Charlie H 72

Yeah that headstock binding is classy. Love it. And very clean too.

Wow-I love that saying! 

Haven’t gotten a chance to do a neck mockup (sometime this week, maybe?) but I did print my favorites out full scale and I really like the crooked 4+2-it’s so weird. First on the left column.
 

More exciting tho-I have been talking to a woman named Dawn who makes ceramic and resin knobs for a small effects maker that goes by spiralectric fx and she just sent me a pic of the prototype knobs for this guy. Super psyched with these and she has been great to work with! I’m going with the white knob on the left.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like I should just go no TR, put some backbow in the neck with the frets, and call it a day-with the knowledge that I’ll probably have to replace it someday-or drill into it and install a TR haha  

But that splitting idea was pretty cool somebody should totally do that..

Hi, welcome!

Cool log-I love it when people start from the log. So primal. You should talk to @Bizman62 about that. He is currently using some poplar that came down on his property, I believe. My gut reaction is that your wood probably has not dried completely as it is still in log form, and wood is typically milled and then dried. But 10 years is a long time-I could be wrong. Try milling a piece and see what the moisture is like in the middle. 

As far as quarter sawn vs flat sawn go for an electric guitar body-make that decision for looks. It will be plenty stable either way. 

And a well set-up tool in a shared shop, I have learned, is hard to come by! It would have to be my own saw-which means hand saw I think. Some experimenting seems to be in order!

A really crazy thought - SPLIT the wood with some nice sharp chisels instead of sawing it. there would have to be some real magic getting the truss rod level and to the right depth, but I think it could be done. I am tempted. It might make more sense with the bi-cut neck as there would be a smaller cross section to split and the business side of the truss rod would be well taken care-of. Hmm... tempting. Debatable if it would be any easier than the long drilling operation. But it could at least leave you with a channel that is the right shape. 

39 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

Sure, sure. I definitely agree that cutting a slice off a blank, laying in a truss rod and glueing it back up is more or less the same thing when it comes down to it. The trick there is in the cleanliness and suitability of the mating surfaces, plus the correct adhesive and clamping pressure. Most people don't put enough pressure into clamping when glueing up, which often leads to the false idea that gluelines are always a thing....not true....they just need as much care and work as the rest of the job.

The largest issue with drilling is deflection within the cut. If the diameter weren't so small and the length so large, I would think that a boring bar would be the way forward. Either that or a 6" diameter truss rod.

Yup. Maybe I need to practice my resawing and gluing. Hand tools might result in less loss of wood in the cutting/resurfacing process. 

I wonder if it would be possible to do progressively longer drill bits, so that each pass is supported by the previous few inches of drilling. 
 

6” dia rod sounds good too-and why not just build a steel neck while we’re at it!

30 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

A friend did that when he was prepping for the luthiery school on a course. The tutor persuaded him to add a contrasting veneer to substitute the saw dust lost at resawing. That really made it look better than a seam!

Yet another option I've heard of having been done by G&L is to resaw the neck vertically about 5 mm off center and route a radiused truss rod channel on the thicker half. That might be even less visible as the frets would hide a bit of the front side seam and a V shaped neck would make the bottom side seam less visible.

Hm-this is interesting and is definitely a road less traveled! I hadn’t heard of this kind of neck before. A little research shows that they are called bi-cut necks. But at the end of the day it seems to be almost the same as a fretboard fillet-just oriented differently. I think I’d prefer a fretboard seam to an off-center one. But it’s a fun idea. I’ll keep it in the back pocket. 

It’s fascinating to see these kind of nasty colors that I know will become beautiful once you are through with the process. I think its a sign that you know what you’re doing.. seems like magic to me though. 

Eh I will disagree with you on the no discernible advantage part-it would be beautiful! I don’t love skunk stripes and I don’t love a seam between neck and fretboard when the wood is the same species. I know I’m splitting hairs, but it’s still a curiosity. I get that drilling it would be excessively difficult-but that’s part of the fun, as you said 

Maybe a better solution would be to match the skunk stripe. Or go non-adjustable and just drill for a steel reinforcing tube… all to be explored. Definitely with a bolt on neck!

