ovation22

Neck plane added. Sanded up to 220. Wiped down with prep cloth.

Long time no progress. Steps routed and smoothed. Need to clean up the recarve and route the neck plane.

Making some progress, finally: Custom cavity cover:

Thanks guys, that really means a lot. After far too many months of 60-80 hour work weeks I decided it was time to pick this project back up again. I took some measurements to see where I left off. It seems at some point I decided not to go with 16" scale, but instead a 19" scale. This couldn't possibly have been an accident, but I can't figure out when I made the change. Anyway, thoughts? Opinions on a slightly longer scale?

Sapele sanded to size. Maple top will be routed to size after gluing. All glued up and clamped.

A big thanks to Wes for providing some inspiration and dimensions. This thread on another site provided quite a bit of inspiration. It just so happens that I had some small offcuts just the right size for a mini guitar. So, I broke out some poster board and a couple of large plates and started drawing circles. The body measures 10" wide by 14 3/8" long, I'll be going with a 16" scale and single pickup. On my neck "template" I drew out measurements for 15", 16", 17", 18", 19", and 20" (obscured by the body "template" here). I thought 16" was a nice compromise between in-scale and playability. I've got enough scrap to do 2 more, so depending on how this one turns out I may try another in a different scale. We'll see. Ribbon Sapele leftovers for the back. African Mahogany for the neck. Some leftover curly maple, just wide enough (not bookmatched).

Will do. It will probably be a few weeks (realistically after the new year) before building starts. Work and holidays will keep me pretty busy. Plus, I'm feeling a sinus infection coming on. I don't think my dust mask was on very well while working with on the bubinga bass.

After talking to my buddy some it's clear he doesn't have any strong opinions whatsoever. I mentioned my concern on the weight, and he replied he would start going to the gym more. Rough cut at 1 3/4" thick the body weighed 8lbs. I've since shaved it down to 1.6". Pickups and control cavity will remove some weight. I'm thinking a 20" radius on top, 1/2" roundover on the edges, and maybe some sculpting on back. Sound good?

Body rough cut on the bandsaw and shaved down to 1.6" with the router to save weight.

First cuts on the neck made. Rough cut and routed.

Excellent. Thanks guys!

After seeing Wes' build thread recently I've been thinking about making one for my nephew (and one for myself too). Does anyone have any plans/drawings/thoughts/suggestions/dimensions? Wes has offered to provide a full on body shot (I'm hoping he means the guitar) for reference.

Thanks for the replies/suggestions. I'm still trimming a little off the template before making the final decision. I had been thinking about a thumb-type carve. We'll see how that works out. Bridge arrived:

Yeah, pretty much what I thought too. I may refine the shape a little more, thin the hips, and carve the top and back.

So, my friend moved to Florida before I got a chance to start on a build for him. Now is as good a time as any, I suppose. I'll be using his 5 string Korean made Spector as inspiration, trimmed down a bit to save weight, and fit the wood blank. - Solid 1 piece bubinga body - 3 piece maple/bubinga/maple neck (volute) - 35" scale - Cocobolo fretboard - EMG/EMG, 18v - Khaler 7450 Bridge Now, to come up with a way to trim down the weight of the body. Thoughts, suggestions, opinions?