jay5

I dont have a bandsaw and really dont have access to one. What options do I have for cutting out the body. I do have a jigsaw that I could get a long blade for but it is very important to me that the sides are at 90 degrees and I am not sure if this saw would give me exactly that. Could I cut the rough shape and then route the rest off with my table router and a template? What bit would I want? Any ideas? Thanks!

Im going to be building a guitar and want to bind the neck/fretboard. I don't plan on doing the headstock. Anyway, I dont trust myself to be able to get a flat fretboard and cut fretslots myself so my question is 1) weather or not it is possible to find an un radiused fretboard but with slots already cut? All I have been able to find so far have been either radiused and slotted or just flat boards. I ask because to my understanding a need to route a rabbit around the edge of the board to set the binding. 2) Is it possible to accurately route the rabbit with a 12' radius on the board already? 3) What size binding does everyone typically use? And to throw one more element into the mix I am going to be using LP style block inlays. So, any advice, tips or warnings would be GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks!

I sent you a PM, thanks!

I have been lookin on the net for a while trying to find a decent place to get body blanks. At this place I have looked so many places I cant even remember which ones were cheaper than the others. Anyway, does anyone have a good place they use that they would reccomend? I'm looking for alder, swamp ash, maple and/or mahogany. If anyone has anything to unload of there own I would be interested. Thanks!

rondomusic.com sells a set neck in their parts section minus frets and inlays. For $50 it looks like a good enough deal. Im not sure about the tenon design though.

Here it is,

http://www.rondomusic.bigstep.com/item.jht...13&PRID=1438451

Hey, thanks for the help. I figure that Im gonna leave out the master volume and just get a diagram for an LP to follow. I have done a little wiring before so maybe youre right, I need to learn sometime. Your explanation is pretty much exactly what I'm going to do I think. I need to see how long a drill bit I can find. That is my main worry, drilling such long holes acurately. I'm going to sketch a rough desicn onto one of my templates to lay it all out. Thanks again.

A Jack White fan and a bigger odd guitar fan

I am making a copy of an old Wards Airline guitar. This model was made of a kind of fiberglass and as far as I can tell they are two pieces sandwiched together and hollow. Im using alder and I am kind of stuck on how to route out the control cavities. The humbuckers and switch area are front routes. The jack and 4 knob cluster are going to need to be back routes to maintain the look. I want to keep it looking as close as I can to the origional and remove as little wood as possible. I will be having someone else wire it up and so I need to know if all the cavities need to be linked together or not. If so how would you guys suggest I connect them? Any ideas are welcome. I hope this picture shows up. Thanks!

I was figuring that they would use their rods in their necks and considering their necks are pretty good quality......... The price is right too. I figure I'll add a couple to my next order. Thanks

I was wondering how much a typical finish on a guitar will add to the measurements on various areas. Basically, I am making a bolt on neck guitar. The body and neck will both be sprayed a solid color and then I assume cleared over. Do I need to account for any substantial buildup of paint when making the neck/ neckpocket? Will painting add enough mass as to not allow the neck to fit into the pocket?

Does anyone have any experience with the Warmoth truss rods? Their double expanding one looks decent and is cheaper than stewmac or LMII.com. I would need to figure out how wide a channel I would need to route.

I know if any or you are like me you have a handful of projects floating around in your heads at this moment. List a few that you have in mind. Go into detail if you'de like. Here are a couple of mine;

-Wards Airline copy ala Jack White

-Gretsch country gent w/ matt black finish, gold hardware, black body binding. Kind of the way Tim Armstrong of Rancids old piece looks.

-Les Paul double cut (Jr.?) w/ single P90

Dreams, dreams.............................

If its a strat guard then Warmoth will rout one in s/h. They have a ton of options. Warmoth.com

Sounds good, as soon as I get mu templates done Im going to pick up a good bit or two and start practising on some scrap. Thanks!

Well, believe it or not my Dad just broke out a Craftsman router that he had hiding. It isnt plunge but I figure that If I drill out a hole to start form I could do OK. Here's a question. Its only 1.5 HP and a constant speed of 25000 RPM's. Is this gonna cut it or not?

Thats an interesting idea Keith. I would feel more comfortable trying to curve the top over a stable mold than the actual sides of the guitar. I think I might explore this option. thanks! Keep us up to date on your progress.

[ i wasn't too happy when i discovered these small movements. ]

hmmm.......I was just looking that one online. I suppose for $80 i could just fork over a few more $$$ and get somthing better. Any suggestions? Do higer quality routers lock on both posts? Thanks agiani for all the help by the way.

Thanks for the info guys. I figure Im not going to be using it for anything other than guitars and since Im not going to be turning out but a couple in a year that a cheaper one would fit the bill. Wes, where did you get yours?

There exists an ES-355 model .

Lets keep the fact that I didn't know that between us...........

oh wait...........

I just realized that I wrote E-355 instead of 335. Wow

Are the cheaper plunge routers from places like harbor freight and the like worth a damn? I am going to be starting my first guitar and am looking for a router. I realize that you get what you pay for but I was curious. Does anyone have any experience with these? What router do you own?

I figured that gluing each piece up one at a time ould like you said reduce as much stress as possible. I would be worrid about my ability to create an accurate mold that would be identical to my center block and sides. Somthing to think about! Thanks again

Keith, I also have the Koch book and his method makes the most sense to me. Are you planning on laminating all three pieces of the top and then glueing them to the middle piece/sides or glueing each layer individually? I would imagine that doing each layer seperately would allow you to mold the top/back easier. What do you think?

Can anyone give me a rundown on how an es-355 type guitar is put together, particularly the top/back? In my understanding it consists of a mildly arched center block with two thin sides attached. I guess my real question is weather the top/bottom is a flat piece curved/bent over the center block and glued to the sides via kerfing or if it's a carved piece. Has anyone made a similar style guitar? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Can anyone give me a rundown on how an es-355 type guitar is put together, particularly the top/back? In my understanding it consists of a mildly arched center block with two thin sides attached. I guess my real question is weather the top/bottom is a flat piece curved/bent over the center block and glued to the sides via kerfing or if it's a carved piece. Has anyone made a similar style guitar? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Whoops, sorry. I didnt do a search.