dpm99

I can't believe I'm actually posting this picture.... I got bored at work one day and started playing around with Paint. So the picture is awful, I know, but it gives an idea as to what's in my head. WesV, I remember that guitar. I think I want even softer bevels than that, except possibly around the inside of the horns. And you made it look awesome without binding. Prostheta, thanks for your reply. My guitar's gonna be thick though, by design. Nonetheless, I love the way that carve is so seemless. And that burst is pretty amazing.

Musician's Friend has that guitar listed for $1,349. My question would be what kind of tools do you have. If you have a full workshop of tools, I say it sounds like a great way to save money. I'll tell you that I'm almost halfway done with my build, and I've gone the cheap, cheap, cheap route. I've done most of my cutting with a $5 coping saw from Home Depot, a cheap third-hand router (that still runs like a dream), and just two router bits. My neck and body wood together were under $40, my hardware was probably made by 10-year-old Vietnamese children, and my pickups are used (from Craigslist). With all that, and mind you, I've got a lot more spending to do before I'm finished, I've still spent $775 so far. The bottom line is that it may be cheaper to just buy the Godin. On the other hand, making one is more fun. -Dave

Thanks for your reply, WesV. Yes, I've even played a Mira a few times. I always thought of it more as a flat top guitar, but I suppose it is carved. It looks kind of in between. After looking at a whole lot of pictures today, I realized that this is exactly what I described: Or like the one this guy plays - Anyway, now that I see it I don't think I like it. That means I'll probably doing binding, which isn't the worst idea in the world, I suppose.

I've been thinking for a while about what I want to do for a body carve and I'm having trouble figuring it out. I've love to be able to do something with a rounded edge like a strat and the depth of a carved top. I can't find a good example of that, and wondered if anyone knew of any. If not, what's your favorite carve pattern? That might be interesting to see too. Thanks, -Dave

Wise words. Yeah, not gonna happen. It would not be fun to haul a floor model up and down the stairs every time I needed to use it. Those things are meant to stay in place. Someday.

Nice. Looks perfect to me.

Yeah, well... I like that Delta, and I love the Grizzly one, but they'll both have to wait. After making a decision to work without a drill press, I had to buy a couple more cheap little things. Now I've got about $175 to finish this project. I've got just about everything I need though, so I ought to be alright. But at this point, buying either one of those would put me in the red (and in the doghouse with my wife). This weekend I'll be doing some work that really ought to be done with a drill press, so I should have a good story to tell soon. -Dave

Well, considering that under your name at the left side of the page it says Coronado, CA, I should probably guess that. But I still think that "under a bridge" is more interesting.

That's the one I want!! Shipping on it is insane, but there's nothing else like it on the market, as far as I know. Fortunately, my current build has a Floyd. I'm sure I'll be able to manage that without a drill press. But it would be foolish to buy one with only my current build in mind, because I may want to do a string through at some point.

For what it's worth, I say no volume, no tone. I've thought about doing this myself, and working with one of those new Fender tone/volume combo pedals. I recently read something in Guitar World about a guitar that had a bypass switch that completely bypassed the pots. It led me to believe that the pots may be sucking a little tone, but I guess whatever you'd gain would be lost in a pedal that does the same job anyway. I don't know. But from the standpoint of playability, I can see no reason why not to go with your original idea.

Hmm...under a bridge? Are you a hobo? j/k As for the super guitar, I'm down. You guys do all the stuff that takes real skill, and I'll sweep up your sawdust and hand you tools and stuff. -D

In answer to this question, I think it might be weird if you tried to put a flame maple back on it with a sunburst pattern, but otherwise no - especially with binding. Carving the top will emphasize the front/back thing even more. I'll be anxious to see pictures as the build progresses. Maybe this one will take more than a weekend to finish. EDIT: Something else you might try is using a thin rosewood veneer over the back, if you want it to look uniform.

I think I agree with you, Dugg. All the same, I'd rather have something that can reach to the middle of the body that settle for something I'll learn to hate. On this project, I'll be working with one of these: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores...uctId=100349264 I realize everyone hates them, but I'm hoping the key is understanding that it's a jig, not a drill press. I'll be using brad point bits. Then for me next project, I can have a good drill press (unless I just decide I can do without one). Another factor to consider is that I live in a second story apartment. That means every time I need to use the drill press, I'll have to carry it down a flight of stairs, and back up again when I'm done. Plus, it has to stay reasonably clean. Probably worth it though. I'll just have to see how much things suck without one. I've been putting off these next few steps until I got a drill press. Thanks for all the input! -Dave

Yeah, I know. But it makes sense too. If I screw up my project, I'll be able to document why it doesn't work. There's a bright side to just about everything, you know.

