Dward13

Got a start on a new body. A four layer sandwich: 3/8 in. figured maple, 1/4 in. walnut, 3/4 in. white ash and hard maple backbone, 1/4 in. walnut with center accents. Should give the appearance of bindings.

Here is my SB190. (Solid Body Single P-90) This was my warm-up project after a 20 year rest from guitar building. Body is mostly flame maple with a Birdseye backbone. Neck is a stock Fender MIM telecaster. Pickup is a Seymour Duncan P90. To be honest, I like the look of Asdrael’s “Birthmark”, it’s simple and I do like the look of Ash. I know he can’t win unless someone runs against him, so I offer the SB190 to fill that role. I managed to capture the GOTM for June, which is plenty for me, so don’t hesitate to vote for the Birthmark guitar.

I've been working on learning how to work with stain. Been thinking of a Blue-Green-Yellow burst type pattern. Got some Keda stains, the liquid kind, don't really like the "Amber Yellow", doesn't mix with the blue very well to make a green shade. However, with a sanded back light brown base, it does make a nice goldish color, looks kind of vintage. Ordered some of the Keda powdered stain to try those as well. Been trying the Angelus stains, having a little more luck. I was initially thinking of airbrushing the stains, but after watching a bunch of YouTube vids, I'm starting to see how you can blend colors with just a cloth applicator. In several videos they talk about "the steel wool trick", what's the deal with that. As far as I can figure it's helps blending colors, or fading specific areas that are to dark maybe.

Andyjr1515, have you by chance ever used the GraphTech system alone without any magnetics? I'm installing all the switches etc. just in case someone wants to add magnetics in the future. Also, now that I've got a working drum sander I stated playing with my stash of top woods.

Everything in the GraphTech kit is prewired with the connectors. Probably would be a little tricky to shorten the leads.

Punched out the holes for the pots and switches. Now, to figure out how to cram all this stuff in the control cavity.

Got a new shop helper: SuperMax 16-32 Drum Sander. I've had a Delta X5 sander since 2004, but it's been a constant pain as it was a very bad design. Funny Story: I used the Delta sander for a couple years then these gears that raise and lower the deck broke. At the time Delta was merging with some other company and wasn't supplying parts. It took like 3 years to get the parts. By that time I was not going to use it anyway so it just sat. After moving I managed to get it working but not for long. Finally decided that I'm too old to mess with some tool I need and use so I popped for the new one.

Starting to look like a guitar. Finish pretty much done, even took the time to install side dots.

Can't just have one project going so I'm getting started on the next one. Using the same Stratlike body with a flame maple top. Back is a birdseye backbone with mahogany wings and walnut/bubinga accents. Plan on doing a burst finish Blue-Green-Yellow. I used the two color stain method on my 2006 build.

Came up with a set-up to install fretboard inlays after the fact. A carbon fiber plate with an opening to hold the router. I only had 2mm carbon fiber so I used carboard shims to hold up the carbon fiber so it stays flat under the weight of the router. Made the template from some left over Kydex, but plywood or anything would work. One problems is that the bit for the inlay tool isn't very long so the router base can't be more than a 3/8 in. or so above the fretboard. So, template material can't be too thick. Made a tool to match the sizes of the inlay guide ring and bit to use in aligning the template. Once the inlay was glued in, the Dremel and router base cut in down. Made for a pretty subtle 12 fret marker.

A member here (adfinlayson) has a youtube channel with some good videos. youtube.com/adfinlaysonguitars Look at his videos and any others you can find to develop a plan, pick out things that make sense to you and that match the tools you have. My advice is simply to take your time - practice and test everything before doing it on your project.

Two light coats of TruOil. Really bring out darker highlights in the wings.

Got the body sanded to 600 and ready for the TruOil. Made some gizmos for apply the TruOil. Just for fun I tossed in a picture of what's left of my first guitar circa. 1977.

This was my first attempt at a string through bridge and my drilling job was not specifically too great. Had to use my inlay tool for the router to make a patch. I do think that if I do another string through build I’ll just plan on the inlayed piece. That way you can make sure the holes are aligned and spaced correctly before mounting it.

Thanks, my idea with the center is to have a “backbone” of harder wood, sort of a neck through compromise. With this guitar I was wanting to use this wood I bought as “Asian White Mahogany”, but the pieces I have are only 4 in. wide so the center pieces were wider than I usually use. And, I have usually made the top piece from a solid book matched block without the center laminated etc.. I am a little disappointed in the glue line showing as much as it does. I would have routed out for fret markers when the board was flat, but I had planned on going without them.

