nowa90

Well, nothing major to report. Finger still sucks, stitches are out. I cleaned up my hand plane just to have it break...all of it. 4 hours down the drain.


I got this 3D modeled though, this is what Im planning ATM for this strat, w/ carved top. Any ideas/sugestions?

Whats the offset you used for laying the dots out?

Thanks guys, I got about 50% mobility with it when the splint is off to let it get some air. No infection or anything yet, it's still all clear and healing well. Hopefully get some progress on the weekend, and I'm designing some sort of inlay for the superstrat. Something along the lines of a bird or another animal.

Thanks guys! I'll go with either the left side, or them all along the high E string. We'll see how I feel when I come to it.


While chiseling the headstock of the strat, I managed to injure myself.
3 stiches later, this is what I end up with. I should be back in business by the weekend though, if school doesnt get too busy.
I'd type more but its quite a pain with only one hand....

Pt2.

Here are my other 2 builds, to show potential customers and learn some more lessons. All hardware is taken off of the 2 shown above.

No pics yet of the LP, but here is the SS so far. Of course, I just decided tonight to start taking pics and recording all the progress. I only really started working on this today for 7 or so hours. Pics of the LP once I get something done.

Spec Sheet

Model shot

All but 2 of my clamps on this - top to the bubinga

The other 2 are glueing the ears onto the neck.
Ideas for the dots

Any opinions? I like the center one that follows the grain, but who knows. Seems confusing to the people I asked (non guitar players)

I don't know how many of you will remember me, but I am back in the luthier business! I finished Davids PRS (#3) and then took over a year off. It was quite stressful at the end, but had many lessons within.
Here is a pic of it all done. More upon request (as with the rest as well).


Before that (for anyone who doesn't know me) I built 2 tele's (one is my first, other commision) and then completed (routed, finished, set up) a tele from an ad on kijiji for 350$



Between then and now, I attempted a dual build and learned more, and didnt finish them off. More lessons, mostly with fretting and neck thru's.


So after the haitus, and first year uni I wanted to get back into the game. I posted some ads, then got a hit from the local musicians facebook page. A tenor firebird. Not traditional, but I'll take any commission at this point.

I have 2 other builds going on (next post) but here is the progress so far on the Tenorbird. I started a few days before Xmas and here we are, waiting on LeeValley for the drill bits for the 6mm dot inlays and the 11.9mm bit for the bridge posts.

Here's how it all started (sorry for the quality, I just snapped them with the iphone and didnt bother using the real camera. This is changing! The ash is also not that brown...not sure why the camera is making it that way)

Spec Sheet

Lumber

Body all cut out/routed

Mock up

Pickgaurd rough cut

Logo inlayed - what do you guys think of the design? It's supposed to be a guitar pic, and the letter J

Neck pocket routed, not glued yet!

Is it just more or do none of the pictures work? I'd like to see them.

thank you, they came out perfectly this time. Its fine for me, it smells a bit bitter and dents very easily, and was taking oil a bit weird at first, and its more brown then 'normal' mahogany, but I'll get used to it. It's defiantly has a nice tap tone and is light.

no love?

Well, as some of you may have noticed is that I took quiet the internet break, and in the 2 weeks I've pumped up almsot two guitars, this is one of them. The other (superstrat) just needs the bridge posts and tuners drilled, which I'll do eventually.

The camera was gone for most of the time, so I was only able to snap these pics now, and one with an iphone a bit back.

SPECS

Body Shape: Les Paul Double Cut

Hardware Colour: Chrome

Neck

Construction: set

Tuners: grover sta-tites, 18:1

Nut size/material: bone, 44mm

String Spacing: 7mm

#of frets: 22

Neck wood: wenge/padauk/wenge

Fretboard: rosewood

Scale: 24 3/4

Radius: 12

Headstock shape: wave

Headstock Angle: 13

Bindings: n/a

Inlay: pearloid dots, 4mm

Finish: tung oil, gloss

Body

Wood: Spanish cedar, mahogany top

Contours: arm, belly

Bindings: n/a

Bridge: TOM string thru, black ferrules

Strap Buttons:chrome

Finish: tung oil, poly - gloss

Electronics

Pickup Config: 1 Humbucker

Bridge: GFS Dream 90

Pickgaurd: black plastic

Switch: n/a

Controls: 1 vol 1 tone

Control Cavity Material: plastic

Knobs: black speed

Top wood (cut from same board)

Before it got the logo, and bridge recessed

Headstock

Front

Back

Complete, with 2 oil coats on

Enjoy!

Total time was about 80 hours or so, without sanding

hey look, its in action!

I made one too, but with mahogany that was a bad idea, since its so soft. I'll make another with ash or something when I need to. I also did one guitar with just the brass insert, by the end of it the top was quite flattaned. That fretboard is so clean!

she's done!

http://imgur.com/a/JdCCb#1

I'm evil, but tune in tomorrow to see whats inside!

how was it constructed? Very thick wood, bent, or a classical neck style lamination?

ahhah we're in the same boat! The current one is also my 4th, and was the first perfect one untill I got a little crack in the neck from a lack of volute, but it is now fixed.

I don't get much glue slide, either I'm lucky or know how much to leave around to keep it safe. Screw's scare me.

whoa, 1/4 mm? I have half mm on the first 3cm's on my ruler, and goddamn thats already confusing enough with a bare eye

I did some of the setting up and assembly, then scruffed it all with 600 and applied the oil with 600 grit paper, to really push it into the wood, and flat. The frets are level, the nut is roughed and so are the slots, and the truss rod works almost instantly. I'm hoping this is the last coat (that I put on after pics).

Headstock (locking tuners are so nice to make nuts with)

Okay, but what if the board is pre-slotted from stewmac(don't have the 220$ to get the gear to slot my own)?

Maybe I'll just let some superglue run from one side of the fretboard to the other, under the fret tang (if there's a gap between it and the bottom ofthe slot)

oh god that looks awesome, maybe I'll use abalone on my ebony fretboard for my neckthru Superstrat. How do you prevent the glue from the frets from ruining the boards shine? Mine was like a mirror, but after I pressed the frets it allwent to hell. tape?

why expensive? I used .27$ worth of foam brushes, some paper towel, and some disposable gloves to apply it.

this stuff is polymerized and the coats so far have been fine in ~6 hours.

Where did you get it? I've only seen it once, and it reminded me of tree sap lol

edit : talking about the real mcckoy, not "tung oil finish"

I got it from Leevalley, I beleive they mix it with 1/2 mineral spirits so you can actually work with it It's a bit thicker then the sealer, which is 80% driers

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=20050&cat=1,190,42942

Anxious to see your work. I'm interested in polymerized tung oil, particularly as a substitute for TruOil.

Thank you. I know everyone likes tru-oil, but I didn't find any here and honestly think that the small bottles would get on my nerves. I used about 125ml of sealer just on 3 coats, and prob 100ml for the last 3 coats of "real" oil.

I'm pretty sure the coat I just put on will be the last, I'll take a pic tomorrow after school and probably buff it friday night or sat morning.

this stuff is polymerized and the coats so far have been fine in ~6 hours.

Thanks,its like that for ~220 degrees, I'm on the top floor overwatching it every day.

4th (first real tung oil) coat is on now, and it seems to be all flat. This stuff seems much thicker, so I may only need 8 coats....not 13 like I planed :haha: