Mr Natural

so- this is going to be fun. I am trying to replicate the truss rod on the stick- I have a square steel tube and threaded rod- and mechanically I have it figured out (I think)- but what I dont have figured out exaclty yet is how I am going to route out the channels at the depth I need. So- let me try to explain- The layout from the back- now- most of this material back here will be gone- I am doing this so I have a flat surface to do the layout on- and I am pre-drilling with some cheap ass Freight Harbor drill bits I paid like $3 or $4 bucks per pack for years ago (bought 4 packs of these- if they dull- eh- toss)-anyway- the layout: this line below shows where the back of the neck will be- ie- the steel tube will be flush with the back of the neck- and as you can see- there is considerable depth. The stick has a neck thickness of 7/8". my plan of attack here is to use my cheap o drill bits and hog out the majority of the channels FIRST. I am measuring the the depth of the steel tub- and I will make sure to drill down just short of that- taking into account the brad point on the bit. Theoretically I could go ahead and just drill to depth- but- that would leave the brad bit divots- and while no one would see that- I would know it. I want it neat if I can pull it off. The problem I havent figured out yet is how to get a router bit that will bottom out on the bottom of the truss rod channel I need to make. with the wood on the back of the stick as it stands- I have a nice flat surface- and I will be able to use a router table with edge guides once I remove the back of the neck wood- however- where the truss rod channel has a "T" shape- there is a curve from the neck depth to the back of the wood where it is now- and I dont have a bit-that can reach that deep-not safely anyway. Maybe I didnt explain that very well- its late- I have had a few- and Australian Football League is on and I need to go watch it. Later peeps - more to come. drilling this is like drilling iron. My benchtop drill press is SCREAMING. having to back out- let the RPMs get back up- drill, scream, back out, let the rpms get back up, drill, scream, back out, repeat. One day I will have a decent drill press, and bandsaw, and other stuff.

@mistermikev-thanks for the idea on the labeling-but the problem remains I have to physically look at each photo and try to put the date to it and put everything back in order. It appears many people have run into this with their canon cameras that were purchased prior to windows 10- and there are various threads I have found with suggested fixes- none of which have worked. I finally got a new utility disk - removed all the photos, removed the windows photos program that was the issue, loaded the new utility disk- and all is well. Unfortunately I still have the issue with the old photos so I am loading them as I find them. re- the headstock shape- i have always liked the old Teisco guitars- as cheap and gawdy as some of them are. Also- those were some of the first guitars I remember seeing as a child- the offshoot brand that was in the sears catalogs anyway. I think it has sort of stuck with me all these years and finally now building one. this guitar is actually in its final stages of being complete- just posting pics as I come across them (hopefully in order) using painters tape on both the template and neck blank- light glue- attaching the template. I will take to bandsaw to remove the bulk and then belt sander prior to routing.

my poor old Ryobi 9" bench top band saw was screaming for mercy on this 1.83" thick poplar so I busted out the old B&D jig saw. I will attach the body template and clean up the edges on the belt sander so all the router has to do is nick off just a touch of wood. I tell you what -this poplar dents and scratches if you sneeze at it. while it cuts and sands like butter- not sure I will be using this again.

I marked the edges with pencil to track my sanding progress. You can see to the right where it is starting to remove material. full length view you can see the ends are getting sanded and the middle is not- slowing removing material until its all flat again I use the underside of my myka neck jig for a number of tasks- one of which is gluing up thinner (this is .32 inch thick at the moment) book matched tops. This method is described in Melvin Hiscock's book I believe is where I got this. nails hold the edges- a strip of wood is put under the middle of the bookmatch and when the strip of wood is removed and the bookmatch pressed flat the wood clamps itself against the pressure of the nails on the outside edge. weight on top keeps it all down. after pulling the nails out- a little glue and tooth picks (bevel ends removed) fill in the holes- a quick sand and its back to normal. After a couple hours I pull this out so the I can clean up any glue squeeze out that was trapped under the wax paper (right hand side). My neighbor up the street has a wide belt sander. I dont. Hello neighbor. he is a fellow beer dork so he doesnt mind the very rare occasional ask to use his kick ass tools seeing I hook him up with brews he would not otherwise get. His bandsaw actually cut this bookmatch top several years ago. all this nastiness will sand out. I expect the final thickness to be somewhere around .22-.24 inches thick.

