Morben Guitars

Yes, you shoot clear coat over the binding. You shouldn't need to sand it much after you've removed the clear coat from it - careful not to scratch the binding with the sandpaper, it really stands out.

I thought Gibson Headstocks were laminated in Ebony veneer?

Well this has been around for a while, figure I should post some info about myself. I'm 29 years old and build guitars strictly as a hobby. I'm not looking to have it generate income - It's more of something to blow off some steam. In my "real" life, I'm a Certified Financial Planner and have a practice outside Boston. It demands very long hours, so projects don't get much attention during the week. I started playing the guitar only 7 years ago - something that I had always wanted to do, but was intimidated by taking it on...so much to learn. Finally I had a friend teach me a few chords and I got a guitar. Shortly thereafter, my instinct of "lets take this apart and make it better" got the better of me and I took apart my Strat to see what makes it click. This led do a "I could probably built this" mentality. After doing a lot of reading, I put my woodworking skills to work on a guitar. I'm much more of a Tele/Strat/LP type of guy than an Ibanez/Kramer/etc fan. I decided that I wanted a guitar with a *monster* rock sound, but with a creamy blues capability as well. Oh, and some Tele twang to compliment it. I did lots of experimeting and found that a dual humbucker tele body was my ax of choice. I've spend the past 3 years refining that. I'm now in the early stages of designing my own body, something that won't be mistaken for a brand name (and something that will not trigger a "cease & desist" letter from Fender). Recently I moved to a house that has allowed me to build a nice shop. I have a large workspace with a 6"jointer, 13" planer, Table saw, drill press, air compressor, spray equipment and an air filtration system. I have lots of irons in the fire right now, including a humidor, dresser, and various "wedding gift" items. I've become very good at finishing, much due to a long time friendship with a gentleman who is reguarded as one of the best furniture refinishers in Pennsylvania. He has done work on priceless pieces of furniture and Grand Pianos for concert halls...he's also an extremely talented woodworker. I've become the "go-to" guy for many local rock bands when the guitarist needs some work done...I usually have a few set-up's, pickup replacements, and minor repairs sitting around the shop..going rate is a case of beer Here are some pictures of the three of the Tele's I've built. The second one is played by a friend of mine who's band it making the news here and in Europe..."The Good North"...so it's fun to see him play, and hear how other bands always ask where he got that guitar...the other two are mine. Thanks for reading! -Ben

I scrape across the grain, not with it. It does not scratch at all. Infact you'll need to do very little sanding as you can scrape the filler off to leave a very smooth surface. I've tried the plastic scraper that stewmac sells (with the rubber wiper) and it doesn't work nearly as well as an old Credit Card.

Have you tried using Food Coloring?

The additional Hexpander chip when used with the Graphtech GHOST system works well.

I also scrape to remove dye, however scraping to remove glue isn't going to be as effective...espically if it's CA or Duco Cement. Perhaps a few initial passes with a razor, but he's got glue in the wood, not just on the binding. And he also probably has it running out the sides of the binding. So strummer, try a few passes with a razor..CAREFULLY, see if it removes the worst of it. But you'll need to finish sand as well. Use that step to level the binding on top and sides, and round off the corners of the binding as to not tear up your arm while playing.

It would work, just be sure to draw out your plans in a FULL SIZE diagram first. You'll address any of the design issues at that point.

Sanding to 400 removes scratches from previous grits. If you just roughsand the body, the grain filler will actually fill sanding scratches along with the grain. Then you'll need to sand the wood back to get rid of those - and most likely remove enough grain filler to necesitate another coat... Wood prep is by far the most important step in acheiving a good finish. If it was easy, everyone would have foot-deep finishes... I'd also submitt that 120 is a bit too rough for the next step...the grit can actually reach in and pull out the filler. Apply the filler, let is dry for a bit, then remove with an old credit card. 220 should be plenty to remove the remaining filler from the surface..then 400 - and be sure to use a cork block or something flat.

If done right, it should look like crapola when you take all the tape off. Just sand it all back and you'll be fine.

You can build a guitar out of anything, but why would you spend that much time and energy on something that is prone to problems? Just get some alder or basswood...save the pine for a shelf or something... Yes, you can inlay with any type of wood you'd like.

