aesache

ok i got some of this wood milled up today with the rest being milled sunday. But i have WAY more than i need is anyone in the london area that would like some?

its 1 inch rough cut and 2 inch rough cut

i got it for free so its free to you as well. you could make necks out of it though it does have some staining in it so bodies would be better as you can paint those

anyway PM me if interested i have about 40 board feet to give away i can have i kiln dried for you if you like as well for 75 cents a foot

A leaf would do it but I realize at this time of year that ain't happening. Can't think of any other way right off hand. But being a maple, it will be useful in some capacity for a guitar.

so are all types of maple ok to use for necks?

I think you mean Sugar Maple.

http://maple.dnr.cornell.edu/kids/tree_sug.htm

Mainly used for necks.

nope its a softer maple. but very possible that they have miss named it. is there any way to tell what kind of wood a this is?

i will post pics tomorrow

Ok so I got a whole bunch of free wood from a tree they were cutting down at work and I just happen to know somone with a mill and a kiln who will cut and dry it for next to nothing.

that being said I was told this tree was a Honey Maple? can i make a guitar out of this? it was a massive tree with a 4 foot diameter trunk. i would like to make a 1 peice guitar from it as there is some nice spalting in places but most is clear with no knots.

will Honey maple make a nice guitar or am i wasting my time?

i like both sugestions i would not have thought of either. Thanks all! now i can say i meant to do that

OK so i messed up as you can see I managed to forget to stop at the neck when i rounded the edges

how do i fix this the (bolt on neck) mounting screw plate sits over the rounded edge.

i dont want to scrap this build if i can help it as i went out and found a tree cut it down milled the wood etc...

even worse i did this on both sides!

ok so i tried it and..........suspense is building........... it worked! there was absolutly no difference and as an added bonus the straight cut bits were on clearance for $2.97 a piece needless to say i bought enough to last a life time1

thanks all

so what your all saying is yes, no, maybe lol

sounds to me like some have had luck and others not i am just going to give it a go i have an old strait bit and i just bought a few 2 dollar bearings i guess worst case i am our 4 bucks and a scrap piece of wood.

Has anyone made there own patern bit? can i not just add a bearing to a strait bit? eg 1/2 inch router bit and 1/2 inch OD bearing = instant pattern bit? why would you purchase a $25 pattern bit if you can buy a strait cut bit for 10 bucks and a bearing for 2 bucks?

is there a reason no one has done this on the internet?

Its funny you mentioned this because in my area you can not find and titebond i have looked hi and low. So i decided to do a test i took a 3 foot piece of ash scrap 1 inch thick by 4 inches wide. Then i cut it in half and then glued it back together (end grain to end grain) with gorilla glue (wood glue) and i can not break that piece or wood and it will suport all my weight and i weigh 260lbs!!!!

i think this stuff is amazing this is the best glue i have availiable in my area by far.

+1 to all the MDF stuff above

Finish wise- I think that body you posted had a dark grainfiller applied with a trans red shot over it...I might be wrong but it looks like that to me judging from the pores being a bit darker than the rest of the body

ok so where does one find a product like grain filler in canada and it is needed for mohagany correct?

Yeah, MDF really sucks. First time i cut it, i did it inside with a circular saw, that crap went everywhere!!!

Wear a respirator. MDF dust is bad stuff...

+1 to that .

Gets in your lungs & expands, Absorbs loads of moisture. Will have you coughing up nasty phlegm for a few days. Wear a mask & cut/sand it outside.

Use ply for your templates in future, of clear plastic/pcv sheeting.

plastic sheeting sounds like it would be ideal?? anyone know a cheap source for that in the london ontario region?

ok so a friend let me trace his tele today now i just have to make a template from it. I will be using 1/2 inch MDF to make the template anything i should know about that?

hope to have the template finished this weekend and the rough cut body out

also i have attached a pic anyone know how to replicate the finish on this guitar?

Good score on the wood, I'm jealous!

the one on the far right is quartersawn but the others are flat sawn should i use one over the other?

Fender necks are flatsawn maple. Quartersawn is more stable with changes in humidity/temperature. It's up to you, but if flatsawn maple works on millions of guitars, you should be fine with that. Regardless, you're set with neck blanks for a few upcoming projects there.

thats and understatment i ended up buying a whole lot more i now have 6 mohagany body blanks 3 maple body blanks and a bunch of mohagany and maple neck blanks like in the pics easily enough to make a dozen necks

all for just over 150 bucks and i now have enough for a lifetime of guitar building (or a least a while)

anyone interested in buying some it would be nice to make some of my money back then i could call this build the "Freecaster" HAHA

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.

I agree with you. though i must say i am trying to keep it simple and semi unique which can be tough. My fear is that if its too complicated i will get in over my head get sick of the project and not finish it.

This one has one purpose and that is to learn from mistakes i have made. and i am sure there will be a few

ok got some hard maple for the neck today all three pieces yep you guessed it 10 bucks!

the one on the far right is quartersawn but the others are flat sawn should i use one over the other?

they are big pieces so the knots will be cut away the are 4.5 feet long and 8 inches wide and 1 3/4 inches thick (after planing)

one still rough cut and 2 fresh off the planer

(the 2 lines down the maple are from my planer hitting a nail during a previouse project)

ok so i managed to get 2 real nice big slabs of mohagany 15inches by 2 feet long and 2 inches thick (they were only 10 BUCKS a piece!)

these first photos are of the hog slabs as they came when i bought them

and this is them after they have been planed down to 1 3/4 inches

if you look close you will see 2 small cracks on the side they are the reason i got these so cheap but they will pose no issue for me as they will be cut away anyway

i was blown away by the grain in these! Anyone know what kind of mohogany these are?

also there has been a design change I have decided to build a strat with a tele body a "Strelecaster" if you will

Hi all so here it is... my first post and my first guitar build all in one shot!

So here is the story. I have been playing guitar for many years and have played on hundreds of different guitars.

They all have there pros and cons. In playing many guitars i had never found one that was just perfect. I always love the feel of a stratocaster but have played a few neck thru's that had great sustain. i have also played many a les paul and rather enjoyed the sound mohogany gives.... then an epiphany occured to me i could build a neck thru strat with a mohogany body! THE PERFECT GUITAR...... now that i have gotten your hopes up i should tell you than this is not that build.. instead i will be building a typical clone of a strat (though i am sure this plan will have changes) to familurize my self with the build process and learn through trial and error and hopfully your input.

I will try and post some pictures of the build tomorrow as i picked up some wood this weekend.