2.5itim Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 1 hour ago, curtisa said: Sounds fairly similar to what I do. Drill a couple of 1mm holes in the 1st and last fret slots. 1mm is small enough to be hidden under the fret when it gets installed. Position the fret board on the neck and drive a 1mm brad into those holes through the board into the neck a mm or two. The brads should leave a little divot in the neck that can be used to relocate the fret board and prevent it sliding around when glue is added. Lift off the fret board from the neck with the brads still embedded. The ends of the brads should just poke through underneath the fret board enough to locate back on to the neck. Apply glue, refit the fret board to the neck making sure the brads bite into the little divots and clamp. When the glue has dried the brads can be carefully withdrawn from the fret board with a pair of pliers. Thanks man, I will keep that in my head for the next time I have to do this. What I ended up doing was cutting the finish nail 3mm long and hammering it into the neck in the middle of the first and 17th frets, lining up my fretboard where I needed it on the neck and applying pressure on top of the nails, that left a divot in my fret board and I drilled a hole in the bottom of the board about 1-2 mm deep then was able to locate and glue it up. Only downside to this is now I'm gonna have 2 short nails left in my neck but no one will ever know except me and y'all who read this lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 I've had a fingerboard skate off on me even with brads in place. It's a good system, however you can make mistakes (like I did) which cause problems. First, don't use overdo it with the glue. The glue has to go somewhere, and under clamping pressure it has to be forced out; the hydrostatic pressure (glue is pretty incompressible) causes the two pieces to skate off in the path of least resistance. Secondly, don't clamp up to full pressure straight away. Instead, align the two pieces and allow them to set up slightly under light retaining pressure so they "tack up". You can then bring the clamps up for the remaining drying time. This might be contrary to manufacturer's recommendations, I'm not sure. Whether it is or not, it's worked perfectly for dozens of large scale workpieces and instrument of my own. I use Titbond-I for all my work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 typo: Titebond. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Be assured there are quite a few guitars running around out there with tiny finishing nails still in the neck. I clamp the board to my neck blank and drill 4 small holes though the board into the neck outside the taper. Then I tap in the brads into the neck blank, snip them off about 1/8" above the blank and glue it up and press the board back on and clamp it up. Then it all gets cut away when the neck is cut to shape. Sr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Pro, I totally understand what you are saying about to much glue, I have a huge problem of really globing it on so I will try to watch this for now on. 42 minutes ago, ScottR said: Be assured there are quite a few guitars running around out there with tiny finishing nails still in the neck. I clamp the board to my neck blank and drill 4 small holes though the board into the neck outside the taper. Then I tap in the brads into the neck blank, snip them off about 1/8" above the blank and glue it up and press the board back on and clamp it up. Then it all gets cut away when the neck is cut to shape. Sr I figured there were a whole bunch of nails left in necks and with the screw up I had with the truss rod slot and trying to come up with a fix for that, the nails were probably the least of my worries yesterday lol. But lesson learned and try not to do it again next time haha! im gonna do some routing on the neck tonight and try to get the neck tapered down, headstock shaped and heel ready to make a neck pocket template. Do y'all usually radius fretboards after you carve the neck or before? I was thinking after would be easiest because I would still have a flat surface to clamp to my table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Im sorry for all of the questions I've had this far and I really appreciate all of the help that I've been given from all of you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 I think both are equally common. I radius and fret while the back of the neck is still flat, for the stability that gives. And my neck carves actually go into the fretboard edges, so for me it's best to have the fretboard work done first. All your questions so far have been good ones. It is nice to see you thinking everything through and gathering information instead of bulling your way through it and hoping for the best. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 2 hours ago, 2.5itim said: Do y'all usually radius fretboards after you carve the neck or before? I was thinking after would be easiest because I would still have a flat surface to clamp to my table. I radius the fingerboard before I glue it to anything. For me, it's easier, and helps with accuracy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Both methods have their usefulness like Scott says. I tend to radius whilst on the neck since the whole thing is easier to hold in place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 3 hours ago, 2.5itim said: Do y'all usually radius fretboards after you carve the neck or before? I was thinking after would be easiest because I would still have a flat surface to clamp to my table. I first carve the neck, then let the whole thing stabilize for a couple of weeks before giving radius to the fretboard... and most of the times I have to re-flat the fretboard before radius it, because the neck tends to bow after carving. The weather can affect too, I agree that having a flat back surface to work on the fretboard is nice, but having a flat fretboard to work in the back side is nicer. ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 @psikoT Woah woah woah, a couple weeks? Haha I'm gonna need to find some patience real soon. I think I will go ahead and carve the neck first but man idk if I could wait another 2 weeks. The refinish of my ibanez is having to sit for a few weeks to let the nitro cure and even that is killing me and I even have another guitar to fiddle with. If I let this one sit for a couple weeks and I don't have another guitar to mess with I might loose my mind. Lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 If I do that I'm probably gonna be forced to start another build, you're really not helping me out with the missus here haha. She's ok with me starting more but just not simultaneously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 Welcome to our world. