Pariahrob

Small update. Little bit of body routing. The weight has come down substantially and after a little tidying will be ready for the top to go on. Which I've not even got yet!

theres 4mm depth left behind the main cavity. Too much, not enough or does it not matter?

Im not sure the tone will alter in a meaningful way if I take more out and it's plenty deep enough for the f hole to look right but if you can tell me different I'll listen. 

Ive not made this style before so learning lots. I panicked a little as I routed the channel for the bridge pickup wiring but then realised it's fine. I'd accounted for the cap and I've a support piece that sits there, flanged to aid access for the wires. It also aids getting the ground wire to the bridge.

Next question: should I stain the visible cavity or leave it bare? Or design a label of sorts? 

Really interesting read and some techniques I've not seen before. Top class work  and now I want to make a hollow body!

This is a dangerous forum!

Hi all. 

Time has been getting away from me recently so not much done. Frets are fitted and bevelled on the superstrat (I must name it) and here's a little progress in the FF semi hollow. Since I took the photo I've drawn on and hogged out the cavities. Basically left an edge room no the body at about 15mm, with a xtensions for the strap button and neck pocket plus a chunk where the bridge studs will go. 

Thecrest is coming out tomorrow, so along with the control cavity will have gone on a serious diet!

Had some worries roughing the neck. I took it down from the top view first then realised that would make the headstock angle harder. I was going to shim up one side to level it out but turns out there was enough meat to keep it stable. 

Glued on some ears before I left the studio but will concentrate on the body tomorrow. Now I need to hunt for a nice too. Not sure if I go quilt or flame but I do know I'll be staining a kind of vintage burst. It's a bit more caramel than others I e seen but still refining....

That's looking lovely. Great colour choice and will look even richer once the gloss goes on. 

@ProsthetaThank you so much for all that. I think you confirmed what I should do. Go with my gut! I was worried I'd missed something  

I'll draw up my sketch on the computer and get some accurate measurements and think I'll be good to go. 

Thanks @ScottR. I think that's how I'll continue then. I'm happy using the carve on the top to help it sit right. I think that might be another advantage now I think of it. Keeping my a deeper maple top means I'll be able to have a deeper carve. 

Cheers, now back to the current build. Frets are going on in the morning. 

Right then. I think I have things straight now. Please let me know if I've missed something. 

Note: I'm not trying to build a replica cu22 but something with a similar body shape. Think I'll go semi hollow too. 

Heres my initial 1:1 sketch. I'll get a clean one done in illustrator once I'm happy. Ignore the fact xtra thickness on the bottom of the body. It will be narrower.

Thanks @Norris. I understand the physics of it but was wondering more about the feel. 

Trying to imagine how an angled bolt in would feel compared to a flat set neck. 

Mill be using a bridge where the saddle height is a minimum 14mm off the body so could go either way. 

I'm wondering what would feel most natural really. The angle can make for a comfortable guitar with less reach for the fretting hand but no angle looks better to my eye. 

Someone suggest d I angle the bottom of the heel and keep it bolt on. Use angled pickup rings to keep them on plane. This would work but would it look odd?

I guess my question is less about the mechanics and more about feel and look. 

That bug bit a while back @ScottR but it does seem to be a bit of a bulldog. It's not letting go any time soon. 

I have a follow up question about the next build. I'm thinking about neck joints. If I go for a glued neck I'll have an angle, based on my top carve and bridge height. If I go for a blot on would that stay the same or would it be better to go more strat like and raise the relative height of the fingerboard. 

That sounds like a stupid question even as I ask it but, as much as a non angled set neck feels wrong, an angled bolt on doesn't seem 'right'. 

Any thoughts? I want this to be a bit snappier than a traditional set neck but don't want to have a longer scale length and the next option is a maple neck but they're not so good to glue. 

Ok. While I finish this build I'm planning the next. It's going to be roughly prs custom 22 shaped but proper semi hollow. Shapeless body. Book matches maple top, probably flame but maybe quilt. 

Im friends with a luthier who makes classical instruments and I love the vibe of some of the proper vintage pieces he has in forcrestoration. With that in mind I'm going to pinch some ideas and build this to incorporate them. 

 16th century styled f hole

oberhanging, floaty ended ebony board

black maple black perfling

three a side tuners with exposed gears and ebony pegs. 

Now ive talked to him about some aspects but not sure about following the classical route. For example the f holes. His are all fluted to accentuate the shape but think that might look and feel odd on a guitar. 

