JayT

10 hours ago, Lumberjack said:

I won’t even try to pretend my volutes aren’t inspired by your work,  I love your volutes!

@ScottR Same here, they are awesome ... I'm for sure going to shamelessly work one into my current build that has a teardrop shape featured - perfectly fits coincidentally for form & function

4 hours ago, Filthy McNasty said:

Since I do not have band saw, I made a jig for cutting scarf joint with mitre saw, 15-ish angle. It required some leveling/sanding later on but  it worked pretty well.

Interesting idea...the one power tool I didn't try (yet) but wish I had ... you're getting amazing results BTW. Love this one

Wow, such great work - I envy your skills so am taking notes.

13 hours ago, RonMay said:

I think this is going to be very cool. I have never seen a head stock like that. A tear drop  see through is very innovative and it will surely match the tear drop fret markers.

@RonMay Thanks! I've used a slightly simpler version this shape on my first build(s) - people either really like it or flat out hate it

13 hours ago, MiKro said:

as far as the headstock, I would maybe consider using a small radius in the point area. This will help mitigate any possible cracking in that area. Just a thought?

@MiKro -- yeah, that's an excellent idea  --- and I may even try to remember to clamp down the piece when power buffing so it doesn't fly across the room and crack...

To mitigate this I'm thinking about making the front face of the teardrop have a sharp/semi-sharp point then a smaller, more rounded teardrop from the back--carving to an angled slope, maybe paint the inside black (does that make sense?).

So with summer winding down I've officially started a bass build, pivoting from a guitar design I have. I was going to hold most of the pics & updates until I was close to finishing -- but I find that having updates to post and feedback to read keeps me working more consistently. In other words: I've been watch TV too much lately.

Figured I push the difficulty a little more and try an angled heads (with scarf joint) and a truss access at the body. Was going to try a set neck, but maybe next time -- I chickened out on that. 

So original design looked like: 

But I've decided save the standard picks-ups for another bass project (something with a more traditional body design)  to go with a single pickup on this one:

I got the neck materials - maple with a maple fingerboard, I got some walnut to make the teardrop fret markers.

I resawed this maple, saving half for a guitar neck

Notice the head design is kinda squished in the 2nd design - I made a mistake on the scarf joint...I cut it short, leaving me about an 1.5 inches short on the head

It was challenging cutting the angle. The 9 inch bandsaw didn't have enough clearance ...  and my tablesaw blade wasn't big enough to make a single cut and I wasn't sure I could cut 1/2 way then flip it over and cut the rest lining up the cuts. Seemed risky. So I got a Japanese pull saw and practiced a bit...worked great, until the actual job I needed it for (of course...)

I couldn't keep it on the line, ending up with a crooked angle...

But with a bunch of sanding I got it pretty good I think, almost ready to glue it up

...not happy with this new shape and I'll most likely rework this a bit more once I get to actually cutting the shape. 

Wish me luck, I'll need it!

On 7/19/2020 at 10:23 PM, Byacey said:

I should mention, a fret rocker will quickly reveal what is going on.

Also - and probably a newbie comment - but be sure to check the level across the full fret radius. In other words I had same issue even after I checked & leveled but really was only checking down the center line of the neck. 

Ooo...this thing is looking very nice

Turned out awesome! Great job from soup top nuts, looks like it'd be fun to play too

Maybe a newbie question, but wouldn't carbon reinforcements hinder (or completely eliminate) truss rod adjustments? 

@Bizman62 I see now what you mean by laminated- thanks! Great info - But this'll be 1 solid, scarf jointed neck.

On 3/20/2020 at 5:41 PM, Bizman62 said:

AFA the headstock angle, if you're making a laminated neck do it as one piece as it's the strongest. On a one-piece neck a scarf joint is as strong as one piece. (Did that make any sense?)

I've read that scarf joints are stronger than one piece ... due to the grain length If I understand what you're saying by "laminated neck" You mean a piece of laminate glue to face of headstock? Although I think that ship has sailed as I already re-sawed and planed the thick piece of maple I have so I can get 2 necks out of it (one guitar & one bass)

On 3/25/2020 at 2:15 PM, Andyjr1515 said:

Maybe you could consider moving the whole bridge/fretboard/nut an inch or so towards the tailstock?  I would have thought that would still give you decent fretting access to the top frets?

