ShatnersBassoon

I’ve recently come in to possession of a really old Hohner acoustic (I’m thinking 50s or 60s).

Will be attempting to get this in to playable condition, cos why not? It was free and seems a shame for it to not be used. Importantly, it has no truss rod. At the moment the strings are sky high and the relief, well I would say it’s at least a millimetre, perhaps 2

Thing is I could straighten it, using a replacement fretboard clamped to it as a way of the neck conforming to the straightness (thanks Bizman). Or I could simply take the fretboard off, plane it flat and install a truss rod in there. Question is, with the warping/bending that has been happening over many many years, would that be an issue

Decisions...

Absolutely gorgeous! 

So I got the bridge on today and strung it up. Still a bit more to do but I just couldn’t resist. Ignore the crappy winding, I was in a rush and just wanted a basic check haha. 

I really think there is something to be said about the carbon fibre laminate construction when building a neck. The sustain is really good, one of the best sustaining necks I have made for sure. The only neck I have built with a similar sustain was a wenge one with a baseball bat profile, sounded great but was a bit of a tank This carbon build is 21mm thickness across the whole neck.

On top of this I’m getting a nice low action with minimal buzz. It’s easily 1mm on the high E, perhaps lower...I need to do a more accurate measurement. I know that low action chasing is sometimes seen as a bit silly, but it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling...what can I say

On 12/14/2022 at 7:37 PM, Retrosonix said:

Still waiting on fret wire and a graphite rod being delivered before i can progress.

I really like how you have repeated the shape of the sound hole on the headstock cutout! Brings it all together so nicely. 

Feel a bit sheepish because not too long after the help that Bizman gave me regarding straightening the Wenge neck, I decided to go for the carbon fibre neck I built a while back. I figured that hey, it’s built already and will save me a tonne of time. Sorry Mr Bizman, I will definitely use your advice, probably on my next build! Anyway, roughly lined things up. I’m gluing the neck in with epoxy, I can’t imagine titebond working too well in this instance. It’s a 20 radius, so hopefully should work nice for a slinky action.  

I’m going to be doing the basic top mount for the output jack.

Only thing that is annoying me slightly is that the pickup I have that suits this build aesthetically is pretty high output (Irongear Hot Slag). I tend to like a bit more versatility in the form of nice clean sounds as well as distorted/overdriven. Anyway, will see how this goes!

Still a couple of minor alterations to do to the shape too.

Slight dilemma about the output jack. I’m considering putting it on the top of the guitar. Because when I put the body in my playing position sat down,  due to the smaller size of the body I can imagine the lead getting in the way if it was in the standard location. Seems a good a reason as any, although I know that some people turn their noses up at the top mounted jacks.  My personal opinion is that it looks fine if one uses a right angled lead.

Not sure if the strat style output plate would suit it to be honest; so would probably just be a basic SG type affair. 

On 11/15/2022 at 4:53 PM, woodfab said:

The main issues I've been having with my bills is putting on a Flawless finish. Eventually I just want to get the guitar done.

I was thinking this morning of building a better spray booth.

I share your pain

One of the things that really annoys me is when you get tiny little hairline scratches on the metal hardware, pickups especially. I don’t know why they keep happening other than the fact that I am working on things. Will be putting tape on them in the future

What do you think guys and gals? I’ve seen this before on a lapsteel (and ofcourse on some acoustics, but with a different aesthetic) but it seems a cool idea and would negate having to use string trees. It also looks pretty cool IMO! This is from an instagram channel called Runt Guitars (seems impolite not to credit them!).

12 hours ago, woodfab said:

Unfortunately the contest is limited basically judged, of course on the photos we put up.

I wish more people voted,  I think @Bizman62 would have Won! Great look great finish.

My finished was not buffed at all and the amp was of poor quality.

I bought a new 20W amp and a Bose 3" speaker for it so, back to the work bench. 

Although it was a somewhat disappointing turn out this time round, it’s worth bearing in mind that Ola Strandberg entered his design in to this same contest years back. Winning it was a big inspiration for him to get started business wise. The rest ofcourse is history.

Trust me, this is a good sign

Keep us posted on the build, I love guitars that use alternative materials and would love to hear it in operation

11 hours ago, curtisa said:

One of the 'innovations' of the Parker Fly was to glue the frets directly to the surface of the fretboard. The frets didn't have tangs and were effectively just stainless steel bars with a flat back. Frets dropping off the fretboard over time as the glue failed became an issue for some users though. The fret radius also had to be an exact match to the fretboard, as there's no tang/slot for the fret to hang on to.

