Campylobacter

Scott has my vote this time. Absolutely beautiful guitar. I love everything about it, especially the headstock! Also the eco concept is very cool.

Okay, now I'm finished with this. The killswitch volume pot still needs a bit work though.

More pics again: https://picasaweb.google.com/107342759429480910733/Kitaraprojekti#

Tough competition but here goes...

This is my very first build which I started working on in August 2011. For being merely a practice piece I'm very happy I managed to give it a somewhat unique look, great feel and most of all strong and versatile sound. There's of course a lot of room for improvement (fretting, routing etc.) but I'm still proud of myself.

Build thread and more pictures.

Name: SC#1

Specs:

*Mahogany body / Bubinga top (~35mm thick)

*Bolt-on Wenge neck

*Cocobolo fretboard (24 frets)

*25,5" scale

*Cold Sweat Bare Knuckle Pickups

*Gotoh hardware

*Killswitch volume and coil-split tone

Pics:

Wenge definitely! This will look so good, great design.

More Danish oil.

First layer of Danish Oil just rubbed on with a rag, next layers will be applied with the waterproof sandpaper. The frets are pretty flat at the moment and it will take me some time to get a crowning file but in the meantime I'll probably start my next builds.

I actually liked the midwife's artistic focus hehe, but CONGRATS nevertheless! You've got some pretty innovative stuff going on in your builds, can't wait to see this one finished.

Thanks for the walkthrough guys! I think I'll only add oil on the body and try the wax procedure on scrap wood first.

that will do it.

its also quite nice if after doing an initial coat you let the oil dry for 24 hours. Then you wet-sand with the oil and fine wet & dry paper. then buff off all the horrible gunk that creates. start at 600 grit and repeat the process up to about 1500 grit

very nice as it is, and also good with a coat or two of briwax rubbed in with very fine wire wool and buffed off with a soft cloth for a little more of a long term sheen

these steps will take it past the ordinary oiled finish into something really great, really smooth, really tactile

Thanks for the tip, I'll keep that in mind! Have you tried or had any luck with plain beeswax? It just so happens that my parents are "part-time beekeepers" so I have pretty much unlimited access to beeswax. After initial coating and 24 hours of drying I wet sand the body with Danish Oil, melt down some beeswax and rub it on with #0000 steel wool, am I right?

Danish oil is amazing stuff, I used it on a walnut body once and it came out looking really nice. I use it on fingerboards now. That cocobolo looks great too, I'm putting one like that on my padauk acoustic build.

How did you apply the oil and how many times you did it? I thought I'd rub on the oil, let it be for a while and wipe off the excess. Then repeat as many times I see necessary.

BTW which part of Finland is your family from? I know one Juntunen here in Northern Ostrobothnia.

A few more frets, final sanding and I'm ready to start rubbing some Danish oil on her.

Very nice, especially the headstock shape...

I think you did great for the tools you are using. Very neat design too.

Don't give up yet- find what frustrated you here on this build and recognize the things you need to improve. Router control is a learned process, patience and shallow passes are the keys. I don't use templates for anything , and the earlier stuff definitely had worse looking routs !! I think what I'm getting at is this : Templates don't equal perfection. I've seen numerous horror stories on here about templates slipping, bearings drifting/ breaking/ tearout, etc. Just refining your weaknesses will make you a better builder, a task I am still working on myself.

I think its a great guitar you've made here. Keep at it and youll really knock em out.

Thanks for your kind words and support! After all I'm happy with the guitar if I can get it in tune.

Progress at last. Messed up the neck pocket, maybe I'll fill the gaps with bubinga veneer... Shall this be my first and last build without a bearing router bit and a proper template.

Next weekend I'll hammer in the frets, insert the bridge and string her up for the first time.

A quick update. The neck is still waiting to be cut to size and shaped, but I already drilled the tuner holes. I managed to break three of the mounting screws in the headstock (don't ask me why...) and had to dig them out with a sharp blade, so some more patching up to do before final assembly. Apart from the neck pocket all routing is done on the body, though I have to deepen the pickup holes a bit. The control cavity is mostly done freehand.

REALLY nice design! Have you thought of covering the chip on the top with binding?

Nice to see fellow first timers also have problems with their equipment. But on a serious note it's looking good, idmichael!

My personal preference is full carve front and back......but that's just me.

Haha, I think I'll keep it clean and simple for the first one. Maybe a small elbow contour would make it more comfortable now when I think of it.

Some work done on the body. I don't have a bandsaw or a belt sander so shaping the body was a real pain in the buttocks. I only had a jigsaw that didn't cut straight, a rasp and a router, but overall I'm pretty satisfied with it. Still helluva sanding to do obviously, but I wiped it with a damp cloth to raise the grain and show the figure. I'm not 100% sure if I want a tummy cut or other contouring on the body, any opinions? More pics from my Picasa folder.

Will you be calling this build the "jejuni"??

Thanks MikeD! I also have a cocobolo veneer for the headstock but I'm not really liking the color on it. Too bad I already planed the headstock to 12 mm, I wonder if that's too thin for a headstock..?

Hai guise, another long-time lurker here! Finally had the time and resources to start my first build (I've had these woods waiting from 2007 I guess). I'll update my progress and ask for pointers when I manage to screw something up. Without further ado here are the specs for this one:

- Thin (~35mm) singlecut mahogany body / bubinga top.

- Bolt-on wenge neck / cocobolo fretboard / 25.5" scale / 24 frets.

- Gotoh hardware / Calibrated BKP Cold Sweat humbuckers (camo).

- Killswitch volume / Coil-split tone / 3-way switch.

I've got some work done already - fretboard slotted, neck scarfed, body woods glued up and tomorrow I'll start roughing up the body.

More pictures can be found and will be added here. Any feedback and tips are more than welcome for this newbie, thanks!

So, you finally got this one finished. Looks awesome!

Wired crossed and it was just painted the wrong color. Damnit...

http://starboardbough.com/secondbuild/dougdone3.jpg

http://starboardbough.com/secondbuild/dougdone1.jpg

I'm speechless...

That 36" scale one is definitely one of the coolest basses I've seen!!! :D Man, I'm REALLY waiting for you to get it finished!