komodo

You’ve got a killer wood source!

I want to plaaaaaaay it.

Welcome back, you are certainly on the right path. I'd do a full sized plan to get all the proportions just right. You can even cut it out of cardboard or something just to give it a "lap test" and get a general idea of how it may feel. 1-2" building foam insulation? I've had a build in mind forever that uses three P90s, with the bridge being a stacked double coil P90. I've got them sitting here but had too many other builds in the way. So I may be biased, but that's my vote.

This design started with an Ibanez signature model with Tosin Abasi. I believe the design was Abasi's, and when Abasi wanted to do versions (6, 7, 8 string, woods, options), Ibanez said not really. Abasi left on good terms with his design and started Abasi Concepts. The versions here, was a custom double cutaway prototype by Vikk guitars for Abasi. Abasi had it for a year and never committed to anything so Vikk got it back and recently auctioned it on Ebay. It's a one off, but that was exactly when I was doing the Cthulhu inlay. My previous two body designs for this guitar ended up being 6 string something elses (the dragon and a bass), and when I saw the double cut proto my heart kinda skipped a beat. So, here we are. Differences are: insane inlay, cocobolo neck, slightly different multi-scale (less I believe), a one piece bridge (original is single string bridges), a redesigned pickguard, and slightly different wiring/switching (two minis vs 5-way).

Doesn’t look like a lot, but jeebuz that was a lot of cutting. I think my blade is dull and I used one that was too big (what I had). The ash is 1-3/4” and the coco is hard. The compound scarf helped nothing as I got it to rough width and did the headstock. Funny thing, Mrs Komodo usually doesn't give two shits about anything I’m building (“looks good” aka ‘that’s what’s been keeping you down there” ), but she likes this one.

Looking amazing. I love that fret board!

Thanks gents. Each build I try just a little harder, go in darker corners, take a little more time with details, They are still messy regardless of how they look, definitely hand made. I've learned to not stress over stuff, not worry about a schedule, and learn from others. I've got @ScottR in my head when I'm sanding and shaping, @killemall8 when dying and finishing, and @Myka Guitars when considering the overall material and design. And people like Vikk and Suhr for clean and refined builds. @Drak's WOD is creeping into my process, as first evidenced by the initial star field fret board. I spent some time yesterday working on the actions of the dragon and metal tele , just refining them further as they've "settled", getting the nut slots as low as possible. The metal tele plays like a dream, and is my hands down go to, but this one is going to give it a run.

I’ve got a fret board that didn’t get used, it didn’t turn it exactly as I had imagined. I’d be glad to send it to you if you want it. Check page 5 in the Black Queen thread. It’s a Gaboon ebony 25” scale, and has a star field of glow in the dark stars. I redid one with silver wire and inlay instead. I’ve got all kinds if clean maple too if you need a neck blank. I’ve also got an unslotted or shaped Pau Ferro fret board that looks pretty close to rosewood, a bit lighter brown. If you are up to another one from scratch. It looks like you have decent hardware, might as well?

I would: 1)plane a piece of maple down to the exact thickness of the neck maple. 2) plane a piece of rosewood down and glue that onto the maple 3) rip that in half 4) glue those to the side of the neck. The result will mean that you won’t see a ton of ‘fix’ when you are shaping the neck. Making a new neck, considering this one a prototype is really the best choice and not crazy. Otherwise it will bug you later.

It’s drying really nicely. You know when you see moonshiners shake a jar of white straight from the still and they can tell what % alcohol it is by looking at the bubbles? I feel like I’m doing that when I examine the sprayed gloss and try to decide what grit to start at. This sprayed a pretty high % abv. hahaha Minimal wire like I warned. The circuit is a modified Brian May using three mini switches. <On in phase> < off > <on other phase> I THINK. Need to examine the diagrams I downloaded a long time ago. Still need to do some light sanding in the cavities and do shielding paint, figure out some minor shaping of the tailpiece and how it works with the arm, final sand and buff, install wiring. Close!

Cool cool, just checking. You hate to get down a road and have to go back, That said, sometimes redoing things or figuring out how to fix things is what really builds your strengths.

Does the neck have any taper to it? It looks almost the same width from the nut to the heel. If you draw lines from each bridge saddle to each nut slot, they should taper inwards as the nut is not as wide as the bridge. If the heel of the neck isnt wide enough, the strings would not be on the fret board.

