High End Build - this one is gonna take a while

[Bizman62]

10 hours ago, avengers63 said:

I'm crap at making jigs. If you come up with something useful, be sure to tell us about it.

My idea about a router jig for such a roundover bit is very simple: Two rails on a board and a large base plate for the router.

[avengers63]

Having a 2"+ diameter bit hanging that far out of the collet......  my gut says that's a bad idea. Maybe I'm wrong, and I probably am, but just the idea of it makes my butthole clench up.

How do you propose to keep the neck clamped down?

[mistermikev]

if I may... personally I think using a bit that big is insane.  I have had to use big bits before for solid surface.  attaching a sink to a counter-top you have to do a big fat roundover to transition to the sink bowl... with a 3.5hp router and that giant bit... well it was not something I looked fwd to.  a big plexi glass base helps... as any sort of tilt could spell disaster.  a big 3.5hp router helps too because it's heavy and much less likely to get choked.

Personally, if I had to do what you are doing with a neck... I would think a planer jig would be the way to go (I know... it does everything!).  you could set the gradient into the planer rails, the router could be locked into the sled to give more stability by only allowing movement along the neck.  You could lock the neck into the jig at the heel/headstock using scrap pieces and lag bolts through the bed.  I'd def be taking no more than 1/16 off on a pass.  imo that's about as safe as it could get.  

I've seen guys setup a carrier board for the neck, and use one of those bits in an overhead pin router... folks do it but looks insane to me.  Have also seen folks do similar on a router table... again, not something I'd volunteer for.  it seems to me that with a planer jig you could at least have some insurance of the limited direction the router could go in if things go wrong.

I hate to be the voice of "nervous nancy", and only you know what you can do... just thought I'd mention and hope there is something useful in my comments.

[Bizman62]

3 hours ago, avengers63 said:

Having a 2"+ diameter bit hanging that far out of the collet......  my gut says that's a bad idea. Maybe I'm wrong, and I probably am, but just the idea of it makes my butthole clench up.

How do you propose to keep the neck clamped down?

As you see it's not a photo of an existing system. I guess I should have mentioned that the proportions and dimensions are exaggerated for clarifying the tools/additions/support needed. As @mistermikev said, a large plexiglass base would help - it's the red stripe between the router and the brown blocks.

As per clamping the neck down... double sided tape or masking tape and super glue may not suffice. A clamp (bench clamp, bench dog clamp, C clamp, G clamp, F clamp...) at either end should do. If the headstock already has an angle or is cut lower in the Fender style, a small mirroring block fastened to the base board should even allow for using screws through the tuner holes at that end. Similarly, a screw or four a the heel could be used instead of a clamp.

[Charlie H 72]

Exciting build and nice bits! I agree with you about using em on a handheld router it makes me nervous! I recently made a curvy 2” dia handrail for work (these are a pics of the mock-up) using a 2” roundover bit in a table.
 

 

I raised the bit up  1/64 at most per pass so the final thing came out quite smooth. It might be worth your time to see if you can modify the table to accept those bits. A collet extender can come in handy as well, especially if you need to clear the headstock angle

[avengers63]

Scarf accent is out of the clamps. I would have put the headstock on, but it's just too damn hot right now. We're supposed to have about a 105 heat index. Also, I blew my wad for heat tolerance on the kit bash. 

I COULD be working on the inlay, but someone decided to use the work table as a place to pile their crap.

[mistermikev]

it's a breezy 102 today in az... which beats the 114 it was just a day ago!  that heat just sucks the life out of me... i come inside and drink a half gallon of water and have to sit on the couch for an hour for ever 20 mins of work i do!

that said... looks like it was worth it for you... nice looking neck blank.

[avengers63]

No, I didn't do this. But now I want to. And I could totally pull it off. Talk about lutherie as art.....

[ScottR]

On 7/30/2022 at 1:00 PM, avengers63 said:

No, I didn't do this. But now I want to. And I could totally pull it off. Talk about lutherie as art.....

GO FOR IT!!!

SR

[avengers63]

On 8/8/2022 at 11:34 AM, ScottR said:

GO FOR IT!!!

SR

I got too many in the works right now. Being on the road M-F, I only get Saturday to work on anything. That's just not enough, but it is what it is. On the positive, I'm banking close to $2K/month. We're going to be moving in the Spring. When that happens, I'll be able to completely pay off the house in less than 2 years, AND max out a couple of Roth IRAs. The life really sucks now, but there's a healthy payoff.

 

Back to guitar news.....

I put stringers on the headplates so I can put them through the planer

 

The headstock center is in the clamps. From here, the wings get glued on, then the headplate.

 

I ordered the fretboard and headstock inlays today. Just over $200, but DAMN are they sexy! So it was time to prep the fretboard. It's a nice dark piece of ebony. This radius bit.....  I REALLY wish I had this 15 years ago.

 

 

[ScottR]

22 hours ago, avengers63 said:

I got too many in the works right now. Being on the road M-F, I only get Saturday to work on anything. That's just not enough, but it is what it is. On the positive, I'm banking close to $2K/month. We're going to be moving in the Spring. When that happens, I'll be able to completely pay off the house in less than 2 years, AND max out a couple of Roth IRAs. The life really sucks now, but there's a healthy payoff.

It's definitely a good time to be a truck driver. My graphics company has over half a dozen big fleet accounts and every one of them are ordering major graphics advertising drivers wanted. I'm talking Walmart sized fleets here.

You have been due a few nice breaks.....good on you!

I pretty much only play in the garage on Saturdays and part of Sundays. It works.

SR

[avengers63]

1 hour ago, ScottR said:

You have been due a few nice breaks.....good on you!

