zeegeit Posted July 17, 2004 Report Share Posted July 17, 2004 Hey people! Well.. don't start laughing at me immediately because I'm going to build a guitar out of multi plyboard; it's just to try it out =D I don't know if this is the right forum to post it, but since it's more like a solid-body guitar than a hollow-body, I thought "Whatever!" . Ok down to the point. I'm creating this guitar out of multiplyboard (I'll call it multiplex ok?) It's going to be a Les Paul Junior style semi-acoustic ( ) My plan is this: Sandwich two layers of multiplex(18 mm thick) between 2 layers of triplex (3.6 mm) . I've created a website where you can see my daily progress. Semi-Acoustic guitar out of Multi-ply board Hope you like it..it's my first project ever BTW..half of the parts come from a strat-clone which i bought from my brother =D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helge Posted July 18, 2004 Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 hi, funny idea. i pay 8€ for an alder and 13€ for a mahogany blank. i get the wood unfinished (picture) and then do all the work and gluing myself. takes some time, but saves money, too!!! if you are from germany let me know and maybe i can send you some wood someday for your next solid body project. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeegeit Posted July 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 Well, another update on my project; it's now the end of day 2. We've switched the plans from a semi-acoustic guitar to a solidbody(first project, trying to keep things as easy as possible ) but work's going on just fine. Here's a pic of how the body parts look now And , since I couldn't resist putting on the neck , here's a picture of the body with the neck on it I know they may look a bit sloppy, but I don't care well, that's all I have to say now, so go ahead, post some replies and make my day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted July 18, 2004 Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 I have to say that the neck is too low. You will have a lot of trouble playing higher than the 15th fret.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_ed Posted July 18, 2004 Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 There is a more important issue than access to the 15th fret, and that is the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge. If it is not the same as from the nut to the 12th fret, the intonation will be off. Guitar Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefm Posted July 18, 2004 Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 The pickup routes are a touch rough...err.... that and the control route....why did you cut it from both??? why get 2 covers??? what do you plan to screw them into??? that and the knot on the back is just itching to cause you trouble Maybe I'm missing something...are these templates??? I'm sorry if I'm missing something here but it looks like it's not well planned and most likely full of unpleasant surprises along the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 typically plywood is used for templates not as the actual body, unless your lookin for a cheap strat knock off, save urself some trouble by thinkin bout starting over with a piece of alder ull prolly end up happier with the end results MzI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truerussian558 Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 for the pickup routes (on a pickguaurd less guitar especially), you should have gotten templates, they're only like 4 bucks from stewmac, and it makes the routes veryneat. also whats the point of routing the control cavity all the way through , . also if the bridge is a tremelo, where is the spring cavity, if its not, why the through body route where the briddge is.... also with the pickup routes, if they are for huimbuckers (are they?), they have tabs at the side for the mountings screws, and all this other stuff, it looks like the routes are too small (unless they are sc's), so you might want to invest in the templates and re route to the correct shape. and i still dont get what the point is with the plywood even if it is as a try, plywood gbeneraly isnt good as a tone wood (though there are exceptions) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefm Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 I was actually curious about the bridge as well...it looks like a trem in the photo...is it just a trem that you're not having move?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truerussian558 Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 I was actually curious about the bridge as well...it looks like a trem in the photo...is it just a trem that you're not having move?? it seems like thats what he wanted, but you still need the springs or the edge of the bridge will dig into the front of the guitar and screw with action, intonation, sustain, and others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeegeit Posted July 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Hey Wow, lots of replies ! tnx There is a more important issue than access to the 15th fret, and that is the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge. If it is not the same as from the nut to the 12th fret, the intonation will be off. The distance from the 12th fret to the bridge is the same as the distance from the 12th fret to the nut...I know it looks different, but the guitar is tilted in that picture. It measures up to a 25.5 inch scale length (same as the original guitar) that and the control route....why did you cut it from both??? why get 2 covers??? what do you plan to screw them into??? that and the knot on the back is just itching to cause you trouble We cut the control (with the jigsaw) from both sides because we couldn't cut say 8 mm in the lower board(no router), and if we only cut it out of the top layer, it would be to shallow to put the electronics in...that's basically the reason. The knot isn't actually a knot..it's a hole where the cables can fit through typically plywood is used for templates not as the actual body, unless your lookin for a cheap strat knock off, save urself some trouble by thinkin bout starting over with a piece of alder ull prolly end up happier with the end results I know I would probably end up more