Got the frets pressed in, not sure what I'll do about markers, may leave the fret board plain or add a 12th fret marker. Drilled out for the neck screws. Started with the shaping of the body.

I’ll resubmit my SB290 for another month (or 2). Won’t bother with all the pics and info, I assume everyone who votes in the GOTM will have seen it in June. Revisit it here: https://www.projectguitar.com/forums/topic/55140-guitar-of-the-month-june-2023/

Came up with a control cavity door: Bubinga Was going to use a store bought Fender Strat neck, but I've been messing with a scratch one that I think will work out. Interesting history, it's curly maple with a birdseye center; the maple I got from NorthWestTimber about 20 years ago. The piece still had a tag on it and I wrote to them and it was still on their books. 3.2 Bf of music grade flame maple $144, they said it would be $240 today. The birdeye is from a piece the guy who I worked with at the violin shop gave me circa 1977. Bubinga fretboard.

Ticked off a few more tasks: Routed a channel for the piezo wires. Drilled the screw holes and string access holes for the bridge. Drilled out for the phono plug and 13-hole MIDI plug.

On a roll today, got the neck pocket routed. Amazing how fast it goes when you already have the jig made. I inset the neck a couple more frets than I could have, body will be fairly light and want to avoid it being too neck heavy.

Got the body roughed out and the control cavity routed.

Got the blocks made for the new project. Wings are made from wood I bought years ago that was sold as "Asian White Mahogany". I can't seem to find a wood listed as that; the closest thing is a wood called Jelutong. The weight and grain pattern seems to match. Anybody have more info on this? The back has a flame maple backbone and the top a flame maple center section with walnut and maple accents.

I’ll call this one a SB290. (Solid Body with 2 P-90’s) The back has mahogany wings, Wenge and Flame Maple accents and a Bubinga “backbone”. The top is Quilted Maple. The neck is Birdseye Maple with Cocobolo, Wenge and Flame Maple accents. Fingerboard is Birdseye Maple with Crotch Walnut markers. Frets are Dunlap Jumbo 6120’s. Tuners are Fender American Standard. Scale is 25.5 in. Bridge is a Schaller Non-Tremolo Roller. Knobs are Flame Maple and Crotch Walnut. Pickups are ceramic P-90’s from GuitarMadness with covers modified with Burl Walnut veneer. This is my 5th build with the first 4 dating back to the 70’s. For myself, the guitar building is simply a rewarding hobby. I’ve worked on projects on and off, usually with a couple decades in between. I’m retired now having spent 20 years in the bowling business and another 20 as a secondary math teacher. Thanks to the housing market and interest rates of the post-COVID world in 2020 I’ve been able to purchase a house with a decent sized basement to house the tools I’ve accumulated over the years. Back in the 70’s I earned a AA degree in electronics and got a job in a music store that catered to guitars. During my time there I modified a couple guitars adding pickups etc. which was the initial spark to my interest in guitar making. I also met a local man who had a violin shop. He was also a maker and he let me apprentice one summer. This got me started trying to learning about violin making, but in the 70’s crafts like this were still highly guarded secrets, no plethora of YouTube videos looking to be shared. I did however find a book on electric guitar making which at least gave me a start. I began this build mainly by playing with the Birdseye/Cocobolo neck block I had made about 20 years ago. Once I saw it was going to work out, I figured I might as well make a body to go with it. I mapped out the design using the wood I had on hand and the same outline as my last project. For this one I added an extension to the neck pocket to gain access to the higher register frets. I like the simple way the P-90 pickups are mounted so I went with them. I chose to use the cheaper GuitarMadness ceramic versions; I figure they are good enough for my needs and would be easy to upgrade if needed. At first I just wired both pickups together, but when that didn’t work so good I added a DPDT ON/ON/ON switch for Neck/Both/Bridge configuration. I did some carving (more like rounding) of the body and chose to lower the area where the knobs are placed. Finishing has always been my Kryptonite so I went with TruOil and forced myself to take my time. I posted a log of this build mixed in with ones from the previous guitar: https://www.projectguitar.com/forums/ topic/54390-starting-a-new-build-after-a-brief-pause/

Finally got around to finishing this one up. Next project: A Strat like outline with no magnetic pickups and a GraphTech piezo/midi system.

Finally got up the nerve to drill out for the tuners. Usually tend to be overly cautious when executing an operation that requires some precision. And as usual it was much easier than I thought it would be. Sure am glad I invested in the template.