spottydog

Ta da. My guitar is finished. A lot of mistakes and a lot learned but not too bad considering what I started with.

Starting on the electrics. It may not look it but I no where all the wires go. At least I think I do ?? Watch this space. 

Used the washer and plywood method and it worked a treat. Hole is now correct size and post re installed many many thanks

Help !!!! I used an 11mm drill on the bridge post holes by mistake and now I have one of the posts wedged, and I mean wedged, in the hole any ideas how to get it out so that I can re drill the hole

Thank you. I'm glad it's not just me I feel much better now 

I seem to solve one problem and get five more when building a guitar. Am I the only one this happens to ?????

Just fretted guitar now needs leveling and fret ends filed

Thanks guys its not looking to bad. I tried neck on but still lot work to do

My blue guitar. but not any old blue it's "posh" Cobalt Blue or so it says on the bottle!!!!

Got problem sorted and fret board is now gluing to neck. Body is also sanded and ready for colour. I am thinking blue ink so that the grain shows through. 

HI, Still not sure of best way to fit truss rod on angled neck. I made a mess of it when I tried last time and the only info I seem to be able to find on the net is mostly about Strat necks which are a bit different to my Gibson style neck.

A quick question. when you rout the truss rod slot how do you determine the correct position to drill the head stock access  hole on a Gibson style neck. Has anyone any tips or methods to do this. Many thanks.

Hi, I have done some work on the cavity covers and they are now probably as good as I will get them. I would like to thank everyone who takes the time and effort to read my posts and then takes the effort to respond to them. Without your help and encouragement I would have give up on this project long ago. I doubt if I will ever build a "guitar of the month" guitar but I take pleasure and enjoyment from taking scrap wood and making it into something that at least looks like a guitar and if im lucky plays like a guitar and solving any problems encountered along the way of which I have many. As long as you continue to gain pleasure and enjoyment from what you do then I think that it is what it is all about. Once again thanks to everyone for their continued support.

Thanks for the help guys. I'm glad it's not just me who has problems getting the covers to fit. I am trying my best to make the guitar as good as I can but i'm not sure if I am managing sometimes. 

The neck is starting to look a bit better now I have put veneer on the head stock. I have made the cavity covers but I am not to sure about them as they are not a perfect fit. I am not sure what the reason is other than my poor woodworking skills. 

This is true

My very, very simple but effective fret jig. Things do not need to be complicated to work. My old boss always used to say "Keep it simple" it is something I have never forgotten.

The neck so far. I think it should be ok for distortion as the grains are crossed where they are joined. Needs a bit more work but I think it is coming along ok.

Hi.

This is my guitar body waiting to rout the outline and following routing it is awaiting the cavities been cut. up to now it only has the switch holes drilled,  also I am trying to laminate the neck due to shortage of long pieces of wood. I know it does not look much at the moment but I am hoping it will look ok when it is all shaped and sanded. 

I was also mystified as to why the control cavity did not line up so I went back and rechecked the plan and found that the actual plan has a mistake and the cavity does not line up with the holes for the switches as it is drawn. Following your advice I have now made a new separate template and everything now lines up correctly.

Hi, A couple of pics of my new guitar prior to starting to build and as it has progressed. When I made the templates and lined them up I discovered that the control cavity did not line up and as can be seen in the photo I have had to move the position of the cavity to take this into account I think I will also have to move the position of the three way switch as well so that I can put a cover on the back of the cavity as I am building the guitar without a scratch plate. does anyone else have trouble like this when making templates or is it just that I have not been accurate enough when making them.

Hi

The new build is coming along very slowly. I have took time off to extend my workshop it is now twice the size it was and much better to work in. What I was wanting to ask is the best way to rout pick up cavities. The ones I have done in the past have been ok but I would like to improve the quality of them. Is it best to rout before or after shaping the body as I have seen it done both ways also is it best to make a separate template for routing or cut out the cavities on the body template any other hints would be most welcome. Many thanks.

 Hi, have now got patterns rough cut awaiting final sanding to shape. Before I do that I am turning my drill into a simple pillar sander then I will sand edges by hand with 120 sandpaper and a block to ensure they are as square as I can get them.

Following the project guitar link from Prostheta I have started to make my templates from 9mm MDF which was the thickest I was able to source at my local DIY stores. I will let you know how I get on. At present I have rough cut the shapes and will now start to file and sand them to their final shape. I have been held up by snow and rain as I can only work on large pieces outside as I only have a small workshop/shed to work in.

Still not working sorry to say.