Custom Guitar Build - First time build

[Bizman62]

Good thinking. The main thing is that you're aware of potential issues and have thought about how severe they may be.

[Armaan]

Nut installation: I have a few questions regarding the nut:

1. How should I go about installing the nut? Should I roughly shape it and leave final slotting for when the guitar is ready to be strung?

2. Should the nut slots follow the headstock angle of 15 degrees or be slotted parallel to the fretboard? I guess if it follows the headstock angle it would have a higher chance of string breakage due to the increased angle at the point that the string makes contact with the nut.

3. Should the nut be radiused exactly as the fretboard is? Is any deviation needed on account of the fact that the low E is fatter than the high E (i.e. and therefore it will sit taller on the nut)?

4. Is there an ideal nut slot depth? I've read that it is advisable for 1/3 of the string to be above the nut.

Anything else I need to know?

Thanks!

   

[ScottR]

 I leave everything about the nut till last, then roughly shape it and slot it when the guitar is ready to be strung. The slots should follow the headstock angle  or even be a degree or so steeper. The break angle should be at the front edge. The bottom or the slots will be radiused the same as the frets. The top edge will account for the string widths and so will be higher at the low E side. On half to one third of the string showing is the norm at least for the thicker strings. That's pretty tough to do for the high E. The key is to keep the strings from hanging up in the slots. A wide Vee shaped slot will accomplish the same thing and it then doesn't matter how much string is exposed.

SR

[Armaan]

8 minutes ago, ScottR said:

 I leave everything about the nut till last, then roughly shape it and slot it when the guitar is ready to be strung. The slots should follow the headstock angle  or even be a degree or so steeper. The break angle should be at the front edge. The bottom or the slots will be radiused the same as the frets. The top edge will account for the string widths and so will be higher at the low E side. On half to one third of the string showing is the norm at least for the thicker strings. That's pretty tough to do for the high E. The key is to keep the strings from hanging up in the slots. A wide Vee shaped slot will accomplish the same thing and it then doesn't matter how much string is exposed.

SR

Thanks! this is super helpful and makes sense.

[Armaan]

Update:

1.      Made the pickup and control cavities using a drill and a forstner bit and completed it with a chisel. Wanted to avoid the router as far as possible.

2.      Started work on the body carves using a chisel – in the process of sanding and smoothening them down. Used a 45 degree angle router to make a chamfer along the horns.

3.      Used a router to cut a groove for the back plate. The bit I had could only accommodate 2mm of cutting and I had to chisel the rest of the groove. 

4.      Cut the back plate from an offcut of walnut that roughly matches the grain on the back of the guitar. Shaped it and in the process of making it sit flush in the groove.

Work-in-progress, so some fine tuning and clean-ups are still required.

[Gogzs]

This is so raw but nice, I like it. As for the nut, I put it on its place and use a pencil to mark the radius of the fretboard on the nut and use that as a guide to slotting. Everything else I agree with what @ScottR said. 

[ADFinlayson]

This is looking great, certainly not looking like a first build 

[Armaan]

21 hours ago, Gogzs said:

This is so raw but nice, I like it. As for the nut, I put it on its place and use a pencil to mark the radius of the fretboard on the nut and use that as a guide to slotting. Everything else I agree with what @ScottR said. 

Yes, makes sense. Alternatively I thought I'd print out an autocad template to make sure I get the radius right.  

[Armaan]

56 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said:

This is looking great, certainly not looking like a first build 

Thanks! Lots of reading and watching youtube videos in the last few weeks and some practice to get to this point. I've certainly made errors, but I've been able to fix them or revise plans to get around them. 

I was looking up the guitars on your website - the Ziricote stoptail is just fantastic. For Ollie's flying V - how did you get the lines on the back? Is that veneers stuck between pieces? Looks amazing

[Armaan]

Knobs and pickup rings: I was initially planning to have all-black electronics, including black acrylic pickup rings and black plastic/aluminium knobs. I'm now thinking that I should make them with wood. I thought of these three options:

Option 1: Walnut-maple-walnut knobs to match the horizontal wood layers in the body. Since the top of these knobs will be walnut, the pickup rings will also be made of walnut.

