JayT

Thanks for all the routing and router bit tips and info...it is a lot absorb I confess. As for the minor blow-outs I just couldn't bring myself to chop off/square off the corners and glue a scrap block in (against the advice of several here) for such small chip-offs. I know, I know...some of you are probably shaking your heads in disappointment but since this is being painted a solid color I used this 2-part wood epoxy I had on hand. The color matches almost perfectly and it sanded down nice and is very hard (sorry I didn't get pics of it sanded smooth yet). Not sure how I'm going to handle the one big blow-out yet. I'm avoiding eye contact with it for the time being. I drilled holes with my drill press in the 2nd body I'm working on and made a bunch of relief cuts This resulted in much better/90° sides. Which will obviously make flush routing much easier...right? ...wishful thinking. 1/3 of the way through my first routing pass the router blew up. It even took out my surge protector...toasted it. but it was old/used and only cost me $40 (even bundled with 4 bits and a small, steel routing table) so no big loss. So now I'm dead in the water and gotta get a router. I'm leaning towards the "WEN RT6033 15-Amp Variable Speed Plunge Woodworking Router" for mostly price-vs-feature reasons. Thoughts, suggestions? Preparing for an avalanche of info For my hobbyist level needs do I need a full sized router? I plan to continue building guitars and other stuff...but am not ready to commit to a $300 router. Also, can I use a full-sized router for guitar binding? I think I want to add binding to this project. Why not, I'm already in over my head.

Flush routed the first body...the off square sides had me trimming a lot with router before I could ride the template edge but got there eventually. Question, i have 2 types of router bits with bearings at top and some at bottom...is one sort better for guitar bodies? I used the one with it at the bottom, level with router table top. Had some blow outs at the corners 2 minor... but one pretty bad. I’d rather try wood putty or something to get the shape rather than change to a more rounded corner. Any suggestions? On next one I’m not going to flush cut the corners, just get close an sand them to points. next body glue drying...this one was way easier getting to this point since 2nd time around... And turned out nicer to boot. No one mentioned that you gotta protect all these pieces from random shop dings and dents. Maybe obvious but I’m a bit flustered at times. 2nd one is in way better shape in this regard!

the crossed swords fret markers are badass! Do that

Very very impressive! Great design too.

Back at it...more issues! Yay. So the blank came out OK I think...but the little bandsaw I have wasn't working. Blade was twisting and burning wood so I switched to the jigsaw. Even the jigsaw blade has problems...wouldn't stay square...kept bowing away from the line on the bottom side. Am I pushing it too fast? I dunno maybe cheap blade. Anyway came usable I think, will know more when I flush cut/route it. The blade bending was made worse when I decided to cut 1/2 way the come at it from the reverse side. I should've foreseen that I suppose. Live and learn. I might have to do some unplanned contouring or something rather than have 90 degree sides/flat top & bottom. Time will tell......

I also am fascinated by "Big Brown" ... this link https://forum.phish.net/forum/show/1377253605 shows details of the controls & electronics if interested

I was curious if there's any small, boutique builder(s) and/or particular design that inspired members to start building themselves? I'd guess many builders are great players that started out of a personal need for some feature and that snowballed into full builds. For me, who always loved everything about electric guitars/basses but can barely play "cowboy chords" at best - it was 2 stories finally pushed me over the edge to give it a try myself. First, I stumbled onto the documentary "Restrung" which tells the story of Randall Wyn Fullmer of Wyn basses. http://www.restrung.tv// this one-man operation is amazing plus his story is pretty interesting. So I started seeking out similar stories. Secondly, I was listening to an interview with Brian Nutter/Nutter Guitars http://www.nutterguitars.com/index.html and he was telling the story of how he got started. Basically, at some point he was talking to some professional builder and asked if he could tour his factory...to which the pro replied "the factory is my mom's kitchen table" (or something like that) so he decided build his own. He has some awesome designs IMO. The next day I started buying tools

Worked like a charm! And it only took like 10-15 minutes to get the joint as tight as a...well, fill in the metaphor yourself so I don't get banned Thanks again, Prostheta!

Ha, as it happens for over 10 years I've working in Bmore (Hampden) so we've possibly cross paths at some point. Surprised you didn't notice the PRS/HardRock sign pic I use as my avatar....or maybe you did. I had some acquaintances that worked (or possibly interned) at PRS when they were still in the small Annapolis location back in the day. Small world!

Bizman62 ... believe me, the dip has been revealed. It is I.

Thanks! I'll try that. I do have a DIY meter long sanding stick...but it's pretty narrow, like 2 inches wide. I'll make one wide enough to sand both halves at the same time, Love all the support here BTW!

The bar set so high...another mind-blowing guitar. Can't wait to see it finished. Actually, I'd like to also hear some of these guitars plugged in. Being new here, can I ask...is there a link to video/audio of any builds being played?

