boundsteelblues

im not sure i get what you mean. you cut the neck to the exact final shape of the template. then, since most fretboards are oversized, you glue the fretboard on and then cut it to the shape of the neck with a template bit. why do you need a outline after you glue the fretboard?

"and then cut it to the shape of the neck with a template bit"

this is what I needed - the books had me confused on how to get the fretboard to shape

what do you mean by template draw back?

i cut my necks outline with template, then glue fretboard, then shape the back. for a radiused fretboard, you should use radius blocks as cauls, so it applies pressure evenly.

What I mean is that outline. Do you rough cut a little bit outside for both neck and fretboard and then attched them using the blocks? I can draw and cut my exact shape on the neck wood. Once the fretboard is glued on though, how do I have an outline to refine by?

I'm unclear on when to attached a pre-radiused fretboard. Should I rough cut both neck and fretboard and then glue it on? I have the picture from Koch's book for the clamping caul for a radiused fretboard. I guess my biggest quesiton is how I get the template draw back on there. From the back of the neck? Hope I'm clear and thanks.

Here's a pic of the controls

Yes, I don't like the pickguard sitting on top of the pickup rings either. At the moment, I have it secured by one screw only because I haven't decided on it's final position. I will probably have to add the conventional cut-outs for the pickup rings so it can sit down further around them.

Here's a shot of the guitar turned over.

makes a lot of difference to me

great job

Les Paul Junior Single Cutaway Template

I can only find the double cutaway online. Anyone know where to find the single?

Great job! I am really impressed and inspired.

I'm actually in North Carolina this week, plan on hitting some of the lumber suppliers around as it seems all the places on eBay I find are in N.C.

Doeringer Fixed Hardtail Bridge

Has anyone used these? Any good?

Here's the link.

I had searched on flat sawn quarter sawn to get information about them.

http://musikraft.3dcartstores.com/Quarter-...n_c_14-1-1.html

The wood for my neck is a piece of flat sawn tiger maple. I was going to use a stew-mac hotrod 2 way 1/8" adjustable truss rod, but then I ran across the comment below online. Do I need to rethink and go with the basic one way truss rod? I was doing a straight headstock.

"The Flat sawn neck tends to have a more mellow tone and is more pliable so it is better for use with vintage style, single acting truss rods and does very well with a hard finish but can also be left unfinshed as well."

Amazing neck. Keep the pics coming.

What you say is good news. The instructions I had made me think 1" was necessary. I am doing a straight headstock with a stew-mac hot rod truss rod.

I have a 7/8" piece of tiger maple. I was thinking of gluing on a 1/8 piece or something else between it and the fretboard to take it to 1" total. THe idea being it would look like a binding besides giving me the usual 1". Any thoughts on this idea or wood to use?

I'm speechless.

Definitely 2

I'd like the pickguard a deeper color as well. Maybe pull the red back in for balance.

A quality jigsaw would likely work alright. When my old jigsaw died out on a template, I picked up a new one. It was the Hitachi saw(5.8amps), easily recognizable by the strange alien looking green saw. It was on sale for a few bucks off and had all that I wanted. I believe that thing could handle sawing a body blank. It says in wood it can cut 4 5/16", but I wouldn't want to do much more than a body blank in hardwoods. I love that little saw, its pretty wicked all around, kills that old saw I had that burnt out. There were more expensive saws on the shelves that I looked at as well, but that one had all the features I wanted and was well priced. For cutting the body blank I would cut carefully making sure to keep the blade as vertical as possible, I would also likely drill a couple holes in the sharp corners or tricky areas to prevent problems and make cutting the corners easy. I would then use a router with a template to finish up the final shape. Just another possibility. J

I haven't tried them yet, but Sears sells some jigsaw blades that purport to be made specifically for hardwoods.

Thanks for the input!

Anyone have a pic of what the routed channel should look like that I can use for dimensions?

What routed channel? A top-loading hardtail requires no routing. Unless you're talking about the Stewmac bridge (it would really help if you tell us what you're talking about), in which case, their specs are listed in the ad.

I apologize that I was not clear enough for you. Yes, the Stew-Mac. The specs are of the bridge.

Anyone have a pic of what the routed channel should look like that I can use for dimensions?

I've only built cigar box guitars and mountain banjos so forgive me if I speak incorrectly. I'm just starting on the plans to build solid body electrics.

I have a beautiful tiger maple board that is 1-3/4" thick, 11-1/8" wide and 45" + in length. With regard to width for a solid body with a standard neck, what are the common sense aspects of the body that I need to think about? Is a body in a 10-11" width with standard neck acceptable? If anyone can recommend measurements it is wise to stay within or point me to links of similar designs, I'd appreciate it. I imagine the neck as having a peghead. Most of what I've been able to search online has referenced a headless design. I don't really want to go that route, though I like the compactness of the idea. Or should I look for a piece of wood to glue in the middle and use the maple as wings?

Is 1-1/8" too thin to start with for the bottom board and 7/8" too thick for the top. This is before any planing. The book I have has a bottom body part of 1-5/8" and 1/4" for the top.