bob123

I was actually gonna ask you guys haha. I see a "JET" model, 14", seems in good shape for 699$... Ill get more specifics up tomorrow.

SR, no illusion. Just rushed through to see if it actually even works, so it twisted a little bit. I will be making this out of acrylic when I get it all said and done. I think for my depth stop, I'm gonna glue aluminum "wings" to the saw blade, should work well.

Edit: derp, the top three are spot on, the ones on the bottom are angled lol

Crazy, nah must be the camera angle or the lighting on the woods. Everything is perfectly straight as it should be. The treble side is too wide still, probly just a visual balance thing right now.

Oh man that's perfect. Thanks man!

Theres so much stuff out there... Lookin to spend LESS then 750$. My old atlas has finally **** the bed, so it's time to retire the old bird (made in 76' lol).

If this is feasible with my budget ->

large (5" x 10" x 24") resaw capabilities

large blade width

1+ hp

I know I can go cheap and get what Im lookin for, but hopefully I can find something a little more durable.

My buddy owns that VIK. I think its probably one of the best look guitars on the planet. He definitely does some incredible work. That said 9 strings is bananas to me xD

For my contribution, I have a DTM on order. But I wont see that for MONTHS, maybe next year even. His work has always inspired me, even as a kid.

That said, if demon would ship to USA, Id love a 7 string set neck tele from him...

On that last picture it looks like the neck line is not running parallel with the body, or is it the spalt that's throwing me off?

Neck line hasn't been made yet thats just oversized wood there mate. When Im ready to attach the fretboard, I will then take the accurate measurements and make damn sure my lines are solid.

On a good note, my chincy 4$ fret slotting jig works very well. Things to add will be some kind of clamping mechanism, depth stop, and runner guides. The depth stop will be mandatory, as this saw just absolute eats through wood in a heart beat.

Yeah, but you're not Vigier.

So now we're going from "no one can do it" to "you cant do it because...". Very nice. Maybe after a few more rounds of debate we can get to "hey someone should try this".

edit: If you notice, I'm not asking to make necks out of graphite. Im asking about finding a way to exactly slot the truss rod...

Wes and Prostheta, I don't discount your combined vast knowledge, nor am I trying "be innovative". However, I refuse to believe truss rods are "mandatory" in a guitar if done a certain way.

Vigier has been making guitars longer then both of you, and way more. They sell for around 2500$+, and people buy them. These DONT have truss rods, and people like guthrie govan love them. If they are so "wrong" how the hell are they still in business???

Why do I think its important? Because instead of routing a channel through half your neck, inserting a; relatively speaking, loose metal object that you force the wood in the other direction for. "well bob, why would you want to try your idea?" Because instead of routing DOWN material that DOESNT NEED TO BE REMOVED, you can route EXACTLY the wood you need removed. This theoretically, would make your truss much more sensitive as it doesnt need to "Travel" to move. The glue joint, if done right, is more then stable enough for this task. The stress is longitudinal, along the entire neck. G & L Necks are actually kind of made this way as well. Im proposing DIY solutions for things people are already doing, and have been for a long time.

Prostheta, that thread is flawed. Vigier BUILDS IN relief to their necks... That nulls out that entire articles basis of point.

What did you use the miter box looking rig for?

SR

Fret slotting haha. Hot glue or tape the already slotted board to the bottom of the unslotted board. The metal peice sticking out will "catch" the slot and hold it still, allowing me to accurately place the slots on the unslotted board.

I stole the idea from another member here, his was better, but this should work just fine I believe.

EDIT: I will say, I will be trying this out on some scrap first, I will find a way to make a "depth stop" so I get accurate depth on all the slots.

Looks amazing as usual

Got some good work done today. Made some cavity templates, made a matching spalted maple cover for the back, got the fretboard sized up today as well. You guys are experienced enough to know whats going on here I believe.

Kk thanks guys

I just know cedar is .... "finnicky" I just dont want a huge mess of things is all.

Words aren't necessary.

Im really nervous to route my truss rod. Is there any way to go about this where I wont explode the wood on contact? Drilling out the material seems risky for such a long, straight line, but I also dont want to have the wood chip out like crazy either. Im thinking about using some thinned out epoxy to stabilize it a little bit perhaps?

