Our Souls inc.

As the title suggests,I'm going to attempt my first set of block inlays.

My main concern is the thickness , or in this case, thinness of the inlays Vs. the radius of the neck.

The inlays are from Stewmac, the LP custom set in Abalone. The radius is 12" .

I'm concerned about the taper after they are in the board. Fearful that I might make the edges really thin after sanding them to the fretboard radius.

Anyone have any words of advice?

I've done dot inlays before,but never blocks.

They're going in a rosewood board, but it may get dyed black just for aesthetics .

Thanks in advance.

The guitar is a win !! I dig the sound of the track and even moreso the playing !! Great unorthodox build.

.......

As far as the router/grinder.... I have never tried it. I was assuming. Nearly every guitar I've made has been neckthru and I've always just done the heel by chisel, file and sander.

I've never tried a grinder but it seems a lot of members on here use them to carve. Do you use a special timber cutting tool or a standard metal grinding disc?

I use a 60 grit flap-disk on the grinder when I go that route. Works great.

@ AndyT - Drum tobacco is the BEST stuff ever.

When I was a smoker, I loved it.

Build is looking great. Your guitars amaze me. \m/ \m/

I made a pair of pup rings from alunimum diamond plate once. Painted them electric blue and everything.

I cut them by hand ,like I do everything, so they were not perfect, but they worked ...

I like the wenge version.

if he gets it blessed on any day but Sunday, he'll be breakin the law.

I voted for the offset avenger. I wish there was a list of criteria I could use to judge, but most builds are so unique, it's tough to do. In the clutch, I just go with what I find has the most "gimme" factor going.

You build beautiful guitars !

I think he was asking about " neck dive" , which is my main concern with it. How will the guitar hang, level or with the neck pulling it downward?

"Firewood" I love it.

I started off the same as you are, twisting factory guitars into customs, and I still do on occasion. I've covered 'em in velvet, chrome, posters, you name it. Some have become wall-hangers or "reminders"....

The best laid plans can sometimes go awry, so cutting before planning was something I had to grow out of.

You seem to be well on your way and you're at the right place. When I showed up here, I could build a body, but necks were out of my reach.

Finishing is an area that I myself lack expertise in , so you won't get any advice from me in those regards.

As far as your neck goes, before anything else, get it leveled and crowned. You'd be amazed what that'll do for it! If you still wanna re-fret it later you can, but that will require leveling and crowning anyway, so......

Awesome link to the paint supplies, BTW.

Hopefully, this one will get built and won't live up to its name.

Well, it's not "new" but I seem to be the only person who uses them !! lol

the Duncan triple-shot pup ring :

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/seymour-duncan-ts-1-triple-shot-flat-pickup-mounting-ring

I use them when I want tonal variety without cluttering up the face of the guitar.

Or there's the Artec expander, which is an EQ on 'roids.

http://guitarheads.net/products/electronics/electronics.html

lotsa goodies on that page ,actually.

I'd do the 5/8th first, then if you don't like it, you can always go to 3/4". Be careful on the second pass with the 3/4" bit though. the bearing might ride slightly too far in because the "edge" is now a rounded over surface. May not, but play it safe.

/ my opinion.

show me where i didn't applaud it. I simply stated the HS could look better *to me* . I dig it. Won't be nicking it for myself, but he even got a "bravo" from me, what else do you want?

Yes, congrats on the new addition !! Now the real fun begins........

I tried a mockup without the bottom bevel and I like it as well. I may make a mockup without the bevels just to see how it all looks in real material before I do my second one. .........

this is where photoshop comes into play. I have to record a gig tonite but will do a photochop of the HS just to get a visual.

fkhinhel

let me photoshop one of oursouls guitars till it looks like a les paul

did not think you would be the guy to question something a bit different

on the first point : I dare you .

on the second point : who's questioning anything ? I just wanted to see what it would look like without the bevels. I like it- as I stated before. Just think a stream-lined version would look sweeet.

