transambytrial Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 Hi everyone, I'm new to this site but since I a lot of infos for my build came from here, I thought I'd put up pix on how it's going.. This is my first guitar, well the first one I build..here is the build and the mistakes I'm making along the process... Feel free to comment and give ideas, thoughts, things you would do differently since I will certainly build a few more in the future.. To present this project, I basically have to say a few things about me.. I am part of a San Francisco bay area metal since 2002..I have toured quite a lot for years and have owned a lot of guitars and a lot of gear..I will never say one thing is better than another based on my liking but I'll say what I like in one guitar compared to another one.. Anyway, one of my favorite guitars is the ESP explorer..Why?..well, many great guitar players have used explorers and so have I ..so I chose this guitar because I think the KL looks good in a certain way, I dont care much for spending that much money for a guitar anymore, I like all the electronics to be in the back of the guitar and a nice mahogany explorer sound phat! It has a lot of bottom end..I like it..simple as that! Prior to this first build I have had a couple Gibson exp, a 90's ESP exp, and a 7 string custom made exp by a guy in San Francisco..Even got the EMG 707 directly from EMG in Petaluma,ca before it was out because of a sponsorship deal we had going on at the time.. Anyway, that's the story behind this build..but I did not want my guitar to be another KL/Hetfield one so I decided to paint it in white and not follow the ESP shape. I have no experience whatsoever with wood so I went on different forums to find infos..Because I didnt have any tools I decided to buy a Mahogany 1 piece blank, a mahogany 1 piece neck and slotted fretboard..and a router!! Got everything I thought I needed for the project last week and here's what I have done so far.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 crap..dunno how to upload the pictures!! hate that..someone help? please.. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 Here's the neck I got and the body after I shaped it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 I Started with the neck, I got to try out the router and shape the headstock first before working on the pocket and neck/body joint.. I'm not done yet but part of the work I do by hand so it's taking a lil bit of time.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 I sanded the top of the neck and the bottom of the 12" radiused Ebony fretboard in order to glue them together with titebond glue.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 Then I worked on the pocket and adding an angle to the neck because of the gibson tune o matic bridge..I did the neck routing not with a specific angle in mind but just by putting together body and neck and figuring out with a straight edge how it would have to be..I read that a 2 to 4 deg angle is fine but I thought it'd be better to angle it to my specific need..dunno if that was such a good idea we'll see in the end.. A major mistake I made was not using a guide for the pocket, I drew it with a template of a gibson exp found on the internet and then I used a guide made out of a block of wood to drive the router but I messed up.. The joint is still tight, I finished it by hand, but I am very disappointed because my mistakes make a poor fit..Eventho it seems it will hold well and it is well aligned and I think well angled, you can see gaps I do not how to fill..a tiny piece of wood? wood filler? I sanded the edges of the fretboard with a block to try and respect the lines of the neck eventho it was about 47mm at the nut before I started and wanted it at 42mm, which is where it's at now..my hand hurts!! lol I will route the cavities better but now that's how it looks like..for me it's a real pain since it's the first time I use a router but I'm learning..You can see here how I messed up twice with the router..first time I used it I left it on top of the body, not thinking It would drill a hole in it..well it did..learned from this mistake..I always wait until the router stops completely before putting on the side of the body..second thing is the mark you can see right between the bridge pick up cavity and the bridge..lifted up the router while using..major mistake here also..I will fill these holes later but that's a major disappointment also.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted May 18, 2014 Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 You really have to use templates for routing pickup, neck and control cavities, or else they will always look extremely sloppy. Also, you sure those bridge holes will be spaced correctly? that is a really inaccurate way of drilling them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2014 You are right, but without the proper tools, I find it hard not to be sloppy..so I'm doing my best with what I can afford to buy right now..I will have to look into making templates for the next guitar. As for the bridges holes, I actually have a gibson explorer template I aligned with the neck, I verified it with my black beauty and it seems to be the same.. The holes for the tailpiece are underdrilled, I will take it to some guy I know to get the holes drilled to the right size and get them to be straight.