The frets on a Chapman Stick are stainless steel square rods turned 45 degrees and one triangular edge embedded into the fretboard.

With regards I the Parkers, I seem to remember (and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) that the flat bottoms of the frets were recessed slightly in to the board.

I also have heard of problems with the frets falling off. So it’s by the by

10 hours ago, henrim said:

Found this topic on my research for making my own hardtail bridge. A basic hardtail bridge is pretty simple thing to machine. Material choices, tolerances, proper finishing and quality control adds up quickly. So I can understand the huge price differences in mass production. 

One of the most clever designs I know is the Yamaha RGX A2 bridge. Simple and cost effective construction (when done in large quantities) to create a very streamlined looks while keeping all the essential function. Production needs specific tooling though. 

Image source https://www.jamesbisset.com/blog/2017/04/yamaha-rgx-a2

That looks really nice!

29 minutes ago, henrim said:

Metal and wood have different thermal expansion characteristics so glueing metal to wood would form a weak bond. Or restrict wood from moving the way it naturally would and cause cracking. Maybe a lacquered board with epoxy glue could form a relatively strong bond.

Ofcourse, a material like carbon fibre can be used as a fretboard. But then we are getting in the space age aesthetic, which isn’t always the territory one wants to go down. And when you start using alternative materials it becomes a bit more like boat building than building a guitar They have quirks when it comes to working with them. 

Yes, it is rather ‘archaic’. I think that’s the word I was looking for. There’s a reason it’s been done this way for so many years I suppose. 

I can’t help but wonder if the way of installing frets is somewhat problematic.

The frets are kind of forced in, which can cause many issues with regards to making sure that they seat perfectly flush with the board. Then there’s risk of some minor chip out. There’s also the issue of causing a back bow. 

I would have thought that frets with no barbs would alleviate a lot of these problems? Ofcourse they would need to be clamped and glued. Is this a sustain thing? Would it ring out the same sonically speaking? 

Anyway, just some thoughts. I’m probably missing a lot of factors here. 

Gorgeous! Absolutely love the carve and the satin finish. 

The last couple of days have been spent routing the oversized control cavity (a tiny bit of weight relief), angle grinding a belly cut and installing some inlays. Yes, it’s the spalted beech in there  Still need to do up the 21st fret ofcourse. Will probably put some superglue on top of them, although it’s really not too bad in terms of hardness to be honest.

Looking like this build will be around 6.5 to 7 lbs when complete. Not bad.

The headstock is going to have a spalted beech cap on it too, completing the look. 

On two superb entries for guitar of the month. I couldn’t find the original build threads but it seemed a pity for it not to be mentioned! 

Woodfabs build was intriguing, really liked the innovation on show.

Incidentally, one thing that has interested me so far is that this spalted beech isn’t anywhere near as punky/soft as the poplar burl I used a while back. It’s reasonably tolerant to the fingernail test. Still on the soft side ofcourse, but it seems reasonably strong. Certainly stronger than I expected it to be. 

Fantastic work as always. I would love that fret slotting setup.

And a planer...

Pure sex Mike! I need a cold shower

One last thing Bizman Probably obvious, but I’m guessing the fretboard trick is done with the truss rod in there? Not forced in afterwards? Guessing it wouldn’t put to much strain on the rod? Or would I turn it slowly as I’m clamping? 

Having issues sourcing suitable fretwire. Would probably be a bad idea to reuse the stainless steel frets from the old build, even though that was for the same radius as this build (flat).

Im guessing regular nickel 16 radius fretwire would be just fine though, so may go with that. 

So I’ve done a rough contouring on the body (still a couple of very minor alterations to do). Also took off the ziricote board from an earlier build. Repurposing that haha. Laid everything out for a rough idea. Will be continuing the spalted theme on the cap of the headstock, the veneer is just there for show. 

For some reason everything looks Amber in the living room. Must be the lights. 

Thanks again Bizman! Really appreciate it.

On 12/5/2022 at 3:49 PM, Bizman62 said:

If you're using a dual action truss rod there should be no issue.

Also, when gluing the fretboard you can bend the neck flat. The fretboard should keep the neck then straight. And no, I didn't invent this, it's a thing I've seen used several times to fix a bowed neck without a truss rod in Rosa String Works' videos.

Don’t want to take up too much time, but do you know what terms to search for with regards to the fretboard trick? Or maybe explain it briefly? I’ve searched high and low for it and can’t find it

Thanks so much for the help!