avengers63

I spent a couple of hours on the couch this morning, watching wrestling and putting the p/g assembly together.

Which leads us to the mandatory preview shot...

This thing is actually gonna look pretty classy! The oil in the body is gonna cure over the weekend. Assembly and wiring will likely be Monday.

That mini-tablesaw and jig are very similar to what I have. I would suggest that it's well worth the effort to make it a little more complex to ensure everything is absolutely dead-on. Straight fret slots are nothing to take any chances with.

16 hours ago, Asdrael said:

 

 I swear this square touches my wood more often than my girlfriend those days.

 

Now I need to thickness the headstock further down, I had left 2mm for "safety" to sand the glue sides straight. Since it went better than I thought, I have 1.8mm left to shave off. Probably will do with either a table belt sander, or a thicknesser. It should be 13mm final more or less, to which I'll add 2mm of headstock veneer.

BANDSAW JIG: Why in the hell didn't I think of that! I've been doing this for over 15 years. I'm always wanting to make a jig for the table saw, but it's be a really tall cut and it doesn't feel safe. This is also why I make the cut on my bandsaw. So why have I never considered making a bandsaw jig for the scarf joint. The obvious often escapes me.

SQUARE: Subtle. Well done.

HEADSTOCK THICKNESS: I find it better to glue the scarf and thickness it afterword. This would also eliminate the potential for that little gap at the end of the cut you were fussing over.

Body is done! Sanded up to 220 and ready to get greasy.

Wifey said the bass horn of the p/g should be pointy. As usual, she's right.

The wiring will be as such: standard 5-way blade, 500k V, 500k T.  There will be 2 3-way mini toggles for the bridge & neck HBs that will be coil 1, both coils, coil 2. This will be particularly versatile considering the bridge HB is a hot rail and single in one pup. The bridge rail can't be split, but the single attached to it can be, but the hot rail in the neck CAN be split. Figure that one out. 

The fix is a far cry from perfect, but it's both functional and covered by the p/g

I still haven't finalized the p/g shape, but what's drawn here is the current thought. Also, this is the control layout. I'm THINKING about 2 taps, a phase, and a jumper to have all on. Or I can do 2 on/off/tap and an on/off.

I've been a die-hard comic book junkie since 1982. I loved comics before I loved girls.... and they've been more loyal. Comics don't wake up and decide they don't love you anymore. Anyway, I currently have  10K books worth about $80K.

4 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

In that case, wouldn't this be required on top of the table?

I'm more of a Marvel guy than DC

I see a lake with dead foliage all around, with a lone living patch. Kind of a cursed swamp thing.

new body blank

IDK what this crap is, but it ain't mahogany or sapele. It doesn't like to be routed at all. I didn't have any tearout, but it was really looking like it was going that way. It's also kinda heavy. The final thickness ended up being 1 5/8". I was shooting for 1 3/4, but this'll be fine. 

As a result of wifey's business making chairs for kids in immobilizer casts (I'm so proud of her!), I have piles of scrap MDF to make templates from. For instance, a pickguard template made from a salvaged cutout....

After taking it to the original template (pictured), I hit it with a 3/8" rabbit bit. This distance lined up with a Strat p/g, so it'll me proportioned in a way we're accostomed to seeing. But I have to get the final body shape first.  This required a hellofalot of improvised jigs, measuring, re-measuring, transfering the measurements, comparing it to the original, doing it again because I don't trust myself, and still screwing it up. 3 hours later, this is what we have. 

Despite triple checking everything, I STILL managed to place the bridge a full 1/2" off. I currently have a 1/2" spacer being epoxied into place. It'll be completely covered by the p/g. A good chunk will actually be routed away for the bridge HB.

In the meantime, I can debate the p/g shape. Do I do the bastard child of a Strat & a '51 bass? Do I use Ibanez as an influence and make the top bit pointy? If so, exactly how big should the point be? 

Also, I'm rather annoyed that this is becoming a proper build. This is absolutely not want I was wanting. 

I would want to end the fretboard at the 23rd slot, but I'd also want to round the end of the neck at the 22nd and give it the overhang. THAT'S where it would get really dicey.