body blank being glued up So- like wood will do- this top decided to develop a space in what was once a perfectly flat and matched book match. I want to try reduce the space and keep as much of the edge as perpendicular to the flame pattern in the wood as I can- so I am going to avoid the jointer for now- and try to sand and reduce the gap while keeping the edge perpendicular. I have touted this tool before- my 'Great Planes" easy touch bar sander. This tool is originally made for sanding model airplane wings. I use it for frets, flat surface sanding- a bunch of stuff. Its 24 inches long- and is made of aluminum. I have had this thing in my garage for years- and despite temps close to freezing and 100+-this thing is still flat and true. More importantly I paid like $10 for this many years ago- I see now online they go for $17.99 (they are 22 inches long now)- whereas a stewmac 24 inch fret leveler goes for a cool $88. I also have the 11inch sander- that I probably paid $5 for- they are under $10 now- whereas the stewmac 8inch goes for $43. just saying. nothing wrong with the stew mac leveler-its is a very well built tool it appears- but- same function for less money is the way I roll. here is the gap looking between the sander before I start and the two top halves in the vise

ultimately everything here is your call- I think the bevels as you have them in your test body look good. I had a Washburn A-20V in the 80s and it had a V neck and I absolutely hated it. If it was a C carve in the same depth-I would have loved it. I find that V carved necks can put my hand in a weird position- as my thumb becomes an anchor point if you will- vs a C carve where my hand naturally will "wrap" around the neck- and for instance putting my thumb over the neck to barre the low E string is comfortable whereas with a V its both uncomfortable and damn near impossible for me to do.

yeah- I have to admit- I have been playing the 6 string I built a few ago and sitting and getting in first position on the low b absolutely sucks. not comfortable at all. and standing isnt much better-so- you know- I am building another one. derp

wow- this has been an education. How many hours do you have into that top/body now? bonus points for the foggy geezer in the shot above- how was it?

good work so far- gotta love the safe-t-planer!

thanks Pros- now that you said Bajaman- it does ring a bell from previous reading.

damn dude- making your own circuit? You are really getting into the weeds of guitar building. great job. (who's baja btw?) fwiw-i love the old music man basses. One of my (many) musical instrument selling regrets was selling my old stingray. But truth be told- I could not refuse the unsolicited offer I was made for it- and- that money (along with most of my stuff I regret selling) went into the down payment for the very house I am sitting in now. I regret it now of course- cause those old stingrays just have "that sound". stratoblaster clone huh? now we are talking. that circuit was key to many peoples tone- like Lowell George (waiting for columbus era- the BEST!) and Adrian Belew (late 70s/early 80s).

i hate working with wenge- but that top is seriously bad ass. cool ass grain pattern- and it wouldnt be the same without the bleaching you did. well done man.

7 string fretless bass? what are you trying to do give me a stroke? the man from down under with a build thread- and one to get me drooling. watching with interest.

bumpity bump bump. this one is coming back to life- defrosted and resuscitated. Updates coming soon.

bump- updates coming soon

bumping thread-updates coming

@Andyjr1515-my struggle with the Windows 10 vs canon utilities disk continues. My had bought my camera way prior to windows 10 coming out- now that I have a new computer with windows 10- they dont play nice- and there are many threads on various ways to overcome certain issues with the new canon utilities sw, the older cameras and windows 10. I have not succeeded. I havent quit yet- but its taking way too much time that I really dont care to invest lately. So- I have been going thru all the files windows has created- one by one- a few at a time- and painstakingly recreate time lines with photos (ie- label)- then I get sick of that- try to figure out a fix- do research onthe subject- try something new- have it fail- go back to onsey twosey on the photos. Anyway- I am bumping this thread and others so I have them in close proximity (vs searching thru pages of threads) as I will be updating with some found photos. or I may just post a near finished photo and say fook it.

forgot the pix

I happen to have a les paul body in the same state as yours- and curiosity killed the cat. So- weighing it with a bathroom scale (me holding it, me not holding it- x 3 to make sure)- it weighs 7 lbs 8 oz. I built from the same woods a sister to this years ago- and if memory serves me correctly that clocked in at 9 lbs 10oz when it was finished (maple neck) There are still safe t planer marks on the top of this- so- It might need a little off the face-but in the ballpark. Which lumber yard in Atl? I used to go to McClendons on 14th street (cause he was the only guy with real hondo mahog)- peachtree(peachstate?) lumber in kennesaw for Alder- and that place over in Mableton for a variety of things- but its been a few since I have been- I am still stealing from my retirement lumber stash.

your fore arms must be ripped!

very nice save and very nice first guitar build! I (think) I saw the exact same method used on one of Michael Schenkers Vs except I want to say they used maple drum sticks as the inlayed wood. very nice work.

fret line markers only (on a fretless bass)- not the whole fretboard IPA burst huh? hmmm. by the way- I caught what you did here>>"Neck woods are black walnut and Osage orange with a Bois-D'arc fretboard" nice marketing

interesting choice for the fingerboard. watching with interest

whats with you English guys and no sawdust you bunch of neat freaks. Kidding of course. Nice clean work Norris. Keep it up.

No wrestling background. My name/avatar is a reference to an R Crumb character from the sixties. While I appreciate the offer- I have no youtube channel/twitter/instawhatever/facebook- i just sort of lurk in the shadows.