J.Crowhurst

Nah, the bridge was positioned according to the scale length.

Hey everyone, Thanks for sharing your comments with me -- I appreciate criticism as well as encouragement as it helps me to know what to do better next time, and what I can improve on. About the pickguard, I had a sort of unusual shape in mind. Here's a sketch that I did when I was initially planning out the guitar: Although the final design is significantly different, that's more or less what I still want to do for the pickguard. So, moving the neck pup forward is something I'll definitely consider. Thanks for the idea! Dave, it's funny that you should mention the Airline guitar... the initial design was somewhat influenced by the shape of those guitars. I wanted to make a sort of cross between an Airline and an SG. It's interesting that some of that still shows. I'll definitely get some more pictures up as I make some progress.

That thing is just jaw dropping. Personally I'd do it without the pickguard, but it looks fantastic either way. Can't wait to hear how it plays!

Dave, I hadn't thought of the Goldfish thing; now that's all I'm going to be able to see when I look at it! An orange finish is definitely out of the question I expect it's going to have a somewhat retro sound; the pickups are an SD '59 in the bridge, and an SD Jazz in the neck position (with coil tap). Thanks for the kind words! Xanthus, I definitely agree about the pickups. I'm worried that there won't be a ton of difference in sound quality between the two of them, although it might help that they're each different models. I was worried about having enough room for the Bigsby, so they ended up getting a bit cramped. If I could do it again, I would move the neck pup right up to the neck pocket. Thanks for the tip about the fine tuners -- I didn't think of that. The pick-up cavities are white as I thought it would look nice and clean with a white pick-guard, black rings and white covers. However, if I do scrap the pick-guard, the white covers go with it. I'm going to have to see how it looks.

This is my first project, which I mostly made in construction tech this year with no prior woodworking experience. My own shape, sort of has a Jaguar type vibe to it. Mahogany body, maple neck, ebony 24-fret fingerboard (from stewmac). Side marker dots, but no fretboard inlays. It's not perfect by any means, but I'm happy with how it's turning out. Definitely had some quarrels with the router along the way -- for my next guitar, I'll have to pick up some actual quality bits. I'm probably going to finish it with a nice red stain. The knobs will be replaced with smaller ebony ones eventually. I'll probably make a white pickguard. I also want to add a string clamp that mounts behind the nut, like this one: http://www.basspartsresource.com/images/la...BP-0278-010.jpg so that the Bigsby doesn't become a tuning nightmare. Does anyone have experience with this type of part? Sorry for the marginal pic quality. Mock up: Body Back of body Neck Closeup of headstock Back of neck As of now, I need to do some significant reshaping of the neck... it's waaay too thick. Then I have to bolt on the neck, and do some shaping on the heel. Otherwise, it's just minor operations and colossal amounts of sanding before I can go to finishing and wiring. This will be the first of several, for sure. Thoughts?

I haven't heard of this sled jig.. Does anyone have a link?

So after experimenting with a hand-held plane for a while, I discovered that it's going to be pretty difficult or impossible to get a flat surface using it. The plane I have is relatively crude, however: I'm not sure if it's the plane itself or my faulty technique, but what I end up with is a very inconsistent surface. Is there a different type of hand plane I should pick up that would give a perfectly flat or at least passably flat surface?

Is it safe to rout on an angle? Thanks for the link

After trying the book on building I have, Google, and the search feature on this site, I am still unable to determine this little detail... Exactly how does one go about making the neck pocket with the correct angle for a set neck? I am NOT asking how to determine the neck angle.

I noticed that the wood has shifted slightly so that one of the sides is slightly lower than the other-- the difference isn't huge, maybe 1/2 mm at most. Is this acceptable?

Heh, it's supposed to be part of the Bigsby. Sorry about the poorly executed sketch. The pots and switch will be laid out in a similar fashion to Gibson guitars. I'm just heading off to check out how the wood looks today, I might end up sawing it apart and doing it over after all. Thanks for the tips, every one!

Yup, full size plans are in progress. How can I tell if the glue joint ends up too wide? Is there anything that I can do to fix it? Yes, the neck has to be angled. I'm still working out how I'm going to do that.

I wasn't sure about the clamps, although the glue set in pretty quick and is holding it fairly tightly... I think it'll be okay. I'm still unsure if the finish will be transparent or not... the two sides aren't book matched but most of the glue line will be covered with the pickguard/vibrato anyways... The pickguard will be cut out of a white plastic blank from stewmac. Also, I'm planning to bind the body/neck/headstock with white plastic.

Hey folks, I've been creeping this here forum for a year or so now, with a gradually building desire to start a project like this.. Well, I finally got all of the materials together. It's really a thrill to be starting at last! Here's the details: I'm building a solid mahogany electric with a Bigsby B-5 vibrato, SD humbuckers, set neck, custom design, and limited woodworking skills. Here's hoping it comes out vaguely playable. Here's a sketch of my design: And some pictures: Any input is welcome!