Robert Irizarry

Maybe I should build my first guitar this way...

Olive wood, eh? Sounds very nice. Who is your supplier?

Your wife ROCKS!

From your previous post, it sounded like you were very happy with your guitar. Why change your opinion over it now? It still plays the same and still sounds the same as when you loved it earlier.

I hope you didn't misunderstand. It wasn't a criticism - only a suggestion. Project Guitar also has threads on the matter as well so I would search here too. You should turn up some stuff searching for ACAD.

Are you sure you have Flash installed for Firefox? If you don't, you can get it here: http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

Hi Miu: Have you browsed through the forums? This is a pretty common question/request that has been addressed before. Also, try a search for ACAD in the forums. That should turn up some stuff as well. Aside from that, google "CAD guitar" and that will turn up additional resources. Hope this helps.

Ben: Curious - Does none of it work in Firefox for you? I'm on version 1.5.0.4 and I haven't encountered any issues with the site... Pretty cool site - interesting layout.

"Clean, crisp notes every time..."

Ditto, Mick! BTW - I just got an email notice from the local library that they have a copy of "Understanding Wood Finishes" on hold for me. I'll let you know if I find anything relevant.

As a complete beginner, I appreciate the recommendation. I found a copy in our local library system and its on its way to me! Thanks!

Keep it coming! I'll risk incarceration as well. So far, this is looking like a very promising means of finishing a guitar.

Really nice work! I like the original design as well. A couple of questions: 1. How thick were the body blanks? 2. What size round over bit did you use? Thanks!

I was curious about Byrd's bathtub route comments as well. He uses a very thick pickguard (plexi I think) and I suppose it could act as a tone chamber. I'm actually very curious about this... However, you're probably right about the bathtub route being an economic thing. As to how it would rob tone, I'm not so sure. The pickups are already suspended in plastic. Can removing a bit more wood that never comes in contact with the pickups anyway make that much difference?

I was wondering if there were any particular control layouts (volume, tone, switch etc) that people preferred, found most convenient etc? I looked a bit through the forum but couldn't find anything... Thanks! EDIT: This should have been a two part question - sorry I wasn't clearer. The other part of this is physical location Is there a pattern and position that you prefer (for example, the Strat control layout vs. Gibson LP) that you find most comfortable?

Here are a couple more contributions to the thread: Reith Guitars and TK Instruments Reith I like for the work with headless guitars. TK I like for the interesting ideas on guitar design and construction. There are also some very cool guitars there as well.

I appreciate the comments and have a better understanding of the concerns. I wouldn't go perpendicular - I mentioned it to illustrate what was possible with the existing template and body blank. Now that I have a better understanding based on all the great feedback I will look to keep the angling to a minimum. Thanks!

I'm glad we both learned something. And even cooler - down the road, if and when I complete this project, I can pretend that I meant to do it this way.

Keep us posted on the Byrd idea. His reasoning is interesting and if even a portion pans out it would be very cool.

Welcome aboard! I'm fairly new to this board but I'm glad I found it. There are some great people here with a great deal of knowledge and experience. Its a fun bunch and I wish you the best with your projects.

Thanks for pointing that out Setch. That helps my nerves quite a bit.

I'm thinking a slight angle so it looks like I should be fine. The only difference I can think of between what I would be doing and what Byrd does is that I would also have my glue joint at an angle. Its an "interesting" idea he has regarding the longer grain length and improved tone. Too bad we don't have an engineer around. The headstock design I like. I also wonder how much of what he claims is true. At least the part about string length affecting tension makes sense.

A question for all you fine folks out there. I understand that for the greatest strength, the grain and the glue joint on a body blank should run parallel with the neck and strings. In my ignorance, I obtained a body blank that is not wide enough to accomodate my template in this way. However, it will accommodate it either at an angle or even perpendicular to the pull of the neck and strings. Does anyone see any major issues? That said, I came across an interview with James Byrd of Byrd Guitars who states that he runs the grain on his flying vee guitars parallel to the angle of the lower vee. Thus, he runs the grain at an angle to the neck and string tension. He claims there are sonic reasons for this (I won't go into details - see his interview at http://www.dinosaurrockguitar.com/interviews/Byrd.shtml). His guitars are also two piece bodies and sell for over $2600 so I'm guessing they hold up ok. This photo illustrates the angle of the grain to the neck and strings: Based on this example, it would seem that its feasible for me to do the same and that I don't have to worry about the thing flying apart on me if I do a Pete Townshendesque windmill on it. Thoughts? P.S. Sorry for the originally oversized image...

I was hoping to pull someone over to the dark side. Ergonomics are a big thing for me and a good sitting position is important. Do you have a thread out there that I've missed on your latest project? Time to go hunt around...

Its wacky looking but it has some good ideas if you're looking at ergonomics. That's really where my focus is at and why I like the Klein electric so much. This has a similar look as well as similar ergonomics. I really hope I can get my project rolling again. I have a few others to dig up - I'll post as soon as I can find them.