14thandclark

Okay. I've run into the point where money is becoming a setback on the shit military pay. I tried fretting with a hammer. Splurged and bough a fret bender. Tried hammering them in and lesson learned "close is not good enough". Big questions here in pretty sure I've fucked up the slot in which the first fret goes. I corrected the radius and tried again... Won't hold... Please tell me there are what's the fix this?

The depth of my side dots were a little wonky. :-/ not horribly noticable though.

While figuring out how to do the output. Decided to cut out and route for my inlays. Doesn't look too bad. Going to use epoxy and dust the full in around the pearl. Just doing this 12th fret I lay and side dots

I'm replacing the three way toggle switch with a rotary knob.

So for some reason this is boggling me. This is what I'm using for wiring... http://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_Electronics/Wiring_Kits/Premium_Wiring_Kit_for_2-pickups_with_Toggle_Switch.html I can find any how to or instructions on how to drill for the output jack. Is this something that should have been routed before the top was glued?

Is there an alternate method for pre bending fret wire? I have a compound radius fretboard. I believe it's 10-14 degrees. I'm using a fretting hammer to install the frets. Also is pre bending absolutely necessary or just aid in the process?

Got some routing done

This question is for future reference. Just trying to do some research. I don't have access to any area to finish my guitar by spraying. I'm in the military so it's tough to find appropriate work space. I found this video on YouTube and was wondering if it's a decent option? Ive read good things about doing an oil finish on the neck but this is for protecting the body and headstock. Should be routing for the trem today. Got my post holes done along with the tuner holes.

Success! Centered tight fit. Thanks for the advice

Yes I do I guess I'll give it a shot

And I actually didn't know there was a Facebook group talking about this. I'd like to see!

Thanks a lot for all the advice. After staring at it for a day in a half I guess I'm just deciding whether to resort back to the bolt on option or use the epoxy you suggested. Is there an advantage to using that epoxy vs a wood glue?

Okay so some big lessons learned... 1. Don't work from random internet templates. 2. Make the neck before routing the pocket on the body. I have some gap now on either side :-/ so at this point I have routed the neck pocket depth to almost an inch for some surface area. I'm not sure what the "oh crap" gap is in the neck pocket but while attempting to make the fretboard sit flush with the neck wood I have about 1/32 on each side give or take some. I suppose I can always resort back to a bolt on and use some filler to make it nice cosmetically. I'm attaching some pictures to see if it's something to worry about. Obviously more worried about a solid neck vs. cosmetics. Just for learning purposes I've read multiple ways for filling a gap in a neck pocket. Opinions on them would be awesome... 1. Filling it with wood and routing again (if you're painting a solid color) 2. Using shims (for angle and for wiggle) 3. And using a wood dust/ wood glue mix. Thanks for all the help. Loving this hobby. Learning a lot in the way of mistakes but having a good time doing it.

...nooooo I didn't. I haven't really found a step by step way to do everything in a "correct" order. I hope it's not a big deal. I was actually a little nervous. I was leaning toward a set neck looking for simplicity. I guess I'll just have to be very careful. scarf joint was cut and glued. 17' angle. Truss rod is in.

Quick question. I'm opting to do a set neck. I've been getting a lot of tips from videos by "Crimson guitars" on YouTube. The guy running the channel says that more surface area glued the better but most neck joints will be sufficient. Would it benefit me to route a deeper neck pocket than the standard RG style guitar to make it stronger? This one is 5/8 deep

Okay I appreciate it. Im pretty happy with how it turned out considering this is my first one.

So questions from here... i bookmatched it with a hand planer. Went okay. I just have very limited experience with them so there was minor imperfections. But say I want to hide evidence of a line what is the best way to go about it? My next step after finishing the gluing would be to sand the sides with my new spindle sander. Finish sanding the body. Big question though is it generally recommended to use a grain filler for the mohageny?

Now attempting to bend the 1/4 in laminate top to the contour. A little tough but so far it's working. Just used some moisture, clothes iron, and clamps.

Rough cut

Body and finally book matched top. Working with minimal tools

Sorry for the late response. I'm in the military so I have to really make time for this. First off thanks so much for the advice. No negative reaction for new guys here which is really nice. So as far as the headstock goes I've been exploring forums and finding that people are having good tuning stability with 10-15 neck angle, locking tuners, and a graphite nut. I understand there's not really a 100% right way to do this. The zero fret prostheta! I've never seen it before I started to explore this. Something to look forward too. So ive received my bridge. Currently making a template for it. Mainly just in case I use hipshot products again in the future.

Good afternoon, I've just begun my first build. Just for simplicity during my learning process I've bought plans and a template for a simple flat top RG style body. I've done a lot of scrounging around forums and I'm pretty confident with the body of the guitar but the neck is where I'm getting a little nervous. So here's what i want to confirm and ask: 1. I'm using a hipshot contour tremolo. Most flat tops need little to no neck angle, and minor adjustments can be made by raising/lowering the bridge itself to find the correct string height? 2. the hipshot is 2 1/16 string while the floyd rose used in the template is about 1/16-2/16 wider. Do I need to make any adjustments to the width of neck at the heel? 3. Since I'm not using a locking nut with a standard tremolo of course, in your opinion what is the best set up for stable tuning including the nut material, scarf joint vs no angle. From what I've read people suggested graphite nuts. As far as headstock angle I've read the angle creates tighter tension making tuning more stable AND the with a straight head there is less resistance at the nut ending in similar result. I'm a noob but trying to do my research. I appreciate any input or advice.