ooten2

It's more than a BIT distressing, more like about 63K BITS distressing, when that file doesn't go through. I think you're right, no need for any more resent-ment. After all, it's on the mimf. psw, I was thinking the originals were set neck also. That korina iceman looks great. Makes me want one!!

Jester, I just resent the email with the iceman file. Hopefully you'll get it this time.

Wow, that looks great! Can't wait to see it with all the hardware. I like the Jackson neck/headstock shape with that body and color. IMHO it's better looking than the Warmoth neck on the other blue beast. And the feel of tung oil on the neck will be awesome. I also like the tone of basswood. I'll bet it'll sound badass!

I did some research, and found where I got my Iceman drawing. I got it on the mimf forum. http://www.mimf.com/cgi-bin/WebX Go there and join up, then go to the archives section. It's under "Instrument Templates". I'll resend my file when I get home this evening, but if we keep having email problems, you can go the above site and get it there. Those templates would be great to have, even if building a neck-thru. You could use them to get the headstock shape, neck size, body size, etc. Just use the appropriate part of the template to create the body wings, etc. You just have to plan a little more and "think outside the box" a little. Jeez, I hate that expression!! But if you can make templates for free, and money is an issue, I completely understand. For me, the issue is always time; I never have enough of it, so I'm always looking for fast ways of doing things, and it goes quick and accurate with a good template and a router.

Here's an iceman template: http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com/Iceman.htm I pasted the email address that was given in your email, and it seemed to go out ok with no errors. Maybe it's lost somewhere in cyberspace. I'll resend it this evening when I get back to my home computer.

The email's been sent. Great idea on sending the iceman to Brian. I'll do it. I don't remember where I got it from, maybe it was the mimf. I was thinking it was the whole guitar, but actually, the drawing is just the body, with an AANJ bolt on heel. Oh well, better than nothing, but I do like the headstocks on the Iceman. Hope it helps!

Jester, I have a dwg file of an iceman. I sent you an email.

Wow, I love that guitar! Great work! Your SG and LP are both excellent also. I would hate to pick a favorite, so I would say all 3!!

Check this out: http://www.kbguitars.com/gallery/view.php?gid=15&phid=5 http://www.kbguitars.com/gallery/view.php?gid=15 Not exactly a TOM, but the top looks pretty flat. I think it looks awesome!!

I like the Iceman, too. Don't know much about Jacksons, so I can't help you there. I got a quote from Carvin back in April for an NT6, made from mahogany, with the carved top headstock upgrade, for $229.99.

Hey and welcome. I just completed a Carvin NT6 maple guitar a month or so ago. I love it. I was thinking of getting a mahogany neck next time. Here's a place to get mahogany blanks, among other things, from a guy on this forum. I'm a repeat customer of his, and I highly recommend him. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=15935 As for glue, Titebond I is popular around here. You can get it at pretty much any hardware store, including Lowe's and Home Depot. Here's a place for some templates: http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com/electricguitar.htm# Check out Stewmac.com for pickup templates, etc. etc. etc. There are also several drawings, etc. in the downloads section of this forum. Hope this helps! When you get the mahogany neck going, keep us posted...

2112 was great. I was on the 4th row of a concert back in the 90's when they performed the entire 1st side of 2112, along with a bunch of old songs. It was incredible. "Natural Science" was the highlight of that concert for me, really blew me away! Can't believe 3 guys put out that much sound....

Yeah man, that's a cool album. I'm going to have to get it out and listen to it again. I've been a Rush fan for a long time, and it's interesting to hear them do remakes of the old songs. My favorite Rush period was around the time of Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. Those are "must have" albums. I like their other stuff too, but those 2 really stand out in my opinion.

Wow, this sounds like a real monster. The body shape and size is going to be great and the tone is EXACTLY what I look for in a guitar, where it responds well to your playing touch and then gets real nasty and snarly when you crank it. Good luck, and keep us up to date.

Hey man, you're way ahead of me. I buy the wood, but I haven't done a thing with it, yet! It's just sitting there in the garage. I haven't had time to do get started. I guess this means I have more money than time!

You could fill up all of your current holes with glue/sawdust, or putty, or epoxy, etc. Then place the bridge in the right place and redrill. If the old filled holes leave uglies, maybe you could figure out a way to hide it. Paint the guitar a solid color, or make a new pickguard that covers it up, etc. Good luck!

Rich, I received my shipment of myrtle and curly maple today, and also the drawings. Everything is excellent. For all of you having trouble printing out full-size plans, here is the guy who can solve all your problems! Thanks for everything, Rich!! A+ P.S. I got my eye on some of that figured walnut, just gotta get a couple more paychecks and build some stuff for the house before taking any action...

What Home Depot's do all of you go to?? I have never seen maple at a Home Depot, not around here in Houston anyway. Lots of oak, poplar, pine, and cedar, but no maple. But it's been a year or so since I've been to HD, I have a Lowe's very close that serves that purpose. Maybe I need to check out HD again...

Drak, I wanted to keep the top uncovered as much as possible, so didn't go with the standard tele bridge. Not that it would have covered up that much more, but that was my way of thinking when I bought the parts. Speaking of the bridge... before I started the finishing process, I mounted the bridge and tuners, and put a couple of strings on to check that everything lined up ok. I was a little worried that the bridge would sit high, and the saddles would have to be lowered quite a bit. So to be sure, I recessed the bridge into the body, equal to the amount of the thickness of the bridge base, so the set screws didn't stick up above the saddles and stab my right hand when the action was set. When I was sure everything was correct, I pulled off the bridge and tuners and started putting the finish on. Pr3Va1L, I sawed the top of the neck-thru (about 1/4") with a table saw to just above the fretboard, then completed the cut with a handsaw to get rid of the blade curve. After that, I sanded the handsaw area to get it flat. The rest of the neck tenon was straight from the table saw cut, and didn't need much sanding. If I had a band saw, I would have used that. I may have taken a pic from the back, I don't remember! I'll see when I get the film in the other camera used up and developed. I need a digital camera, but Rich (fryovanni) keeps putting all that awesome wood out for sale, and of course I HAVE to buy some, so my $ goes to that! Thanks for the comments everyone!