Option 2: Walnut knob with ebony top. Since the top of these knobs will be ebony, the pickup rings will also be made of ebony.

Option 3: Ebony knobs and pickup rings.

Option 1 will have a more natural woody look and option 2 and 3 will be more in line with the original all-black theme.

What do you guys think?

[Bizman62]

Not saying which one is the best but here's yet another option to stir your mind:

[Gogzs]

3 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

Not saying which one is the best but here's yet another option to stir your mind:

This would trigger my ocd so hard when it's not in parallel with the body stripes. Me personally, I'd go for #2 

[Bizman62]

@Gogzs I fully understand! That was my concern as well but then I thought that even a small indicator dot or directional grain would similarly be off-parallel. Isn't that the meaning of markings on the knobs, to inform the position in one glimpse?

[Armaan]

@Bizman62 I think this would be interesting to use as a volume/tone setting indicator, but I want to have as little maple visible on the face of the guitar to keep it darker. 

@Gogzs I agree - it would bother me as well to have stripes pointing in different directions. 

I'm also thinking of making a chamfer on the top and making a subtle groove on the edge to indicate the setting. 

I might make a few of these and see how it looks placed on the body and then decide.

Thanks!

 

[Armaan]

Control cavity cover plate: I fitted the cover plate to the control cavity and beveled the long edge of the plate on the inside edge. Now it sits flush with the body and if you press down along its longest side it gets pushed in and lifts on the other side.

I will be putting in magnets on the other two sides - this way I avoid using screws or cutting out material to allow it to levered open. 

Quite pleased with how it turned out!

[Bizman62]

8 hours ago, Armaan said:

I might make a few of these and see how it looks placed on the body and then decide.

That's the best way and I suppose you have enough offcuts for all types.

[ADFinlayson]

On 6/23/2021 at 4:34 PM, Armaan said:

Thanks! Lots of reading and watching youtube videos in the last few weeks and some practice to get to this point. I've certainly made errors, but I've been able to fix them or revise plans to get around them. 

I was looking up the guitars on your website - the Ziricote stoptail is just fantastic. For Ollie's flying V - how did you get the lines on the back? Is that veneers stuck between pieces? Looks amazing

Thanks, yeah that's just some plain maple veneer between each of the walnut pieces. That was a pain in the arse to glue up

[Armaan]

On 6/25/2021 at 6:00 AM, ADFinlayson said:

Thanks, yeah that's just some plain maple veneer between each of the walnut pieces. That was a pain in the arse to glue up

Looks fantastic and well worth the extra effort. I would’ve definitely incorporated this style in this build had I known about it. Maybe next time...

[Armaan]

6 minutes ago, Armaan said:

Looks fantastic and well worth the extra effort. I would’ve definitely incorporated this style in this build had I known about it. Maybe next time...

Fretboard Radius: Is it essential to use a radius block or can I get a good result making a radius template? I was thinking of printing an autocad template and sticking it on cardboard to use as a reference. I can’t think of a reason why that wouldn’t work. 

Finishing: I am planning to use boiled linseed oil for the finish. Tried it out on an offcut and I think it looks nice. I’ve read that I should clean the guitar with mineral spirits or isopropyl alchohol before applying an oil finish. Is that right? I’m not familiar at all with any of these processes or materials. 

Also is it a good idea to apply a coat or two of polyurethane after the BLO? I’ve read it adds extra protection and can be sanded for a glossier finish. 

[Bizman62]

5 minutes ago, Armaan said:

Is it essential to use a radius block

No, you can use any tool you think will do the job. Hand planes have been successfully used for creating a radius, a sanding beam should do the same with some more strokes. With a dedicated jig you can even do it with a handheld router! All you need is a tool to remove material and a gauge to tell if your radius is off. There's printable radius gauges all over the internet.

That said, a radiused sanding block is much nicer to use especially if you're not familiar with your tools.

I've never cleaned the wood with solvents before applying oil but there may be wood species that would like it. I guess that it's for making naturally oily wood absorb the oil more uniformly. Wood will suck as much oil as it can and it varies from spot to spot.