Also, wifey listened to my dissertation, then scolded me thoroughly for even WANTING to go there. She warned me of additional, personal, dire consequences if she has to listen to me ranting over screwing it up. So it's just gonna stay like it is.

If there's one thing I do well, it's come up with a dumb idea that has unlimited potential to FUBAR everything. Go with your strengths, right?

So the kit came with a (mostly) perfectly good, maple/rosewood, 24 fret, 25.5 scale neck. It's all done, shaped, and ready to be oiled and screwed together. There is absolutely no good reason to screw with it whatsoever.

And I don't like a 24 fret neck. I don't solo up there anyway, so mine are usually 21 or 22 fret. I also think the extra inch or so makes the neck pickup placement sound better.

So I'm seriously thinking about cutting off the end.

I don't think the truss rod will go that far. 

This will also let me push the bridge a little further towards the butt, lessening the cutaway.

And there's no reason for me to do it, but there's sooooooooo much potential for it all to go wrong. 

And I for damn sure don't wanna make another neck. I NEED to salvage as much from this disaster as I can.

So what I want is for y'all to call me a dumbass and tell me to leave it alone before I screw it up for good.

After looking at what I have, I decided that my own DC design. I think it'd look the least weird with a big cutout of the back. The other options were a Rhodes V, PRS, and a Rickenbacker 600. Seriously - I looked at a Strat, Tele, Mockingbird, LP, SG, Explorer, and the Dano Peanut. 

And since nobody will remember, this is the shape. This exact body is one of the projects I've been working on off-line.

6 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

Just out of curiosity: Would it be possible to resaw the top off and use it as a routing template for a new body?

I gave serious consideration to using the original body to make a template. I can't cut out the body until tomorrow, so it's still possible. Today I'll be playing around with the layout and see what can be done with my current templates. If everything looks just plain stupid with a big part of the body missing or recessed out, I might just HAVE to fo with the original shape.

I changed my mind. This damn thing has been fighting me every step of the way. Screw this thing straight to hell. I'm just gonna make a whole new body for it. The center is in the clamps right now: a 7-ply block of ash, black limba, and cherry. Mahogany wings will be glued on tomorrow. I'm NOT doing anything cool or interesting to it. Straight linseed oil buffed with steel wool. I SHOULD be ready for assembly and wiring by the end of the week. 

3 1/2 months later, I finally decide to get back to this thing.

I'm just going to oil the body & neck and call it a day. This was a cheap kit that spiraled WAY out of control. Too much time & effort has already gone into it, and there's no way I'm going to waste my time buffing out a finish that I really don't want to put on it in the first place.

Just so the body wouldn't look like crap, I decided to dye it dark brown. I should have left it the hell alone. This Chinese POS has a TOP of filler spots on the body that I couldn't see.  Spoiler: filler doesn't absorb dye.

Screw it. I'm still just going to oil it as is and be done with it.

NECK PROGRESS

QSWO reverse banana neck with hickory fretboard.

As this whole thing is an oddball, I decided to go with comically large dots made from dark red powdered stone. I WANT to say I'm using the stone inlay because it's already on-hand and I don't have to pay for more dots. I want to say it, but I can't lie to myself like that. Dots are cheap, and this whole hobby is predicated on disposable income. No, the stone inlay is the new toy and I wanna play with it.

I went with the dark red because that'll tie in with the red tortoise pickguard.

7 hours ago, JAK said:

That burl got real nice and deep! Did not expect that much dimension

Neither did I. The extreme dark brown to yellow really brought out the depth. Honestly, I was concerned that it might have become muddy considering the original color of the burl.

Nothing special. Just a sealer coat on the top. It'll get another before I start in on the binding. 

And as I post this, I realize I didn't take any pics of the back with finish on it. You'll see it eventually.

sandback.....

red dye...

That's just some weird reflection on the trebel horn. 

I'm fiving VERY serious consideration to another sandback with yellow after.

I'm getting a really classy Gibson vibe from it. I'm starting to wonder what a LP pickguard would look like on it.

After the catastrophe of making the neck templates wrong, the new one is nearly ready to shape. It's 1-piece spanish cedar with a cherry fretboard. No pics.

