JayT

Great start! I'll be using your method for an angled headstock- I was leaning towards using my tablesaw but this way seems more up my alley.

Question, I'm guessing the band logo will go in the circle -- is it going to be relief carved, painted, or something else?

All great entries, but gotta pick one. I'm a sucker for uncommon/unique body shapes so @Gogzs narrowly got my vote over  @Andyjr1515 ... cheers to all! Beautiful & inspirational work all around

Fantastic looking guitar- love the headstock along with the whole package

I'm a little disappointed at the shortcuts you've taken ... I mean, you didn't even smelt the metal yourself.

Obviously that's sarcasm born from the awe I'm in from the various skills showcased in this thread.

Seriously though, did you smelt the metals?

So gorgeous, I envy everything about this. Super well-done!

I did notice the ribbon shape/impression but that was accidental...the truss access cover design was extended to cover the long gouge that the extended drill-bit caused. Maybe Fender or PRS will use something similar for guitars donated to charities and I can sue them. It's the American dream!

12 hours ago, Charlie H 72 said:

Why the same pickups on both?

In hindsight I'd say mostly short sightedness. At the outset I wanted to make 2 exactly the same - I learn best in two ways: by doing and by repetitiveness. If I were to start over I'd mix it up a bit more.

12 hours ago, Charlie H 72 said:

Do you notice any difference in sound between the two?

Yes, the black one sounds less crappy than the white one  Actually neither has been set-up well enough to really play yet -- but they sound very similar at the moment - except the white one has high 8th fret wire that buzzes.

The only difference is the neck wood, all the other wood is not only same type but also from the same boards. So once these are set-up I'll for sure compare

Oh, and some pictures of the pair together...

done and done.

I've always  called l these my "Teetotaler" design ... I was watching a documentary American prohibition when doing the first napkin sketch and that word just sounded good to me (but not actual Teetotalism!) --- although my daughter calls them the 'Yin Yangs" either is better than "the white one and the black one" or "1a & 1b" I suppose

Wiring of the 2nd one went waaaaaaaay faster, to be expected and the point I guess

Then all that was left was assembly...

Even though I still have to set these up and do some small tweaks I consider builds 1a & 1b to be finished! They took 6 1/2 months to complete but I had a great time doing this and learned so much. To all the members here that gave advice, tips, tricks & resources I can't thank enough!!!

Maybe now I'll have time to actually practice guitar a bit

Well, 3 hours + trying to figure out the wiring (imported 3 way switch took a few trials/errors) --- there's a bit of a buzz in the neck pickup that I still have to sort out, and it is in dire need of a set-up, and I may need to redo the nut --- but the switch and knobs work and it doesn't electrocute me or anything. That's a win!

I'll have some proper pictures once its all polished & step up - and the white one is wired-up too, but here are some quick snaps of where it is now:

@Bizman62 thanks, that's some high praise and I appreciate it! I did spend a bit of time trying to design a body as unique as possible while still recognizable & functional as a guitar. But as we all know there's really 100% nothing new under the sun, and after I settled on this shape I came across the Ernie Ball Armada which is similar in body style anyway,

Going to wire up today - another first for me...crossing my fingers

Yellow alert! Shields up! Ugh that was a bad Star Trek pun...

C'mon, 15 days? Show off...

Such great results! Ballsy to cook the thing I might add. That wouldn't have went well for me

1 hour ago, JGTay said:

Those screws are bugging me too. I haven't got any suitable black/brass ones at the moment, but as soon as I can get some they will be replaced. 

Why not just make wood plugs? like rounded off caps wedged in there to cover the screws?

Anyway - totally awesome build, that's an understatement too

27 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

it can be a challenging task for many Americans.

Good one, wish I had a zinger comeback -- but as an American I don't know much about Finland...unless the 'Helsinki Formula' counts?

Kind of related funny anecdote (geographically I guess) until recently my wife didn't believe that Estonia was real country...she thought it was made up for the movie 'Encino Man'

On 5/2/2020 at 2:34 PM, djobson101 said:

Feel like it should have the ergonomic knee cut out thingy. Body template:

This shape is very cool and interesting. Maybe it's just me but I vaguely see the continental USA there...if I squint a little 

17 hours ago, djobson101 said:

It was at this point that I made an ill fated decision to just fill the lines with dust from the fretboard and try to wick superglue down into them.

Curious as to why you did this at all ... educated me! 

I ended up only using aluminum foil for the back of the pick guards/cavity covers. I tried many times to make a 'cup' but no matter what I tried I either made a tear in the foil and/or scuffed up the paint. I ordered some conductive paint that'll be delivered today which hopefully will be worth the $14 USD 

and I hope 12 ML will be enough

Getting her done, and beautifully at that.

Scrolling through your pictures I can't help but notice you're getting way better results than I with mostly the same exact tools...down to the brand name. For sure I'm going to use that improvised router table rather than my death-trap contraption I came up with. 

Also, nice 515o stool!

On 5/11/2020 at 8:29 AM, argytar said:

Started the buffing process on my... drill press...

Oh yeah, I'm stealing this idea...I have an extra drill press just sitting the box that I can dedicate to buffing. The company shipped me two by mistake and its been since December so I'm assuming they're not coming after me or the press if they haven't yet

I was admiring some of Diego Vila's amazing work and am stumped at how these lines on the finger board were achieved. Anyone have any ideas? Is it binding? Not the inlay fret markers, the little thin lines I mean.

Incredible results! Loving the design and, well pretty much everything going on. If you scratch this up when plugging in or if it slides off that dresser its propped up on I'll never for give you

On 5/1/2020 at 7:40 AM, Gogzs said:

I pressed in tin foil to get the shape, removed it while preserving the shape, put on a thin layer of glue onto the cavity and pressed the tin foil back in. This was the simples way to do the shielding without having to wait for conductive paint to be shipped here. No weird humms or noises, so it's doing its job correctly.

Question, what type of glue did you use? I'm going to steal your method, so I want to steal it properly. I'm assuming this'll work on the pick guard as well

2 hours ago, Norris said:

The coloured neck against the natural body looks wild! Excellent stuff

I was going to sat same thing! You don't see that often...well, I don't anyway.

Incredibly nice all around 

9 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

My favourite allegory is to compare sanding to mowing: You're cutting the lawn with the blades, not pressing them down with a steamroller.

finally, something I can understand! Literally I said "oohhhh...." out load after reading this.

8 hours ago, Prostheta said:

Water isn't that much of a problem unless it gets into screwholes and other locations where the edges swell up and the raised finish edges get knocked back by accident.

yep, happened on this build, twice on each body.

I'll keep all responses in mind on the next build for sure!

In the meantime, today I started to assemble the white one...

...then decided to stop an re-watch all the 'how to soder' and 'how to wire a guitar' videos before jumping in to the electronics. Also I want to do the cavity shielding first.

Question, is there any reason I can use aluminum tape rather than copper? Cheaper, and I saw a video of using glued down cooking aluminum foil...

On 4/23/2020 at 4:13 PM, Norris said:

Now I just use finer grits of micro mesh, taking my time, followed by cutting compound and keep the guitar as dry as possible 

This was my plan, but even with what I consider finer grit (I used 600/800/1000/1200/1500/2000/2500/3000/5000/7000) the paper would get build-up of little hard balls and those would scratch the finish. I was cleaning off the paper so much I was getting nowhere fast. So I used water with a tiny bit of soap, then around 2500 grit used glass cleaner. 

I'm curious what grit you use.