Linny

So for a TOM 7 with string spacing of 62 (25.5 scale), the neck would go from 48 nut to 68 heel. Correct?

That would be correct.

I think a 30" scale 6 string is far more like a guitar than a bass, if you went to 32" scale it will start to become difficult to play normal chords. Baritone guitars work well with a higher string tension imo, think 11-52 on a strat kinda tension.

I don't even bother trying routing the end grain anymore, i switch to the robo sander to do those parts. If i had a large spiral bit i might try it, but i just don't think it is worth the trouble.

I have a stew mac hotrod in there, the neck is 20mm thick from the first fret to where it meets the body. You would need a different rod if you wanted the neck any thinner. In my opinion its the width of the flat part which will give you the feeling of a skinny neck. My neck has a flat of 20mm which is on the bigger side Rick Toone states he uses a width of around 5/8th or 16mm which would give steeper sides which i think would make the neck feel a little slimmer without actually making the neck thinner in the traditional sense.

Try Chrome or Safari, so much better imo.

People use Internet Explorer? Zomg!!!!!!!!!!

Nice, very clean work. What is the back wood? Some kind of cherry? looks really good.

Yea its english cherry as far as i know.

This weekend i got the neck profile done, i have been looking at a trapezoid profile for a while and decided to try it for this project. You can read more about it at Rick Toone's website.

http://www.ricktoone.com/2010/10/trapezoid...e-geometry.html

Its hard to get a good pic of the shape. Basically the neck back is parallel to the fingerboard with a constant thickness of 20mm and because the flat area of the neck is a constant width of 20mm the angle the sides of the neck changes from 50 to 40 degrees, if that makes any sense???

Nice small heal and really easy upper fret access.

Cheers guys

Last night i got the neck tenon thinned out and cut to length and today i married the neck to the body, not glued yet though.

I squared the mortice instead of rounding the tenon. I recessed the kill switch hole a little.

Tenon is still proud of the body by a few mil.

Body Finished.

Cavity cover made, jack hole drilled, contouring done and battery box routed.

I'm really surprised at myself for knockin out the body in just the weekend. Next weekend i will hopeful join the 2 bits together.

Cheers Guys.

Where is everyone getting these super cool arcade-style switches?!?!!?

Chris

PS: I agree, a bandsaw would have been more elegant. I was merely commenting that it's good you have the ABILITY to properly use saws, planes, etc.

The switch is from ebay, search for Sanwa.

Yea don't worry i took your words as a compliment. I do prefer hand tools where possible to keep noise and dust to a minimum.

Thanks guys.

Board tapered, inlayed and glued on. Still need to shape neck.

Body started. Korina top and Cherry back.

Not bad for a days work!

I REALLY like your truss rod hole jig! Lookin' good and props on the hand tools skills! They are often overlooked by electric builder IMO.

Chris

Trust me if i had a bandsaw i would have used that to remove the waste at the back, it all worked out ok in the end.

Bandsaw fairy still hasn't sorted me out yet.

I glued a piece of maple on to the back of the of the headstock.

I cut the neck and fingerboard taper today and started to shape the headstock.

Wasting material at the back of the neck with a handsaw and chisels.

Ebony Veneer. With the little natty truss rod slot access.

The jig to make the access hole.

Ebony Board to match.

I made up a 1mm thick veneer using my new Jet 16/32!

Truss rod slot was routed on the router table, i then inlayed a piece of maple over the top.

This is my third build, the first is finished and the second is at the finishing stage.

This is a laminated neck blank before i glued it up, sapele, birdseye maple, bubinga, birdseye maple, sapele. Doing my best to plane this lot flat.

Cutting the headstock angle, i think i need a bandsaw or a big tenon saw

Planed flat and square.

Hello, new guy here i thought i would share what i am hoping to do over the next few months.

This will be my first guitar from scratch, in my teens i worked in a guitar shop and i repaired thousands of guitars over that time. I have no problem fretting, making nuts, electronics, setting up etc. This will be more of a test in my woodworking and patience

I still have all my tools too.

I used adobe Illustrator to draw a rough shape of a PRS and i put my own twist on. I made it slightly smaller overall, longer horns and a little more offset. I printed in onto 4 x A4, stuck it together and put it on to some 18mm MDF.

Here is what i came up with:

I made cavity my cover triangular in shape to make it easy for myself.

I also made a template for routing the truss rod. This fit an 18mm guide bush perfectly and i can use my Hotrod router bit that i still had from years ago.

I also purchased a hum-bucker template from one of the guys on the UK guitars builders forum.

I am stuck at this position while i look for a decent body blank. I think i will use either mahogany or Limba if i can get it.

Finish will probably be an oil one, i don't have the space to think about spraying a finish at the moment. Space is limited to outside when the weather is nice.

Anyone know the best place in the UK to supply a 1 piece or 2 piece body of mahogany or limba?