satisfied with a piece of alder, but to work with alder i'd need a router ..at least that's what I thought And I wanted to try this with the tools we had in stock...just to see whether it could be pulled off, that's why I used the multi-plyboard ; it was only about 8 euro.. for the pickup routes (on a pickguaurd less guitar especially), you should have gotten templates, they're only like 4 bucks from stewmac, and it makes the routes veryneat. also whats the point of routing the control cavity all the way through , . also if the bridge is a tremelo, where is the spring cavity, if its not, why the through body route where the briddge is.... also with the pickup routes, if they are for huimbuckers (are they?), they have tabs at the side for the mountings screws, and all this other stuff, it looks like the routes are too small (unless they are sc's), so you might want to invest in the templates and re route to the correct shape. I know the pickup cavities are rough, but the plan is to glue another layer onto this body, to suspend the pickups. I actually did have sort of templates...but we're sawing these out with a jigsaw instead of with a router, and the saw's blade isn't very thin. These cavities are actually ment for single coils, and they actually tuck in quite nice it seems like thats what he wanted, but you still need the springs or the edge of the bridge will dig into the front of the guitar and screw with action, intonation, sustain, and others indeed the bridge is actually a trem without the springs etc., but I didn't know you'd need the springs even if you don't plan to use it as a trem, but now that you mention it, it seems natural..i'll look into that... thanks for mentioning that For my next project I will use hardwood But , again, this is just a test. Hope that gives you the answers you wanted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 I think you'd be much better off with any other hardwood than multiplex. If you can't afford a router you might want to look into using a chisel, rasps and files. It's a lot more work but you can still get decent results. Look at the stratocaster and les paul "built the hard way" tutorial on the main site. Where are you located Zeegeit? Zeegeit: translated from Dutch = Sea Goat (go figure) Could you be in Holland? If so you might want to check out the A'dam fijnhouthandel or the Arnhem fijnhouthandel. You'll get ash, maple or mahogany there (or whatever else) for a body for probably around 30€ If not you can find meranti pretty much in any Gamma or Praxis for pretty cheap. It's not a tone wood and probably not recommended but I found a website of someone who did build a bass out of meranti once and he seemed to like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeegeit Posted July 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 hey Phil! Yes I'm from the netherlands... I'll look into those wood shops. I actually bought the wood at Gamma..it's meranti multiplex (I didn't find any solid hardwoods.. the only thing they had was pine (18 mm thick) and that wasn't even in stock.) If I were to go for a totally low-budget router, what would I probably have to spend? Well here's another pic of the guitar body as it is now I really like building this guitar (even though it'll probably sound like sh*t ), and for my next project I'll use hardwood, mommy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Gamma had a Ferm router on sale for 35€ not long ago. I don't think you'll find it though, it's probably sold-out. I know Praxis sells another no-name cheap one for 65€, it even comes with 10 different bits and it's better quality than the Ferm one. Bosch makes very good routers and sell one at 99€ at Praxis. Pine (vuurhout) just like multiplex is not really recommended. Where are you? I'm in Den Haag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeegeit Posted July 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 Allright... maybe I'll check 'em out I'm not that far from the Hague I thought spruce was vurenhout? Pine was spar..at least that's what I thought, but whatever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted July 19, 2004 Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 dont use pine or any soft wood it dents to easy and doesnt have good tonal qualities, and ur best bet would be to give in and buy a router, yes they are expensive but if your gonna keep building your gonna need it to get quality consistent results unless you have ungodly skills with chisels and rasps MzI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeegeit Posted July 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2004 OK, thanks for the advice I'll stay away from the pine Phil, I saw the Ferm router for 30 euro at Kijkshop, I guess it's the same thing, maybe I'll buy it later I've bought my paint today; it's a kind of blue (Fresh blue ) and it's supposed to be able to give you a brilliant shine (after a few coats and sanding ) so I'll start on that tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefm Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Well that top does make it look nice and that "knot" now that you mention it does look like a jack plate type hole Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeegeit Posted July 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2004 Well, I've made some progress ; the first coat of blue is now on; here are some pictures(the color isn't the same on the pictures, but in reality they are..had something to do with the lighting in the garage) Today I will do another coat of blue I'll keep you posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted July 23, 2004 Report Share Posted July 23, 2004 ive said it before about the pine!!! normal whitewood, common pine would suck. but pitch or yellow pine is a great wood to make a body from. it has great tone, but is expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ultraman Posted July 23, 2004 Report Share Posted July 23, 2004 There is a more important issue than access to the 15th fret, and that is the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge. If it is not the same as from the nut to the 12th fret, the intonation will be off. Guitar Ed i dont se the problem... you can just move the bridge up 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.