Metalhead28

The $209 necks from Carvin are cheap. Having one handcrafted would certainly not enter my mind as a cheaper alternative. I'd expect to pay considerably more. Price some suitable wood for the neck (if a piece of wood is large enough for a neck-thru....it's not scrap , if it's lousy wood - it's not suitable), the fretboard (same thing), a truss rod, fretwire, etc. and see what you're really hoping someone will do for $80.

I've talked to the future owner, and I'm going to be going just a touch lighter than that color. Just sanding back the first stage a little further so the orange comes out brighter.

Mixing up some colors, I'm currently leaning toward the combo on the right side of this scrap:

Yes, I started with a rectangle about 2 1/4" x 3" x 41", but that was dictated by my design. Different designs may require much different sizes. The body end is cut away because there was a top to glue on which covered the neck.

Are you saying the action is lower above the 7th fret, as in the neck has a serious dip right at that area or something? Like Our Souls said, put a straight edge on it, that's the only way you're going to figure out what it's doing.

I kept that shaving from an earlier guitar, it's the only one I have for staging shots. I made a body template with a pocket fit to the neck, then I transfered that to the top slightly undersized so a little fitting was required.

Sure there is. First of all, I screw it down with those holes in the pickup areas, so it won't go anywhere if the clamping pressure is a little skewed. Then I'll just use some rubber cauls or something similar when I clamp it.

Looks pretty cool with the KL headstock. In the second pic, the scarf looks kind of crooked, hopefully just a trick of the photo?

I mixed it up a bit this time. Decided to carve the top before attaching it. A couple of people have asked me to elaborate about how I carve tops in the past: I start with a relief cut around the perimeter to determine the depth: A few passes with the angle grinder: I sort of do it in three sections, the back, and then either side: Same thing in the cutaways: Then I go after it with a RO sander & 60 grit paper: Here the shape is just about there (haven't hit the lower cutaway yet)

Cursing my 12" bandsaw today, because I want to try bandsawing belly and forearm carves with a simple angle jig.....but it won't fit.

How'd that button turn out I was watching your thread but I haven't checked it in a while Works like a charm!

The angles are really stiff; mine won't budge. But just to be on the safe side, I don't put any pressure on the router.

I built a similar sled, but just use it over a malamine board on either side. I get great results from this. I use it for flattening warped stuff or for thicknessing stuff that chips too bad in the planer. And I don't try to move it both ways at once. I position the router, make a pass with the sled, reposition the router, make another pass, and so on. Otherwise it would bind. I'd like to make a more permanent version with some linear slides or something, but i don't know if I use it enough to warrant that....

I was wanting to build a headless Speedloader guitar so bad - but I've been watching the strings disappear for the last year or so......sucks.

I like your solution for mounting the bass bridge. Looks pretty cool.

Looking good, man.

Definitely something weird about that. I've used that stuff before and it was setting up in like one minute, to the point where I couldn't rub it off even being pretty agressive - had to do a lot more sanding than I wanted.

More pictures in the GOTM thread. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=42860 The verdict: this thing was still perfectly in tune when it arrived in Germany.

That's probably the distance between the strings. If you want to know the adjustment range, just move it up and down and measure it. Also with neck thrus, if I'm not doing a neck angle, I just make a little step on the neck so that the bottom of the fretboard is a little above the top of the body. I still make it 1/4" thick because I don't want to make the neck any thinner behind the truss rod.

I say you look at where you actually want the bridge to be adjusted, maybe somewhere around the center of it's range or where it looks the best visually, and draw out some detailed plans with that in mind with the fret height, string action, etc. accounted for.

I have a 12" bandsaw and often wish it was larger. You could probably get by with that although you would be repositioning a lot and making multiple cuts.

I don't use a table saw for slots, so I had been thinking about a miter box similar to Stewmac's that has a key in the bottom instead of the little roll pin. Then make templates out of thicker aluminum with slots on the bottom to register on the key. It would all have to be CNC cut of course. Or you could use 2 pins instead of a key, probably even easier.

Wait, so a 10-16 board should have a 10" bridge radius? or a 16"? You and Buter seem to have said opposite things.. Sorry if these questions are retarded I don't think they said opposite things at all, it just seems you aren't reading very carefully. No offense.

Considering the purpose of a compound radius, to a degree, is to get lower action without buzz - yes, you can expect them to work fine. The guitars you've mentioned were most likely set up poorly. I don't know what you mean by the frets being lower toward the bridge. With a compound radius, your frets get flatter toward the bridge - but your bridge should be even flatter still. When you measure the action of each string at the 12th fret (or whichever fret you prefer) you should find that they are consistent, or match the radius of the fret (unless you have the bass side higher), and measured higher up the neck - they should still match the radius of the fret. That's how you know the bridge is adjusted to the proper radius. Considering your second comment, your action has got to get higher toward the bridge to give the strings room to vibrate, that's the case with any fretboard shape. You can't expect the same action all the way down the board. I don't know if that's what you're talking about or not. If your neck is adjusted properly, and your frets are level - you should be able to go at least as low without buzz on a compound radius board as a cylindrical one. Lower actually.