High School Wood Shop Neck Through

[verhoevenc]

Hey, i've been working on this for about an hour every weekday (minus holidays) since about mid January for my wood shop's final project. I've only been woodworking since the begining of this school year, and this is my first guitar. Tell me what ya'll think.

The body's wings are mahogany, and the neck is some type of southeast-asian rosewood (I'm in Singapore) while the fingerboard is indian rosewood from stew mac.

Chris

Ps: What cha'll think of my recessed tune-o-matic bridge idea so that I don't have to angle the neck?

[fizzy_elephant]

looks like a solid job to me.

Hows it going to get kitted out and finished?

Is it me or has it not been fretted yet?

[verhoevenc]

No, it hasn't been fretted yet, it didn't accure to me to fret it BEFORE i put the wings on until I was reading up on that other guy's pinned story on his neck-thru. But that's ok, if there's a will there's a way and I'll get it done. I'm gunna put a EMG setup in it with two seperate volumes (let them control the pickups, no switch!) and then a over-all tone and EMG afterburner. I'll be using 81 and 89 pickups. It'll be a clear gloss finish.... and i'm tempted to stain a cut-away or two black... but i dunno yet.

Chris

[fizzy_elephant]

Im sure you'll find a way.. its just about holding it still whilst you do it and not damaging any of the hard work.

make sure you post a pic when its done

[Setch]

Looks pretty great to me - especially for a first timer with minimal wood working experience. The ribbon grain on the wings will look spectacular when you finish it, I like that kind of figure every bit as much as fancy maple.

[john]

nice work... i agree with setch about the wings. they will look great when finish is applied.

also, i really dig the recessed t-o-m. looks like some excellent craftsmanship youve got going there!

[rhoads56]

Excellent work.

[aeli]

My first guitar was nowhere near that. My second guitar was probably worse than that. My third will be as good as that perhaps a tiny bit better.

Also you should add a mini switch somewhere in the electronics for the emg 89 because it works as two seperate single coils as far as I know.

[krazyderek]

beautiful mahogany, the front routing looks very accurate from those photos. i like those beveled edges on the front aswell

[GregP]

Love the wood grain, as per Setch's comment.

I can't comment intelligently about much else, but it's going to be a nice-looking guitar when it all comes together.

Greg

[westhemann]

looks great...i built a v with a recessed tom and i think you will really like it...i think a standard tom height is too much for me

[verhoevenc]

To the guy that said my routing looks good, thanks, but it's just cause the photo is from far away... lets just say i HAVE to use pickup mounting rings to cover those holes. the back ones fine, but the front one, because the fingerboard i couldn't get the router up there all the way, I had to do that one by hand with a hammer and chisle, etc.!

Thanks for all the comments guys, this is a rush having quality builders really admire my work!

Chris

[skibum5545]

God, that headstock could KILL!!

Great job, excellent choice of woods too.

Definitely go for the mini switch on the 89. Its advantage is that it's the only "splittable" pickup they offer. Definitely utilize that feature if you have it!

Can't wait to see it with a nice finish and hardware etc.

[tsl602000]

very nice...... you did a great job.

Your name sounds Dutch, or Belgian.. Am I close?

[BLS]

WOW! Thats an amazing first guitar. The headstock look killer and I LOVE the figure on that mahogany. Once you completly finish it you better enter it in GOTM!

[verhoevenc]

What's GOTM? And thanks, the headstock USED to be pointier, but someone dented it in my shop class and i had to sand it down a bit. I'm in singapore though, but my name IS dutch, i WAS in belgium until about a year ago though. Some nice guitars there! check out www.kritz.com, they're doing some amazing stuff there in belgium.

[GregP]

GOTM stands for "Guitar of the Month". If you go to the main index, you find links to the threads, with 2 divisions-- amateur and pro-- in which you can enter your guitar.

That kritz.com site was interesting as all hell. A lot of it smacked of jiggery-pokery and voodoo to me, along with a bit of an excessive emphasis on brand recognition... but it made for interesting reading and contained lots of inspiring ideas, too.

Cheers!

Greg

[nonamemx]

It will look more professional with a transparent finish. It will look like an original production guitar, and you will have the best grade in the class.

[verhoevenc]

Yeah, I've played one, they don't PLAY very nicely, and I wasn't a fan of their self wound pickups either. I think if anything they're more of a SHOW piece, and not a players instrument you rock out with.

On the other hand, I was just reading some of the finishing section and have a couple questions.

1) people are talkin' about sealer and nitro, and poly, and a million different things... I just bought a bottle of ColorTone Waterbase Lacquer from stewmac. Can't I just spray on a couple of coats of that?!

2) i was thinking of dying my guitar, but then was wondering if it would look good... what do ya'll think I should do. any color suggestions you pro's think would work for my woods?

3) if i do stain it, can i just use that stewmac stain, and then just cover it with that ColorTone Waterbase Lacquer?

Thanks,

Chris