Amazing work, Love everything about this guitar...except you really messed up the---who am I kidding. It's freakin' perfect. The knobs holes look way close to the edge...I was wondering how close I could get mine to the edge. Why did you choose to do that, it looks really cool that way. Not sure I've ever seen knobs place like that.

Well, I'm finally recovered enough from the most painful event of my life and have returned to this build (spinal stenosis is no joke, be smarter than I and don't try to lift heavy, awkward junk all day without help!) I'm having trouble getting the 2 body halves perfectly square and am afraid to join/glue them. On their own, each one seems to have a perfectly straight, flat cut for joining -- but when I dry clamp them there always a gap. No matter how much I scrape, sand, recut, repeat...same issue. Particularly at the 'top' and 'bottom' of the seams. I matched them and cut both sides with my table saw, up against the fence (flipping 1 piece over and reverse cutting it to account for saw blade being off a bit) then a bit smoothing with cabinet scraper. All seems perfect, up against straight edge I see no light shining through gaps. It's frustrating. I'm going to end up trimming so much that the darn thing will be too narrow for my body template. Last ditch effort, I saw some YT videos on converting my electric, handheld planer into a joiner table. I'm going to try that tonight. Any tips, hints or secrets out there?

Inspiring! I love seeing this level of craftsmanship. "They" really ought to have a TV show in the vein of "Chopped" or "Face Off" or "Forged in Fire" where builders have x amount of days and limited parts/materials to complete an electric guitar. Judging based on design, construction, finished, playability...guest judges could include the like of EVH and Brian May...OK I'm rambling/dreaming now... Good stuff here, I'm mentally collecting ideas to steal borrow for future builds

That's supposed to be gold, like a LP gold top...but I do like TV Yellow too...

Well, dragging all my heavy tools up & down steps to enjoy the weather I threw out my back so am forced out of the shop while on the mend. Being limited to the keyboard I decided to riff on some design variations of my first build body (far left). I like the idea of a "family" of related guitar shapes so I basically moved lines around added/chopped stuff and came up with these 2. Being non-traditional shapes I think they'd be better served in classic/familiar colors, rather than some crazy colors...something like: Just some ideas to kill time. Criticize away, it is appreciated (good, bad or indifferent) FYI, is it normal to be thinking of "the next one" before "the current one" is even finished? I have a feeling it is

Looks fantastic! Is that “headstock” the finished shape?

I found myself cleaning the fret slots often, I slotted first then sanded radius....should I just leave the sandings in the slots until the radius is 100% done? Can I "overwork" the slots making them too deep/wide?

Yes, I found this out the hard way...the last step I did in neck construction was press in frets. I used rolled-up cloth as cradle and this neck profile is fairly fat so it worked out. Next time will do as you suggest for sure. I saw on builder on YouTube suggest to treat neck and fretboard as separate pieces and only glue together when both are 100% done themselves His logic being mistakes or start-overs are mire avoidable/less work to fix and problems.

Went back to the wood place to get the body wood. I ended up getting poplar...thoughts? Maybe too soft and/or heavy? Seems pretty uncommon for guitars but it was right price (works out to $22 each body) and size. For my first builds I don't want to break the bank so poplar it is. Got home, with help from my daughter (outside since weather here was beautiful), got it cut and thinned to 1.8 inches (down from just over 2 inches) ... 'Teles are 1.75 inches, is that right? The blank halves seem really thick in my hands, not sure how thin I'm going to end up going. Any suggestions? Off topic- my back has been killing me since starting this little project!

I'm currently building my first guitar (electric solid) and it seems like every builder has their own process in regards to the order they do things. I realize there are many variables here depending on materials, finish, neck construction, personal preference....but are there any step-by-step, start-to-finish instructions for reference? Like, something generally agreed on by the majority experienced builders? Just as a failsafe checklist, not something I'd strictly adhere to. My biggest fear is that I'm going to skip an important step and create more work for myself, or worse have to start over. Example, I've finished carving the neck, and fretted it...but didn't do any finish to the wood yet. Was I supposed to? I guess the neck isn't an issue but the fingerboard...I didn't do anything to before pressing in fretwire. Such a newbie question I know...but if I were to watch 20 YouTube videos (or 20 series of videos more likely) it'd take days and there'd be 20 different ways of doing things. As I finish typing this I'm thinking that "something generally agreed on by the majority experienced builders" is probably as common as a two-headed unicorn

De-Christmas of house finally complete had a bit of time to work on necks...press came today too so with that and advice from this thread I made a little progress.

Thanks fellas! I know crude, but something like the 2nd drawing here? Trying to understand exactly what you guys are describing think same thing. Please let me know if not.