Anyway, there are those who aware by the under wound P90s, Lindy Fralin is one of them. With 42AWG and 6 Kohm-ish you will probably be just fine.

[Lycking]

That's a really good guess i think, probably closest to 7000. Thanks for sharing your knowledge mate!

[ProjectGuitar.com]

For this amazing pickup winding contraption you get a special award.

[Lycking]

Hahaha it'd be an honor ;-) Sometimes you gotta use what's nearby :-D

[Lycking]

Spent 9 hours in the workshop yesterday, havn't been able to post it before now, and havn't done anything todays because i've been with my lovely girlfriend all day

Anyways, here goes...

Started out with cutting the wings to rough size on the bandsaw (I wonder how i have ever been able to live without one until now! This thing is amazing..)

Routed a path in the inner of the under wing for the wires from the pickups

Roughly cut out the neck profile

Fixed the big chip i made earlier (forgot to take pics of the result, they'll come up when i remember it)

Began shaping the neck a little and made the headstock and body joints (did alot more than this - forgot to take pics again..)

Glued wings on the headstock

[Lycking]

Cut down the width of the fretboard a bit after taping it in




After that i drilled a hole from the pickupwire channel to what's going to be the control cavity

[Lycking]

To war against the wood of the cavity!


Hammer and a chisel are my favorite tools..


Getting there...




And rougly finished (so far )

Still a bit thick, but that's what i dared to do with the drill..

[Lycking]

Rough cut the headstock so it's ready to route after the template




And then i began hammering tape on the sides of the neck and fretboard, the truss rod got taped off, and then i had to kick off the part i've been the most nervous for: the gluing of the fretboard O_O



The most scary nails i've ever put in anything! For guidiance when popping on clamps..



All clamped up and drying..

[Lycking]

Got a good bit more done yesterday
At first i removed the tape, so i could check the gluing.


Thinned the headstock a bit (It's a lot prettier now! again forgot pics -_- )


Ant then it was time to rout the fretboard to fit the routed neck! This was the second most scary thing about the build so far, since the ebony almost kinda crumbles instead of doing big chips, since it is so hard. But it went without a single chipout og scratch!

But i wasn't happy with the gluing at all..

But that's almost perfect now, after the board and neck has been fittet perfectly together

Went against it with files and sandpaper, to fit the neck and board

[Lycking]

The headstock and the joint got some love



Began shaping the neck for real, which is probably the part i've been looking most forward to of this build!




And i'm really happy i spent the few extra euros to get flame maple instead of regular hard rock maple

And finished the day with cutting 2 bookmatched pieces to overlay the headstock

[Lycking]

The shape of the neck is some kind of composite, made after what i felt nice by the hands. But i'd guess it starts with a hard C (almost D) shape by the 1st frets, about 8th fret is it a very soft C, and from the 13th is it getting more like a low D going to a high D. Most people wouldnt like it i guess, but i do for sure!

Also, the bass side is thicker than the treble/thin strings' side, since i like a fat neck for power and bar chords and rythm, but a thin for soloing

[Lycking]

Also, some questions for you pro people!

1) Is it too early to begin adjusting the truss rod since the maple might still be a bit stressed? Because it's curving a tiny bit to the inside. And the fretboard was slighty curving that way aswell before i set it on, so i suspect that might be the "sinner"

2) Finish, finish, finish... I've been planning to oil it with Truoil og Danish oil (Woohoo, le'ggo Denmark! ), but i've seen some exceptional glossy finishes lately on guitars with looking woods!

So; what is required other than Oil for oiling, and what is required for clear finishing, probably with clear Nitro? I'm thinking like grainfiller and such, but i don't really know since there's 2 kinds of wood.. And which of them would you recommend, Oil or clear Nitro? Or both?

Thanks in advance!!

Edited May 27, 2014 by Lycking

[RestorationAD]

I would go with oil. The walnut and flamed maple will look really good with just oil. Shiny finish will require way more work.

For Danish Oil you don't really need to pore fill. However you will have to be diligent with the clean up as the pores will weep for several hours after initial application.

[Lycking]

I would go with oil. The walnut and flamed maple will look really good with just oil. Shiny finish will require way more work.

For Danish Oil you don't really need to pore fill. However you will have to be diligent with the clean up as the pores will weep for several hours after initial application.

Thanks alot RAD!

Is it too early to adjust the trussrod?

[RestorationAD]

Is it too early to adjust the trussrod?

