SJE-Guitars

Good Stuff . . . just need the after pictures now!

Drill new ones in the neck . . . .

Save yourself the waiting time on advice about Frankenstrats and just look for the recent 3 or 4 threads that have been posted.

I felt really sad when those B+W Ebony boards weren't the right size for anything i'm working or planning on. I should have snagged them just to have them hanging around the house :-\

Too cool for school.

I still have to visit the timber merchant soon so you never know what might turn up!

Right then people after the initial successful trial bit (see thread here: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=39817) I am now going to take orders for these bits to keep it simple for the shop I want to try and order in batches. This is for two reasons:

1) They can produce the same size bit orders in one hit with having to setup the equipment everytime for different radius.

2) The knock on of this is the bit will be far more accurate.

So I initially I will offer the 3 most commonly used sizes:

10", 12", 16"

If you are interested please drop me a PM rather than replying on this thread as it'll help me keep this in order. Use this thread for queries etc.

The cost of the bits is $49 per bit plus P&P. The P&P will be depending on where you are in world and how many you order! An example - 1 bit to the US costs $7.50 P&P which is probably much the same as to the UK, Europe & Oz but I need to double check on that. Ordering 2 or 3 bits will also be cheaper to ship.

Initially once I have 10 orders for any size I will place the order and you will be kept informed on progress.

Payment is to be made via Paypal - I'll provide that via PM at the point of order - payment will need to be made at the point I order the bits which I will give you a day or so notice at that point.

Cheers all!

Edit: Forgot to say if there is enough interest in any other radius size (7.5" or 14" for example) then I'll add them to the list!

figured Cocobolo very nice . . . very similar to Figured Siam Rosewood . .

On the left . . rough sawn soon to be turned into a fretboard

ooh a black & white ebony fret board bragging thread. . . .

Still waiting to be slotted for my 8 string build . ..

Got about three or four 6 string blanks as well hanging around . . mind you it does help when I live in the country that virtually all B&W Ebony originates from!

Oh as for inlays I am only putting side dots on it - I've put gold pearl dots on them before but really they don't need nothing.

Well the votes have dried up and F is the clear winner . . .

My thoughts when I looked at the design side by side was a toss up be D & F . . . and as I've just got myself a nice chunk of my favourite neck wood (Afzelia Xylee) - so I am going to make both!

Cheers

You don't need to check every fret - just measure from the nut to the centre of the 12th fret double it and that's the scale.

It is a headstock-adjusted truss rod. Hmmmm... So how would I go about finding the end of the truss rod without major surgery? Converting it to a 22-fret sounds like a good idea. This would have an added benefit of moving the bridge back further towards the bottom (the body is HUGE).

The obvious way is get the trusty steam iron out and flirt the fret board off but if you don't want to the do this then the only tool I can think of that could help is one of those Black & Decker pipe detector gizmos.

The other way to check is if you mark a dead centre line on the heel then use a small drill bit (taped off to the depth of the 23 fret) then drill a couple of bore holes in the heel if you hit metal you'd know the truss rod is too close.

Personally I'd just make the assumption that the truss rod just wouldn't come to the 23rd fret on the basis that they'll use the same truss rod for there 22 fret necks and also truss rods in general always finish a good inch or two from the end of the neck.

Erm yes that bridge angle is exaggerated!

3.5mm difference is all that's required. By the looks of that you've essential got the a scale of 25.5" (I assume) to around 26" -26.5" on the low E.

You really need to redo the bridge posts to get it hold any kind of tuning.

The problem you've got is you're trying to put a 24 fret neck on a body designed for 22 frets. The 3 options which are open as have been said are:

1) route the neck pock deeper into the body.

Problem here is with the body there will be very little possibility of using the higher frets.

2) Cut the neck at the 23 fret.

Personally this is the route I'd take - I'd be very surprised if the truss rod came all the way to the 23 fret.

3) Fill the bridge pick up and reroute it

Well really you'd need to fill both and re-route both since the neck pickup placing isn't in it's ideally location. This options is only open it you are going with a solid colour.

In that 2nd picture it looks like there is plenty of meat remain after the 24th fret to the butt of the neck to just cut it flush.

Rosewood is plenty strong enough to only need a few mm after the fret.

My main concern would be the look of the fretboard with the end chopped off - I think it would look rather odd in my opinion with a very small overhang after the last fret.

In a similar vein to the other neck cutting thread I assume from the pictures that the truss rod adjustment is at the top of the neck and it wouldn't come all the way to the 23rd fret . . so you could convert the neck to a 22 fret neck keeping the looks and allowing you the room for the 3 pickups. It's something to think about!

Thanks for that - essentially the result I was expecting!

Yes the shank was very slightly large for some reason on that bit - all the other bits I've had from the shop and all have been perfect.

For those wondering shank size is can made to fit your router - like I say about the 8mm shank it'll cost a bit more due to the extra work in milling the shanks to size.

