Original

Thanks! It's not all that tough to do. If you study the pictures at the end of the first page of this thread, you'll get a good idea of how I glued it up. The three layer sandwich was made beforehand, and inserted into the scarf joint. I used a couple of finish nails to hold everything in position for clamping. The holes are visible next to the joint. Thanks Scott. It was always the plan to do this. If the fade appears to be somewhat asymmetrical, it's because there will be a pick guard, and I didn't want a "hatband" of the lighter shade next to it. I wasn't able to spray the other day, but I hope to progress this week.

Thanks Andy, This is the first one I've done like this. I "second guess" myself constantly. Sometimes I spend way too much time sitting on the fence trying to decide. You don't know how many times I've double checked the layout because it just didn't look right. Moving along with the finish... I'll be spraying the final coat today, so I did a pre-install on the hardware, and pickups. Meanwhile, on the other end of the workbench. I've been building this doublecut at the same time. This one's for me! Maple top, African Mahogany body/neck, Rosewood fingerboard, T-O-M strung through the body, Ping tuners, and P-90's.

Super Nice! The carve does look great.

. Thanks! Sometimes I use more than three pieces of wood for a guitar. I decided to use an old school "Tobacco" finish for this one. The figuring is pretty intense on this top, so I didn't feel the need to sand back after the first application of the dye. I had a difficult time deciding on a head stock shape that fit with the laminations, and a 4x3 layout, but I'm happy where I ended up.

Great documentation in this thread. You've done very well for a beginner, and most of these lessons will reflect in all of your future projects. Nice work!

Those pesky string through holes! I don't use a drill press. I usually make a template to guide the drill, and do it from the back so I can keep the ferrules aligned. I drill a shallow hole that the shoulder of the ferrule can bear on, and then drill a smaller chase to the bridge. Your guitar is looking great. I think the mesquite is crying out for an organic finish. Go with the oil.

I will someday. The biggest obstacle is I don't have the room. An archtop could take up a lot of workbench area for a long time. Meanwhile, back at the ranch. I designed the pickups for the seven string to lay at the angle that the 23rd fret would have been (~12.5 degrees). I wanted to have a low profile, so I built these double slug humbuckers. The bobbins, magnets, and slugs came from mojotone. The remainder of the pieces I made myself.

Hello All, I'm John Hawkins from Las Vegas Nevada. I have a little home workshop where I've built around 30 guitars over the last 10 years. I'm a lifelong woodworker, and I dreamed of making guitars from the time that I was a youngster. I do as much as I can "in house". This includes designing, and building my own pickups, making my own plastic parts, making my own truss rods, and some hardware items. This gives me almost full freedom of design, and allows me to create unique instruments. I prefer simple designs, but to add distinction, I like to have uncommon elements in my guitars, and basses so they stand out without being too elaborate. As with all of my Surf flavored guitars, This one's named after a beach. "The Redondo" The original idea for the guitar was focused on the pickup. I had a vintage Fender XII in for some repair. I thought the pickups were pretty cool, but that they looked clumsy oriented square in the offset body. I like making unique custom pickups, so this was a good opportunity to put my design idea of an angled variation of an uncommon Fender pickup in an offset body into use. The Body: One piece African Mahogany. It came from a magnificent plank that was 17 feet long, and 15 inches wide. The shape is original, but heavily inspired by a Mustang. The Pickup: The electronics are definitely the heart of this one. When I laid out the pickup design, I oriented the angle to conform with the design of the body. The spacing was adjusted so the strings would lay directly over the poles. Although I had an idea how the pickup would sound, I wasn't certain so I built two completely different prototype pickup styles. One has .790 AlNiCo V rods with 42 gauge wire, and the other steel poles, ceramic magnets, and 43 gauge. The coil forms on both are 13 mm tall with 12 mm pole spacing. I tried the rod magnet version first. It sounded so good that I didn't feel the need to even try the other. It's design would make it inherently darker, and I didn't need that. I vacuum form my own covers, so the pure white plastics are like icing on the cake. The Hardware: There's nothing special about the hardware. I used some good quality Schaller copy tuners, and an inexpensive top loading hardtail strat style bridge. I thought the top needed a little more chrome, so I added the stratocaster jackplate. I finished it off with a tele dome knob. The Neck: I love one piece necks! Nothing could be more basic in design, but the aesthetic of the seamless look is so elegant. Besides the walnut fillet on the back side to conceal the traditional cambered truss rod, it came out of a single billet of hard maple. It's like "sculpture with a function". It's a 25.5 scale length with big jumbo frets. The Finish: This is my version of what Epiphone called "Silverfox" in the early sixties. The solid color finish with contrasting grain filler is tricky to get right, but the final result is worth the effort. I never visualized this one as anything other than blue, and it worked great on this guitar.

Back to this seven string; I'll jump forward a little. I never liked these inlays until I laid them on this board. Here's where I was after the major woodcutting.

Thanks! I like sharing my techniques. It's all about the DIY I want to build a 15" Archtop Multi-scale so bad it hurts!

