ScottR Posted August 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2023 Haha! Come on. You'll have to wait till I'm done with this build though. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted August 14, 2023 Report Share Posted August 14, 2023 18 hours ago, ScottR said: I may have mentioned this in the past, but I truly enjoy making necks! SR it shows. man... that purple hue... just lovely. nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2023 8 minutes ago, mistermikev said: it shows. man... that purple hue... just lovely. nice work. Thanks MIke! SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2023 Next I signed the headstock.... Then I taped off the fretboard and go to leveling and dressing frets. Is it just me or does Evo lose some of its gold color after polishing? SR 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2023 For a long time I've been looking for spiral cut pattern following bits. I hate the noisy chattering of the straight bladed pattern following bits that seem to be what is only available. I found what I was looking for this year. It's from SpeTool, sold on Amazon, made in China, a half inch compression bit on a quarter inch shaft, with a one inch cutting surface. It's the smoothest cutting pattern bit I own. So far. It hasn't had a huge test yet. Zero chatter. I'd think it would guess less tear out in figured wood. We'll see. Look at this beastie! It cut a fine neck pocket. Set neck guitar neck set. SR 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted August 20, 2023 Report Share Posted August 20, 2023 The top carve on the headstock is really nice. I didn’t quite get the volute shape until now that you carved the initials into it. Beautiful! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2023 12 hours ago, henrim said: The top carve on the headstock is really nice. I didn’t quite get the volute shape until now that you carved the initials into it. Beautiful! Thanks Henri. That headstock and volute has evolved a bit over the years. In my earliest builds I was always concerned that headstocks were fragile constructions with the stress of angles, string tension and trussrod channels and counter tension. My early headstocks included the stout volute and a center spline to give the headstock added strength (in my mind anyway). That got refined to eventually lose the spline since I saw no evidence of breakage, and was often fighting with enough room for the tuning machines as I tried to get them closer to straight pulls. That lead to them more current shaped volute, which I freely admit took some design features from @killemall8's volutes, namely the transition from the neck to the headstock. Then I was building a guitar for my son and getting some pressure to sign the builds. I recalled a comment from @sdshirtman stating the volute would be a good place for a logo. This didn't happen all at once....there was no lightbulb going on over my head. In fact I thought it was all my own idea, but over the years I recognized the influences. Anyway I signed my son's guitar like this: And have done so since. SR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted August 21, 2023 Report Share Posted August 21, 2023 {jealousy} Now you're just showing off and rubbing it in. {/jealousy} I think I have the exact same thing. I'm sure the "brand name" isn't the same, but we all know that doesn't matter with Chinese stuff. Once I started using it, my rough end grain disappeared. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2023 6 hours ago, avengers63 said: I think I have the exact same thing. I'm sure the "brand name" isn't the same, but we all know that doesn't matter with Chinese stuff. Once I started using it, my rough end grain disappeared. That's good to hear. It certainly felt smooth routing out that neck pocket. But then it was brand new and and as sharp as it ever was going to be. Let's see how long it lasts. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted August 23, 2023 Report Share Posted August 23, 2023 Those router bits look a bit good, I've ordered myself one. I expect this guitar is going to look a bit good too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2023 35 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said: Those router bits look a bit good, I've ordered myself one. I expect this guitar is going to look a bit good too. Thanks Ash. I hope so too.....it is the plan. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 27, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2023 Two things happened this week that put a kink in my building plans. First, is my pickups have not arrived yet.I prefer to rout the neck pick up prior to glue up, so I don't have to work my template around the fretboard. I love my Klein pickups and have purchased many pairs over the years. They take a while to deliver. The website says 2-3 weeks is normal.....and I have had a couple orders deliver in that time frame, but 6-10 weeks is more common. Apparently, Mr. Klein himself, and only Mr. Klein is allowed to build them. And they ship them world wide. And my bandsaw went kaput before I cut the neck pocket in the top. So first I cleaned up the neck tenon and made a template for the pocket by taping together three pieces of polycarb with straight edges to frame the pocket and then drawing the body shape on it. I used that to locate the position on the top and traced the pocket onto it. Normally I would bandsaw the opening out just inside the lines, but no working bandsaw anymore, So I used my fretsaw and clamped a couple of polycarb blocks to form a saw guide. Then I glued some sandpaper to a small scraper for a sanding block and using a machinist's square to keep it the opening true, I finessed it to the proper