KnightroExpress Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 Well, now that it's officially 2016 I suppose I'll make a new thread. Minor update: I drilled the tuner screw holes and installed the hardware to make sure everything lines up properly. Tomorrow, I'm going to make a rough nut out of a spare blank I have floating around and get some strings on this baby. For now though, pics: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted January 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Extremely minor update: I have the guitar strung up and settling into proper relief. I'm currently waiting on my Katana so I can try some fancy fret leveling, which, of course, requires me to keep string tension. In the meantime, I decided to make a baby jig to assist in the drilling of pickup mounting holes. This piece is the interior of a pickup cavity from the templates for this guitar. I simply marked out the mounting holes and cut the shape down so I can easily pull the jig out of the cavity. The holes are 1/8" so I can just use a transfer punch to mark the hole location. The Katana is supposed to get here some time next week, so I'll have something cooler to talk about at that point. Thanks for reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Clever idea. Is that acrylic laser cut? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 1 hour ago, KnightroExpress said: I'm currently waiting on my Katana so I can try some fancy fret leveling, which, of course, requires me to keep string tension. I had to go back and reread that. Are you saying you are going to level frets with a Katana? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted January 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 Thanks! Yes, that piece is laser cut. It's actually the waste portion of the pickup cavity route from my main template, so I'm making use of something otherwise useless. Hahaha as for the Katana, I have this terrible habit of not actually explaining what in the hell I'm talking about half the time (ask my wife, I drive her crazy). It's an adjustable fret leveling tool made in Japan. Essentially, it's a machined aluminum beam with a truss rod inside. You adjust the beam to match your fretboard's contour under actual string tension, then use it to level the frets. Here's the website if you're interested in taking a look. I don't know that it's any better than a traditional fret leveling job, but I aim to find out! Actually, since it was so expensive, I think I'll write up a review and assess its value after I use it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Still waiting on that tool....international shipping is killing me. On the bright side, I'm now a part time employee at the university wood shop, so I should have a lot more consistent work time. Tonight, I decided to get the padauk guitar back on track. Routing the pickup cavities: The fretboard and heel cap are some deliciously dark pau ferro and I wanted to make a matching cavity cover to use as much of this wood as possible. There was a bit of lighter wood along one of the edges, so I did a little slip match to make a nice bold streak. And finally, I routed the control cavity ledge. Thanks for looking! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 wow, awesome build! man, everybody is making multiscales now I'm so behind.. I'll be stealing some ideas here, the pickup screw template, so obvious but so useful.. I'm also planning to make some acrylic templates, this "laser cut" thing is not something I can do at home, is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Thank you! I'm happy that a silly little thing I whipped up can be helpful to others. As for the templates, you could definitely laser cut them at home....provided you have a laser cutter in your closet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 11 minutes ago, KnightroExpress said: Thank you! I'm happy that a silly little thing I whipped up can be helpful to others. As for the templates, you could definitely laser cut them at home....provided you have a laser cutter in your closet do you have one :P? or do you have access to one somehow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 I wish I had a laser cutter! I'd do all sorts of fun stuff. I use Pololu for custom laser cutting. They take my CAD files, cut the templates, then ship them to me within a couple weeks. I'm looking for a local business to cut my next set, but no luck so far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 cool, thanks - I might look for someone offering similar services in the EU. Right now I've just ordered some plexi and I'll cut my own templates with a router, but having someone laser-cut them for me is sure tempting for the future .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 I'm a big fan of lasered acrylic templates, I use them as often as possible. The cost is definitely a factor when considering them, but I feel that the accuracy and durability more them make up for the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 You are getting some mighty clean work whilst making all that orange sawdust. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 You should look for a local maker space. Some of them will have laser cutters. Either join up or befriend some folks there, they often have lots of cool and useful tools. Laser cutters, CNC, 3D printers, etc. One of my best friends is the head of a maker space called Freeside in Atlanta, and he's laser cut acrylic templates for me in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Thanks Scott! Matt- the one maker space I've found locally has a laser cutter, but it's barely big enough for a fretboard. I'm still searching though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 One of the things my buddy said they do when making larger pieces on the laser cutter is to separate them into smaller pieces and use interlocking 'jigsaw puzzle' type areas to register them together, so that they can be combined into one larger template later. They then use acetone to bond them together. That might be a possibility for you if you can't find a better alternative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Ah, good idea! I'll keep that in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted January 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 Another productive day at the shop! I wasn't digging the 2+4 headstock I came up with, so I decided to behead and rehead this neck. Also, I added a bonus slice of pau ferro for a bit of extra flavor. Next up- holes for bridge mounting and strings: Since these pickups are going to be direct mounted, I wanted to come up with a solution to retain a bit of height adjustment and eliminate stripped threads in the body. I'm using tiny press-fit flanged inserts that take #2-56 machine screws. Finally, I drilled the opening for the jack. I love electrosockets! So here's where I finished for the day: As I type this, the fretboard is currently glued and clamped to the neck, so I'll be able to get rolling on fretwork next time I go to the shop. Thanks for looking! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 Thanks for showing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitaraxz Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 Whoa! Looks awsome! Thanks for the little humbucker/direct mount jig, and please let us know if the Katana is as good as it looks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitaraxz Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 21 hours ago, KnightroExpress said: ¡That is one kick ass headstock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted February 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 Thank you! Aside from looking cool, it serves as a handy personal defense weapon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted February 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 It's carving time! I think this is my favorite part of the guitar building process. I just get to zen out and make something pretty. It's not done yet, but I like where it's going so far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitaraxz Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Yeah, carving is the best part! The problem is that when you're finished its's time to sand and sand and sand .........hehe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Carving is my favorite part too. This is starting to look nice and comfy. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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