Pandemic_Lead_Guitarist

I have a few questions again. When making a fretboard, when are the bindings installed? Before or after the frets? On my RG the frets extend into the binding. How is this done? This next one may sound stupid, but where is the truss rod glued in? Is it actually glued to the channel, or is it glue to the fret board? Or not at all? Feel free to tell me that I'm an idiot for asking this question....

Yes, I am extremely excited about building a guitar. But I have not missed the basics. I know the objective is to build a functional guitar. And I plan to. Half the point of building this guitar was for it to be different. By the name of the thread, "Bloodwood Guitar", obviously I want to use exotic woods. I knew these woods would be hard to carve ever since I heard "63 pounds per cubic foot. Does not carve easily, but polishes to a nice finish." If I wanted a guitar that was easy to make, I'd just buy one. Instead, I want a challenge. I know you're just warning me about potential complications, but your missing the point of this guitar. And it's not a bad thing that this is 5 pages long, that just means I'll have less trouble in the long run. I chose bloodwood/mahogany for the neck because it would look awesome. But now I realize that the bloodwood should actually help to keep the neck from bending, which is good. I trashed the bloodwood/ebony idea; it was just a burst of imagination. The ebony would be too expensive, and it would be hard to do. I plan to order the bloodwood as soon as I get done with the final templates and decisions. I will get the mahogany from a lumberyard near me. Thanks for all the help along the way. I'm sure I could not make this guitar without the knowledge that you provided me with.

I decided to change things around once again and wait a little while until I start to build it. I'm considering making an 8 string instead of a seven string and was wondering a few things: Is a 25.5 scale length to short for an eight string? My friend thinks the intonation will be messed up. I don't exactly see why, but I thought I should check. Is there anywhere to buy a pre-slotted fretboard that's wide enough for an eight string? I checked lmii, and they say there wide board is 3". That is wide enough, right?

I know. I'm just saying this because it can be quite hard to find out all the different guitar shapes (just try google image searching "stealth guitar" see how many stealth shapes you get). I already know what shape I'm making, but just think it would help others. I just mean to help people who are having trouble finding ideas. I think it would also be nice for people to post a picture of their designs or original guitars for the fun of it.

Well, I wasn't sure where to put this but here goes: There are many different shapes of guitars out there, but I think it would be useful to have a collection of many different shapes for beginners to look at to help them decide which one they REALLY want (I know it would of helped me). Post images of guitars you have made or you think look cool. Just one rule: Try not to post pictures of guitars that are very similar in shape (I don't want 100,000 pictures of strat-style guitars!) I'm especially looking for odd-looking guitars. It would also be nice to see some cool inlays. Maybe......

Well, I changed my mind. Instead of doing bloodwood inlay on the top, I plan to do abalone veneer. I found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/4A-PAUA-ABALONE-INLAY-...7QQcmdZViewItem Do you guys think that this is any good, and are they right about the statement that you do not have to route out a cavity because it's so thin? I'll be sure to keep you posted throughout the building process. Which will hopefully be soon.

Alright, thanks. I'm going to start buying materials and tools soon, but still have a few questions. I read this : http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/anck.htm I was still planning on doing the mahogany/bloodwood/m/b/m neck, and was thinking, wouldn't doing an angled headstock like that end up looking ugly on a laminate neck? How would you do one? I wanted to do a neck binding, but couldn't find much info on it. Would I just take my binding material and glue it to the edge of the fret board and top of the neck wood before rasping/sanding it down fully? For the neck, do you have to saw off the parts of the wood not used on the edge or can u use a spokeshave or plane or rasp? Is there another way to do it? Any opinions on the bloodwood inlay on the top? Thanks for any help.

Oh. Thanks. I was thinking of starting on practicing on some wood for the neck tommorrow. Will pine carve the same as mahogany?

Once again, thanks. One more question though-- What should I make first, the neck or the wings?

Thanks, what do you think of the hipshot seven string 1.25's? http://www.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=...etail&p=169

Once again, thanks for the help. I now have a few questions on hardware (I'm actually looking for opinions and suggestions on what I picked: I was thinking: -7 string fixed bridge, such as https://www.carvinguitars.com/products/sing...hp?product=FT7C I'm not sure if these are good bridges but are the best I could find that weren't from ebay, which I don't trust with my pride and joy..... -locking tuners, such as sperzel. I don't know how I'll get 7, maybe I have to use Ebay.... My friend has them on his mark morton signiture and I like them alot. Would you prefer a different brand over them? -either a seven string locking nut or on made of graphite. I'd use the locking nut because I'd never have to file it out, no matter how large of strings I use. Any suggestions?

I'm a little confused about some things for the neck: First, is there another way to do the neck angle besides using a jointer or plane? I have read this: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...0angle&st=0 If I do not do a neck angle, the action being normal/messed up depends on the height of my bridge, right? Ok, I'll admit it. I'm a little intimidated at slotting by own fretboard. I know that pre-slotted fingerboards are available and I was a little worried because of two things: -This guitar is a 7 string, and I don't know how wide to make the fingerboard. I know that this will depend on the width of the nut and bridge, but I am not sure which bridge, or nut for a matter of fact, I will get. Can someone give me a pretty *average* value to work from? I searched and found about 2.5 inches..... -I've heard that when cutting a pre-slotted fingerboard tear-out can be a problem. Is there some way to prevent this, or just be careful cutting? I'd like to get started on this as soon as possible, but know that it's best to learn and plan first. How would you make the guitar? Would you build the neck first, or the wings?

Thanks for all the help guys. Those are some good links. I think I have a basic understanding of every I NEED to know, and I'm still planning on learning more. Obviously I haven't read everything you posted yet, there's so much!!!! I had a new design idea though. Could I take thin (1/16, 1/32) ebony and bloodwood, and glue both to the top of the guitar, so I could carve out odd, random shapes and lines and ridges, so I would get the ebony/bloodwood accents? Here's what I mean: __________________________________ <ebony __________________________________ < bloodwood __________________________________ <mahogany __________________________________ ^Mahogany ^ BTW: Do you guys think they have those books at the library? It closed at 5...... One more thing: Is ebony the only black wood? Its sooooooo expensive. How deep does dye soak in?

Thank's. I've been reading just about every second I could for the last 2 weeks (5-10 hours a day) and I still feel like I need more information. I'll try to find out as much information as I can about all the topics you mentioned, and probably more. Any links, articles and tips are apprecitated. Back to BTW: Can you even use a jig saw to cut the wings?

what did u use? spokeshave?