Any advice is EXTREMELY welcome here.

Okay, I'll do my usual thing and ignore everything that has been said (actually, I haven't got time to review anything but the opening post)....

A truss rod is a completely necessary and intrinsically important part of a neck! Without one you are at the mercy of the wood resisting string tension (it won't) and staying in one very specific shape to maintain optimum playability (it won't). Reinforcing wood will help keep it in one shape but this of itself is not useful if that shape is incorrect in the first place or if forces such as string tension and natural wood movement conspire to move around....and they will....

A neck without a truss rod is not going to be controllable. It will not do what you need it to do. Quit yer yapping and get a truss rod in there and stop thinking about the issue as it is truly a waste of time.

I HIGHLY respect your advice and wisdom, and much more your tact in your responses. I know I can be a little "trying" at times, but I do have reasons behind my thoughts....\

Stuff like this makes me question "normal" build methods and techinques... I follow the normal path, but at the same time, if theres a better way to do it, why not?

http://www.vigierguitars.com/html/Description_US/Guitars/neck_us.html

The ubiqiutous "try it first" answer seems to apply here, although Im nervous to buy all the materials only to have it not work out haha. The gears I want to use are very small, used on watches and stuff like that, so it would be almost impossible to have them wit ha "fitted inlay" like normal stuff.

Guess I gotta just dive in the pool here haha

These are great ideas, I will definitely leave the neck carve over size! For the fretting I think I will attach the fretboard first, leaving the neck uncarved, then go from there. I will also be using epoxy to glue it on, seems like a good idea for this.

thanks for the advice!

Hey guys, I want to start getting into inlay work. I understand the concepts, my question is inlaying smaller material. I want to use small gears instead of dots. Short of cnc machine, I don't think its feasible to inlay intricacies of a small gear. My direct question is would it look ok if I simply made a small circle inlay and used black epoxy to set the inlays? It could be nice, it could be tacky, I don't know as I can't find anything similar to what I'm asking online... thanks in advance!

Well there we go. At least I feel more sane now

Thanks guys!

Get your cavities in before you go any further with that body carve. trust me on this. you want a good level surface to be routing on.

Truss rod in. Cavities routed, Fretboard on. then finish your carve.

lookin good all the same

thats the plan sir. by doing the top carve, im actually making it more flat. the surface was very uneven, and wouldn't be good to route on. the carve on top isn't actually the "real" carve yet either. I still have a lot more to take off the treble side, but for now, i needed the front to be flat. I also want the wood to be cut as much as possible while I let it sit and acclimate itself. my last neck through went well until the neck decided to bend backwards a lot after I cut the neck and it got settled.

For the neck, I think im gonna install carbon fiber beams in the neck adjacent to the truss rod (ala wolfgang style) so even if it wants to move it cant.

One thing im unclear on. Should i install frets THEN carve the neck, or carve the neck then install the frets? If I do the frets first, I can carve around the back bow the frets will create, but then again, the thats what the truss rod is for.

sprayed a light coat of tru oil, gonna let it sit for a bit to make sure nothing moves out of place.

What EXACTLY is "true" mahogany then? I guess Im misinformed here...

Well I WAS gonna go to the gym today, but my arms are gonna be fried when I finish contouring the top. FWIW, I am not contouring the back until I get the top routed out. I want to have it pretty stable. Im not routing a real "control cavity" (bear with me haha), so I dont need the top super flat. The top will be flat enough for templates to be clamped down, so no worries there. One thing thats surprising me is how light and balanced everything is. Not on purpose, although I wish it was. that last picture its balancing on a nail in my bench, no support on the sides at all. When everything is chopped off it should still remain fairly neutral. Coming along well for now, no mistakes yet!

Sorry, I was only messing around. In all seriousness when are we gonna get an update on your PGM build? I was enjoying following that.

haha no worries, I know a lot of my "ideas" are pretty dumb, simply throwing them into the pond to see what happens. Im sure people have done everything I think about, so I simply ask to see reactions.

yetzer, I may give it a try. I honestly want to give it a whirl with truss bars installed (graphite and steel) so you dont even HAVE a truss rod. That would make my idea more "usable" so to speak.