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 Been busy with school but I got a lil time to work on the guitar.. First, I finished the headstock..I'm ok with it but I think I could've made it a little better..took too much wood off at the edge.. ">http://http://s1248.photobucket.com/user/Transambytrial/media/FTW%20Exp%20White/05_zpsd31a585e.jpg.html'> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) Then I worked on the neck shape, mimicking the one from strat that I really like..made it a lil thinner though.. Edited May 25, 2014 by transambytrial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) Thought I'd level the neck then put the frets on the fretboard..first time and it worked out just fine.. Edited May 25, 2014 by transambytrial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) I used a grinder to take the excess off and then sanded it down to the right feel, at a 35deg angle.. used 2mm drillbit to add the side dots..I used wood glue for both application.. Edited May 25, 2014 by transambytrial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) Yesterday I leveled the frets using a sharpie and a 12" radius wood block and 500 grit sandpaper..I actually had to sand it down quite a bit, especially on the edges..maybe the 12" radius fretboard wasn't quite there..should've checked it with the 12" radius block instead of the straight one.. Edited May 25, 2014 by transambytrial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) I will have to recrown the frets, but I dont have the right tools..I'll look around to see if I can find a way to get it done without the recrowning tool..So in the meantime, I decided to glue the neck to the body..Titebond original glue + a couple clamps.. Edited May 25, 2014 by transambytrial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 (edited) I clamped the guitar for about 4 hours and then unclamped it to let it sit overnight. Today, After checking out "Killemall8" 's pictures, I decided to change the neck joint so I grabbed a couple different files and sandpaper to work on it..then I put a lil coat of primer after sanding it with 400 grit.. Edited May 25, 2014 by transambytrial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 A lil more routing, shaping, sanding, and off to paint.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Yesterday I leveled the frets using a sharpie and a 12" radius wood block and 500 grit sandpaper..I actually had to sand it down quite a bit, especially on the edges..maybe the 12" radius fretboard wasn't quite there..should've checked it with the 12" radius block instead of the straight one.. If you radiused your fretboard to 12" then the radius of the top edge of your frets would be 12.08" ish depending on the crown height. Your 12" radius block is actually a little tighter than you need and that's why the edges got sanded down so much more. You are better off using a long flat block to level the frets, being sure to level along the string paths. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted May 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Yesterday I leveled the frets using a sharpie and a 12" radius wood block and 500 grit sandpaper..I actually had to sand it down quite a bit, especially on the edges..maybe the 12" radius fretboard wasn't quite there..should've checked it with the 12" radius block instead of the straight one.. If you radiused your fretboard to 12" then the radius of the top edge of your frets would be 12.08" ish depending on the crown height. Your 12" radius block is actually a little tighter than you need and that's why the edges got sanded down so much more. You are better off using a long flat block to level the frets, being sure to level along the string paths. SR Understood, I will do so.. Thank you for the reply, that helps a lot.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Looking pretty good so far. Glad you decided to change the heel. I think it looks way better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Marino Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Looks pretty good for a first build without all the right tools! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Indeed! Coming together very nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted June 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 So I finally Got around to do the paint and then I got an autobody shop to clear coat it.. here are a few pix..The result is ok, I'd say 8/10 for most people which would around 5/10 for me! lol pb being the clear coat which is not thick enough..that's what happens when you're cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transambytrial Posted June 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 I'm not done setting up the guitar yet, but it sounds nice, plays nice, sustain is really good, eventho it's a fancy element when playing metal, at least I think so.. I now have to shield the cavities and make a cover for the back one.. I have to say that I'm very pleased with the way it came out as far as sound goes..next to my 5 grand les paul this 400 dollar explorer is a beast!! I certainly could've done a better job.. just gotta wait for the next build to better myself.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 I certainly could've done a better job.. just gotta wait for the next build to better myself.. Each and every one of us say that exact same thing no matter how many builds came before. It's one reason we end up with way more guitars than we really need....... Welcome to the club! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 Looks and sounds like you sailed past the finishing post quicker than most people, including myself! Great work. Get yourself some good photographs and enter her in GOTM one month :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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