meatloaf Posted February 1, 2017 Report Share Posted February 1, 2017 I've really got the build bug now and am starting my third build. Although the shape may be familiar this is not going to be a copy. I am still playing about with headstock designs but I'm sure to come up with something by the time I need it. The specs are 24.75" scale a Sapele body , maple neck with a rosewood fret board and headstock veneer, a pair of irongear blues engine pickups, a strat type tremolo bridge, with the possibility of using three six way four pole switches so the pickups can be switched in as many ways as possible. I've called this "out of hell and back" because my plan is to airbrush the body inspired by the artwork on Meat loafs three bat out of hell albums, I've have done some airbrush painting but this is going to be a bit of a challenge but of course these specs can and probably will be changed at my discretion 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 I'm looking forward to this build and your art. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted February 2, 2017 Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 and that's gonna be some switching system! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatloaf Posted February 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2017 Before starting the neck I borrowed 2.5items radius jig idea but added a couple of sleds. The first is a thicknesser Then after cutting the scarf joint by hand I made a scarf sanding sled but in hindsight I should have made a sled for my router as my cutting was far from perfect and it took a lot longer to sand than I anticipated. But after a lot of sanding I got the result I was after. scarf joint glued up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatloaf Posted February 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 Just an update of a little progress today. By doing a little mod to my thicknesser sled I was able to use it to route my truss rod slot, It was just a case of fixing the router to the sled so all I had to do was fix the neck to the base and fit a stop so I didn't overshoot and make the slot too long. As you can see I didn't quite get the slot perfectly central but that won't be a problem but I must be more careful next time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 That looks to be a very stable and nicely built thicknessing jig. I find myself with slightly off center slots from time to time. As you say, they do not create a problem. And if you have sufficient room you can just center your fretboard over the slot. Once the excess is trimmed away, no evidence remains. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 Awesome!! I like what ya did with the jig! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 Very well made jigs - bodes very well for a very well made guitar build 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 I'm liking that thicknessing jig. Have you got a vacuum hose on the sled box to remove the shavings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatloaf Posted February 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 On 05/02/2017 at 4:04 PM, ScottR said: if you have sufficient room you can just center your fretboard over the slot. Once the excess is trimmed away, no evidence remains. SR That's the plan Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatloaf Posted February 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 8 hours ago, Norris said: I'm liking that thicknessing jig. Have you got a vacuum hose on the sled box to remove the shavings? I thought about that but decided to keep things simple so I left the hose attached to the router which works up to a point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatloaf Posted February 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Slight change of plan, I was out visiting a friend in Essex a few days back and made a detour to a wood yard just for a browse and ended up buying a piece of maple and some black American walnut. Using my new toy it was time for rip, flip and stick. Sorry no photo of the glue up but after leaving it overnight it was time for thicknessing unfortunately before I could route out the truss rod channel my on/off switch on my router table had an internal failure and wouldn't stay switched on. new switch on order. Decided to make myself a fret slotting mitre box to use with the G & W fretting template and indexing pin but should I cut the slots before routing the radius or should I radius first and then cut the slots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Either/or. If you slot first make sure you cut deep enough so that when you've finished radiusing, there's enough of the slots left at the edges to guide the saw when you re-cut them to the final depth. Radiusing first will save you two sets of cuts with the fret slotting saw, but makes gluing to the neck a little more difficult. Pros and cons for both. Personally, for a basic slotting job (eg, no fret board binding) I'd slot first, attach fret board to neck, radius and then do a final pass with the fret slotting saw + depth guide to get the slots cut to the correct depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 2, 2017 Report Share Posted March 2, 2017 On 2/24/2017 at 2:58 PM, curtisa said: Personally, for a basic slotting job (eg, no fret board binding) I'd slot first, attach fret board to neck, radius and then do a final pass with the fret slotting saw + depth guide to get the slots cut to the correct depth. Likewise. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatloaf Posted May 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2017 Wow time flies and life just got in the way of this build and I must admit that another little project distracted me as well. Guitar building (and other recent projects) have involved attacking stationary wood with fast spinning sharp pieces of metal and I fancied attacking fast spinning wood with stationary sharp pieces of metal. I haven't done this for about 50 years, anyway using an old washing machine motor I built a wood turning lathe. Having absolutely no turning skill I played with this for a couple of months and it worked quite well but it did have some limitations so using my kids inheritance I splashed out for this. Sorry I digress back to my build, yesterday I glued on the fret board And today I trimmed it up using my router. I finally got to use my radius jig which worked out quite well. I cut out the body on my band saw and routed it using my template and routed the neck pocket, I got so focused on the job in hand I forgot to take pictures. Some time ago I cut out a MOP inlay for the headstock, it was my first attempt at this and while I was quite pleased with the result for a first attempt I'm not sure if it's good enough to use. I'll think on that for a while. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdogg Posted May 11, 2017 Report Share Posted May 11, 2017 That looks excellent for a first attempt. I've only done a few inlays but I can absolutely tell you that you skills improve by leaps and bounds on #1 -> #2 and #2 -> #3. If it were me I would redo the inlay, not because your first is bad, but because your 2nd is likely to be leaps and bounds better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted May 11, 2017 Report Share Posted May 11, 2017 Cool lathe. And that is looking like a nice clean job you've got going there. Based on Jdogg's comment, I'd be tempted to cut another one just to see if it's true. (Of course, personally, I hate cutting the stuff so I'd probably resist the temptation). My thought is your first attempt is plenty good enough to use. But if you are not totally sold on it, and don't hate cutting the stuff--you got nothing to lose by making another one and seeing if you like it better. And you need not re-cut the whole thing if only certain aspects of it are bugging you. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratsRdivine Posted May 12, 2017 Report Share Posted May 12, 2017 Nice work!! Its so bizarre to think that you bought an imported exotic, while we here (in your original country) can get it anywhere. About 25 years ago, a client of mine gave me their walnut tree, if I took it down. When we bandsaw milled it fresh, I was astonished by the coloration. There are actually purple, red and black streaks in fresh cut green walnut, but they soon go brown with oxidation. Kindof reminded me of Cocobolo. What a revealing experience. The smell is amazing too. Way different than the aromatic smell of dried walnut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eubie Posted May 15, 2017 Report Share Posted May 15, 2017 Love the proportions on this guitar - it really looks like its going to be a beauty. -- se Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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