Maiden, I wrestled a long time with the idea of a more protective finish. But I have no way of spraying. I could possibly work up something with rattle cans in the backyard, if I cut down the pine trees that drop those stupid needles all over the place. And brushing a finish on a guitar just feels wrong to me for some reason. I would feel like I'm painting a house or something! So I decided on the oil in the end. I guess time will tell if it provides enough protection. It sure gives the guitar a good "feel". But that blue 7 string of yours makes me want to spray... Mledbetter, I love that limba! Every time I go in the garage I look at it and shudder, it's so cool! I'm keeping an eye on the progress of yours. That's going to be an awesome machine. Thanks for the comments guys.

Thanks to everyone for the comments. Greg, you're right, it's based on a tele, with a little bit of Samick Fastback stretch in there. Also, the spalted maple kept cracking, and I ended up having to change a few of the curves as I went along, to accomodate that. A couple of spots actually cracked completely off, but I was able to glue it back together without any visible lines. On the shape, I like the upper bout, but I wish the lower bout and the tail would have come out a bit different. But overall, it's ok. I sawed the neck tenon (I don't know a good term for that either!) with a tablesaw. I worked the cap down to thickness first, and then sawed that amount off of the top of the maple neck. That turned out to be a good plan, because I had to take alot more off of the spalted maple to get it flat than I originally planned. I had to be careful when sawing, as I had horrible visions of sawing off the entire fretboard if I wasn't careful!! I ran the neck through the saw up to just short of the fingerboard, then hand sawed the rest to get a straight cut. As for a straight on pic of the whole body, I thought I had one. But when the film was developed, I didn't see one. Maybe it's on the other camera. I have more pics of it waiting to be developed. I really need a digital camera for this stuff! A few more comments about the guitar: Body: I routed out some chambers in the mahogany before glueing on the cap. This helps keep the weight down, and I like to think it changed the tone a bit, too. I like chambered guitars. Warts and scars: Uneven ferrule holes in the back! Next time, I'll put BigD's tut into practice. The curves of the body could flow alot more smoothly. The top has a couple of low spots that I couldn't even out because of the spalt. If you run your fingers across the top, you can feel them, but in a way, it kinda matches the "rustic" look of the spalted maple. Finish: I used Watco danish oil, natural color, on the body. It darkened the soft spots in the spalt a little more than I planned, but it still looks good. I really like what it did for the mahogany. I didn't grain fill it at all, just used the oil. The first coat of oil, I really soaked it, keeping it wet for about 2 hours. After 3 days of drying, I took some 400 grit sandpaper and more oil, and went over it again. The wet sanding created a goop, or slurry, of oil and sanding dust, that filled up the pores of the wood. I was careful to not wash out this slurry when adding oil to the sandpaper, and went over the end grain several times to get it as smooth as the rest. I worked my way up the grits on sandpaper, and on the last coat I used Minwax paste wax with 0000 steel wool. This really made it SMOOOOOOTH.... The mahogany has all kinds of colors in it, that really doesn't come through in the pics. There are reds, oranges, browns, golds, black, etc. It's really beautiful. A big thanks to everyone on this forum for all of the great advice. I know I dodged several pitfalls, especially with the spalt, due to the information here. Also, my deepest respect goes out to those who take the time to document the building process. That's WAY MORE work than I ever imagined. Just remembering to take pics during the build is almost impossible for me!!! I'll be adding more pics as I get them developed.

This is my project from the last few months. http://photobucket.com/albums/y207/summell/Neckthru1/? Carvin neck-through, Honduras mahogany body, spalted maple cap. Carvin C22 pickups, electronics, tuners, and fixed bridge. One volume, one tone, 3-way pickup switch. Simple, simple. Actually too simple, I want more knobs! Danish oil/wax finish on the body and head, tung oil on the neck. This finish has to be felt to get the full effect. Everybody who sees it wants to touch... could be a good thing, could be bad! I don't have a digital camera right now, so the pics are from a throw-away Walmart camera, developed onto a cd. Wish they could be better, but between the camera and my poor attempts at photography.... This guitar plays fantastic. Carvin's fret job is great as usual. I like the tones, especially the middle position (both pickups). It has an SRV ballsy quality to it, which I wasn't expecting at all from 2 HB's. The electronics are very quiet, moreso than my LP or strat. I'm planning to take this to a reunion gig over Memorial Day weekend, where I'll get a chance to try it out live. A bunch of old bandmates are getting back together for the first time in years, and I'm the youngest at 41. So the youngest old geezer will play his new guitar with the geezer wood at the 30th anniversary of the band. Cool.

The neck is 18"?? You sure that's not just the fretboard? My LP DC has the same scale length, but with 24 frets instead of 22. The fretboard on it is 18 3/4". Makes me think 18" might be about right for a 22 fret fretboard. But that's just a guess.

Looks great, and sorta familiar! Rich's limba/zircote combo is incredible, isn't it? Ok, just to be different, I won't do a tele with mine. Only problem I see, is that the back view mysteriously looks like the front view! Oh, ok now it's fixed! Great work! I'm anxious to see how this one goes.

HA HA!! If the missus finds out.... {{{{{{{shudder shudder}}}}}} Don't even go there....