Hey all,
So first things first, yes this is my first post! I am new to this forum, and this is my first build. So i've been working on this for a few weeks now, and i just thought that seeing as how i used this site for so much reference, i'd post my progress. Also, all the pics i made quite small, and are done with my phone. if you want them bigger, let me know and i'll post big pics!
Concept
Well the concept for this came from all over the place really. I do like the look of an old EMEX Londaxe, but the finishes on them are usually horrible, and i also wanted something contoured. I know what you're all thinking, and yes, matt bellamy does come to mind... But dont worry, i can tell you right now, there's no fuzz factory's or kaoss pads in this build!! The other thing i gave some thought to was the colour. I wanted a metallic colour like copper or silver, but without the blinding shine off it. Something like a burnt silver or a melty-wavy-copper. Off to the drawing board!
Design
Ok, so this part came naturally to me. To give you an idea of where i'm coming from, i'm a student of architecture (2nd year). So i work mainly through sketches, sketchup and AutoCAD. This made the design phase EXTREMELY quick. Firstly, i sketched (VERY IMPORTANT FOR DESIGN!!) a bunch of designs based on the londaxe, such as lengthening/shortening the horn. They all couldn't beat the original. Except it needed contouring... I laced out some nice renderings in sketchup to get a good idea of what i wanted. These aren't done to scale or accurately, they're purely to generate ideas. If you're doing this, do not take plans from them. they just arent accurate usually. Then i drew the plans accurately in AutoCAD, and printed them at 1:1, to make a template. Here's one of the sketchup renderings, so you can see how the idea was.
Build
So, the build is still going on today, but it's nearly nearly done! First thing i did was order in parts. I used two places for this. I was trying to stick to as low a budget as i could, just incase it all went horribly wrong! Firstly, the wood. I ordered a nice piece of cedar from http://www.bestguitarparts.com/ . It was expensive, particularly the shipping, but it was also a REALLY nice piece of wood, and delivered to Ireland in about 4-5 days, so i suppose i'd let that slip. Then i went to http://www.guitarfetish.com/ where i ordered basically everything else. Tuners, pickups, the neck, basically everything else (Except the kill switch). They were AMAZING value, and arrived in 4 days. Seriously amazing service, and i'm sure i'll use them again.
Anyway, so for the first stage, i needed to cut the rough shape of the guitar. I traced the body out onto the wood REALLY carefuly, using a really fine pencil (2H). The template was held in place with a bit of tape when i did this. Day 1 of my first build, and already, i've hit a MAJOR issue. I'm measuring out the template on the wood for the londaxe, and i've checked and rechecked this, but i have a problem with the bridge. When i measured it, using the calculator from stewmac, it looks like the bridge is REALLY far down the body. To measure it, i held the neck in place, and measured 25.5" from the nut (as per the stew mac site) and drew a line. I then double checked the template in cad, and it's only minutely smaller than the likes of a tele. Now, when i held up the neck, and took a photo, it doesn't look any smaller than a normal guitar really. and everything will still fit etc. It's more of an aesthetic detail than a technical problem. Right now, as this is my first build, i'm thinking, stop being so over cautious about this and cut the wood.
From one problem to the next... I had just bought a new jigsaw, which, as it turned out, can be VERY tricky when cutting wood that thick. The blade gets REALLY hot REALLY quickly!! So i had to go really slow, but that was ok, cos it meant i was more cautions.
So, before i started contouring, my gut instinct told me it would be a better idea to route before contouring. I started with the neck. And then moved onto the pickups, and finally the control cavity. Unfortunately, being a pennyless student, i didnt have a router. I had chissles, and a lot of patience... The result, wasn't that bad. I also couldn't resist putting in the pickup, not fixing it, to see how they look!!
It was contouring time. Armed with a rasp, a file, and lots of patience, i set about rasping!!! It was slow and steady progress. Especially for someone who had never touched a woodworking tool in their lives. The rasp really was a blessing. For €10, i can see this getting use in the future. I actually belted through this!!! It took a lot of patience, But, here's an idea of how it was going.
(There's more pictures of this stage available, pm me?)
Next, i did a bit of drilling. For the bridge purpose, i needed the neck on. Quick and painless.
NOTE: I'm going to have to do a double post cos the pics wont show up otherwise. SORRY!!!