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guitarnut

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Everything posted by guitarnut

  1. guitarnut
    Well, here's the finished mockup. All pieces put together. I'm still not sure about the color but the other details are pretty much set. Body, fretboard and headstock with quilted maple binding. Still, I did three versions: One with MOP inlays... ...one with quilted maple inlays. I'm not sure about the maple on an unfinished fretboard. And one with no inlays...side dot only. Now, enough playing around. It's time to build. I have the shop AC running at home, should be able to get something done this evening. Peace, Mark
  2. guitarnut
    I worked out the back contour. Pretty basic but effective. I'm gonna come home at lunch tomorrow and turn on the AC in the shop...maybe it'll get the temp below 90F by evening. I really want to get this one started. Peace, Mark
  3. guitarnut
    I thought it would be cool to bind the fretboard in quilt too. I'll go this way for sure if I bind the neck. Here's the mockup of the headstock. Similar to PRS but a bit wider and shaped differently on the end. Also bound in quilt. Can't wait to get started on this build! Peace, Mark
  4. guitarnut
    Thanks guys! I appreciate the input. It'll be awhile before I decide on color but I could see it going any of the 4...and 2 or 3 others . I did a bit more work on the pre-viz. I added a bound fretboard, inlays, and strings with shadows and reflections. Also cleaned up the faux binding to make it pop more. Instead of posting all 4 again, I just updated the images above. Peace, Mark
  5. guitarnut
    As I was hoping, starting this thread lit a fire under me. I spent some time on the design this evening and I'm really happy with how it's coming together. I'm not sure what color I'll use on this one but I did a couple of looks in Photoshop. I built the file from scratch using a few nice professional photos for guidance. The quilt in the mockup is the actual quilt I'm using...I snapped a pic of it and sized it to my PS file so the scale isn't accurate nut it's close. More to come... Peace, Mark
  6. guitarnut
    The last of the 4 I currently have planned this fall is a chambered double cut. I lucked into some really nice spalted flame maple and I'm really eager to use some of it. The thicker of the 2 billets shown will be bookmtached for the body and the top will be bookmatched from the other billet. The color and texture of the 2 match very closly so I'm not sure if I'll bind it of not...may just round it over and leave it at that if the glue up nicely. I have a maple neck blank in the shot but I may end up going with a mahogany 3 a side design with a slight heel angle depending on the bridge I go with. Specs: Spalted flame maple chambered body...bookmatched. Spalted flame maple top...no f-hole...bookmatched. Dual zebra humbuckers. Volume, tone, 3-way toggle switch. More soon...when the weather cools a bit. Peace, Mark
  7. guitarnut
    I'm really excited about this build. It's a design that I've been working on over the past few months. The body is inspired by a PRS but with a little different styling and wider, fatter horns. The top will be carved similar to a PRS but with a few twists. I'll have drawings completed and posted in the next few days. Specs: Peruvian mahogany body. Quilted maple carved top. Peruvian mahogany neck. Bolivian rosewood fretboard. Dual HB...not sure which brand yet. Wrap around bridge. Volume, tone, 3-way toggle switch. More soon... Peace, Mark
  8. guitarnut
    One of 4 builds I have planned for this Fall, this is a pretty straight forward Strat style build. It might be a few weeks before I get much done on it because of the current heat wave. I haven't built a Strat in 6 or 7 years and I want to revisit this style of build with the experience I've gained over the last couple years. Specs: Basswood body. Flame maple bookmatched drop top. Flame maple neck & fretboard. Duncan H/S/S pickups. Bridge SH-6B, Middle SSL-52 RWRP, Neck SSL-5T. More soon... Peace, Mark
  9. guitarnut
    Though I may not get started on this for a few weeks while the weather cools, I thought after building Strats, Teles, a PRS and a Wolfgang I would build a LP Jr. I love the simplicity of this classic model and I'm looking forward to gaining the experience and though I've never played one, I'm anxious to add this one to my collection. Specs: Peruvian mahogany double cut body...not sure if I'll use a pickguard. Peruvian mahogany neck with Bolivian rosewood fretboard. Bolivian rosewood headstock veneer. Wrap-around bridge. Lollar dog ear overwound P-90. Red mahogany dye with EM6000 lacquer. More soon... Peace, Mark
  10. guitarnut
    I've been using water based lacquer from Target Coatings. It's very easy to work with, washes up with warm water, no VOCs and fully cures in 4 days. Sands and buffs to a beautiful deep shine. It's more durable than nitro, too. For a sunburst, after sealing and applying the lightest color, I spray TransTint dyes in DNA. It's very easy to control, can be sprayed fairly wet without sags or runs and builds color slowly so you have alot of control. My most recent using this process... Peace, Mark
  11. guitarnut
    Yep, looking good! How did the back turn out this time? Peace, Mark
  12. guitarnut
    The build is looking nice. Sucks about the router bit incident. I wouldn't give up on that body...it can be patched. I had a similar incident when building my ash thinline. If you didn't know that it happened, you would never pick it out. On the inlays, I would use a small flat file that fits between the fret slots and work parallel to them...across the fretboard. That way if you do alter things a hair, it won't affect the fret slots and should maintain the compound radius. Peace, Mark