MAN but you ain't lyin'!!!!!!  2019 & 20 were as bad as I've ever had it. I was beyond low & desperate there for a bit. Now I'm blowing close to $1K on a fancy build. just because I can. It can all change in a big-ass hurry.

And yes, the trucking industry is is DIRE need across the board. It's definitely an employee's market right now. 3 years ago when I got my class A CDL, entry pay was about $0.45-0.50/mile and no sign on bonus. Now if they're not offering $0.65/mi and $5K sign on, they're not getting applications. FWIW: The average for a 5-day driver is 2000-2200 miles/week. A 6-day driver adds another 600 miles. You do the math and see where the industry is.

[ScottR]

 I know Walmart went from whatever they were paying to 100k a year plus signing bonus to fill their ranks..

I've been selling stuff to them for 40years, but that still makes me consider a lifestyle change.

SR

[avengers63]

11 hours ago, ScottR said:

 I know Walmart went from whatever they were paying to 100k a year plus signing bonus to fill their ranks..

I've been selling stuff to them for 40years, but that still makes me consider a lifestyle change.

SR

WM is the absolute industry leader for pay & benefits. I've talked with several of their drivers, and they've all said the same thing. They treat their drivers better than anyone out there as far as compensation is concerned. The major drawback are that they have a pile of nit-picky rules that don't really accomplish anything, and they have to wear a uniform. But for 1/3 more pay, I think I could adapt. The only reason I'm not working for them right now is that I don't have enough experience. After we move and the house is paid off, my current plan is to try and get on as the nearest WM Distribution Center. 

And you don't want this lifestyle. Living in the cab is borderline inhumane. I'm seriously counting the days until I can bump down to a home daily gig and get my life back.

[ScottR]

I thought it would be a good way to see the country when I was in my early twenties. Now having dealt with Houston traffic for 21 years, there's no way I'd want to deal with that in a big rig.

Or even my Jeep.

SR

[avengers63]

On 8/15/2022 at 3:38 PM, ScottR said:

I thought it would be a good way to see the country when I was in my early twenties. Now having dealt with Houston traffic for 21 years, there's no way I'd want to deal with that in a big rig.

Or even my Jeep.

SR

The thing is.... you don't get to see any part of the country that's worth seeing. You see the highways and warehouses. That's IT. You're not in town long enough to do anything but get unloaded or swap trailers and then head out to the next shipper. If your wheels ain't rollin', you ain't earnin'.  It sounds good, but the whole "seeing the country" thing just ain't the way it is. Like so many other things in life. sigh

[avengers63]

I got the  truss rod channel routed and the headstock wings glued on. I was WANTING to plane down the headstock plates also, but the one had the runners glued on crooked, and the other's runner exploded in the planer. Maybe next weekend.

 

[Bizman62]

I already can see some future awesomeness there...

[avengers63]

I talked to DePaul inlays today on the way home. The inlay set is out of stock, so they had to make one. It'll prolly be here by the end of September. Good thing I'm not in a hurry.

Also, I've been thinking all week about making a travelling backpacker type acoustic. It ought to be a really fast and easy thing to knock out. Because I clearly don't have enough things going on at once with far too little time to get anything done on any of them.

 

[avengers63]

To those 7 of you who are following this build, I'd like y'all's opinion. Both of these vibrato systems will produce essentially the same result. The question is which do you think would LOOK better? The Tiesco style or the Les Trem?

 

[avengers63]

The headstock has wings and has been surface jointed. The ebony headplates have been planed down as much as is necessary. There are some minor imperfections on the surface of all three pieces, but they are all outside the area of the headstock, so perfection there is unnecessary.

 

I'm finally starting on the massive inlay for the back. The first thing I needed to do was cut apart the major pieces of the picture. In the 1st pic, the pieces are just laid out together. The cut apart pieces are all taped together into place properly.

 

This thing is f'ing HUGE. I'll freely admit that I'm more than a little intimidated by the sheer scope of it. But we are not to shy away from doing hard things. It's the challenges we overcome which make us grow. I'm not sure I can pull this off to my satisfaction. But we'll find out, now won't we.   

[Bizman62]

On 8/27/2022 at 3:51 PM, avengers63 said:

The question is which do you think would LOOK better? The Tiesco style or the Les Trem?

That's a tough one! The Teisco may have a tad more vintage freehand poetry in the shape of the arm, then again the LesTrem has more round things spread in the construction. The LesTrem with the Teisco arm would be my choice!

[JGTay]

3 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

The LesTrem with the Teisco arm

Agree with Bizman, would be good to have it that way if possible. 

[avengers63]

I was all but set on the Les Trem. I just wanted an ounce of input.

In other news......

I got nearly all of it cut out. The halo is wenge, the dress is slightly flamed ash, the skin is maple, the hair is mahogany, the metal bits will be yellowheart, and the interior of the halo will be birdseye maple. It will all be mounted on a poplar backer bedore inlaying it in one piece into the back. 

I ordered 3 piles of recon stone to inlay into it. The eyes will be mother of pearl, the outlines jet, and the ribbons & lips some reddish stone I can't remember the name of right now. Not sure what to do about her left nipple.

And yes, I have a ton of confidence that I will indeed screw this up on a catastrophically immense scale.

[avengers63]

This chick is HUGE!!!!! This is her, although completely backwards right now, then side by side with the backing veneer she'll be mounted on before inlaying. The outline is about 1/4" bigger than the actual perimeter of the back. There will be a LOT of overhang. I've clearly overdone it just a bit. Life goes on, and it'll still be amazing when it's done.