ADFinlayson

yeah it's a combination of the stepped two angles and rounding them over with sanding that makes it look like more of a gentle slope when you're looking at the side profile. Funny thing is, I struggle more with flat tops and flat neck pockets, because it feels more like a one-shot deal that creeping up on the right angle with carving.

yes I put in a second angle between to smooth that transition, but it's not an unknown angle, it's half of the first angle, whatever that is

@Osorio that white finish is just awesome, love it

4.5º - 5º IMO is not comfortable at all (it feels like playing with your right hand way out in front of you), and is really not necessary, you only have to see how high the tunomatic sits on a les paul. Yes I said above I tend to recess the bridge studs for that extra 1mm of adjustability, but I think it looks neater too. The reason (as I see it) for why Gibson have such a huge break angle, is because the fretboard sits directly onto the body, Fender, PRS etc have less angle because the fretboard sits slightly above the level of the body, reducing the need for the angle. If you're using your angle-router-jig-thingy, you could start with a shallower angle, offer up a straight edge and the bridge and see how it looks, and go up slightly until you get an angle you're happy with.

This is how I do it. A 6mm-7mm flat piece of wood stuck to the bridge position, then plane down the front, gradually bringing the blade out until I'm taking material up to the back of the neck pick up route, then replace the block with one half the thickness and plane between the neck and bridge pickup to do another ramp 1/2 the angle of the first, then I round them over so it's nice a smooth. a 6-7mm block will give you a 2 - 2.5º angle which is plenty for a tunomatic or wraparound bridge. I also recess the studs as you mentioned above. The whole process only takes about 10 mins or so when the top is already carved because there is very little material to remove.

I bought a used (almost new) set of 58/15s for a customer build a couple of weeks ago for £200. In this case. you can't buy new 58/15s unless you buy a new PRS. Based on how much PRS charge for 57/08s and 59/09s (£400) the price was a bargain so I went for it. Also the guy said I messaged him within 2 mins of him placing the ad and several other people wanted to buy after I sent the money. Same situation with the used drum sander I bought, he said I bought it within 5 mins of him posting the ad and people offered him cash unconditional without seeing after I got their first. Both these things came from facebook market place, it's a much better place to buy bargains IMO, their dodgy algorithms are great at showing you stuff you're interested in. Something else to factor in when buying parts, a lot of it comes from USA etc. so when buying new there is often the chance of paying extra handing + VAT when they arrive in the UK. I just took delivery of 2 gorgeous ziricote carve tops from North Carolina for £290 including shipping which was a bargain. But a slip came through the door saying I owed HMRC £45 before they were delivered.

I use cheap crappy masking tape that doesn't stick to anything

Yep, any job that can be done with a hand is satisfying (to me anyway). No I leave the tape in place but I'll trim it with a scalpel against a ruler so it's vert close, just overlapping the edge of the channel, not that it really matters with such a large glueing surface as the body/top

I remember when I first had ago at doing the forearm contour, i was amazed just how quickly it could be done with a small hand plane. Don't be tempted to glue the top down until the glue has had 24 hours on the seam, your contour is quite close to the centre line and it will just pop open again if it isn't fully cured. It might be worth prebending the top too before glueing, when I did it (granted I didn't do the relief route) I used the combination of a wet rag, a heat gun and gradual clamping pressure to bend the top, then left it clamped for 24 hours before glueing it. One thing that caught me out on my second build: When I did the routes between the pickups and to the control cavity, glue got into the channel and I had a nightmare of a time trying to unclog it to get the pickup wire through, so now I stick masking tape over the channels before glueing the top on which prevents any glue seeping in. Looking good though, that's a nice top - Lots of fleck and big flames

They don't listen, full stop. I was having a similar conversation with my band mates the other week - We tell them something and they either ignore it or dismiss it, but someone else, someone at work etc, their parents; will tell them the exact same thing and they will come home and tell you all about it as if it's gospel while inside your head you're screaming at them that you already f%^king told them that 3 times. Locking the door however is a dumb arse idea (no offence) because if you did have a serious accident, you're f!^ked.

You linked to studio.youtube which only you can see, you need to share the youtube link instead. Carve top looks awesome though, nice work

Crikey someone has been busy, What kind of Ash is that? I got myself some American Ash from the local timber yard the other day to go under a walnut cap. I was under the impression it was going to be heavy but I was really surprised how light it was, especially happy as it was only about £30, so I'll be using it again. But that's another build thread I'll be starting soon Builds are looking good, especially looking forward to seeing the les tele

I've had very little luck using a drill press. I tend use a 1.75" - 2" round nose router bit (depending on whether I'm doing speed knobs or thinner metal knobs). I clamp the router to the top of the guitar, set the router to the slowest possible speed and use the depth stop - don't use a small 1000w router or it will chatter and tear maple, and take it very slow. I always do a test run on the offcut from the top too because every piece of wood is different

The other thing, what state are you router bits in? After the catastrophe earlier in the year where my router bit chewed the top on a guitar, I got myself a little diamond and some lapping fluid. Just a couple of passes on each flute and my cheap Chinese round nose bits are cutting significantly better.

You will be fine with your router jig, just use the climb cutting technique and start off with a much smaller radius and work your way up so you aren't taking much material away in one go.

Awesome looking neck, I especially like the maple/ebony binding. I'm with @curtisa on the headstock, in that I'm not a fan of the lams from the front. If it was me, I would be sticking an ebony plate on the headstock to tie in with the neck. If you're feeling brave you could carry on your binding into the headstock. Maybe some maple purfling would provide the same affect.

Touché!

I find a decent high res, square on photo on google, import it into adobe illustrator and trace with the pen tool. For mixing up 2 different guitar designs, I'll bring in another guitar and for example, trace the knobs/switch to give me the pot locations etc. Illustrator is vector based so it can be blown up to any size. I tend to do all that for body design, but use a pre existing neck/pocket template that I like to shape the neck.

Definitely a couple of corkers in this month, I'm glad I haven't got anything to enter

Laminating is definitely your best option here. If you are limited on wood, you could get away with laminating a strip on either side at the heal end just to give you that extra width you need at the widest part of the taper. However, if you do go down that route, you will find it easier to route your truss rod channel before glueing on the laminates so you have a straight light to route along.

Thanks Andy, Some really useful info there. I get on well with Faithful tools, so I'll give them a try

ah yes, sorry I read your reply from my inbox and out of context. Well, I tidied the garage the other day - Tidying up ones toys usually results in being added to the nice list

Eh, what nice list? yes I have a mask on when I’m cutting shell and periodically vac up the dust, I don’t like the idea of having a vac hose attached to the jewellers vice because I’ll lose pieces up the vac

As long as you use a sharp router bit and take very light passes with the router, you should be fine. Taping the area with a good masking tape (Scotch tape etc) and burnishing it down properly is a good idea too.

I expect lapping fluid or anything similar will work like that to lube up the blade, I'll ask Santa for a suitable saw and blades because filing pearl sucks.