KnightroExpress Posted May 16, 2015 Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 Hey friends! I'm excited to announce my next build, a design I've named Nova. This is sort of an odd bird, as it's a mashup of Tele and SC JR, but with a lightly extended scale. Specs: 26" scale Walnut body/neck Katalox fretboard Hipshot Tele bridge Mojotone Broadcaster Clone bridge pickup Mojotone Classic Minihumbucker neck pickup Here's my CAD rendering: And some of the wood involved: I'm hoping to get some of the initial rough work done next weekend, but we'll see what the future holds. Thanks for taking a look! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted May 16, 2015 Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 The design looks nice. Any clue on the finish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted May 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2015 Thank you! This will most likely get a simple oil finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted May 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 My templates have finally arrived! I love the smell of freshly lasered acrylic in the afternoon. Here's hoping this means I'll be able to get some real work done soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted May 29, 2015 Report Share Posted May 29, 2015 My templates have finally arrived! I love the smell of freshly lasered acrylic in the afternoon. Here's hoping this means I'll be able to get some real work done soon! I don't get it. It looks like you're already done. Just slap some string on it and you are ready to rock out.... On a more serious note, were do you get your templates cut and how much do you have to shell out with for a full set like that. As I already draw everything out in CAD it seems I can save a lot of time by getting the actual templates done for me if the cost isn't too high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thistle Posted May 29, 2015 Report Share Posted May 29, 2015 +1. Would really like to know who does your templates. Takes me hours so it'd be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted May 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2015 I use a company called Pololu. They charge per minute of laser time, material cost, and shipping. I don't like to post prices publicly, but if you shoot me a PM, I'll gladly give you any info you want. I will say that it's decently pricey, but well worth it based on time savings and pretty much guaranteed accuracy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Riddler Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 Looking forward to see this build, those templates are freakin' awsome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 Looking forward to see this build, those templates are freakin' awsome. What he said! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 +2 I really like that body shape. Reminds me of something similar that escapes me at the moment. Something by Line6 maybe? For some reason I want to see it in some kind of 50s autobody colour like seafoam green. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted June 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 Thanks everyone! I love seafoam green and would absolutely love to do one of these in that color. At the moment though, I'm not able to spray and I have some pretty walnut, so oil it will be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted July 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 Hey friends! I've finally gotten some of my ducks in a row and have made a bit of progress on this guitar. The body has been cut out and routed to shape. Next weekend, I'll be able to visit a buddy and use his drum sander to bring this down to my intended thickness (1.625"). In the meantime, I hope to get the neck blank going. The grain on this board ended up being even tastier than I had anticipated. Thanks for looking! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted July 11, 2015 Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 Yeah, that's a dandy piece of wood! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Riddler Posted July 11, 2015 Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 Love the grain on that piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmensik Posted July 12, 2015 Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) Knightro, the design is excellent. Both the body and the headstock, very elegant. At the first sight I would make the lower horn a tad wider, the even narrower pickguard makes it looks tiny, fragile. Looking forward to the neck-body joint. You will have to cope with ballance. I don't mind this fixture (by Hamer), with your body shape it might even look decent. The templates are a piece of art themselves. If you don't scratch them too much, hang them above a fireplace. Edited July 12, 2015 by kmensik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted July 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2015 Thank you very much! I can definitely understand your thoughts on my design, but I can assure you that the treble horn is not as fragile as it may seem. As for balance, I'm hoping that the longer neck (and very dense woods chosen) will offset the weight of the walnut body. The neck/body join is at the 16 1/2 fret mark, so at worst it'll be Les Paul-esque in that regard. Still though, if this design turns out to be inherently unbalanced, I can always chalk it up as a lesson learned and revise for the future. That strap button extension is interesting! I do hope I don't need to try it out though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted July 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2015 It's neck time! I'm using a nice piece of walnut I found at a local Woodcraft. The headstock will be angled back 12 degrees via scarf joint, and I'm including a purpleheart lamination just for the hell of it. Pics! Cutting off the end that will become the headstock. Now I have to sand the angled faces. Now that everything is nice and straight, it's time to clamp. Not the best photo angles, but hey, they work. So that's where I am at the moment. I might be able to get the truss rod routing done this weekend, which would be nice. Thanks for looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted July 31, 2015 Report Share Posted July 31, 2015 That walnut has some nice curlies in it. How thick is that board? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted July 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2015 I believe it's .750", maybe a tiny bit less. It's definitely on the thin side, so I'm going to end up making a stacked heel to give myself a bit of room to carve it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted August 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 Time for an update, with probably too many pics. Now that everything is nice and solid, I set about removing the excess from the scarf area. Now for the truss rod route. All I have at the moment is a Dremel Trio with an edge guide, so that's what I'm using. Next, I made a little purpleheart filler strip. Finally, I brought it home and arranged it in a lightly guitarish format. Thanks for looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Excelent documentation! Almost ready to play! May have a bit of a neck dive problem though.... SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Dang that neck blank is wide. You could probably have cut off 2" of it and used that extra piece in a multi lam neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted August 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 It's 4" across, but there are a lot of little knots, inclusions, and a large semi-rotted area along the edges. I might have gotten a seven or eight string neck out of this, but I felt there was too much random crud to do too much else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 And you don't have to glue on ears for the headstock. I try to avoid those when I can. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted August 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2015 Big post today! I decided to make a stacked heel with yet another purpleheart laminate. Sawing apart the excess. If it weren't for this junk along the edges, I'd have used this blank for something much wider. Cutting and gluing some 1/8" purpleheart The whole stack Next, there was a lot of cutting and routing and so forth, but I got absorbed in my work, so pics didn't happen. This pile of dust and scrap happened, though. Results! So that's it for now. I might try to cut the neck pocket over the weekend, we shall see. Thanks for checking it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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