Applying poly after the BLO can be problematic if the oil hasn't cured properly. As you know, nothing sticks to a greased surface! Then again, you can even mix poly with BLO and apply some turpentine. 1+1+1 is a common recipe although not stone carved. Basically the result is a Minwax style wipe-on finish which builds up quite fast for a mirror like gloss. More about that: https://thewoodwhisperer.com/articles/make-your-own-oil-varnish-blend/  and  https://www.woodmagazine.com/materials-guide/finishes/make-a-home-brew-wipe-on-finish. If you're uncertain about which of your local polys work with BLO, choose one that already contains it. Same with turps, if the poly says it can be thinned with turps, you can't go wrong.

When you're oiling wood, always remember to wipe the excess off! Wipe plenty until there's no dry looking spot, keep rubbing until it becomes tacky and wipe everything off with a clean paper towel. Wait for some 15 minutes and wipe any sweating oil off. Let cure for at least several hours between coats. An oil layer on the very surface will never dry, at least not in our lifetime!

[Armaan]

Neck profile: Worked on the neck profile using a contour guage, a rasp and sandpaper. Still needs a bit of work to get it down to the final shape.

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[Armaan]

8 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

Applying poly after the BLO can be problematic if the oil hasn't cured properly. As you know, nothing sticks to a greased surface!

In that case, would a BLO finish be sufficient to offer relatively good protection? Or is it worth the hassle of tinkering with poly? 

I'm not that keen on a glossy finish.  

[curtisa]

9 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

No, you can use any tool you think will do the job. Hand planes have been successfully used for creating a radius, a sanding beam should do the same with some more strokes. With a dedicated jig you can even do it with a handheld router! All you need is a tool to remove material and a gauge to tell if your radius is off. There's printable radius gauges all over the internet.

That said, a radiused sanding block is much nicer to use especially if you're not familiar with your tools.

I reckon you'll get a better and more satisfying result if you use a radius block. If you're going to go to the trouble of applying the radius to the fret board by hand using planes, sanding beams and radius templates, you might be better off putting that effort into making your own radius sanding block instead.

A 44 gallon drum has an outside diameter of about 23 inches. You could stick some coarse sandpaper to the side of one and use it to sand a hollow into a block of wood that would yield a radius of 11.5", which is pretty close to your required radius of 12".

Or just buy a premade 12" radius sanding block. They're pretty economical from places like Aliexpress these days.

[Bizman62]

4 hours ago, Armaan said:

would a BLO finish be sufficient to offer relatively good protection?

Oil is nice to touch, it has a very "woody" feel. It also adds some protection, the surface is a bit harder than bare wood. And it repels moisture to some extent. But it's not as wear resistant as poly. However, should something happen, it's relatively easy to patch unlike hard finishes and it can be completely redone when needed.

I've finished a couple of guitars using Osmocolor oil wax. It's meant for flooring among less abrasive uses but it doesn't build a thick protecting layer you'd see on gym hall floors or bowling tracks. Our kid's room lost most of it during a decade or two, but our bedroom floor is still intact after 25 years. No shoes... I've also used Crimson Guitars Guitar Finishing Oil on at least one full guitar and a couple of necks. They have two versions, penetrative and building. For what I know it's basically a similar blend of oil, poly and turps as I described above.

3 hours ago, curtisa said:

I reckon you'll get a better and more satisfying result if you use a radius block.

You heard the man!

I took a look at Aliexpress and indeed you'd get a 20 cm/8" long radiused block, a full length neck support caul and a set of radius gauges for a few tenners.

Hint: Adhesive sandpaper can be difficult to find in suitable grits/lengths/widths. Lay masking tape both on your block and on the back of the sandpaper of your choice and glue them back to back with cyanoacrylate glue. Masking tape is designed to hold without creeping and detach without leaving sticky residues.

[Armaan]

7 hours ago, curtisa said:

Or just buy a premade 12" radius sanding block. They're pretty economical from places like Aliexpress these days.

Unfortunately those cost a lot to ship to India and some don’t ship to India at all. It’s really difficult to get luthier supplies here - the guitar building market is virtually non-existent in India. 
 

Though I agree that it would be better to use a block and am planning to get one made via CNC.