psikoT

I wanted to finish with the router before continuing, so the pickup pockets were the only cavities left to do. That's how I make the templates for pickup cavities. First I stick some squared wood pieces around the perimeter, previously drawn in the template. Double sided tape doesn't work itself, so I had to put some nails to fix them so they don't move with the router pressure. I have no pictures with the nails, but you get the idea... And then, with an inverted copy bit I route the template... looks nice. Once I have the template, I can route the cavities on the body... And that's all for now. Cheers

Hey, nice sawdust shower... I can imagine the mess inside. I saw you have the desk in a corner, maybe that's better place for routing. And you should cover from the floor to the ceiling if you want to keep the room clean... anyway, that's perseverance. I love it! That planning you're doing in a raw wood is not going to be easy. Looking forward to the result.

Hi guys, thanks for comments... Here the final shape, more or less... still needs lots of sanding but I think I got it. The 3 veneers heel... well, I was not sure about the result, but it turned out much better than expected... I was planning this for months and couldn't figure out the shape in my mind. I'm very happy with the whole thing, a super access for a bolt-on singlecut. There was an incident near one of the bolts, the alder chipped out a lil bit... does anyone know if there's a solution for that? There are still some bumps I have to sand and planes I have to tweak, but the hard work is done. Hey, thanks for watching and specially for the advice in carving... next time I will prepare all the stuff needed.

Some progress on this... once the body is roughly finished, it's time to carve the neck joint... I've removed the wood I don't need... now I have to make kinda transition between the body and the neck... and the laminates will flush around the joint. This was an experiment, not sure about the results. Here you can see that still needs more passes with the gouge, but it's really easy with this one I'm using... it allows me to make long grooves with no effort, very precisely. And that's all for now... more to come.

Thanks guys for the directions... I was thinking on them all the time. Here some progress. As I said, it's not going to be easy, specially that second level in the left side. I will need to use other tools in order to get the final shape I have in mind. But the chiseling is going better, I already have some hours of experience... ^^ I did a sanding test, just to see what's going on... it still needs a lot of work. Just as anecdote, the straight edge you can see in the left side, on top, is made entirely with the gouge... I don't believe that I could get that precision. Thanks for watching!

Well, I couldn't compare with others, mostly because is the first time I use this... ^^ but the area the left side of the view was breaking all the time, even in the direction of the grain. I don't know why, maybe because I was just removing big chunks of wood, still didn't any fine cut over there, or just because the shape... but it didn't behave like the area in the right. Probably is more of lack of experience than a wood/tool related issue... in any case, I have to be more careful in that area. In the other hand, the area in the right was really pleasant... the chisel worked like a charm, specially when applying almost no pressure... it allowed to me to cut long grooves with no effort. Very nice experience BTW.

Hi, already started with this... it was not so hard and the gouge worked like a charm... at least in the direction of the grain. I must say that you feel much more control when doing precise cuts, while you're reaching the final shape. The first thing I did was to route the holes area to have an idea of the limits... The left side is going to be lower than the flat surface... I'll do it tomorrow, maybe. And that's all for now... it was funny, the gouge is sharp enough, I've used the strop in the wood a couple of times, but in general works ok. If I do this in the future, I'll prepare all the pro stuff needed, leather included. Thanks for watching!

I already had some problems trying to carve the slots in the piece of wood I was going to use to strop it, it is almost impossible to make a straight slot due to the curve in the back side. Attached a picture from the side, where you can see that curved back... I was thinking, since the carving I'm gonna do is mostly concave, that it could work, but probably I'll need some other gouges to make it well. Anyway, I bought another out-cannel gouge yesterday, before reading your posts... an inexpensive one, but not cheap. I will start with the tools I have and if I see there's no way, I'll consider to get some decent tools. I just didn't want to spend big money just for this carve. Thanks Scott for the info... it was really in time.

I also saw some videos using vacuum bags to press veneers over irregular surfaces... what I don't know is how to get the air out, maybe a compressor but in the other way round? This frame press looks interesting: http://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/vacuum-frame-press.htm

Here's the mockup of the carve in the backside... it is not going to be easy, as there are kinda three levels and some areas couldn't figure out myself yet... I think I got it, but it's very hard to visualize in 3d for my little brain, so I hope to follow the natural curves, step by step, thinking about the step order, and so on... but I'm excited about it, can't wait to start. Thanks Scott and Prostheta for all the help, I've read again the last three pages and found a lot of good info which I didn't understand the first time. I was playing a little bit with the sharpening tools and I think I have the gouge ready to work. Let's see...

