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I made some wedges for cutting the neck angle. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=30555 A new thread was started so I could get more opinions there instead of on this one

I cut up some wedges out of 3/4" MDF today. Ideally they should be a bit longer, however this is what I have to work with. They are cut to 3 degrees. My plan is to lay my neck cavity template on top of them to cut the neck pocket with an angle. As long as everything lines up and is accurate (check and check) it should work out. Double stick Duct Tape will keep everything solid. I should have it done Friday or over the weekend. Just wanted to run my plan past you guys before I went through with it. I dont know if anyone has done it this way before. Side note: once I get back to school in August I will draw up and laser cut wedges to be 100% accurate for future builds. pic 2 pic 3 pic 4

sounds like a good story, care to share?

jason, i bought a router bit from stew mac with the bearing guide on it here. good call for the binding and fret ends. i will have to try that if the glue doesnt work out. thanks for the compliments!

fingerboard close up binding routes sooo i fixed the inlays. both came out almost perfect, and i imagine they will be flawless once i polish them. you cant even tell there was an issue unless you stare at it long enough to realize the shell from the original inlay is a shade off from the implanted inlay really though, you cant tell at all. thanks for all the advice in regards to that issue everyone, really appreciated! i got the frets in, i just need to level and clean the edges up. all i did today was pound them in and sand them flush to the binding, and put a round over the ends very quickly. i will take care of the fine work later on once the guitar is almost done. i did have an issue with the frets having a small gap between the end of it and the fingerboard binding, but i just popped some titebond mixed with plastic dust in between, and it matches the binding perfectly. i dont need to worry about it flaking off since it is just under the fret, and it was literally a <0.1mm gap in a half dozen spots. lastly, i routed the binding channel on the back, and a little deeper on the front so i can go back again and route even more into the body to help with the carved top i am going to do. this thing is shaping up! next on the task list is routing the neck pocket i have been putting it off because i am a little afraid of it to be honest. hopefully all goes well, i plan to have it done over the weekend after i determine the propper angle, make wedges at that angle, and slide them under the template i laser cut for the pocket!

sounds like you could in theory, i am assuming that the tele headstock could fit in a strat headstock. if that is the case id say its very doable

what is the dark wood in the neck, is it ebony?

nothing worth taking a picture of yet, but i got the inlays repaired with some shell blanks i cut to size. the epoxy/filler has been drying as of last night, so hopefully everything works out. today when i get home i will sand everything even and maybe even start to put the frets in if im lucky. also got the routes done for the body binding on top and bottom as well as a routed edge further in to help with the carving for the top. oh yeah, the cap is glued, routed flush with the bottom, etc (obviously if i did all the previous things) i am planning on having the neck pocket done this weekend, using some 3 degree wedges made out of 3/4" mdf under my template for the cavity instead of making an entire jig. i havent made the wedges yet, but i will post pictures when i do. picture routing a neck cavity with a template on top and a follower bit, but instead have 3 degree wedges under the template between it and the guitar top.

yep, all glued up, in fact the guitar is about 90% done

Perhaps I could grind the studs down a little bit since the bridge posts will not be completely bottomed out in it. I will have to check on that

thats what i figured. i have both calipers and a press, but the room for error is less than 1/32", so it is very possible that the wood might even pop out when i tap the studs in. i have some leftover from the neck laminate, maybe positioning that horizontally on the route would give a nice look.

So my second guitar is a neck through with no neck angle and a TOM bridge, therefore I will have to route a recess/cavity for it. However, the body is 1.25 inches thick, and route will need to be ~1/4", which means I stand a very good chance of drilling straight through the body for the studs. I've already coped with the fact that this may happen, however I will obviously be going slow and drilling around 1/2mm at a time basically once I get close to the propper depth. My question is: what if I do end up drilling through the body? There really is no room for error, and I wouldn't be surprised if the body was a little thinner than the studs are long.

very cool. thanks

WezV, thanks for that info on using a little water on the wood. I will be doing that within the next few weeks on one of my builds now.

What is the purpose of the two output jacks? Is there a different tone you can have for the second one with how you wired it? Do you have a wiring diagram of what you did? Great job on the build by the way, its making me want to do my maple top black too!

how did you put all those strips of wood together so well? did you clamp them side by side all at once or do it in sections? i love that second guitar and its got my mind rolling on a carve top with strips of different wood for the top!

ok, that makes more sense, thats what i was planning on. i hope the inlay is here by monday, im getting impatient and want it done!

john, very useful. people are recommending leaving the edges of the inlay not routed out? what is the reasoning for this? wouldnt it make more sense to route it all out, reinlay and then fill gaps with ebony dust and epoxy, then sand?

right. i was thinking about making a template that was attached to my workbench and raised off of the FB

mikro, I know I want to do it, but my question was how to do it, as in how to lay it out and cut it propperly

Hmm, that is an interesting way to do it. Is it easy to spot that the neck and heel aren't one solid piece? I suppose that wouldnt bother me actually, so perhaps I will give that a go. Now if only I could find that extra wood cut off my neck laminate...

I am having trouble planning out my set neck's heel. Some set neck guitars have heels like Gibsons, and others, still with set necks, do not. On these guitars the neck just runs straight into the body without having the lip that scoops toward the bottom side of the body. I was just wondering what you guys do to plan out the neck heels on your builds. Previous to this guitar I have done only 2 neck throughs, so this is a whole new concept for me!

youre the man, thats the best thing, ever.

i will try just that, hopefully that pearl gets here by early next week

That would be an option as well. I am just really nervous that it will do more harm than good. I have a router base attachment for my dremel and a dremel router style bit I used to inlay. It just seems like that bit wouldnt be right for this sort of thing? Or maybe it is?