Johnny Foreigner

this is an incredible build. i've always been an aesthetic fan of the Parker guitars, and I looooove the thinness of this.

I've found this build very inspirational. just added a super-thin build to my future build list.

and in terms of the way the push-pull pop is constructed, is my last diagram correct for the series/down, parallel/up setup?

i'd also be interested to know. not convinced i'll make the trek, but you never know..

so I just noticed that the dude in the video refers to the lugs furthest away from the shaft of the pot as the "top" lugs.

so everyone is right.

and it's like this:

right?

now i'm confused.

so you're saying this is true:

whereas this dude on youtube is showing the opposite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c74lBQRgXAc...player_embedded

i've never used push/pull pots so I'm jsut looking for a little idiot proofing.

i found this diagram over at the wonderful http://www.1728.com/guitar.htm

as far as I understand it (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong!!) using this diagram to wire a push pull means that pulling the push/pull pot out (as in pulling the knob away from the face of the guitar) would run the humbucker in series/normal mode, and pushing the pot in (the knob closer to flush with the face of the guitar) would run the humbucker in parallel/non-normal mode.

I'd rather that the default position (in) corresponded with the default wiring (series)

I therefore assume I just need to flip this diagram upside down. So the lugs that are wired to each other are the two furthest from the pot itself.

have i got that right??

or option 3, based on the understanding that i'll need to cut back both the lam and the HS piece after glue, and that I'll lose an inch or two from the length of the HS piece.

yeah, reckon i'll just use the saw.

one more question about scarf joints.

i have some maple left over from the other build so i figured i'd throw a little accent lam into the scarf on the neck for this one.

I noticed that I Like Turtles (http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=43391&view=findpost&p=466777) cut his HS angle into the lam itself pre glue, whereas I had only really thought about gluing up and then cutting the lam so it's flush with the front of the neck.

I Like Turtles' way:

vs:

I assume the first way makes glue up much easier, but then you need to cut the piece correctly first.

any advice here?

no, i haven't had time for any guitar work.

going to pick it up again this week/weekend tho - so i'll be updated both threads.

so... run it through a bandsaw probs the best option?

in case anyone was wondering, I haven't died, life just caught up with me for a couple of months (been working on this: http://thelonghaulproject.com in case anyone's interested).

Decided I'm going to do the router jointing trick.

Best way to go about cracking the glue up I've already done?

so then i did what i should have done. I saw in another thread i believe from Johnny foreigner where he stuck the under saddle piezo from a kit like mine under a hardtail bridge so i chiseled out a little ledge under my kahler and put the under saddle piezo there then reinstalled the kahler it sounded much better this way but now ill have to make a preamp cause the one i have is way too big to fit into an sg another dissapointment is is that to get pressure on the piezo the kahler is a little higher off the body and can rock slightly so i'm still working on it but it is much much more satisfying to do it myself.

does this mean I invented something???

a bunch of people on here will tell you that your first build should be as simple as possible - a strat copy or similar.

I disagree.

I think part of the beauty of the first build is the thinking that has to go into doing something unique - coming up against problems that don't just require you look up the answer and follow instructions, but actually find a unique solution based on what people can tell you about similar problems.

That's how I approach it, anyway. I'm enjoying my first build so much precisely because I've had to take my time and really think things through for myself.

Please tell me you jointed those pieces before gluing...

Yeah, I don't have a jointer, but I planed them as flat as possible.

So i sourced some wood for my second build.

This is a guitar I'm building for my friend's 30th birthday. His birthday is next month, but he's going on a round the world trip this week, for a year, and so I don't need to finish it until he and his missus come to visit towards the end of their trip, early 2011.

I'm not going to show the design up front because I want you to be surprised by how this turns out.

so far:

and glued up:

I'm still finishing build one, so progress is going to be slow, but once I get going on this 100% it should actually be a pretty quick build.

And I'm going to be using a technique taught by Our Souls.... more to come...

Well, it certainly would be easier to trim, bevel, and finish the ends of the highest few if you didn't have to protect the body at the same time.

SR

that's what I thought. Just have to suppress the impatience! stewmac deliver pretty quick mostly so i shouldn't have too long to wait.

that's the most preposterous thing I've ever seen....

