toddler68

Ew. There's no way i'd want those on the face of my guitar. I prefer the "back" kind that are recessed below the surface of the guitar. That big rounded flange would look really awful on the face of a guitar, in my opinion.

Ew, I love them! I've been looking all over for those stupid things. xebryus is my new best friend

Is maple burl like that a PIA to carve? 

The figure itself didn't pose any difficulties. The only problems might arise in the form of crevices. Unless you want to fill them, you are stuck with big open cracks. Although, the turqoise inlay is a novel idea that I hadn't thought of.

I agree with darren wilson: screw the bookmatch! Cut that thing down the middle and have two thick-ass tops that you can carve into like a fiend! Man, I love burl maple. I just got this for my first commissioned guitar.

Explosive burl!

The client even picked it out!

* a woman's one piece bathing suit btw. (No offense)

The first one looks like a one-piece bathing suit

Like cudbucket, I'm more of a fan of the third one. Very cool mix of traditional and metal. And, the only BC Rich body style I really like is the Mockingbird too. (I happen to have one all stripped and ready for... veneer/stain/paint - whenever I get around to it.

Cool!  Any chance of some more pictures of it?

I'll see what I can do.

Dude! That is the coolest little 'McGyver' contraption I've seen in a while. I'm definitely making one of those ASAP. Thanks for the pics!

Wow, I didn't realize the discussion I was spawning! All really great feedback btw. Let me get more into the specifics:

I'll add that the client did indeed like the playability and action despite the fact it hadn't been set up yet and had thick-ass strings on it. He is an experienced blues/classic rock player and knows guitars, so I do have one objective opinion to my credit. (I would like to get more, however.)

Here is my opinion regarding labor. I am an experienced industrial designer and have built product models professionally - I am no stranger to standard shop tools or woodworking. Regardless of whether I have guitar building experience, I have experience building objects to tight tolerances with extreme attention to appearance, finish and detail. These are valuable skills in just about any craft profession and should be rewarded accordingly. What I'm lacking is speed - something that I'm sure will improve with time.

I am going to take all this feedback under advisement and have another lengthy discussion with the client. I really want to build this guitar for him, but I want us both to be comfortable with the price and the outcome.

toddler, one question about the headstock.  In the little cutout at the end, did you put in a little recess there?  A picture that you posted made it look a little like you did and I started thinking that that might look cool, to match the contours of your cutaways.

Good eye bowser! Although the pics don't represent well, there is indeed a recess which somewhat matches the cutaways. It might appear more prominent once it's finished.

After showing my guitar to some coworkers, I got a request for a custom job! Very cool but I don't have any idea what a reasonable price would be. Could some of you who have built from-scratch guitars give me a range for what I should charge?

Keep in mind I'm only nearing the end of my first build - I don't know how experience factors in. The end product will essentially be a duplicate of the guitar I'm currently building with a few minor changes. Here's a link to my project:

My project...

I'd appreciate any

isn't having the pots on the back going to make it a problem while playing and moving around?

probaly

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. I am going to put the knobs on the front, but I want to make sure I leave enough room for a selector switch if I decide to add a pickup in the future. That's also why the electronics cavity is so roomy. So I haven't actually gotten to the drilling part yet and I couldn't wait to string it up and plug it in - I needed some instant gratification! It's only temporary.

Nice, I like it,

One question is the thruss rod sticking out too much or is that the way you set it up? From my guitars the thing is always almost inside the neck right under the nut.

Yeah, it is sticking out a little too far. I can still access it just fine for adjustments and it doesn't protrude past the face of the headstock. I'm not going to worry about it unless somebody gives me a reason to.

any progress so far?

As a matter of fact, yes! Thanks for keeping me honest.

I haven't been as diligent lately at documenting the work in progress, but I've got pics of the results. I'll try to fill in the details:

I finally drilled the tuner holes in the headstock and the string holes through the body. For the string holes, I used a 1/8 inch brad point chucked in my drill press and drilled the holes on an arc pattern. They looked great from the front but AWFUL from the back. Evidently, the bit must have flexed while I was drilling and the pattern lost its nice arc on the back - I had to drill larger non-concentric holes on the back to make up for the misalignment. What a pain! I think it turned out OK though. The ferrules fit great on the back and I used steel rivets for the holes on the front. It's just a little tough feeding the strings through from the back since the holes don't quite line up.

I did a bad job cutting my bone nut (I still giggle like Beavis & Butthead when I say that!) but since I have a zero fret it didn't really matter all that much. The string spacing is a little off on the top two strings but that is all.