  13. guitarnut
    A quick search has revealed a couple of prospective cabinet makers nearby, thanks for the tip! If they're not possible then I shall probably opt for the drill sanding bit, as it's certainly the cheaper option for me. Thanks again! Cool! You should have good luck with a local shop. Most guys are so interested in the guitar building process, they just want to be part of it. Peace, Mark
  14. guitarnut
    They're fairly common and also called spindle sanders. You might try a local cabinet or furniture maker. Maybe another builder in your area from here on the forum. You could use a hand drill and sanding drum and take it down most of the way, then block it out by hand to square it up. But the accuracy would be less than other methods described above. Peace, Mark
  15. guitarnut
    Looking good so far. If it were me doing this. I would back up a few steps and make a routing template and smooth out the body with a router and pattern bit. Since you don't have a template for routing, I would suggest a drum sander. This could be a dedicated sander or an arbor/sanding drum chucked up in a drill press. Check the table of the drill press to make sure it's 90 degrees to the arbor. Some arbors will flex so you should run a test piece to see if it's off. If there is significant flex in the setup, adjust the table to compensate for it. Peace, Mark
  16. guitarnut
    I can't tell from the pic but is the lower horn Strat or Tele? Peace, Mark
  17. guitarnut
    Yep, that's right. Cutting a deeper channel sets the TR deeper into the neck reducing the amount of material you can safely remove during the carve. I place a strip of tape over the channel while spreading glue. I then remove it before clamping the fretboard...the glue is squeezed up to the edge of the channel with clamp pressure. Peace, Mark
  18. guitarnut
    Looking good! You may want to start a thread with the question about neck thickness...unless the more experienced builders are following this thread, you may not get a wide response here. Peace, Mark
  19. guitarnut
    The easy solution, as you said, is to increase the radius along the sides of the HS so the cuts don't touch the ebony at all.. If the shape of the HS is a deal breaker, then I would cut out the ebony strips that border the ears and reglue some larger ears. That way the entire sides of the HS would be in maple. I'd rather see a seam in the maple than the HS profile cutting in and out of the ebony. My 2 cents.
  20. guitarnut
    The build is coming along very nicely. Very clean work so far. On the thickness of the neck, I usually take mine down to .875" or roughly 22mm total thickness. Minus the fretboard (.250") and truss rod route (.4375"), that leaves .1875" or about 4.5mm between the back of the neck and the truss rod. It might be slightly less depending on how much I worked the fretboard. Mine have all been single piece maple with a laminated fretboard. I would think a laminated neck like yours is going to offer more resistance to the truss rod so you may need a bit more meat behind it. There are plenty of guys here using laminated necks...you should get an answer soon. Peace, Mark
  21. guitarnut
    As others have said, great first effort. They're only going to get better. I'm of a slightly different opinion when it comes to leaving a mistake as is. I make myself go back and correct it. Just a personal preference. It took me over 18 months to get my first one completed because I agonized over the finish and little details. Look at it this way. In the future looking back, you're never going to kick yourself for going back and correcting the cavities. But it will always nag at you if you leave them as they are. My first build... On the subject of your next build, I just finished a Wolfgang recently. They're fun to build because they're similar enough to other guitars to be familiar but different enough to keep it challenging. Best of luck on the next one. Peace, Mark
  22. guitarnut
    Looks nice. I like the neck thru concept. Am I missing something? The neck is flat to the top? That might cause some issues with the carve and faux binding. Looking at your carve pattern you may be okay, but PRS have an angle where the neck meets the body. Not having this angle means the center portion of your guitar...highest level of the carve will be flat. It should be pitched, reducing in thickness toward the neck pocket, to match a neck angle. I'll be watching this one when you return. Have a fun and safe trip. Peace, Mark
  23. guitarnut
  24. guitarnut
    Excellent work so far and nice concept. Though I'm not crazy about the top. Just for grins, you could try a double bookmatched (BM) mockup. I'm not sure how wide or thick your top needs to be but you could take a 9" wide piece of 6/4 and resaw it down the center. Then rip one piece and flip the 2 halves out to the edges. This would give you the larger area between the necks and a BM on the center of each neck. I think it would visually bring down the scale a bit and create a linear flow toward the necks. Your current comp really spreads out wide visually...maybe that's what you're going for. Just an observation. Peace, Mark
  25. guitarnut
    Cool! I'll be watching this one. All sources I've read or talked to report that hardwoods at Lowes and Home Depot are kiln dried. I think you're fine to move forward with it. They stock these woods for home improvement projects knowing the average DIYer isn't going to take time to dry the wood. Imagine buying 30 BF of maple or oak for a cabinet project and letting it air dry in your garage for a year...wouldn't make sense for most buyers. I would be more concerned if you bought it from an individual or online. Best of luck with the build! Peace, Mark
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