Really nice work on the headstock and the templates. What about hollowing it out from the back. Rather than adding a top, you could add a back to the guitar. Then you could use whatever sort of wood you want. Just a thought. -Dave

Thanks Kenny. Yeah, jmrentis is a friend of mine. I wouldn't have made it this far this quickly without his help. And San Diego is pretty great, in that you get a pretty nice temperature and humidity year-round. That sure is nice when you're working with good. -Dave

A little more progress. I'm proud of my work on the headstock. I think it turned out really well. I glued it up, then applied a 1/8" mahogany veneer. It's not bookmatched, but I gives that same general impression, as I was careful when selecting the two sides. You also see below that I've rough shaped the neck and volute. I also repaired my mistakes in the neck. You can sort of see that in the picture on the right, but I'm proving to be a horrible photographer.

That's really good advice guys, and I appreciate it. I made my decision tonight. I'm going to try it Bluesy's way, with the hand drill and router I already have. So far, innovation and planning have been my best tools. And I'll just save up until I can get a really nice drill press. Thanks for all the help, -Dave

You probably won't get the world's greatest finish ever without spending a lot of money. However, if you want to go the cheap and easy route, I suggest Birchwood Casey's TruOil, which you can find at most Walmarts and gun shops. Search around a little and you'll learn more about it. I may well be using it on my guitar too.

I'm taking that silence to mean I probably need to suck it up and spend money on a drill press, right? Anybody have thoughts on this? http://www.jackstoolshed.zoovy.com/product...p;utm_campaign= Or as a cheap drill press substitute, something like this? http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2408

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I thought I'd throw it out there. I live in a small apartment, and don't have a lot of room for tools. In my estimation, the two large power tools needed for building electric guitars and basses are a band saw and a drill press. You can avoid the band saw by using a jigsaw or bow saw to rough cut, but can you get away without having the drill press? I'm at the point in my build that it's time to make a decision. In fact, I'd planned to go out this weekend and buy a 10" Ryobi drill press from Home Depot for $99. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores...03+90401+501991 A friend pointed out to me that I won't consistently be able to reach the center of a body with something that small and recommended a 12" Delta drill press as an alternative. It's almost twice as much at $185. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores...03+90401+501991 I really don't want to spend that much money unless I absolutely have to. So I wonder if anyone has either found a way to work around having a drill press altogether, or found a cheap drill press with a long reach. I don't need fancy - just reliable. Incidentally, I've already been checking Craigslist. But I'd rather not go that route if possible. I've had some bad experiences. Specifically, I believe a drill press is needed for the following: 1. Cutting holes for tuners (I don't know a workaround for this.) 2. Hogging out cavities and such (unless you use your router) 3. Bridge post holes (I'm using a Floyd for my current project, and I don't know if there's an effective workaround.) 4. Holes from string through bodies (I don't have any on this project obviously, but still.) 5. Dot inlays (Might be able to do this with a hand held drill?) I'm sure there's more, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head. Anyone have thoughts or recommendations? Thanks for your time, -Dave

I don't understand why you'd want to do a profound radius with nine strings. Are you going to mostly be playing rhythm guitar on it or something? Too much radius means you fret out on solos, which is SO frustrating. Then again, there are a lot of things I don't understand. Maybe I'm missing something. All in all, I hope this project works out. If you can make it work, it should be really cool. -Dave

A lot of that will come down to how much money you want to spend. Do you have any idea?

Ha! I love this bass. It sounds really clear. Good work!

Just a couple of notes on that comment. I bet if you walked into a shop in the 70's or 80's and compared the Gibsons to everything else, you'd get a real different picture than what you'd see today. I really like the older Gibson acoustics, and LOVE the old Guild guitars, but I wouldn't buy a new one from either company. Then again, I'm a big Taylor fan. Your dad probably never had an opportunity to play one. Didn't they really hit the large market in the late 80's/early 90's? Also, the most important reason some of the greatest guitarists in the world play Gibson is endorsement. It's like basketball players and Nike shoes.