In terms of 1/4" in my opinion due to the size of the bit (over 2" long) you really wouldn't want a 1/4" shank - I'd highly expect it to shear.

SJE-Guitars, is it possible to make a bit with 8mm shank?

Erm yes.

Although it would cost more due to the extra work of milling the shank to size.

Erik - have you had chance to try the bit on timber yet?

Basically I am waiting for a bit of a pictorial of it in use then I'll get an order run underway. If anyone wants to pre-order drop me a PM with the sizes and once photographic proof of the original sample in action is provided and everyone is happy then I'll place the orders at the shop.

Cheers all

Wait, I guess I missed that this has a TOM - where are you finding a 7 string TOM? Haven't seen one of those around. I must be out of the loop.

Gotoh make 7 string ToMs . . . so the knock on is you can also pay over $100 for one with a couple of screws in the top of the studs.

The SH-5 is a top choice of Bridge pickup my personal favourite . .. . well until I make my own in the coming days!

F, but if the guitar isn't going to be pointy, round the edges just a little more, like this:

Maybe bring the right edge out just a few millimeters too, it's looking a little skinny to my eyes.

Point taken . .. so to speak!

It's a nice piece of kit is the trem and I've read the thread on your ergonomic guitar and found it interesting. However I don't quite understand why this trem makes a strat into an ergonomic guitar? Surely it's exactly the same playing action as the standard Fender trem or a floyd rose equiped one. The only difference being that there is no tuners on the headstock.

Or am I missing something that this trem does that the others dont?

Twin cut . . . ala super strat style - nothing pointy!

Well I've been playing around with inline headstock designs and these 6 are what I've come up with. The only restriction for it is I like a straight pull on the strings not splayed at strange angles.

Inline headstocks are a bit restrictive but I've tried to be as original as I without going too left field.

Tell me what you think! I won't say which I am leaning towards as I don't want to affect the voting!

Cheers all!

I did a little research this morning and I'm just looking for some confirmation.

I mocked up my neck on my old strat body and measured from the inside of the nut to the center of the pivot screws. It came out to 25 and 3/16 roughly. Is this going to be where I want the fore most mounting screws of the hard tail? It makes sense to me based on what I read, but maybe I'm wrong. After all this is my first guitar build.

For a hard tail (I assume a Tune-o-matic?) for Fender scale the center of the high E string side screw would be 25.5" the low e string side is roughly 3.5mm further back to allow for greater intonation adjustment. Although when I say the screw really it is the high E string saddle that should be 25.5" from the string side of the nut (12.75" from the 12th fret) - and of course if you set your high E saddle a couple of mm forward at the install it allows for further intonation adjustment.

I remember seeing a good article on the Stewmac website about the placement of bridges - giving all the distances for the types of bridge they sell.

Looks fantastic!

Love the accent line.

Look forward to seeing the neck and stainless steel inlays - something was considering recently!

millimetres . . . they are the future . .. . well at least for the US!

A belated cheers - I am very happy how they've come out and now I've got the technique down the next time time they'll just take a few minutes opposed to virtually all day!

Anyway the body had it final sanding ready for the oil finish and look somewhere like this:

A nice and shiny 2000 grit finish.

So this morning I strung it up and applied the first coat of oil so it now looks like this:

and there it will remain for about 4 days for the oil to harden ready for another coat AND repeat . . .

before a sanding, shallac, sanding, shallac, polishing and waxing . .. so a couple of weeks!

Now waiting for a parts delivery - earlier today I started the construction of my pickup winding implement! The coil winding place was a 'no can do' so I'm doing them myself, however it suddenly dawned on me last week I know the exact tool to make which I can use to wind pickups in no time at all!

I'll keep the suspense on what it is but one things I'll say is it ain't a handdrill and it aint got a motor - it's an implement that they make over here for winding silk on to bobbins for the weaving. Having made them before for silk winding purposes I know the design and I am improving on it and if it works how I expect I reckon I can hand wind a coil (scatterwind) with it in about 10 or 20 minutes.

So once I finish it (tomorrow most likely) all will be revealed!

Anyone interested in Stainless steel parts?!?!

Yeah, i might. What I'm interested in is some kind of individual string/bridge option for doing multi-scale. I'm planning a multi-scale 8-string right now, and some form of bridge would be nice to have. :-) There aren't many options and they cost a fortune.

Hmmm well I ain't got any individual string bridges planned . . . I should have a tune-o-matic 8 string soon - complete with 16" radius and lock down nuts made from solid stainless, just waiting on the sample now. Unlike Tonepros I actually get the bridges made not just tap out a $22 Gotoh bridge and stick a locking nut in it and sell it at $100.

I should have ferrules, knobs and strap buttons also - I am currently waiting on the samples (the buttons and the ferrules are looking good, had a few hitches on the knobs)