First Build (2) Zelicasters

[iamzelix]

Okay I just ordered the wood for my first 'real' builds. I'm going to make a lefty and a righty telecasters.

They will have Alder bodies with a maple neck and fret board.

 

 

 

 

[SIMpleONe89]

$3.34 for a fretboard? What sorcery is this? 

[ScottR]

Yeah, those are stunning prices.

Enjoy the ride Zelix!

SR

[iamzelix]

26 minutes ago, ScottR said:

Yeah, those are stunning prices.

Enjoy the ride Zelix!

SR

 

It's basically the cheapest components they had. I'm still a bit nervy about pull this off. LOL

I'm thinking even though the bodies are 3 piece glued I might try for a "poor man's burst" like Big D guitars does. I'm really excited to try to pull this off.  The other I'll try to paint I think.

 

[SIMpleONe89]

Where did you get those wood? 

I also did a poor man's burst on my recent strat. It's quite fun and rewarding if it turns out well. 

[iamzelix]

On 8/5/2016 at 6:08 PM, SIMpleONe89 said:

Where did you get those wood? 

I also did a poor man's burst on my recent strat. It's quite fun and rewarding if it turns out well. 

 

http://www.exoticwoods.com/home.php?cat=7

[iamzelix]

The wood arrived. I'm still waiting for the templates. sigh. I'm very please with what they've sent. Keep in mind this is the cheapest that they had.

 

[iamzelix]

I'm still waiting on the template. It's taking forever for them to ship it to me. I also ordered this router bit: Yonico 14982q Flush Trim Router Bit Top & Bottom Bearing with 1-1/2" H 1/4" Shank. It shows a bearing at the top and bottom. I'm not sure if it will fit the bill but we'll see. I have some fret wire, truss rod, tuners, and a few other items on order. The bridge showed up today.

 

Waiting (in)patiently for the template so I can get going with this.

 

[ScottR]

Waiting is one of the most difficult activities we are ever asked to do.

I can picture a few operations where a top and bottom bearing can work, but most of them really need one or the other at a time.

SR

[iamzelix]

While cleaning out the garage i found the old guitar I was working on. 15 years in the making this one is...LOL

So I've jumped back on it and I'm pushing forward.

It's a nice mahogany body with a maple neck. I've got a few parts in and I"m going to finish it up as one last practice piece before I hit the new wood.

 

 

 

The head stock was cut wonky with the band saw. I've bondo'ed it and I'm going to have to paint it.

 

The fret board was pre-slotted. This is my first fret job. I didn't realize how tough it is with just a hammer. Gotta get a arbor press.

 

I used Gorilla glue that's clear mixed with mahogany sawdust for the fret board marker. I didn't realize how solid this stuff is. I'm playing hell getting it sanded and looking nice.

I originally printed out a cad drawing and glued it to the body to follow. I got an allparts lefty bridge. I also found this pickup off amazon that was pretty cheap and has some good reviews. I'll only have one pickup with a volume and tone.

 

[ScottR]

Yeah, I'm not sure Gorilla Glue is good for anything really. So you put your fret markers in after fretting?

I'm betting you don't do that on the next neck.

That is a nice piece of mahogany. did you find it easier to work than the pine?

SR

[Prostheta]

Yeah, you should inlay before you fret so they are taken down to the radius the same time as the board itself. Can't comment on Gorilla Glue since it's a brand and not a product. Was is a wood glue or the awful expanding polyurethane shit that they market as being "the best" when in fact "Gorilla Shit" might be more pleasant to work with (and get on your hands).

[Prostheta]

I said I wouldn't comment, but I did anyway. I tried not to.

[iamzelix]

16 hours ago, ScottR said:

Yeah, I'm not sure Gorilla Glue is good for anything really. So you put your fret markers in after fretting?

I'm betting you don't do that on the next neck.

That is a nice piece of mahogany. did you find it easier to work than the pine?

SR

Yeah...picking up the pieces and moving forward I realize the fret markers are done before fretting. I'm in that learning curve. LOL it was painful and I'll never do it again.

The body was roughly shaped decades ago with a jigsaw. I've been sanding it and working out the mistakes. I'm enjoying working with it so far. I'm learned that sanding sealer is your friend.

