KnightroExpress

We're nearing completion here!

Neck glue-up. My template slipped while I was working on the neck pocket, so this one has a little shim in there. I'm not happy about that, but I had to at least make this one work.

While waiting for the neck to set, I made myself a little outboard control prewiring station. This is so much easier than trying to solder everything in the body.

Neck's all done, now I'm drilling my bridge stud holes.

Sanding! I need to work on my heel carving- this one feels ok, but doesn't look so hot.

This is sanded up to 400, time for oil.

Thanks for taking a look!

I like the light option as well.

I use a router table with a really good pattern bit. Bandsaw and sand to within a sixteenth of your template line, then attach the template and take shallow passes. I recommend Whiteside bits if you're in the market for some snazzy new ones.

Time for some neck work.

I marked a centerline and quarters.

I seriously can't wait to build myself a proper carving jig. This clamp setup worked, but is prone to flex when I dig in.

Knocking down the facets

Slowly getting round

I hand cut the control cover ledge with my mini router plane, a gouge, and a chisel.

Time for pics!

Side dots installed.

Cleaning the fret slots after chamfering. The dots are 4mm on the face, 2mm on the side.

Experimenting with hemispherical fret ends. I need a lot more practice!

I cut a slot in a maple offcut to hold the fret tang, then use the fret crowning file to shape the end into a dome. It works fairly well, I just need to refine the technique.

Frets!

I'll probably try hemispherical ends a few more times, but for now I prefer the standard bevel method.

Thanks, guys!

Scott- That's just good ol' Titebond 1. I haven't tried epoxy yet, though I'd like to in the future.

BetterOffShred- If your name is a reference to Better Off Dead, that's one of my favorite movies, so thumbs up! And thanks very much, I appreciate the compliments. You're right- the guitar is complete at this point, I just never posted them on PG.

Time for some more pics!

Double-checking the fretboard on the neck.

Clamps!

Glue!

I insert the tips of some small finish nails in the 1st and 24th fret areas to prevent slippage.

Some hot clamp action

The next day....

Thanks for looking!

Back to the wood shop!

This is a pre-slotted board from LMII. I've cut my own fretboard before, but I wanted to try their service. It's pretty nice!

I attached my neck blank to my template and cleaned it up on a router table with a big pattern bit. Works really well, and I can't see a reason to do it any other way at this point.

Dots! And fretboard tapered on the template.

Back at home, here's everything so far.

Adding silicone to the truss rod slot and gluing in a filler block under the nut.

My P90 arrived, so of course I had to test it.

Finally, here's the finished filler block.

Indeed! Just a few passes and an LMII rod drops right in. I do wish it had a better depth adjustment system, but it'll do the job until I can get into a proper workshop.

I like Electrosocket jacks, so I'm gonna recess mine. Enter the hand drill and 1" Forstner bit.

Once the lip is done, I switch to a 7/8" bit and drill through to the control cavity. Easy!

Making sure everything fits as planned. Also, you can see the recessed jack down at the bottom. I'm pretty happy with the result.

These show the grain after a quick naphtha wipe.

A bit over 5 and a half pounds at this point.

Thanks for taking a look!

Back at the apartment, I'm preparing to attach the headstock to the neck blank.

I need to work on measuring my blanks... the headstock will be about an inch short, as we see later.

Clamps!

The next morning, clamps were removed. Looks ok.

The ryoba makes short work of these little tasks.

I picked up this Dremel Trio mini-router on sale a while ago. Happily, it included an edge guide and a 1/4 inch straight bit, which makes it ideal for routing for truss rods.

Adding a heel block.

Thanks for looking, guys!

Hello PG friends! I've spent the last several days reading through various build threads and I'm super inspired to get my tools and make some sawdust. Unfortunately, the wife and I have just moved across the country and we're still settling in, so that'll have to wait.

In the meantime, I'd like to go ahead and post pics from my first complete scratch build. A lot of this build was done in my apartment, but a few larger processes were done at a wood shop I rented time at. Most of this design is based on old Gibson DC JRs, but with my own modern touches here and there.

Specs:

One piece African mahogany body

One piece maple neck (with scarfed headstock)

East Indian rosewood fretboard

24.5" scale

24 frets

single P90 (bridge)

Here we go!

This is the beginning. I ended up getting three bodies out of that chunk of mahogany!

After I worked out the design with a few prototypes, I had these acrylic templates lasered for me.

1/2" acrylic

First rough body, from bandsaw to sander to prep for routing.

Routed! The template worked very well.

I made this quick jig so I could easily cut the scarf on a common chop saw.

Home at the end of day 1- neck pocket started, pickup cavity done, control holes drilled. I realize now that I should have waited to do the cavities, but hey, I'm still learning.

Awesome! I dig your muscle car theme

Awesome! Are you going to do any additional sculpting in the tuner cutaway area?

Nice work! I really dig what you're doing

That color is awesome!

That's really cool! I've always wanted to try a scalloped neck...

Awesome! I can't wait to see more

This is so cool! It's really awesome to see your concept emerge as you go. I can't wait to see where it ends up!

Incredible work! I really love the color

I definitely get the exotic car vibe, especially with the carved/slotted chamber area. I'm excited to see more!

The kerf is the same on both sides, only the TPI is different. I haven't had any issues with the teeth on the side I'm not using. The one you linked would be perfect for making a scarf for a headstock, but the long wide blade helps the ryoba self-guide for bigger ripping or crosscutting.

Sure, a ryoba has two different sets of teeth: one side is for ripping, the other is for cross cutting. It's pretty easy to do something like that.

32" is a fun scale and the Hipshot TransTone is a cool choice!

Thanks! Have you ever used a TransTone? I haven't had the opportunity to see one in person yet and I'm curious.

could you elaborate on the scarf-related work with the japanese saw? Is there some trick to it, or am I just wondering because I never used a japanese saw myself? I also cut my scarfs by hand, but my methods are very crude, I have a lot of plane work to do later - so that's why I'm asking

I'd be happy to take a bunch of pics and explain my method the next time I cut a neck. It's pretty simple, just takes some prep time. I'd also highly recommend picking up a ryoba at the very least. I use it for a lot of my work.

That color is really interesting. I dig it!