It is easy! I built this little vacuum table about two years ago, but it's mostly about the material. There are a few common types of thermoplastic available, but I've only used ABS, and High Impact Polystyrene or (HIPS). They're polymer plastics that will get soft and workable at a high temperature. I use material that is 1/16" thick. To mold the covers, the plastic must be heated to around 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I use a little digital convection oven that I bought at a thrift store. It's perfect for what I do. The fan inside circulates the heat so the material is heated very evenly, and the electronic thermostat gives me good control of the temperature. The vacuum table is pretty simple. I wanted to get the best seal possible, and might have overdone it a little on the frames, but they work fantastic. I designed it to use 9"x9" blanks because the HIPS is available in 18x18, and that seemed like a size that would be easy to ship, and 9x9 would be adequate to form larger covers without excessive stretching. A couple of notes to remember; Build your forms with a little bit of taper to them, so they can release. Also build them a little taller than needed for the cover to allow room for trimming. I built this from scrap wood. The first piece of material I bought was from a local plastics supplier. It was 1/16 black ABS. The 4'x8' sheet cost just over $20 USA. This is something that anyone should be able to rig up pretty easily. My 15 seconds of fame. You're only limited by your imagination, and the size of the table.

My pleasure Chris, I'm happy to share. I'll get something together that's a little more comprehensive, but this fifteen second video will answer most of your questions. I absolutely dig the red guitar. I have used the same body shape for a few guitars, but never a plank like this one. I used it like a "default", and it worked out great. Most of my "modern" is influence from people like yourself, and the other amazing builders that I see on this forum. It's great to collaborate with "like minded" people who share this sickness/passion, and constantly force me to elevate my game. I love the retro vibe! There are so many super cool vintage designs that can be used for inspiration.

Wow, you've really moved along once you started cutting wood. Experience is an excellent teacher, but mistakes can be costly. Regardless, I've ALWAYS preferred to learn by doing. Yellow, with red fill would look cool, but any of the colors you showed would look good. I'm always trepidatious when doing a red guitar, but when I'm done I love it. If you intend to do a head stock like in you renderings, you really need to use a scarf joint. Those string angles wouldn't work very well on a flat where string trees are needed. Is this going to be a mahogany top? Binding?

I like the look of laminated necks, but have never done one before this. The inherent stiffness should handle the added tension. I used maple, sapele, and some alder for the smallest stripes. As always for me, a traditional cambered truss rod. I'm using a maple cap over a chambered one piece Honduran Mahogany body. A big majority of the Multi-Scales I've encountered have been more influenced by the metal genre. I'm going to do this one more like a "Jazz box" with a modern twist. I haven't been this excited about a project in a long time.

I like that head shape much better, and the body contour looks really sexy. Nice!

I agree that the laminated neck should be quite stable, and not need additional reinforcement besides the truss. I like the 27/25.5 scales. I think the more extreme differentials would be quite awkward. I bought some of the Rondo single string bridge segments. They're only available in black, They look pretty good for the price. I think the zero fret is definitely the easiest, and what I've used so far. Getting the intervals perfect on an angled nut would be pretty tricky, but they look really cool. After building my first multi-scale, I'm really caught up in this. Enjoy the project!

Nice, The red on the burl is stunning, and the neck lamination is the knockout punch. Beautiful Work!

After I started the Red guitar at the beginning of the thread, I felt confident enough with the aspects of Multi-scale construction that I began work on another. This one is a 7 string 27"/25.5" I used the "fret2find" software to print my layout. Enough has been said already about what a useful tool this is, but I'll repeat it anyway. Cool Software! I've got some reclaimed Brazilian rosewood that I've been saving for years. In a moment of weakness my propensity to hoard was overcome by exuberance, and I cut a fingerboard billet from my stash. I used my router sled to flatten it, and true-up the dimensions. While researching I came across a couple different designs for jigs to cut fret slots. I modified it to my tastes, and built a little slotting tool. I would recommend one of these to anyone attempting this. The red guitar was a one piece neck, so it wouldn't have fit in this, but for an attached fingerboard, this is a good aid.

The Timbermate isn't perfect, but I love it for it's versatility. It sands freely enough, and clogging isn't a problem. A little goes a long way, so the cost per use is really low. I don't use it exclusively though. For some things, I prefer Z-poxy.

Thanks! I've never used the pre-colored Timbermate. I have always tinted it myself using concentrated dyes. I've done red samples, but haven't used it on a guitar yet. One thing I've learned is that it takes multiple applications of the dye to get a deep red. I like dark grain fill on Mahogany. It can really add a lot of character. This one got dark fill, and a walnut flavored dye to coordinate with a "tobacco burst"