 

[Prostheta]

We'd have warned you, man! haha

[iamzelix]

Making a bit of progress. I had the neck fitting nice and tight. I hit the neck with a sander and it fits a bit loose now. sigh. I also noticed that routing the neck pocket it's not perfect like the template. Not sure what I did wrong there.

 

Tried to do an inlay with the dremel... not the best job I've ever seen. Oh well.. I took a shot at it.

 

The struggle continues.

[ScottR]

2 hours ago, iamzelix said:

The struggle continues.

SR

[iamzelix]

I got starting cutting out the body for the next tele.

I gotta say you all make it look easy. I was really having difficulty with routing out the body without messing it up.

I had a few spots that were chewed up a bit. I was able to sand them out for the most part.

The Yonico 14982q Flush Trim Router was horrible. I had to get another bit. 

 

A picture of the chewed up part. sigh.

 

 

[Prostheta]

I find that the easiest solution is not to show my routing errors. 

How much were you cutting at a time in terms of depth and width? That's usually a good start in figuring out the problems. Did they occur mostly in endgrain? Looking at the photos, I'm wondering if the radial lines are end checking in the wood. That would definitely encourage issues. Your chips look good though. I'm guessing you're talking about half an inch of depth? Was that a climb cut?

[iamzelix]

4 hours ago, Prostheta said:

I find that the easiest solution is not to show my routing errors. 

How much were you cutting at a time in terms of depth and width? That's usually a good start in figuring out the problems. Did they occur mostly in endgrain? Looking at the photos, I'm wondering if the radial lines are end checking in the wood. That would definitely encourage issues. Your chips look good though. I'm guessing you're talking about half an inch of depth? Was that a climb cut?

It seems mostly in the end grains. It also occurred with that cheap routing bit. I just quit trying to use it and went with the bit and dewalt hand held router. It took three passes to route it completely.

[Prostheta]

It might be that the bit wasn't as sharp as it needed to be. Each cutter is having to slice through a lot of wood, and if it doesn't do it cleanly then it pushes backwards or mangles it. End grain is especially difficult to rout sometimes. I take tiny passes and reduce the waste as much as reasonably possible to try and reduce incidents. The worst is when the router grabs and parts the wood on the end grain like a fan. Is that what happened there?

[iamzelix]

18 hours ago, Prostheta said:

It might be that the bit wasn't as sharp as it needed to be. Each cutter is having to slice through a lot of wood, and if it doesn't do it cleanly then it pushes backwards or mangles it. End grain is especially difficult to rout sometimes. I take tiny passes and reduce the waste as much as reasonably possible to try and reduce incidents. The worst is when the router grabs and parts the wood on the end grain like a fan. Is that what happened there?

That's exactly what happened. Man there is a learning curve to all this guitar making.

[Prostheta]

If there wasn't, there'd be no reason for this community having existed for 14yrs. 

Hell, I learnt more from people here than I can remember. Thing is with routing - in my opinion - is that sometimes you need to learn a bit of muscle memory is how to stop the router getting away with itself, where to apply pressure and in which direction (generally more inward against the bearing) and when to rotate it around instead of going in a line. I've wanted to approach this from a physics perspective for a long while, however I'm unsure on how best to illustrate it simply yet powerfully. Definitely one on the to-do list. In the meantime, I think you're managing up said curve pretty damn well. Bigger problems happen to the best of us, eh @KnightroExpress....? Specifically the way of the exploding headstock?

[KnightroExpress]

Haha yeah, I've definitely exploded a few....wenge is an effective (and splintery!) teacher. 

Learning is what it's all about, man. As long as you're willing to honestly assess things that go wrong for whatever reason, you can figure out a way to improve for the next time you try that task. 

Like Carl said, there is quite simply a lot of experiential muscle memory that needs to develop when working with routers. You can read all sorts of explanations, tips, and tricks, but at the end of the day, it's something you just have to do to build your skills with it. 

I tend to think of a router in sort of the same way as a dog with a destructive personality: if you leave opportunity for him to chew something up, he probably will. By minimizing the amount to be routed, you can minimize the potential for problems.