Another strategy (compromise, really) would be to resaw the fretboard from the same plank of wood as the neck so the color and grain match as closely as possible. 
 

I really liked it-maybe I’ll give it a go. It would be cool to have a replaceable option-so you could swap out the saddle when you feel like it. 
 

I guess that last video is essentially that. Cool. 

Love it. This is gonna be crazy. And that piece of ebony is perfect for the mull-lam look.

Yooooo that’s awesome!!!

love it! 
 

You owe it to yourself to get better pics-outside on a cloudy day with a plain background or have a friend who’s good with a camera come snap a few. 

Anyway-that aside, congrats, this has been really fun to follow, and most importantly, I’m sure it’s fun to play! Enjoy! 

Hey all,

I am interested in a one piece neck on my current build. Like, really one piece. Weird, I know. I have seen some builders that drill for their truss rods. Most notably weir guitars: https://www.weirguitars.com

In their about section they say that they do it with a drill and a lathe?? Maybe they would respond well to an email-but otherwise, has anybody else done something similar? How did it go?

thanks!

13 hours ago, argytar said:

hello again! Thank you so much!

 

I have some pics scattered in this thread of how this bridge was made.

 

It was basically carved out of a piece of 7075 aluminoum. I rough cut it with a saw then drilled for the post holes then did a lot of filing and …here we are!

 

I love how it rings and it feels wonderful playing with my right hand! It is sleek!

I should have gone back & looked-it’s cool to see it start to finish. Makes me want to make one myself. Next build, maybe

Yup, clumsy tele is the idea! I like weird, ugly, ungainly shapes. I think those two options are my favorites as well. Or the second left-it’s so matter-of-fact. I may need to print them out full size, or even cut some necks out of pine to test. 

1 hour ago, ScottR said:

It surely is.

I used to be fluent in art speak. BFA in commercial art class of 1981.

I suppose the vernacular has morphed a tad over rhe past 40 years....

SR

Oops my art-speak is showing!
 

But, of all the art-speak out there, sculptural is a pretty good word

Woo! Awesome. So sculptural

Good call Biz. I think I will do something between a bevel and a radius. Real soft edges to the carve so its not creating more contours on the guitar. 

Any thoughts about headstock design? Here are a few quick mockups. I think its harder to do a good headstock than a good body... So much function in such a small space. kinda leaning towards a real simple 3x3 slab like a Gibson melody maker, etc. Click the pdf for higher res. 

headstockoptions.pdf

just realized I rotated on oof the necks by accident-oops. You get the picture though

I really like how you handled the carve around the hole in the headstock-and the way you are carrying that shape thru the project. I have heard good things about tung and tru oil for maple necks but have not tried them myself. I am hoping to try on my current build-but thats a ways off. Some form of hard finish is the typical way to go. 

Whoa, awesome bridge! I would love to hear more about how you made that. I’m really looking forward to seeing the glamor shots of this thing-It’s so close!

looks great! I like the way that you modified that drill bit too-Something I may steal one day. Also love the one-piece top. Don't see enough of them. 

here are a few quick screenshots from rhino - exploring some contours. Might stick with slab too, Thoughts?

It’s been a busy summer and I have been playing a lot of music! Finally getting to use these things I build.. fun! The charred tele is developing quite the patina-I’m into it! 

CNC issues plus packed schedule have combined to keep me away from this build, but I took another stab at it today and it’s on its way again. this time using a beautiful lightweight piece of Doug fir for the body. It’s splintery though! Will have to be careful not to chip it

a few minor design tweaks-I narrowed the body. It’s about the size of a mustang now. And I widened the string spacing-played a guitar with a wide nut and saw the light. Going 1-9/16 string spacing and 1-13/16 nut, with 2-1/4” at the bridge. 

I have been lurking—you are all up to some really good stuff!! Nice to see the forum buzzing.