Thanks! I'm not sure how others go about it, and if anyone has a different technique that might be easier please chime in. I started experimenting with these finishes with the objective of doing a convincing "TV Yellow", or "limed Mahogany" for replica guitars. I'm going to try to keep this short. The prep work is important. I sand the wood to 400 grit in stages to make sure that there are no scratches, because they will catch the filler just like the grain, and it isn't pretty. The color coat goes on first. It's necessary to use a color that is not water soluble, thin enough to not clog the pores, but will cover with one coat. The trickiest part of the process is consistency. Spray cans work very well. Aerosols have to be very thin to work with the little nozzle, and usually cover pretty well. If more than one coat is used it will fill the pores, and there won't be room for the grain filler. (The color has to go on in one coat, and applied very evenly. "touch ups" will be obvious.) I use Timbermate pore filler. It's water based, and will not affect the color coat. I thin it to about the consistency of cake frosting. Not runny. It needs to be thin enough to penetrate, but heavy enough to not be pulled out too easily. It doesn't take much water to thin the timbermate, so if you want to add color, it needs to be very concentrated. Push the filler into the pores, and pull it back until the desired effect is achieved. Allow it to dry thoroughly!, and seal with shellac. Make some samples, and get comfortable with the process. It took me some practice to get it right, but it's one of my favorite looks, and worth the effort.

Thanks Scott! I'm still trying to get into this whole 21st century thing

Thanks everyone, I'm really pleased with the way this one came out. Thanks! You have no idea how delighted I am to be making guitars again. I do fuss over small details. Fit and finish make all the difference in minimal designs. I love the simple look, but sometimes ironically it's pretty difficult to achieve. I try to create distinction in my guitars by using the lines, and styles that players are familiar with, but with subtle changes that reflect my tastes.

Thanks Guys! The red guitar is really fun. I like handing it over to people who have never seen a multi, and watching their reactions when they play it. I'll be doing another with the same scale lengths soon. This one is generating a lot of very positive interest. For anyone think about building a multi-scale, something like this is a inexpensive project that will allow you to explore the format without being too heavily invested. This is the second one that I've finished since the beginning of the year. I started it a while back, and set it aside when I was laid up. The original idea for the guitar was focused on the pickup. I had a vintage Fender XII in for some repair. I thought the pickups were pretty cool, butthat they looked clumsy oriented square in the offset body. I like making unique custom pickups, so this was a good opportunity to put my design idea of an angled variation of an uncommon Fender pickup in an offset body into use. > One piece African Mahogany body. It came from a magnificent plank that was 17 feet long, and 15 inches wide. The shape is original, but heavily inspired by a Mustang. > Hard Maple one piece neck. I love doing necks in this style. To me, it's sculpture when you craft a neck from a single block of material. I love the process of the building, and the aesthetic of the seamless neck. It's a 25.5 scale, with jumbo frets, walnut fillet over a traditional cambered truss rod, and abalone dots. > The electronics are definitely the heart of this one. When I laid out the pickup design, I oriented the angle to conform with the design of the body. The spacing was adjusted so the strings would lay directly over the poles. Although I had an idea how the pickup would sound, I wasn't certain so I built two completely different prototype pickup styles. One has .790 AlNiCo V rods with 42 gauge wire, and the other steel poles, ceramic magnets, and 43 gauge. The coil forms on both are 13 mm tall with 12 mm pole spacing. I tried the rod magnet version first. It sounded so good that I didn't feel the need to even try the other. It's design would make it inherently darker, and I didn't need that. I vacuum form my own covers, so the pure white plastics are like icing on the cake. > There's nothing special about the hardware. I used some good quality Schaller copy tuners, and an inexpensive top loading hardtail strat style bridge. I thought the top need a little more chrome, so I added the stratocaster jackplate.I finished it off with a tele dome knob. Sweet, and simple. > The finish is my version of what Epiphone called "Silverfox" in the early sixties. The solid color finish with contrasting grain filler is tricky to get right, but the final result is worth the effort. I never visualized this one as anything other than blue, and it worked great on this guitar.

I'm Back! I had some health issues that kept me from doing much last year, but I'm building guitars again, and have some momentum going into this new year. I put the finishing touches on two projects already this year. The first was an experiment in multi-scale construction. Some of you may have seen it already, as I had it entered in the GOTM contest for January. I've been intrigued by Multi-scale guitars for some time, and have wanted to build one for a couple of years. I kept this one very basic so I could familiarize myself, keep the cost low, and not be encumbered by other complications. > One piece maple neck, with walnut fillet. 8" radius with jumbo fretwire. Abalone markers. Traditional truss rod. The scale lengths are 25.5 / 24.7 > Poplar body. > I built the overwound AlNiCo V specifically for this guitar. > Alpha pots, switchcraft jack. > Nitrocellulose finish on the body, and tru-oil on the neck. It's a simple little guitar, that really couldn't be more stripped down, and still be a playable instrument. The fingerboard layout that is perpendicular at the eighth is really comfortable, and combined with the 8" radius makes this thing an absolute players dream. The transition from playing on a single scale to this was almost seamless. I built this from the most inexpensive materials available, and used hardware, with the exception of the bridge, and electronics. I made the pickup from parts out of the junk drawer. In ten years, this is the least expensive guitar that I've ever built. The single most expensive purchase was the strings. Altogether though, it's an amazing little guitar that's full of tone, and a joy to play. Thanks everybody that voted for me in the poll! I've got several more projects to add here, so stay tuned.