demonx

A few images from the build video in the previous post:

It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted here, busy running the guitar business and keeping its social media pages up to date, however I’m hoping this video will somewhat make up for my lack of attendance! This video is a detailed compilation of mobile phone footage showing the Graveyard II guitar evolve from timber blanks to a completed guitar, including the pickup making and final setup! I hope you enjoy! https://youtu.be/trSIZqlzkBA

I have a spindle and variable speed controller that I can pre program in my CAM. No issues with Mach, just took a while to get the ratios right so that the spindle was spinning at the speed mach thinks it is, however that was done on the controller from memory and not mach. No issues with changing spindle speed my remote control though mach or anything that I can think of. It's been a few years now. I cannot remember what brand the controller is off the top of my head. My spindle can be run air or water. Air cooling is useless in the Aussie summer, we tried that first, even the water gets really hot and the temp of the spindle rises which means the cutters stay really hot and it makes the tool changer play up/stick. If you go a cooled spindle that it can be water cooled.

@verhoevenc Same as the other thread, it's been a while since I logged in. I use mostly upcut endmills. Sizing and so forth will simply depend on what cuts you're making, for example I've got a upcut endmills ranging from 0.5mm to 12.7mm, if I'm hacking out large profiles it's the larger bits like the 12.7mm, if I'm cutting smaller edges it might be a 4mm or I might use a 6.35mm for the truss slot. But these sizes wont mean anything to you as you'll be using what suits your hardware and truss slots etc. One thing I will say that is important is use a brand that has a consistent supply and keep spares of the most used. The more often you're using the machine the more often you're replacing the bits and it's a real pain in the butt when you get everything sorted with one bit and then you cannot get it anymore.

@verhoevenc Sorry, I don't log in as much as I used to, so I haven't seen this till now. Ok... I do my own sanding these days, I got rid of the lackies a couple years ago and now it's just me. It's just so much easier to do everything myself and not have to worry about it being stuffed up by other people. Spending my time training other people or looking over my shoulder watching other people. So, I am now the sanding guy again. Unfortunately as you have found out, it takes time. Simple as that. You will also find some timbers sand so much faster than others. For example you might sand two mahogany guitars in the time you sand one Walnut guitar. Being careful in your carving stages and not leaving mega deep marks means less sanding them out. Sometimes a few seconds with a bastard file in the hard to sand spots can save several minutes of hand sanding. I use a electric random orbital, I didn't like the feel of air sanders when I experimented, for a lot of the deep sanding, 80 grit, 120 grit, 320 grit. Some guitars I'll go down to 600 grit. I hand sand any hard to get spots using the same grits and that would include the inner horns or bevels etc you asked about. I don't use pads or any of the mesh things or any of that crap. Just good quality discs on a cheap quality random. I've got cheap through to overpriced random orbitals and for some reason I prefer the cheapest ones they have. I end out buying a new one every 6-12 months, but it just has a better feel than the more expensive makita's etc. If I'm doing block sanding, I use a small cork block. I have a whole series of automotive sanding blocks and I don't use any of them on guitars. Just the old fashioned cork blocks from the hardware shop and I have several scattered around the workshop.

So do it with sandpaper and a radius block instead of a router.

Sounds like a story I heard from a guy I know who hired a ex PRS inlay guy to do inlay for him, resume stated he had done inlays for years at PRS. Problem was when he was hired to work at the small handmade guitar workshop assisting with inlays, he didn't know how to, he had only ever taken parts from pile A and put them into parts from pile B. Funny you mention "Fast Guitars" as all these supposed "luthiers" popping up really irk me, starting Facebook pages and websites and selling to people who know no better, presenting themselves as real luthiers who are selling boutique guitars. It's pretty insulting to all those who are real builders in my opinion. Plenty of them popping up on SSorg lately and I'm sure other places are riddled with them also.

Considering when I had an existing workshop for building electric guitars, yet had to spend another couple thousand to buy acoustic specific jigs etc, I don't think your budget is in the realm of reality. Benders, forms, binding jig all on their own are above you total budget without even combing the cost of them, add postage, then add sound hole cutters and other hand tools and templates and finishing tools, you haven't even purchased timber yet, which again is above your budget.

Yep. Kits are certainly not a new concept, but they are a nice little cash cow for when things are quiet, I was "ghost building" neckthru blanks for a Melbourne guy for years, doing the joinery but leaving the body and heel square, carving the neck and doing fret installation and leaving a headstock paddle. He then routes and sands, cuts his shapes and finishes, puts him name on them, no one the wiser. It is however something I've stopped as my own brand grows I'm taking on more of my own orders these days and don't have time. In Perry's case it's another market to tap into, and in a multi-scale as opposed to the gazillions of standard kits on the market. Good on him. If it takes off then it's another income, if it doesn't, then it's still a success of sorts as he knows he tried and didn't just wonder "what if". You only have to look at places like Warmoth or Carvin to see that entire businesses can be built around the "kit" guitar. Although these days I think Carvin is more focused on complete guitars than kits. Warmoth however are virtually a household name as far as kits go.

So they're charging $17 per decal? You guys will be very happy with what i plan on offering next year then! My current decal stash I expect to run out mid 2017 and I will be investing in the machinery I need to make my own. There will be a trial and error period, testing media to see how it reacts with 2k paints etc, but I plan to sell decals by the A4 sheet, not the individual decal. So it'll work out WAY cheaper than what you're paying. It'll work out cheaper than what I was paying before the place I was getting them done by turned to shit. They won't be waterslide like this place, I never liked the look of waterslide. They'll be thicker quality vinyl. If you look at my gallery you'll see plenty of examples.

Thanks guys, and Prostheta, even though the Rosette may seem simple, it was a real pain. The two I did before looked much more complex and were a lot easier!

Latest build video - I hope you like it: https://youtu.be/nCFoT68IdJs

It is probably a combination of what you said and probably more to the point something soft will "help" itself in where something hard wont have the same amount of give. For example it'd be a LOT easier to shove a 10mm crayon into a 10mm hole than a 10mm drill bit. (To use an exaggerated example)

I had the large model of this exact router. When it was new, it was great. After a couple of years the thing was a piece of crap. It virtually shakes itself apart. Speed controller needs to be held by tape so it doesn't roll around. Base falls apart. Micro adjustment moves. Base jams up making it hard to drop and change cutting bits. The WORSE thing about the whole router, worse than above is the collet that is supplied with it is a cheap piece of junk and after not very long, once it's lost it's newness it stops holding the router bit. For example, one neck pocket I was routing the bit slipped out and because it's spinning very fast smashed a massive chuck out of the side of the neck pocket. I had it happen to pickup routes, bridge routes. It creates a throw out workpiece. I destroyed several body blanks and broke several router bits until I bought a after market collet - which fixed the problem. I guess it'd be perfect if you want a router to use "once in a while", but if you want to do woodworking on a daily basis, it's not the right tool for the job. I replaced mine with a Dewalt. Great upgrade but twice the price.

My 2c is this. I started looking at entry level machines. After much research and hearing other peoples opinions and stories I decided to skip the entry level and go straight to a machine that now owes me over fifty grand once you add up cutting tools and holders etc. Now that I've been operating a machine for a couple of years that cost this much and knowing it's limitations, I am scared to think how much regret I would have if I bought a el cheapo five grand entry level machine. At the end of the day, if you're wanting to do this as a hobby, don't look at CNC. Do it by hand. If you get to the point you "need" CNC, then you won't be looking at entry level machines. You'll be looking at machines which will cost tens and tens of thousands.