Perfling. Looks great on a cello but would binding be better. Maybe black pear and maple (if I can make it work). 

Im going to stain it by hand and try to give a nod to a beauty of a bass he had in. 300 years old and lovely amber to chocolate patina. That was from wear but I think a subtle bust could work. 

So please let me know your thoughts. Some definite challenges ahead but if I do it right it could be quite something  

@ScottR thanks. I know it's common but think it's the best fit. 

I did consider doing blocks the same thickness as the centreline but firstly I'm not sure I'd do it justice and second it's such a nice piece of very black ebony I didn't want to add much. 

Move since polished the board and it's come out glassy and lovely. Rolled the edges too and feels great. 

Tomorrow I'll be profiling the neck, thicknessing the headstock and hopefully fitting some frets!

A small amount of progress. Fret slots cut, board radiused and abalone inlay added to 12th fret. I debated doing something fancy but  settled on a simple dot. Mostly so the width of abalone stays the same along the length of the guitar. 

Agree completely. That's way more accurate than using fixed templates. Another trick is to stick a layer of masking tape to the inner borders of the wood you use as your temporary template. That will ensure a slightly snugger fitting neck that you fettle to get perfect. 

@Mr Natural That is a genius setup you made there. Wish I had thought of it. I might have to 'borrow' that idea for myself.

@Andyjr1515 If I can get it to work I will definitely be sharing.

Ok, off to trim my fretboard to size and get some slots prepped!

@Andyjr1515 Thanks for sharing your experiences. Useful to hear. I'm still keen to try but think I might investigate different methods. I wonder if I could use my f hole template (my own custom shape) to actual cut the binding out in the final shape. It wouldn't have much strength but doesn't really need it. 

I suppose I could just use the fake binding technique instead but I was going to try to run a thin layer of ebony as well for nice contrast. 

That evh looks so good! Black walnut is one of my favourite woods. You've done a fantastic job and sounds pretty hard wearing. 

Thanks again!

@StratsRdivine I know right! Not sure what. I could opt for the simple abalone fret dots option or maybe something on the headstock. 

@Mr Natural Thanks so much for that. Very helpful indeed. I'll be getting some wipe on poly then!

On another note I'm planning my next build and have a few questions. It's going to be a carved top prs-like semi hollow with an f hole. I'm thinking of doing curly maple binding but wonder what the tightest radius it's suitable for, as I'd like to bind the f hole too. 

I've not done a semi hollow before and wonder how the innards should be carved. Are simple routed cavities enough or should it be more cello like with the guitar top carved into a curve underneath? My guess is that a route is fine for this but more than happy to be told otherwise. 

What a beauty! Perfect combo of materials and paint. 

Looking ace!

pinwheel trussrods are a real pain to fit but nicer to use I think. 

Love the spider and curious to see what your plans for the top are. 

On on another note I see you are working on one of those kit carpenters benches. What's it like and which did you get? I've been thinking about one as a second working area but not seen one up close and personal. 

Cheers!

Great looking guitar and love how you implement different woods for details. 

Looking forward to the evil twin!

Just read this whole thread and feeling inspired. Love your attention to detail and patience. 

Impressive indeed!

Thanks for the warm welcome. Feels like a friendly group here. 

Well, here's a surprise! While I was thinking about fret markers I was looking in my box of bits and decided on some lovely abalone but got carried away, so chiselled out a channel down the center of the body and added a strip. I was going to keep this pretty understated but now it's looking a bit fancier!

I couldn't get away from the idea of the oil finish either, so now there is an initial coat of oil on there, which looks lovely. I'll just have to be careful not to knock it.

Lesson for the day: plan inlays etc first. If I had fitted the abalone first it would have saved a bunch of time and effort by just lining the top up to it. This is a fun lesson though, so no complaints!

I'm definitely enjoying things. I've learned so much from my first few builds. 

Move done both as it happens. I'm a designer and animator by day which I guess means I like details and forms. I drew templates for pickup cavities, body and neck shape then transferred them to Perspex which I used as a router guide. 

The rear cavity for the controls I routed by hand after drilling the holes for the pot and switch. 

Here's a quick look at the whole body so far. Lots of scraping left to do, along with cleaning up around the cavities but it's coming along. 

I guess my main question at this stage is to ask for your thoughts. On the design and my work so far. Is there anything I'm obviously doing wrong or could do better/different?

cheers

Rob