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 Haha she's usually pretty good about my projects as long as I don't go and spend all our money on them lol. I was able to get quit a bit done tonight, after looking at the headstock template that I made the other day for an extremely long time I came to the conclusion that I hated it. So I re drew it because I needed to make it wider and I like it a whole lot more, it just looked off to me to begin with and I think it's because it was to narrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 9 hours ago, 2.5itim said: Woah woah woah, a couple weeks? Haha I'm gonna need to find some patience real soon. I think I will go ahead and carve the neck first but man idk if I could wait another 2 weeks. The refinish of my ibanez is having to sit for a few weeks to let the nitro cure and even that is killing me and I even have another guitar to fiddle with. If I let this one sit for a couple weeks and I don't have another guitar to mess with I might loose my mind. Lol Well, it was not a rule but an advice... but yes, if you want to make guitars, you'll need a lot of patience. I totally understand you, cause it was the same for me at the beginning. After some builds and some mistakes, you're gonna change your mind. If you plan carefully your builds, you can leave some tasks to do in those "awaiting" stages. Having two builds running at the same time helps too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 I got a bit done today and it's actually starting to look like a guitar!! I'm really happy with the neck carve, it's a little bit thinner than my ibanez wizard necks and the same width as prs wide/thin neck, it feels really nice in the hands now I just need to finish sand it. I also got the neck pocket cut out, I made it a little bit wider than the neck to leave room for the finish laquer. Question regarding drilling the holes to attach the neck to the body, do y'all drill out the holes on the body then put the neck back in, mark where the holes line up and then drill a pilot hole for the screws? Next I need to figure out my bridge location and drill out my thru holes, do y'all screw the bridge screws right into the body or do you put in a metal insert of some sort? Idk if I really like the idea of just dcrewing it into the wood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 Love the look of this If the wood has decent strength (that is, unless it is a purely decorative top that is softer than 'normal') then yes, I always screw straight into the body for the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: Love the look of this If the wood has decent strength (that is, unless it is a purely decorative top that is softer than 'normal') then yes, I always screw straight into the body for the bridge. Thanks man I really appreciate that!! Ok I will just screw into the wood then. one question I do have regarding the bridge is, scale length if its a 25.5" scale do I install my bridge where the part of the saddle that the string sits on is at 25.5" from the face of my nut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 I made it all one piece tonight and this might actually be one of the best moments of my life lol. I haven't even finished it yet and just having it in once piece that you can hold is really an amazing feeling!! i ordered black screws because all they had in stock was stainless . So these will have to do for the moment i also got the frets leveled and I will wait to crown and polish them till after I get the neck finish lacquer on it that way I can take the lacquer off the frets at that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Also I think this is possibly one of the thinnest and maybe lightest guitars ever made!!! The body measures 1.2" thick and without hardware on it it weighs a whomping 3 pounds. It really feels awesome and well balanced in the hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 5 hours ago, 2.5itim said: Thanks man I really appreciate that!! Ok I will just screw into the wood then. one question I do have regarding the bridge is, scale length if its a 25.5" scale do I install my bridge where the part of the saddle that the string sits on is at 25.5" from the face of my nut? NO! I'll post again when I have more time, but don't fit the bridge until I or one of the others has gone through the offset you need to build in. In the meantime, I think the Stewmac site has an explanation in their 'fret calculation' article and calculation tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Hi again. The stewmac fret calculator is here http://www.stewmac.com/FretCalculator/ . If you put in the scale length and press 'calculate' it shows in some detail the bridge positioning of various bridge designs based on the saddle position of the furthest forward saddle. In brief, the bridge is place back a touch from scale length, but with the lower strings more offset than the higher strings (in VERY approximate terms, the top E is around 1mm further back and the bottom E is around 3mm further back. The trick is making sure that there will be enough saddle movement for the saddles to be able to be moved to their furthest forward and furthest back positions. i have a quick method I use, but I am sure there are more learned folk here with better methods than mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 I've been meaning to sum this up in article form for a while. It's a very important FAQ topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Ok I can see this getting a little confusing lol. I did find the stewmac fret calculator that gave a bunch of positions for different bridges but I didn't see one on there for the Hipshot, the closets I saw on there was the strat non tremolo model and it says that those measurements are for the forward most mounting screws and I wasn't sure if the Hipshot and strat have the same mounting platform. I did also find another issue I'm gonna have to work thru last night, because of the way I designed my neck where the fretboard is longer than the neck I could only set my neck so far into the body and to get my action right my saddle height adjusters have to be all the way up, that kind of defeats the purpose of why I wanted this bridge to begin with for its low profile smooth feeling ness. So I'm going to make a 1/8" base plate out of some steel today and get it powder coated black for the bridge to sit on and raise it up an 1/8". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 That's a handy skill you have there. For bridge placement, I typically run the high E saddle forward towards the nut about 80% of its travel. Then measure the scale length from the inside edge of the nut to the break point on that high E saddle. Mark it and mount my bridge there. That's for a hardtail type bridge. TOMs start in the same place, but the low E side angles back slightly as well. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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