I had forgotten just how easy it is to work with poplar. It cuts, drills, shapes, routes, and sands like butter. It's not terribly heavy, and it takes stain & dye as evenly as ash.. Today, I got the controls laid out.

It's really convenient that my wife runs a business out of the house making high-chairs for kids in immobilizer casts. This always gives me plenty of scrap MDF to make small templates from.

Just like the back of the high end build, I'll have to seal the top before gluing the binding. The C/A squeezes out onto the top, needing to be sanded off. I would definitely sand through the burl veneer, so it has to be dyed and have a few coats of finish applied before binding it. Say goodbye to the original burl!

Say hello to the first color - a deep chocolate brown. I'm seriously considering dyeing the rest of the body this color.

This is just sick as-is. It's going to get a significant sandback, then a red due applied. I MIGHT do another lighter sandback and put on yellow. We'll see.

6 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

Holy Goddesses of Art Nouveau! That's superb!

I have been looking at the gaps between the sides and the top and just thought that they'll be hidden with binding but now seeing how the top and bottom actually sit only on the tops of the inner kerfing looks plain scary! Will the binding really win back all the structural stability, will a wood-to-plastic joint - wait! Are the b/w strips wood? - anyhow, will the multi layer binding strengthen the edges in the long run? Rhetorical questions as such constructions have been made for centuries and examples of the very earliest instruments still exist. If it lasts in playing condition from father to grandson it's good enough!

The b/w/b strips are some sort of decorative fiber. They bend well if soaked for a bit in warm water. Bo no coincidence, water speeds the curing of the c/a used to attach them.

The top and bottom are always only attached by the top of the kerfing. An acoustic is held together by dreams, magic, and the dust of C.F. Martin's dessicated corpse. You'll notice that the top binding didn't go all the way through the top plate into the kerfing. I'm sure it'll be fine.

And your initial reaction? That's kinda what I'm looking for. Thanks!

First actual work on this thing since April 10!

First is to the end cap flush. This is perfect for the belt/disk sander.

Now it's time for the scary part I've been putting off because I don't wanna screw it up. I'm REALLY good at screwing it up, but this is neither the time nor the place to go with your strengths. I've routed enough binding channels to know that tearout is not only possible, but probable if precautions are not taken. Blue tape isn't cheap, but this is one of the things it's for.

The channel is REALLY deep, and REALLY tall. I'm doing 2 layers of BWB, a strip of abalone, and bent chechen outer binding. So al together, it's b/w/b/abalone/b/w/b/chechen. Then on the sides, there will be bwb underneath, just like on the edges of the end block. I was hoping for 8mm deep, but the most I can get with my binding bit set is 7mm. 

I ran it through forward, backward, and then without the tape for a final cleanup. It worked exactly as it was supposed to. I'm not used to this, so I'm not really sure what to do with total success.

For clear and obvious reasons, doing the back scares the crap out of me. But there's nothing more for it than to do it.

And THAT was an unbridled success. I'm starting to get nervous.

The test for the side depth seems to be right how I was wanting it.

So let's to the top & back in 2 passes.

I was anticipating it going through into the kerfing. From all I've seen & read, this is normal. IIRC, the kerfing is about 1" tall. so going in 1/4"-3/8" isn't going to weaken anything structurally.

Next step is to seal the back. If I don't, the superglue that WILL squeeze out will have to be sanded off. This WILL result in sanding through the veneer in even more places. 2 coats of lacquer ought to do the trick. But that's a story for another day.

1) That's a hellofalot cheaper than Stew-Mac.

2) What radius is it bent to? It doesn't say in the description.

To me, a zero fret does several things, and all of them revolve around eliminating the nut.

Potential problems eliminated: wrong nut height, cutting the nut wrong, That whole discussion y'all had on the last page? Irrelevant. It takes a significant point of failure out of the equation.

Work eliminated: cutting the nut. For those who do it, you know the meticulous labor that isn't done, as well as the money savings of not buying the files, rulers, blanks, etc.

Tonal benefit: open strings sound the exact same as a fretted note. This also takes every letter of voodoo debate over which nut material to use and throws it out the window, Even WITH a functional nut, I think the debate is overblown as once the string is fretted, the nut becomes moot.