lucky1 Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 (edited) Edited September 19, 2004 by lucky1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrock Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 When hollowing out a strat (or other guitar with a belly cut) make sure that you don't route through the belly cut as the guitar is a lot thinner at this point. Not that I'd do that Oh, don't do any work when you're either drunk or stoned (or both) because you'll either balls something up or route off you testicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themikestro Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 If you've got a bolt on neck with a curved end (like a strat) make sure you re-measure the scale length when you've got the shape of the neck pocket right 'cos it's bound to be further into the body than you planned after you try and get it tidied up with chisels and a dremel. Or at least it was with me and now my intonation is permanently off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 There IS a certain order for doing things which will make the whole project go smoother. The last thing you want is to have a pleasant and interesting experience turn into an ordeal. As far as setting necks and dealing with scale lengths etc. , in regards to themikestro's post above, one of the last things I would do would be drilling the bridge mounts for bridge placement, . Also, its much easier to do stuff like routing truss rod slot, clamping fretboard etc. when the neck is still square. Just think of what needs to be done and then work out ways to organize those things so that you don't wind up having to do it the hard way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwm Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 make sure you know EXACTLY how deep your truss rod channel is before shaping the back of your neck. i butchered 2 necks by not doing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_ed Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 Very important phrases for life, not just guitar building: It is NOT a mistake. It is a FEATURE. I reliced it on purpose. Just trying something new. I might be able to get a patent on that thing. ---------------------------------------- Guitar Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 dont trust someone else to do ur work for u chances are they are gonna screw it up, and you hafta deal with it for example, i started out with a 1 inch flamed maple board for my top to my v, so its roughly under 1 inch to start, after resawing its down to 1/4 inch per piece, now i have 2 useless pieces of highly figured flamed maple, but i did fix it so dont think u are gonna get the pieces, im puttin a 1/8 inch layer of purple heart to make up the space MzI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdguitars Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 just because a friend says that they can do it does not mean that they are good at it. The very first guitar I made I had a buddy bandsaw the neck and ruined a great piece of flamed maple. Thats when I started to do all my own cuttin... Make templates. LETS SAY THAT AGAIN... MAKE TEMPLATES. much easier to mess up a 5 dollar piece of plywood than a 100 quilted top or whatever... 1 guitar full of messups is a guitar full of messups. Take the time a make a quality instrument. saying its a players guitar means its a piece of junk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 Howdy, Check out this link for a bunch of advice from lots of the knowledgable people on this forum. Advice Thread My most recent contribution would be to be careful when you shape your neck near the back of the headstock. I accidently took a little bit too much off of one side and now it looks ever so slightly lopsided. Nothing fatal. Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky1 Posted August 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 (edited) Edited September 19, 2004 by lucky1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82DeanZ Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 No big deal to me, I'm just glad to help. Every online community has its "forum police" (even this one although this forum seems to have fewer of them and the members are much more willing to be helpful), but I'm not one of them. If I see a post that I know has been addressed before, I realize I'm in a unique position to help and I'm perfectly happy to do so. I hope you found the information useful! Best Regards, Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertonessuckbutigotone Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 i think a good thing to keep in mind is wait a good amount of time before masking off recently painted wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 My first neck pocket was routed slightly too big (the template slid a little), so I cut a rabbet into it, slapped in some binding, then scraped it so the neck fit perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted August 4, 2004 Report Share Posted August 4, 2004 I ran a bunch of necks through a series of processes recently and one of those was the truss rod route. I used a 1/4" round end bit and my router table with a fence clamped onto the table. While I was routing the channel one clamp loosened and the fence moved causing the channel to have a nice curve on one end. That sucked. It was a sweet flamed maple neck. After a while I decided to route out a bigger channel and fit a piece of mahogany into it. Then I re-routed the truss rod channel, this time with the clamps on the fence a little tighter. Another thing to avoid is sanding through a dyed top when leveling the finish> Not only is it a pain in the but to match the dye but the exposed wood soaks up lacquer like crazy and you have to put on a lot of coats. One trick I have found is to leave a small can of lacquer open for a few hours. It becomes thicker and is useful for filling in imperfections or small dnets in the finish. Oftentimes mistakes help you find new materials or techniques. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_ed Posted August 4, 2004 Report Share Posted August 4, 2004 Let the finish dry a bit longer than you think is required before sanding. Guitar Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurphC Posted August 4, 2004 Report Share Posted August 4, 2004 Mistakes thus far: While sanding, I sanded off my guidelines Using a spindle sander, I made my lower horn MUCH too sharp for a Tele (Design feature, hehe) Also sanding, I made the area where the neck pocket goes much too narrow. Now I must put the neck off center a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trashmunky65 Posted August 4, 2004 Report Share Posted August 4, 2004 if you make a lot of guitars that are right handed, and then one day someone asks you to make them a left handed guitar, while your working keep telling yourself this is a left handed guitar. I drilled the holes for 2 volumes and 2 tones on the wrong side of a les paul i was making for my brother. but I patched the holes up and did a deep sunburst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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