psikoT

21 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Very true. Unless you have a "standard design" for that part, it's the sticking point. 

Standard designs require a huge amount of precission which I can't not afford, unfortunately. Only thinking on something which has to be exactly X mm just freaks me out. When I have to make a lot of calculations, I have the feeling that something is going wrong.

I said soon!

Let's see what I can do with this boring piece of swamp ash... the fact that is lighter than common ash is true, just in case someone felt curious. As heavier as alder, I'd say. 

21 hours ago, Prostheta said:

That looks very sweet.

Thanks btw, I missed that!

I use CA too... 

I also tried acetone, but only worked with straight lines, like in a fretboard. As soon I bent it in the body, the binding got broken. I guess it also depends on the binding material, I was using a cheap chinese one. Never tried acetone + ABS, it may work.

17 minutes ago, ScottR said:

It did have a pretty short working window though, 2 or 3 minutes only.

That's great, compared with the 10 seconds the CA gives... 2-3 minutes are perfect to do the job with no stress.

I'd be happy if I only had to work in the neck, it's my favourite part... the problem is that I can't finish it until it's attached to the body, due to the heel transition, so I'll need a body soon...

... lot of sanding is waiting to me. 

Fretboard glued... I'm almost there...

The fretboard is 1mm wider than needed, I'll route the sides, taking off that millimeter together with the neck.

I'll start with the body some day...

6 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

This has just reminded me that I need to sort a more stable router levelling jig than I have at the moment!  Yours looks functional and stable.  That might well be the task for today!  

Go for it! Definitely worth the time you'll spend.

BTW It wouldn't be too hard for you to make one better than mine. 

I sometimes would love to have one of these... that sucker isn't easy to crop properly.

But that perloid is really easy to work with. Since is plastic, it doesn't break like MOP or abalone. Also easy to file.

Looks like you went too far while cutting with the jigsaw before routing, or maybe the cut was not perpendicular. If that's supposed to be the final width, that neck is wasted.

Thanks Scott.

I was busy this weekend and couldn't make much progress, but hey... I put the logo.

This time I've used a sheet of perloid... once it's sanded it looks very similar to MOP, and is quite cheap. I think I have enough for 50 more alien heads.

It looks and sounds really nice, congratulations... I should try with a bass some day.

Hi there, I'm back!

This summer we have temperatures very close to Venus' surface and guitar building is nearly impossible, the mini workshop is like a sauna... but I decided stop complaining and ge back to work.

I've been working this week on the neck, just flattening the back side and cropping the headstock:

I'm gonna use a TOM style bridge, so the neck must have an angle, one degree to be more precise. In order to get the angled heel, I need to raise the area where the headstock is, so I've added a 8mm stick under the nut and routed all the back side.

I got a new toy: a set of drum sanders which I also can use in the press drill. 

I've changed the design of the headstock. It was a last minute change, cause I thought the original one was too agressive. This one is a lil bit more elegant, I guess...

... but still killer...

That's all for now.

Cheers and thanks for watching!

I thought it was going to be a strat...

Hope you get better soon, the body is the most important tool.

2 hours ago, SIMpleONe89 said:

So that proves that Toneriders are superb, value for money pickups!

Cool, I got a couple of Toneriders for my next build.  

At least the pots are in the front side, I've seen worse mistakes from some people...

Well, every error you get is a goldmine, if you don't fail you'll never learn.

The paint design is not so bad, I like more than the common EVH you see everywhere. ^^

4 hours ago, steve1556 said:

I've got a Dremel style tool, if I put a cutting disc on it I would be worried about catching the wood, or would I leave 1-2mm of fret sticking out and file the excess off? I've got some wire cutters to cut small wires that I use for my effect pedal builds, would they work as well or not be strong enough?

You always have to leave 1-2mm of fret sticking out, no matters the tool you use to cut it. Then file the excess off.

If the wire cutter is not very strong and sharp, it tends to deform the fretwire in the ends while cutting. I don't have a good one, so I use the dremel instead. The problem with the dremel is that you have to cut the fret off very quickly, otherwise it tends to heat the metal, with the risk of burning the wood. Nothing serious, just something to keep in mind.

3 hours ago, steve1556 said:

How long is your build on hold for?

One more month, I guess...

Those nut files look really crappy, I can not imagine myself slotting a bone with them... I would suggest to invest in a better set if you're planning to make more guitars. I have something like this and they are worth the price:

https://guitarsandwoods.com/hosco-double-edge-nut-files-for-electric-guitar-set.html?search=nut&page=3

From your list I'm missing a nice radiousing block, not sure if you already have one though. Take one which is long:

https://guitarsandwoods.com/16-aluminium-radius-sanding-beam-for-fingerboard-fretboard.html?search=16

I'm missing also a crowning file. Some people don't like them but they work for me:

https://guitarsandwoods.com/hosco-double-side-fret-crowning-file-large.html?search=crown

And see some things that can be done with the same file, like the fret bevels, endings, and levelling (besides Pro's advice, which is the best option). To cut them you can use some pliers(?) or a dremel with a cutting disc (my favorite) and you can use a common rubber hammer... no need to spend big money on these things, but spend it on some others things which are more important.

On 7/19/2016 at 3:31 PM, Prostheta said:

I hate the heat also. Really screws me up.

You guys are not alone, I had to put my build in stand by due to the heat, and still there's another hot month to come... 

That's indeed a very nice top, and the rest of the guitar is very nice too, congratulations!

I would reccess the body, bridge upgrades are not so common.

Cool. Now it looks more integrated. No need to continue in the body, looks fantastic as it is.

In order to make a nice heel transition, some planning is necessary... it is not something that you can improvise, most of the times... you were lucky here.

Hi, I made these renders with Blender long time ago... they are not really finished but I had a lot of fun trying to figure out how to model carved tops. Finally found the NURBS like a very useful technique, not only for the top, also for all components with rounded edges. The most difficult part was the joint between the headstock and the neck itself, due to the volute. 

I did this after the real build, so it can not be considered as a proof of concept nor design stage... too late. ^^

Hope you like it.

In my opinion, you still have a chance to flush the neck with the body in a more stylized way, that flat surface in the tenon which is visible isn't doing anything actually.

Great work, I would like to hear it... how is the volume on such tiny instrument?... I mean, why the hell there are no pickups???

I think it could be solved with some veneer in the heel, making kinda sandwich with the veneer and the fretboard... not my favourite solution either, but could work.

We can not consider this as a derailment, as most of the materials your tools are made of come from a supernova... From stardust to sawdust.