Now that would be a serious Hard Rock guitar

We're going to need a "acoustic/professional GOTM" division..HA. Great acoustic, all around perfection and attention to detail. But I had to give KTL a vote for blowing the doors off of traditional design. Wonderful idea, excellent planning, and great construction. Stay outside the box..there's no room for you in here anymore..

Had to go with themikestro's Blues Ax... Only building for a few months and come out with that?! AWESOME! Great job on the natural binding! And I love the F-hole design & execution. I look forward to your next guitar!! -ben.

For Bolt-on's I'll often screw the neck onto a wooden handle and have a hole in that to hang it. gives you great control when you are spraying and helps you to avoid runs since you can flatten it out. I also like to leave the part of the neck that comes in contact with the guitar unfinished, so it works out well.

Whoa. My afternoon Coffee hasn't kicked in yet.. Forget that previous post...I missed that it was a "neck through" and thought he was using dowels for the neck tenon. I actually used dowels when I joined two pieces for a body blank once...more to avoid slipage during glue-up than anything else. But like krazyderek said, they are not necessary - that joint will be strong as the wood.

OK Gang...lets not start a tone wood debate Keith, short answer is "Yes", wood selection will affect the sound of a guitar. There are many other aspects that will have a MUCH greater affect on the sound, but the wood does contribute. I'd shy away from using pine for a body. It's just too soft. You'll have denting issues guaranteed. I've always found pine to be very susceptible to changes in humidity. When folks ask me if the wood I use makes a difference, the 30 second "layman" explanation that I give is this: A guitars sound is simply the movement of a string that is anchored on both ends. What it's anchored to will affect how long it vibrates (and what parts of that vibration fade away). If you anchored a string between two pieces of Jell-o, you'd expect that the string would "die out" quickly, since the jello is absorbing all the vibration...yet if a string were anchored to two pieces of Marble, you'd expect it to vibrate for a long time. So yes, that the strings are anchored to will make a differance in the sound since the vibrations are going through the string, into the body/neck, then bouncing back to the strings. Pine is completely infeasible to use it for a neck, but I figured you weren't considering that. Buy an Alder blank, pretty inexpensive, easy to work with, and produces a great sound. Hope that helps! -Ben

Dowels and Biscuits are not typically used in neck joints b/c of the difficulty they would present should the neck need to be removed/reset. A good joint and the right glue will hold plenty well. If you don't think you'll ever need to remove the neck, and would like the extra assurance, use a dowel (possibly the expanding dowels). Or you could get ambitious and try a neck-through design! A great option for the SG given the small tenon this body dictates.

I'm an advocate of "use the right tool for the job"..but you can get carried away when shopping for machinary... I built a bunch of guitars using the same process as TRL.. Jig saw/Router & Template method. I've since built a reasonably nice shop, but still don't have a band saw...Nice for resawing, but I just don't think I'll use it enough to rationalize the expense right now. Chris, Buy a router. Skip the Disk/belt sander, Skip the planer, skip the band saw.. Now that's $817 you just saved...more than enough for your next 203 guitars. Tools don't make the craftsman...they make the craftsman lazy.

I've used those bits before - they work surprisingly well! I expected some scuff marks on the body since it lacks a bearing..but that wasn't the case. It's a good inexpensive way to route the binding ledge.

Are you using a clear finish? If so, then I'd suggest using the finer grit as your last step. A sander will often leave tiny swirl marks that don't reveal themselves until they are hit with the finish. End grain can be really suscepitible...My least favoriate parts are in the cutaways - hard to get to, and a pain to smooth out. I'd go with the 400 only after you've hit it with 220, and maybe even 320..get all those sanding marks out! Sander should be fine for that...but not for the front/back...finish sand that by hand with a block to ensure flatness.

After a number of mistakes in previus projects, I've now vowed to not even start thinking about the guitar until every last piece is on the table. You'd be surprised how much trouble a small oversight can create.

I typically install locking tuners on all my guitars - and I usually use a fixed bridge. It just adds that extra bit of tuning stability, and string changes are so much faster. I also used Graphtech saddles on my last guitar...it's seen some heavy playing and hasn't broken a string yet. I plan on using their nuts on future projects...hope that helps.

Here to help bro, send the SOS when you're ready.

Yes, cut the inlay design, scribe onto the surface, route/chisel, glue it in.