...the flock-of-seagulls haircut, not the bass

!

i'm currently in the planning phase for my second build. It's going to be a lot simpler than my first build in a number of ways (no carve, no fancy woods, no bizarro jack, etc)

one thing i'd like to experiment with is the scarf. I have some nice flamy maple left over from build #1 and I'm toying with the idea of throwing a piece in between the mahogany of the neck and headstock pieces.

so if I chop my mahogany as i were doing a normal scarf, can I just throw in a piece of maple so the grain runs parallel with the angle of the scarf (i.e. parallel with the grain of the headstock piece).

is there anything special i need to bear in mind with this?

then i figured out my bridge placement

and routed the channel for my piezo pickup

and in place it sits a fraction above flush so it will be sandwiched between the bridge and the wood.

tomorrow night i'm going to have a crack at the electronics.

other than that i'm pretty much out of jobs until my fret saw arrives and I can reinstall the frets. i may sand the body a little bit smoother. I assume I'd be mad to glue in the neck before getting the frets in, right?

so I had to pull all the frets. the slots were too shallow in spots and the frets just wouldn't go all the way down.

now need to order a fret saw and deepen the slots slightly. very annoying.

so to cheer myself up I did some fun stuff.

installed tuners. had to drill different diameters on each side which took a little thinking about but wasn't too tricky

I think this is the toughest month in a while - not one single entry that I'm struggling to find something nice to say about. I would happily own every single one of these.

RDub - Lone Wolf yet another argument for a separate acoustic GOTM - just a perfect looking acoustic. Love the zebrawood, love the little inlay and binding touches... just a great great looking guitar.

andyt - Sheena given that I don't like swirls, scalloped frets, maple fretboards, lipstick pups, 6-in-a-row tuners, strat headstocks or strat jacks - yet still think this is a stunning guitar is testament to what a great build it is. +1 on the sister kudos also.

jvillavicencio - D-Classic probably my least favorite here, but still a really fantastic build. I'm not a fan of natural finishes and I find the horns a little too wide for my taste, but big kudos for an original design - not just a copy or a barely disguised copy. And a very well built looking guitar, just not aesthetically my cup of tea. purely a taste thing.

Simo - JD6 got my vote. I don't think i need to explain why. Just preposterously good looking.

Jester - Drifter part of a 3-way tie for 2nd place, for me. Love the tailpiece, love the wood choices for neck/headstock. great finish, great looking guitar.

PRSTait - The Raven 2 also in the 2nd place group. much improved for the finish change and an extremely accomplished piece of work.

hooglebug - Sakura as always, this is a really great build - excellent wood choice, finishing, inlay work and so on. I can't put my finger on exactly why this doesn't light me up, aesthetically, however. It's close, but no cigar, on a purely personal preference level.

Maikkeli - The Sun This is incredible for a 1st build, and the 3rd of my ties for 2nd place. excellent finish, great design and some really nice touches (like the rail on the headstock). Great work, and deffo a contender for 1st place for me.

and with my drill press fixed:

cavity finished:

and cover in place:

frets on:

these pics are from last week but I forgot to post them:

the fretboard all finish sanded:

Well, pop them on up here already.

Been wondering where you went mate. I was hoping weren't just teasing us with these shots of lovely work and blue dye, only to walk away and leave us hanging....

SR

yeah, just been beset by a lack of time, my drill press breaking - and then waiting for the part to arrive, and then the curse of leaving photos on the camera instead of uploading them.

hoping to get close to stringing up this weekend. but we'll see how much time i end up with.

can we see the maple with the burst? i kinda think that would be the winningest.

a bandsaw like this is a big step above the handsaw i used to cut out my first guitar body

which was exactly my point - I'm not going to buy a better bandsaw than this right now. my financial priorities are elsewhere.

As a result I'm not expecting this bandsaw to do the job of a better bandsaw.

I'm just expecting it will be better than using my jigsaw or it will make those jobs a little easier. and if it doesn't, then I've only spent $35 plus the cost of a new blade and endured an hour of sitting in **** traffic.