Yes I would -- this is a good idea, I've decide to shorten that tail/body length too. Thanks to the idea!

On 3/25/2020 at 3:57 PM, Bizman62 said:

If you build several similar guitars weighing the neck and body separately will help uniforming the strap button locations.

Some kind soul on here (sorry, not sure who) tipped me off on not really worrying too much about it until the build is finished (minus button installation)  then use duck tape and a rope to test different locations. Low tech, easy to adjust and worked like a charm!

On 3/27/2020 at 11:44 AM, mistermikev said:

is that olive or tamo ash?  on my 'someday' list for sure.  beauty against the turquoise. 

Tamo is what I used for the mockup - got the grain pattern from some online picture. I like it very much but I think this'll depend on if my local lumberyard has it in stock & at a usable size. I'm open to something else as long as it's pretty.

On 3/27/2020 at 11:44 AM, mistermikev said:

I used shims between the platform to keep the fretboard level to the platform.  I clamp the neck to it  then just a 1/8" straight bit that follows the edge like a template.  probably other/better ways but it was easy and worked great for me.

Excellent tip, thanks! So you do this after radiusing the fingerbard? Why not do it pre-radius and avoid the need for shims? 

--Also I've refined the body dimensions, shorting overall length by just over inches. Originally the tail length was same as my previous builds but after playing them for a while I think this is unnecessarily long.

And on top that I'm incorporating the orginal/longer design into a bass build. I've thickened up the horns a bit, lost most of  the contours and made a few other tweaks...but basically the same. My son took back the the only bass I had and I miss playing that more than I thought

this is what I have so far with that idea:

Since I already made cuts on neck materail maybe I should add this to the "in progress" forum

So much goodness this month -as usual- I think I agonized and flip-flopped more on this contest than I did naming my first born! The second 2 kids was way easier as I just agreed with what my wife chose...maybe I should've called her in on this vote...

This is looking amazing! So clean an precise... I would swear made with cnc if there weren't pictures

I think "Him" misspoke .. he probably meant "guitar bazooka" 

1 hour ago, Crusader said:

How about right in the middle of a V?

Well, that would be obviously suggestive to an immature mind ... I like it!

3 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

Wow. I only wish I could build something as clean and perfect as that. I always end up leaving beauty spots here and there....

"beauty spots" ... that's a good way to spin it positive and I will now steal this phrase

On 10/10/2015 at 4:04 AM, Prostheta said:

The guitar on the right is a 1963 Les Paul. No joke. This is historical fact.

Huh, interesting fact! https://claescaster.com/tag/greco-sg-400/

And a pretty good deal starting @ $225 USD!

5 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

That can be addressed by inlaying it.

Good idea!

Last night I did a deep search this and found a pretty cool implementation of this by Stephen Strahm Guitars out of California. Doing an image search I found an old Facebook post from 2012 mentioning it and then followed that to some pics deep in his gallery (on a guitar style he may not even build anymore - looks like mostly focusing on acoustics.)

While this is way cool, probably beyond by carving skills. I'm thinking of something more flush. But now I have something to strive for

EDIT: Also this PG thread had some good information as well!

Has anyone ever seen a Strat style output installed on the side of the body rather than on top? Any practical reasons this wouldn't work if in the right spot?

Loving this, so much cooler than a normal V!

@ADFinlayson was there any thought to making the ramp an actual part of the body?

Beauties, both of them! Excellent work.

On 4/15/2020 at 7:08 PM, ADFinlayson said:

I still need to make a ramp to go between the pickups

What do you mean by ramp?

EDIT: nevermind! I got it ...

Judging by the paper bridge template is this going to feature string through? I don't think I've ever seen a PRS with string through- should be very cool! 

16 hours ago, matthew bryan said:

yes I know it is not perfect....but it is mine and uniquie

Amen! Looks great to me

20 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

These insider abbreviations drive me crazy! "DNA" - since it didn't add a reddish hue I thought about saliva until I figured out you must have meant DeNaturated Alcohol.

Same here, only not only abbreviations ... regional vernacular & terminology can often leave me scratching my head. What does @Prostheta mean by "appointments"?