Shamed you! No way!! Your level of finish is what I’m aiming for. (though you and I both know that both of us are aiming for Louis, hahaha)

Today’s operation went perfectly. The patient is doing just fine.

Interesting thing, how much wood to remove/leave for a transition? There is no right answer there. One thought though beyond just aesthetics, is by removing some more at the heel you could create a 'stop' similar to the volute. After a couple beers, at the end of a long show, and you are doing a quick slide up the neck to that final high note, it would be easier to know where to stop. Lol.

Can't stop looking at the jack hole. Lol Somehow I missed you were using X2N. I've got one of those in my first build, and holy wow is it hot. Great pup.

A little farther.

Nothing exciting really. I’ve been trying to take my time on smaller stuff, devil is in the details. Routed truss channel, still need to do the fretboard hole for the wheel. I’ve made a pickguard I like better than the guitar I’m copying, printed it out and glued it down to a piece of masonite. Protip - arturo fuente cigar box lid is masonite. Lol. I’ll cut that out to get exact fit, then transfer to MDF. Made a a pup jig using the fencing method (thanks @Prostheta) then spent awhile doing test routes in scrap pine for fitting using a bushing guide. I had two layers on credit card scraps around the pup which ended up being too much, so I taped a layer of card back onto the inner jig surfaces. Real good now. These are Fluence Tosin Abasi model, and I’m super stoked to try them. The result of all of this will be a fighter jet of a guitar that I will not know how to fly .....but hey, fighter jet! And I can’t die playing with it. I’ve gone in circles in my head about doing this body design. I’ve only built my own designs so far, but had this inlay and an 8-string planned already. Whatever I come up with I won’t like as much, so screw it.

When you make the MDF template, make one out of cardboard or other thin material first so you can make sure everything is fits exactly how you want it. Then make your thicker template based on that one. If you start with too thick of material, it's really easy to be off by not cutting perfectly vertical. I'm doing the same thing today, and will try to take pics and put them in my build thread for 'Cthulhu'.

I'm still back on that Walnut SS. That thing is unbelievable.

I get it. The Workmate only has a couple square feet of crap to move to another horizontal surface, and then I can move it outside to do routing operations. Even though I have a good cyclone collector, routing outside is beautiful. Hopefully @ScottR will document his bench here.

Don't know why I've never seen this thread, I don't usually stray from the build threads very often. You need to see Scotts workbench, it's a thing of beauty and utility. And while his is the ultimate expression of what a guitar builders bench should be, the mighty WorkMate has been used more than any bench in the history of benches. I'd be lost without mine.

That burl, wow! I've learned so many lessons building, one big one is from you. When you think you are done, and you say "there, done." . . .That's a good start. Come back to it again and "sand it like Scott would". Slow down, it isn't a race. Even then, I find things like sanding scratches in the dye, under the clear. But, alas, you can only learn so much, so fast.

Ahahahah - That's not a stare, that's "old guy trying to hold up the damn phone to do one of those selfies and get the important bits in". The booth has been perfect. The only place that made sense was underneath a deck, on the backside of the house, just inside the gate to the back. It's mostly on the sidewalk behind the house, so it's concrete for most of it. I just got a huge sheet of plastic and stapled it to the deck posts, and put the hanger in there. I can enter and exit the booth through the gate and plastic flap. As it's not totally sealed, just a bit of breeze gives a nice controlled air exchange. There's no direct sun, and it's protected behind the house. The only bad thing would be a meter reader coming back there, and then shit would hit the fan for everyone. Last year I was worried about weather conditions for spraying, but I have done SO much reading of other pro builders experiences that I am way more relaxed now. Humidity is the big one, and a can of blush eraser is necessary. Temps around 50-60 are just fine, and actually kinda nice. My biggest takeaways from another one under the belt, are: a) Go slower when spraying. Too fast is splatter and peel. b) If you have all variables under control, go closer. I'm getting really great results with my gonzo, heavy layers at 4-6". c) When you have your last builds nice and flowed out, do that last can with a 50/50 mix and CAREFULLY ride the edge of too much and just about to run. You have to recalibrate that, because everything until now has been thicker mix. But, man-o-man does it payoff as it flows and flashes off. I feel like I could take it straight to buffing right now.