I've heard about that technique in youtube, I think I'm gonna use it with pine, which is the only soft wood I have... I also have some remains of alder, let's see... what I don't have is leather. I went to the shop and bought a 2 sided stone (fine and hard, still not sure which side is fine and which one is hard) and that white past for polishing... there were other colors, like blue or green, but since you were talking about that white stuff, I got it... the labels are in german, so I really don't understand where's the difference... both thingees cost 4 euros, so I think it was a good investment. And these are the two gouges I have. The good one (in the right) is already sharp, made the arm haircut test, but still not a razor blade, so I will strop it before using it. Here, the angle is in the inner side, which I think it will be a pain in the ass if I have to give it a heavy sharp some day... maybe with sandpaper? The one in the left is a cheap gouge I bought long time ago and never used. I've realized that it has a bite in the edge. Luckily, this one has the angle in the outer side so I think it won't be a problem to get a sharp edge back with the stone... and the inner side with sandpaper? Thanks for all the info, it's really appreciated.

But you only ca use that for the outer part, right?... To strop the inner part you need to cover a cylinder with leather or something like that, right? Well, it is not easy to get Ø2mm cylinders made of plastic, like stewmac has... or those supercool MOP side dots I've seen in ebay, I don't have account now... and I tried/thought some more options to make the side dots: toothpicks, nails, even chupachups sticks... but none of them convinced to me. The bone option seems to be the most handy one at the moment and the one which gives me the best results. A pain in the ass though. Solving problems is the funniest part of the whole thing, if I don't introduce something new to me on every build, it would make no sense.

Couldn't resist to sand this today...

Thanks for the link, Scott... that looks nice, I guess it has to be used at low rpm, right? I've heard about different polishing compounds, I guess any metal polish does the job. The good thing is that I'm learning about the existing stuff, which makes way easier to find it in the hardware shop.

I have been watching videos of people using these devil's weapons for two days and I get impressed... I should started with them way earlier, they probably would saved me some headaches while carving tops in the past. As soon as I have time I will search for all the stuff to sharp them nicely, and maybe buy some other...

Having a place to work is the most important aspect of the whole thing and the first thing you have to solve. I know it's not easy, as I worked always at home. I have to finish my current build before the winter comes, cause I'm using the only room with heating. I bought the router bits in Comercial Pazos, they have online shop... proper router bits are not easy to find in hardware shops.

We love your tenacity anyway...

The curtain (+ vacuum) can be a solution... forget about the box, the router spit out tons of wood shavings in a crazy way so it probably turn out in a mess in five seconds. Also, with the router you will need to move a lot, is not like sanding, and lock the body somehow... that's not secure, man.

Well, having everything near the workbench is not a good idea, specially with the router... A vacuum can help but still you'll have some dust around... Nice bench btw

Yes, that thin edge will be removed soon, I didn't want to route it with the template, but with the edge of the neck pocket, which ensures a perfect joint with no gaps.

Neck fitting. Here marking the holes. Screws are too long, I had to cut them. The access will be recessed, that's why I had to short the screws. Those deep holes will disappear with the carve, I guess... Now it's one piece. Perfect fit, no gaps. I need to print some carving lines before proceeding, so I've moved on with other tasks. Since I have a press drill now, I can make the side dots from a piece of bone. Mounted in the drill and sanded with two blocks... Until I get a Ø2mm cilinder... this is not funny, it takes a long hour or so, but I have no option. Then divided the cilinder in 12 parts, 4mm long. And glued with epoxi + ebony dust... Cheers!

Sorry, I was calling it chisel while it's a gouge...

Hi guys, thank you very much for the information, this is totally new to me... I think the biggest issue is keeping the chisel always sharp, so I'm gonna learn about that in deep. I only have one chisel, you can see it in the second image, first post. Is kinda spoon chisel, and it's the same brand as yours, Scott... I really would love to have the complete set, but they are expensive... maybe in the future. I bought today a press drill, the cheapest one in the shop. I finally have drilled the screws holes to bolt the neck on, I just need to cut the screws - they are too long - and then I can start carving. This gonna be funny.

You basically need 3 bites for the body, these are the ones I use: Take them as long as you can, except the short one, which is ideal for pickup/neck pockets. I personally don't use planners, neither manual nor electric... I tried them but had no good experiences, so I try to avoid them. But you can square the edges with the router after planning the top/bottom sides... lot of sanding are waiting for you afterwards, but it's an option.

Wow, thanks for the link... I'm just looking for a piece of leather. ^^ I was thinking that maybe I could use the dremel with a stone bit to do a heavier sharp if necessary.