Muzz

JCM2000 DSL and a 1960 cab. It was turned down pretty quiet otherwise all you can hear with the mobile phone recording is static!

That's a great model, I'm not a big fan of the JCM900 which is not an all tube amp, but the return to all tube design after that was a good move and a lot of people love DSL with good reason. I like to get a 100 watt Marshall up to about half way on the master volume, they get a beautiful singing tone when they are allowed to use their power tubes

I like the way your threads start out with the contemplation of a single piece of timber. You said the pointy stick was going to be a lazy build......how much time are you allowing for this one?

SR

That's great, yep absolutely no rush on this one, I love the planning stage, and making the decisions that shape the guitar. I like to take forks in the road as I go along and watch the guitar evolve. It's good to consider the advice that I get along the way. I don't want to make a clone, it's fun to experiment.

Next decision is what type of nut to use, and then put pencil to paper and the neck dimensions and an important part of the build - the head stock shape

Glue is cool.

It certainly is, it still amazes me that wood can be bonded together so strongly allowing you to make such cool things out of it. Carpentry has such a calming effect on me, love the simple pleasures in life.

A couple of months back I got home and this gift was sitting on the table waiting for me. A lovely Jem copy, I dig the neck on it, it certainly will be influencing this build.

The three sticks glued together are for practicing and modeling the real neck, and will not actually be used, the practice neck is the lightning conductor for FUBARS

So the design of this guitar is just starting at this point there are a few defining parameters, and will allow me to take some of the forks in the road I chose not to take on my last guitar. Obviously the colour is decided. And like cooking on Wednesday night, I will be using up what's left in the cupboard. This is my parts box.

And in it I found a trad whammy,

I haven't used one of these before

A quick mobile phone video featuring a mate of mine messing around with the Black V:

http://youtu.be/uFDCEf3cKmU

http://youtu.be/uFDCEf3cKmU

That is a slick metal axe, what model Marshall is it running through?

Angels and Airwaves were great last night, Tom DeLonge was in fine voice

Medina Lake who supported them were good too.

And Stewey we better not talk about glue, last time I did that I sparked a thread where dudes arranged their glue collections into still life arrangements and posted them, too funny.

I can still see timber in that shot, bad Muzz.

Heya Stewey, yes and many more very bad things are going to happen to the practice neck

This is probably one clamp too many, but hey best err on the safe side

Duck for cover - the clamp police will be here any minute!

It was inevitable wasn't it?

Gluing up the practice neck using pieces of meranti, which has lots of other names including meranti bunga

This is probably one clamp too many, but hey best err on the safe side

and leave it overnight, I'm off to see Angels and Airwaves tonight, can't wait.

Non scarf necks are fine when it is strat style, and no real angle. I've yet to do a scarf joint, but I will soon!

Yep, I am still in the open mind phase on this issue, good luck with your upcoming build, don't forget to post pics

I started out doing NON scarf necks, then I evolved to the scarf method. It saves so much wsate and opens up doors for creativity.

When you mention non scarf and I look at that chunk of timber, all I see how much is going to get thrown out/burned/wasted at the end, when if you sliced and diced (as in make 3 piece necks) and scarf jointed you could cut several bolt on necks out of it or one good neckthru blank.

I've only made maybe half a dozen necks from QLD maple and the body of the Rhoads I built around xmas time was QLD maple. I wish the stuff was a bit easier to get in my town without having to order/get posted here which then makes it cost as much as imported timber.

Yep that V totally rocks, I bet the customer loves shredding on it

Getting the timber is the issue isn't it, you can get much cheaper prices at normal timber shops, but you have to be careful and check the stuff out to make sure it is suitable for guitars. Some beautiful stuff at http://www.tasmaniantimbers.com/ but you pay for it

Looks big enough to slice and dice into a neckthru blank

I like working with QLD maple. Great timber.

You know I would love to make a neckthru sometime Isn't Queensland maple a lovely timber, its got a great honeyish colour unstained, I am wondering how it takes a stain, and in this case how it takes a red stain.

This piece is a good size for a bolt on, I am working out if I can do a tilt back head with a volute without doing a scarf joint. I remember someone saying that they used to think scarf joints were second rate, I know scarf necks can be structurally more sound than a non scarf, but to my eyes they just don't look good, I understand why someone might get the impression that they are second rate.

I am getting the timber glued together soon for the practice model neck, try some stuff out before hacking into the QM.

This piece of Queensland Maple was a Christmas present, so I am musing on it

Thank for the advice. I like the idea but then you would have a red dot on the back of the neck right?

All that is left is a little wooden dot in the back of the neck, ball point doesn't penetrate far into the tooth pick end so when you sand down to the red dot keep sanding until the red dot is sanded off you should still have a bees todger over 3 mm of wood covering the truss rod.

Thank for the advice. I like the idea but then you would have a red dot on the back of the neck right?

For the record this was an ALLPARTS neck not one of mine.

For my necks I plan out the total depth of the trussrod + 1/8" - 3/32" of wood and write it on the side of the neck blank (or the table). Then I use the neck monster to plane the neck off to match that measurement. Then while shaping I do not take any wood off the back of the neck as it is basically the final size minus some sanding.

Cheers!

That's right it's a completely different ball game when you haven't made the neck and you don't know where the truss rod is.

Yep Wez convinced me to use Rustins, now I don't think I would use anything else, it is such a good looking and hard wearing finish. Paulie is right though, the fumes are way strong.

For slimming necks, cut a 4 mm long piece of tooth pick, colour the top red with a ball point pen. Take a very thin drill, drill down to the truss rod, insert the tooth pick piece, tap it down to the rod with another toothpick, sand the neck down to the red, when the red is gone it's time to stop.

Gorgeous guitar, I am hoping that the customer sometime in the future decides that he wants a slanted single coil neck pickup installed. So great to see the Floyd and the other modifications to the tele model.

Tease

let's see the photo everyone loves a save

You need 4 x 12

I think the PG stays...especially after the strong argument from Mike!

Hopefully if i don't go up to the city this w/end i will be able to finish everything except for the p/ups. This guitar is sitting in my room taunting me to put it together but i'm just under the pump this week and don't have time to do little things after work each day.

You can't argue with that, fantastic tele

Should be a cool build. Mentioning the pointy stick thread brings up memories of having to empty my email inbox twice a day to keep it at a reasonable level haha.

Good times,

and memory jog, I did tell you where I got the spring cover didn't I??? If not it was Australian Luthier Supplies http://luthierssupplies.com.au/index.php?cPath=164_165_445

Hope everyone's fingers heal up and stay in one piece from now on

Lookin forward to seeing the sawdust

I know this is an old thread but rather than starting a new one just to post a pic I thought I'd just add to it.

I've been given a few live pics of the "Groges" guitar I built a few months ago from various gigs, heres one taken last weekend at the Bendigoat Metal Festival, theres more on my facebook page.

Makes me proud to see my work out there being used on stage!

Love the old thread updates, and great to see that beautiful guitar in action, rock and roll.

Are you going to be 100% happy with that guitar and proud of it when it is finished Wes? If the answer is yes, keep going, if not, why settle for something less than what is going to inspire you? I would plane off the top and put a new one on with a sharp glue line, because apart from that the guitar is looking awesome.

Beautiful

Hey Akula, Have you tried a Vox Valvtronix? Probably a lot more bang for your buck than a Valvestate.