fit. SR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ScottR Posted August 27, 2023 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted August 27, 2023 And it does fit. So I rubbed in a little mineral spirits for the first glamourish shots of it looking recognizably like a guitar. SR 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 28, 2023 Report Share Posted August 28, 2023 It's so refreshing to see that the urge of building wins the lack of a power tool! A pickup fitting to that hole would look killer! Individually wound pole pieces and all! Sort of a knuckle duster by the looks... But I can already see why it wouldn't work, not even for a bass: The outermost pole pieces would be too far. Making a six-piece version would also change the looks to the worse as the proportions would change. Yet this gave me some interesting brain gymnastics to start the day with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted August 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2023 7 hours ago, Bizman62 said: It's so refreshing to see that the urge of building wins the lack of a power tool! That actually yielded a very clean and controlled cut. I may adopt it for that particular step even after I replace the bandsaw. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ScottR Posted September 4, 2023 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted September 4, 2023 No pickups yet. I set myself up for a four day weekend and find myself at a near standstill on my build. On the other hand my new bandsaw arrived. That was quick. It's amazing what you can get at Amazon these days. And it was 200 dollars less than anywhere else I found it and delivered free to my garage. Suddenly I did have something to do. First was getting 285 lbs. of bandsaw out of the box by myself. I managed to get that done, and got it assembled onto the base and upright. And then spent most of another day setting it up and playing just a little. It's a bit bigger than my old....dead.....Craftsman 12". I located where the pickups would be if I had them, and screwed the top to the body where the pickups routes would be. You know, if I had pickups on hand to verify that the routes would be correctly sized. I decided to cut a piece of topwood offcut into a useful test piece on my new bandsaw. Then I tested the color combination I'm planning to use. This is just dye and sandback and then flooded with tabletop epoxy to seal and grainfill. I intend to spray a lacquer tint over that to get to the final colors. It should end up looking very deep. And, oh yeah, did I mention my new bandsaw? SR 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted September 5, 2023 Report Share Posted September 5, 2023 Let us know how you like that Rikon, Scott. I've got that same Craftsman saw, and I'm sick of it. Build is looking great, per usual! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted September 5, 2023 Report Share Posted September 5, 2023 The bandsaw looks just the ticket! Count me as envious It's frustrating about the pickups, though. Hopefully they will arrive this week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted September 5, 2023 Report Share Posted September 5, 2023 12 hours ago, ScottR said: And, oh yeah, did I mention my new bandsaw? SR Oooh yeah that thing looks like a beast, your hardwood stash just got a lot softer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2023 14 hours ago, mattharris75 said: Let us know how you like that Rikon, Scott. I've got that same Craftsman saw, and I'm sick of it. Build is looking great, per usual! You know, that Craftsman served me well for a long time......RIP. Some initial observations on the Rikon. 1.75 HP seems smooth and powerful so far. It has a quick release for blade tension. Guide bearings are toolless. I'm not sure yet if that will turn into a pro or con. They are also spring loaded to push away from the blade. So you have to hold them in place and lock them tight enough to hold with a thumb screw. Fine adjustments might be easier if the bearing didn't have a spring pushing it away from the blade. The fence is very nice. All the factory pre-adjusted settings are spot on . It says 14" but the throat is 13.5", and re-saw capability is 13"......much more than my Craftsman at 6.75". So far so good. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2023 5 hours ago, ADFinlayson said: Oooh yeah that thing looks like a beast, your hardwood stash just got a lot softer. I did cut a few slices of an 8"x8" piece of mesquite like it was slicing a ham. SR 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted September 5, 2023 Report Share Posted September 5, 2023 I know EXACTLY what you're feeling right now. I did my last bandsaw upgrade ever earlier this year. Yes, it's lots of fun. It's damn satisfying to have a high-end tool with all the bells & whistles to screw around with. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2023 17 hours ago, avengers63 said: I know EXACTLY what you're feeling right now. I did my last bandsaw upgrade ever earlier this year. Yes, it's lots of fun. It's damn satisfying to have a high-end tool with all the bells & whistles to screw around with. When I saw the notification I was thinking I remembered you got a Grizzly. And this answers my next question. Gotta go find something to cut.... SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted September 10, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2023 Pickups did not ship....... Test on scrap. I can't tell you how valuable trying new techniques can be. SR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted September 11, 2023 Report Share Posted September 11, 2023 Ooh, you built a fancy sanding block! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.