Scott, I'd like to take a moment out of my posts to send a public "Thank you" . You have given me several GREAT ideas over time and they always seem to improve my builds. Your idea for the TR rout was utilized ( from the lost thread ) - except for the "guides" . I penciled the lines I needed and used a razor knife to score the edges, then chiseled the rout out slowly. Worked great- thanks !!

I took a pencil and drew out the curve you mentioned above.... looks stellar. I will be bringing it around toward the point now. As far as 'designs' I can claim no credit. This is a "dual oval" design with a single cut - normally called a Les Paul, but the hook at the bottom and the swoopy butt came from the shape of my offcuts.

Figures.... potential to be my best and it was all an accident.

I tried a mockup without the bottom bevel and I like it as well. I may make a mockup without the bevels just to see how it all looks in real material before I do my second one. .........

this is where photoshop comes into play. I have to record a gig tonite but will do a photochop of the HS just to get a visual.

and thats where I am as of today.

ready for a fretboard and moar shaping on the carve.

still needs the control cavity , bridge located, etc , etc.......

Thats the carve coming to life...

and there's some initial routing done [ without a router. ]

and here's the mascot :

Max

The first half got lost in the 'hiccup' so it made no sense anymore really....

so here in all its unglory is : The Chisel part 2.....

I made an odd-shaped guitar last year http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=44857&view=findpost&p=486327 and had some cut-offs from it.

I also had two strips of maple from a neck trim-up and a neck-thru mahogany neck-blank thanks to a failed experiment.

So - out of the ashes of other builds, I started a build for pure fun.

specs are :

Single-cut design with a twist.

Pa-doook wings/maple accents/mahogany neck-thru.

Carved top

Undecided fretboard but either maple or ebony

24 frets

1 pickup

brought to life with a chisel.

Yep. a chisel.

From the beginning..... I glued up the neck / strips and wings before doing any shaping. So I basicly had a guitar shaped chunk of wood.

After shaping up the body some and thinning down the neck here's what I had.

a list of chores I've knocked out without power tools includes:

neck shape, and thickness.

Body shape, including treble horn.

Body carve

Truss rod rout

Pickup rout

TR access hole

Neck angle

Obviously,it's still rough and sanding/scraping will be what makes it pretty, but I like what's coming out so far.

Moar pics below

IMO - if the 'bevels' were removed ie; the HS shape mimic'd the TRC/horn it would look better all the way around.

I like the fact that its made of a 2x4. I build 'em out of shipping pallets, so why not a 2x4??

Thank you both. It was a fun build, and I was happy with the final result. I'll bring the poster finish back eventually, but that was the last one I successfully completed.

will be heavy. agreed. in the future, you can hollow out the wings before glue-up to save some weight. I shaved off 2 Lbs from my bass doing it that way.

I've used Watco's Teak oil on purpleheart with nice results. not glossy, but still has a nice 'sheen' to it. It's easy to apply too.

Nice looking build you have going.

edit :

pic added

I love the headstock ( from the front ) but dislike the way the back of it looks, if that makes any sense. Aside from the funny headstock, I say :Bravo! Nice looking shape. Even the fat neck isn't too bad looking . I like the trap carve.

The Comicaster , a pine bodied Tele-style with a super-theme.

Specs:

Pine Telecaster body

Super-Hero poster graphics

Faux- chrome trim on the edges

25.5" scale , 22 frets

Guitarheads Tele pickup set

here are some pics:

build thread here : http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=43080&st=0&p=457916&hl=

Well, the original post is gone, so I'm bringing it back.......

This is the guitar that got me building my own. I wanted one and none were available.... so I built it instead.

Its made of solid Padouk, procured from a carver who had it drying since 1986.

Specs: Padouk body

Jackson DKMGT 24 fret neck 25.5" scale

Duncan Dimebucker

EMG afterburner

Duncan triple-shot pup ring

Washburn Wonderbar tremolo

Flat black finish

Faux-Chrome-trim

Flame trim.

Here's some pics...