kmensik Posted May 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 The center laminate is flat, routed along a template. Now it feels quite comfortable, actually pushes your thumb to be on either of the three facets, which should force you to keep correct hand position. Only the edges closer the fretboard are sharp for the palm. I will definitely give this trapezoid a chance with frets and stings. I can round it over anytime afterwards, if it does not feel right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmensik Posted May 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2016 For the body carve, I only use one radius jig and then refine it with a spokeshave at the waist, horns etc. For the messed up jack access hole I made a 27mm tube of sapeli to be inlaid. But the hole was a bit too oval, the tube would not fit, so I just plugged the bottom with a little wooden disc. Such stupid mistake took half of a day to not even fix well. Now the frets are in, nice job with new flush cutting pliers. The fretboard was sanded to 14" radius on a 100 grit sandpaper doublesidetaped to a glass trough. After the 100 grit it looked almost as fine as afterwards after 240, 500, 800 and 2000 grit. Now it is very fine, but still not as glossy as most woods would be. I made a little space for the hex wrench to turn at least 90°. In the meantime I worked on de-modding a friends Petrucci RG (Ibanez JPM-100P2). Very nice guitar, resonant basswood, much more responsive than the red one to the left, but not as rich on bass as the one in the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmensik Posted May 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2016 I am making only a little bevel on the fret ends, so that it does not make the effective fret width much narrower. But it is not as comfortable as a generous fret bevel. Then i round the sharp edges with a concave crowning file and polish them with a 800 grit sandpaper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMpleONe89 Posted May 29, 2016 Report Share Posted May 29, 2016 You really love your RGs! Great job on the fretboard and frets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmensik Posted June 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2016 Neck glued to body, sanded to 500, first coats of amber shellac. The alder turned orange in an instant. I expected it to be more a pinkish skin hue. But it took the colour from the shellac very uneavenly, maybe soaked less on the more polished spots, maybe the grain was still pressed by the spokeshave. I did wet the wood between grits. It looked really desperately, so I sanded the top to bare wood to only 240 grit and started anew. Messed up again, so most of the top side got washed away with alcohol. On that mahogany neck the shellac looks awsome though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhorst Posted June 12, 2016 Report Share Posted June 12, 2016 Loving those curves! Great looking guitar, I hope you get it to the color you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted June 12, 2016 Report Share Posted June 12, 2016 Looks great!... and has some nice details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10pizza Posted June 13, 2016 Report Share Posted June 13, 2016 great! Nice to see Zebrano on a fretboard as well!   Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 15, 2016 Report Share Posted June 15, 2016 I really like the neck heel carve....very smooth transition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmensik Posted June 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2016 Once a guy told me the screws holding the five way switch look stupid on my guitar and I tried to educate him that the switch must be fixed to the body somehow and because of the wood thickness..... Long story short, how do you like this? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 22, 2016 Report Share Posted June 22, 2016 Very nice. I've never been a fan of those screws either. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted June 23, 2016 Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 Nice! As long as you still have full range on the lever, this is a great little idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmensik Posted June 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 Yes, with this particular box switch the tip just touches the wood in the neck position and is a hair above in the bridge position. With a Fender open switch the tip is slipped a little deeper on the lever, so it would hit the surface. The wall is 5mm thick, bushings are 3mm deep, so you have to drill 4mm including the drillbit tip, no room for error. Now I think I could have kept the wall thicker and make a ridge or dint for the outer lever positions, like the dint for the truss rod wrench. Like recessed knobs. Today the remaining parts will arive, hopefully it will be playable in the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post kmensik Posted June 27, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 Consider it finished. I have not wired the push-push pots yet, but it is working, set up. Sounds fairly good. Do you feel it too, the stress when you first string a new one up, trying to guess the character from the first string not yet tuned, and it slowly starts to show as you tune and set up? This one was good sounding right from the first strum, What a relief. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 It looks beautiful @kmensik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 1 hour ago, kmensik said: Consider it finished. I have not wired the push-push pots yet, but it is working, set up. Sounds fairly good. Do you feel it too, the stress when you first string a new one up, trying to guess the character from the first string not yet tuned, and it slowly starts to show as you tune and set up? This one was good sounding right from the first strum, What a relief. There's nothing like the anticipation of hearing it for the first time! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1556 Posted June 28, 2016 Report Share Posted June 28, 2016 That guitar looks stunning! My first proper guitar (if you ignore the basic end of range Squire Strat that I did a trade with my bro-in-law for) was an Ibanez S470 with a stained mahogany body. Still got the guitar today and your one reminds me of it so much so that I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside, only difference is the stain on mine is matte and not shiny. How did you find carving the body as it's both front and back carves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmensik Posted July 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2016 I like that oiled mahogany a lot. My first S body was inspired by that, but with shellac finish. After some years it looks more matte as if it was only oiled. http://www.projectguitar.com/forums/topic/47314-sabre-body-for-ibanez-s-470-neck/#comment-525141 If you are asking if I enjoy carving a Sabre body, then I say yes, a lot. It is my favourite. So elegant, comfortable, cool. Technicaly it is harder to shape than a strat or guitars with only one carved face. The body is harder to fasten to a workbench, once the first face is curved. Usually an S body has a flat plane in the middle, but the one of mine has no such flat spot, it is slightly curved even between the pickups. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitaraxz Posted July 3, 2016 Report Share Posted July 3, 2016 Wow, nice jig for curving that S top........to think that the only S type guitar I've built I used a wood plane makes me feel prehistoric. I love that "screwless" swith trick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmensik Posted November 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2016 Starting a new one. Laminated mahogany neck with 27" baritone scale, pear wood fretboard, asymetrical neck profile. The body might be pine, P90 pickups, fixed bridge. This time drilling the tuner holes went just fine. I drilled 10mm holes from the back so that the pin of the brad point drillbit just touched the other suface, then guided by the pinhole drilled 8mm from the front. But I messed up one fret slot, cut it 1mm outside. Noticed it after recutting the slots to full depth, but the fix was fast. I am again unsure of the headstock shape. This one looks too minimalistic. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted November 18, 2016 Report Share Posted November 18, 2016 I like the headstock very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmensik Posted December 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2016 Hi. I started a body of what looks like spruce, though I was told it is pine sapwood. The darker half is darkened by light, should be uniform after sanding. The wood chips like mad, but the neck pocket sides resulted in ridiculously thin sharp edges. The neck is fat, 22mm @1st ftret, and very asymetrical, fatter at the thin strings, thinner where the thumb rests. 2mm aluminum side dots, 12th and 24th are 3mm Al tube with glow in the dark epoxy. Waiting for a wraparound bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted December 6, 2016 Report Share Posted December 6, 2016 That looks like pine sapwood to me. It should sound great! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted December 6, 2016 Report Share Posted December 6, 2016 Yep looks like pine to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted December 7, 2016 Report Share Posted December 7, 2016 I'm missing the knots in that "pine"... looks great, whatever it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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