So as long as the neck is close to final thickness I say go ahead and adjust the trussrod.

Now that that is said think before you twist. You are not actually going to try and correct the current state of the board. You want to adjust it so that you are not sanding a lot of material off the board to level it but you also want the rod to have as much potential to correct any future problems as possible

Usually what I do is turn the rod until the neck moves just a hair. Then I back it off so that it is not loose but is not overly correcting anything.

The idea is to level the board with very little pressure on the rod.

Depending on the style truss rod you are using the next steps can differ a hair.

Results of leveling are usually as follows.

If you have a double action trussrod you want the board perfectly level no back relief no forward relief.

If you have a single action trussrod a little relief is ok. I mean a little. Very very small amount. Like daylight under a straight edge.

<note: I don't use compression rods anymore and haven't for almost 20 years>

If you have a compression style rod (good luck with that) I usually go completely flat as I have found they are most likely to not do what you think they are going to do. You do not want them to tight so again just a little pressure on the rod is all you want. Enough tension so the adjustment of the rod is not spinning freely.

</note: any one who uses these regularly feel free to chime in if I am off>

Now here is where guys start chiming in with backbow caused by fretting. As long as your fret slots are the right size the backbow from fretting can usually be offset by stringing up the guitar and leaving it tuned to pitch or a 1/2step up for a night. This will seat the tangs into the wood. Ebony is notorious for this. Measure the center of the tang on the fret (not the barbs) and make sure the kerf on your saw is cutting the same size or a tiny tiny bit large.

[Lycking]

Is it too early to adjust the trussrod?

So as long as the neck is close to final thickness I say go ahead and adjust the trussrod.

Now that that is said think before you twist. You are not actually going to try and correct the current state of the board. You want to adjust it so that you are not sanding a lot of material off the board to level it but you also want the rod to have as much potential to correct any future problems as possible

Usually what I do is turn the rod until the neck moves just a hair. Then I back it off so that it is not loose but is not overly correcting anything.

The idea is to level the board with very little pressure on the rod.

Depending on the style truss rod you are using the next steps can differ a hair.

Results of leveling are usually as follows.

If you have a double action trussrod you want the board perfectly level no back relief no forward relief.

If you have a single action trussrod a little relief is ok. I mean a little. Very very small amount. Like daylight under a straight edge.

<note: I don't use compression rods anymore and haven't for almost 20 years>

If you have a compression style rod (good luck with that) I usually go completely flat as I have found they are most likely to not do what you think they are going to do. You do not want them to tight so again just a little pressure on the rod is all you want. Enough tension so the adjustment of the rod is not spinning freely.

</note: any one who uses these regularly feel free to chime in if I am off>

Now here is where guys start chiming in with backbow caused by fretting. As long as your fret slots are the right size the backbow from fretting can usually be offset by stringing up the guitar and leaving it tuned to pitch or a 1/2step up for a night. This will seat the tangs into the wood. Ebony is notorious for this. Measure the center of the tang on the fret (not the barbs) and make sure the kerf on your saw is cutting the same size or a tiny tiny bit large.

Thanks a million Rad!

I must say you know your stuff...!

[Lycking]

Got a tiny bit done yesterday, which didn't go very well... Started out with drilling holes for the p90's pole screws in the humbucker cover, aaaand then the drill broke into 2 and made a huge mark... So i cut all 6 holes into one, which ended up looking like a terrible copy of a filtertron or something like that... I guess i'll just have to order new covers and try again later!

(the marks/dirt is just leftovers from tape)

Also did some work on a template/test of the control cavity's cover. Did the test with some 4-ply(4-5mm) birch veneer, and right now am i wondering if i should just make it out of this, or cut some thin walnut or some ash i have around...

[Lycking]

And now for something more exciting! The work of today!

The day came where i now had to glue the wings on the body, so i began with making a jig for clamping it up... Made of clamps!! Clamps holding wood in place so that the clamps clamping the gluing didn't slip... Clampception

Then i dowel'd (no idea if this is the name!) 2x2 channels for flatdowels, and got ready to glue....

And so it began! All glued up and hardening...






And then i went on rough sanding (stil alot of marks and chips missing - sigh!), and here it is at the moment just wiped over with a humid piece of cloth

Best glueline i've ever done i think!





Too bad my iphone's camera is too bad to catch the flame of the maple in any way...

That's it for now, i'll be back in a few days hopefully...