Diffidentia

Lots of great info about SS frets here. I was convinced the moment my former band mate and guitarist extraordinaire, who also happens to be a tele "fanatic", told me how h absolutely loved his new SS frets and wanted to refret his old teles too. So much for vintage correct I've also got a few shots of the finishing:

As you can see from the previous photos I still have some way to go to get the woodworking part perfect. Luckily I was set on an opaque finish from the beginning, so it wasn't a huge problem. I would like to get things "perfect" next time around, though. I'll also search out a better type of putty, because the one I used was pure crap. A couple more shots. This time showing the cavity cover taking form. Again, carbon kevlar. I'm starting to get a love/hate relationship with it. It's demanding to work with and to sand, but it's just so damn cool

I'll be going for SS frets on my coming build, but since this time I had to choose between binding and SS frets. Now, more progress... A look at the curves. I just had to do a mock up at this point. Then for a last minute fix to make room for the piezo saddle cables, since my initial plan to drill through the tremolo baseplate didn't work out. Off to the finisher it goes.

Hehe, remind me never to test your theory

I did. I'm very cautious in these circumstances since I also have Asthma, so I'm taking no chances

Thanks I'm a bit surprised that I've managed to pull something like this of, seeing as I have minimal experience in woodworking. But as they say, if you don't jump in, you'll never learn. However, on to a few mistakes/shortcomings in my build plan There should be no seams except where the neck curve and fretboard edges meets when you make fiber fretboard Ideally there should be no seams. However, you have to plan for that a bit better than I did. That's why I had to do this: Here's how it looked after removing strips of the fibre to allow for a smoother transition to the fretboard. The back. Getting to this point was what took the longest time. Sanding carbon kevlar is a PITA! Also, I went into politics and had to run a campaign to become a member of the local municipality counsil. That took quite a lot of time, but luckily we succeded! Another mistake. I mentioned earlier I had to come back to this. Mahogany off-cuts and Titebond

No building without proper fuel I assure you, the shape won't change because of the carbon kevlar skin, just have a look: Tape off... Epoxy clear coat Shiny....

To be honest, I'm really not sure what it brings to the table by doing it this way. Had it been preprep'ed and then baked in an oven like Parker does... but I hope that besides a cool look it'll add some structural strength to the guitar. As for the difference between plain carbon fibre and carbon kevlar, here what CarbonMods-co-uk say: "This fabric combines the properties of 2 unique reinforcement yarns. Carbon provides high levels of stiffness and strenght, whereas Kevlar provides huge impact/abrasion/fracture resistance. This distinct looking hybrid cloth is used in many high-performance, high-impact applications such as canoes, military ballistics and rally-car panelling." ...and guitars

On to the skinning process. A short explanation of the process for those who haven't worked with either carbon or glass fibre (which I hadn't before this). I'm first going to lay down a base coat of black epoxy on the back of guitar and let it sit until it's tack. At that point I'll lay on a rough cut piece of carbon kevlar fibre and stretch it into shape and tape it off. Base coat on. This is what happens to epoxy left alone, hehe... Carbon kevlar fibre on.

The carbon kevlar is going on the back. Just like Parker does with their Flys and the top end MaxxFly. Here a few shots of the back prior to skinning. Then, a short respite before attempting to work with carbon skinning for the first time. As if making a guitar was enough by itself...

The neck did feel a bit thick, but I wasn't sure how to get it thin enough and still have both a nice gradual transition and not take out all the wood beneath the neck pickup. I think I managed to find a decent compromise, though. At least it's not something that bothers me now... So, more progress: Almost done carving the front. I did make some minor adjustements to the bass horn later on (tapered it a bit). Making holes can be an ugly business. Especially if you don't make proper measurements. I'll have to redo this... Of course I couldn't help doing a mockup at this stage. Another look at the front carve. Next build I'll use what I've learned on this one to avoid having to use putty. Just doesn't seem like proper luthierie.

Hi, It's about time to actually get a bit involved here on PG after several years lurking. I've been around since the conception of this guitar (which incidentally coincided with the conception of my 1 1/2 year old daughter). In other words: It's taken it's time! It was quite clear from the beginning that I wouldn't want an ordinary guitar, nor did I want to stray to far from the beaten path. After quite a few sketches and searching for the right shape, I came across the Parker Dragonfly (now called MaxxFly - horrid name). It seemed like the perfect blend of the traditional superstrat shape and a longtime favorite, the Fly. Of course, not thinking clear in the pre-birth craze, I wouldn't settle for a "simple" wood and 2 pup configuration. No, instead I set out on a highly ambitious (I think at least) journey to recreate the Dragonfly. The specs (and partly why this has taken so long) Construction: Neck-through with carbon kevlar skin Neck woods: Mahogany/Walnut 5 piece laminate (courtesy of Doug@Soulmateguitars) Fretboard: Pau Ferro and Extra Jumbo frets Body wood: Mahogany Tuners: Hipshot Extender and Schaller M16s Neck pickup: Sustainiac Stealth Pro Bridge pickup: Manson MB2 Bridge: Wilkinson VS-100N with GraphTech ghost saddles Additional electronics: GraphTech Accousti-Phonic and Hexpander As for tools, I'm "lucky" enough to work as a teacher at a school and have full access to the wood shop 24/7. On to the build itself. Unfortunately I seem to have misplaced the first pictures where I've arranged all the hardware neatly on a green carpet, but I hope you can visualize it by yourselves Also, before the first pictures I have done the following: - Cut the body wings and glued to the neck - Planed the body down to size - Routed pickup, tremolo and electronics cavities Body cut and marked up for carving. First mistake apparent too: Don't use whatever tape you've got lying around to mask off the fretboard. Back roughly carved. You can also see that I've taken into account that the electronics may take up a bit more space than usual. Headstock cut and drilled holes for tuners.

Congrats! Now that's a proper excuse

Lovely shapes!

No PG, no doubt!

Love the body, not too enthusiastic about the headstock, but that's a personal thing. All in all: Lovely!

Looking good! I've always had a bit of love/hate relationship with the Jazzmaster shape. I think it's the lower horn, or the lack of, that puts me off more than on. Love the ash in the neck. Lovely figure! Now, if only we had something like that in Norway....

As always, your builds are pure class!

Classy! Shows that the old telling is true: Nothing you do to a Tele will make it any less cool.

Ever tried the G-Force line of 1RU processors? They are quite sharp sounding, but with a bit of tube amplification they sound incredible. Unfortunately not. I've tried the Axe-FX however, and that one is at the top of my wish list right now Along with a Roland GR-55 and a Fishman Aura.

Wonderful stand! If only I had an amp (I'm more of a effect processor --> PA kind of guy) I'd have liked to have a stand just like that one!

The way I see it, it's all about hand/finger movement and playing comfort. The natural movement of the wrist is to twist a little bit towards the bridge as you move further up the frets. As such, you'll feel more comfortable playing a multiscale guitar with a perpedicular nut vs one with a perpendicular bridge.

OT: I don't have any problems with the pictures as my browser (Opera) automatically scales them down to fit the resolution.

I like it. Nice color. Looks like a pretty clean build. And the headstock looks interesting. Can we get a shot of it?

Pine sounds interesting. It's something there's no lack of around here. The only problem is finding instrument grade stock. I'm also considering trying spruce.