I installed the frets like a caveman. I just pushed them in with an oak block - walked them in from one side to the other. (Please, don't anyone scold me for not using a caul. ) After 24 of those, my palm was black and blue. Of course I CA'd the ends just to be safe. I have yet to level or dress them. Everything sounds pretty good regardless. It tunes up great and the action is right on. I'll have to get some advice from the forum when it comes time to fix a little fret buzzing I've got going on, though. Anyway, enjoy some pics.

Here's the headstock:

a full length shot:

and the rear:

I put a Duncan JB in the bridge. I thought I might stick a 59 in the neck at some point, but for now I'll keep it to one pickup. As you may have noticed, there are no controls on the front and you're asking "what the hell is going on with the back!" Well, I haven't finalized the layout yet so I made a panel for the back and attached the pots and jack to it and just taped it on. I'm also experimenting with various caps and a varitone from Big D. Here's a closer look: what do you think of the ferrule job?

Thanks! I guess maybe I'll try both ways.

Does the varitone switch replace the tone knob or is it installed in addition to the tone knob (takes the place of capacitor)?

Are you talking about a carved top?

Todd, Thanx Alot! That's Exactly what I was Looking For AND they're easy to get and Hard enough that they won't buckle under the string pressure. They are small enough that they won't take up half the guitar top either.

"That's the Dog Bollocks" as the Brits say! After reading the Router topic I noticed you were from Ohio. Where you located? I'm in this lil village of Lexington Close to Mansfield.

I live in Cincinnati. My wife is from the Cleveland area so we go past Mansfield on the way up.

Howdy, neighbor!

Try rivets. Make sure they're the steel ones and not aluminum.

Toddler, buddy - where do you find out about these auctions?

Well, there are numerous ways. Here (Ohio) we have a weekly publication called the Tradin' Post. It's got the usual classified ads (autos, appliances, musical instruments, etc.) but it also has an auction section which lists all the auctions in the area over the next week/month or whatever. The auction companies who list or advertise in the Tradin' Post usually have websites as well. I visit those too to keep up to date. They can be estate auctions (residential homes and their contents) or business auctions. The auction I went to this past weekend was a municipal auction. These are usually confiscated police inventory. You never know what you'll find at one of these.

No luck on the PRS. The headstock had a huge crack in it that looked like it had been poorly repaired or not repaired at all. There were about 5 other guys eyeing it too. Probably some forum members! Oh well, I'll keep looking.

I highly recommend auctions if you have the time to invest. I have a wife and kids so I have to be very picky about which auctions I can attend. But here's an example of what great deals you can find. A couple of weeks ago I went to an auction at a millwork place that was going out of business. I scored a Porter Cable 690 router with a 1/2 inch shank Freud round-bottom bit already in it and a second replacement motor (needs only new brushes) for $60. I also bought 3 nice Jorgensen 18 inch bar clamps, 2 outfeed rollers on stands, various carpenters squares and an entire trunk full of hardwood shorts (maple/cherry/oak/hickory all around 36 inches long). I walked out of that place with a car load of stuff for $120!!!

I am going to an auction this weekend to bid on a PRS! I'll let you all know if I win it. Wish me luck!

I just cut my bone nut last weekend. (Man, that sounds vulgar) I did notice some color variance but no pores. But I agree with RAI6, it would add character - as long as it doesn't also add weakness. I think a couple of pits or pores makes it look more natural. And when you're telling your friends that it is a genuine bone nut, you might also add that it is cut from one of Jimi Hendrix' ribs!

I figured out why the body looks so familiar!

EB Musicman Bongo Bass!

Wow! There's definitely a family resemblance going on. Guess I'm not as original as I thought. It's a little over the top for my taste, but I have to admit there's something about it I like!

Lookin great Toddler..... I see you did it exactly like I described.... Excellent... Hopefully my method will spread and we'll start seeing arched tops pop up all over the board..... 

Jivin, obviously that's the method I recommend. Honestly doing it with scrapers, chisels or even doing the whole routing steps up toward the center method is just doing a whole lot of unneccesary work, which probably won't come out as consistant either unless you've been doing it awhile.......

Amen, brother! Arch tops will rule the earth!! Thanks for the tip. I gave you props in another thread. I also agree with your tool assessment. It took me a couple of days to shave the profile down initially with microplanes and rasps. Using your method, I'd have saved myself at least a day and a half.

And the only reason I can think of to do a stairstep rout is if you are doing an LP or have a seriously thick top with a deep carve. Just my $.02.

OK. Here is the picture as promised. I included the dry version for comparison.