Cameroo

I have no idea what you mean by that, but it sure sounds cool! You must be a real perfectionist if you have 50 dud necks laying around! I'm gonna have to check out some of your work. Welcome back!

I was picturing something like this when I agreed with the red and black idea (Jason's SG)... You're right though, grain filling might be pointless in this case

I think this would look awesome! Just keep the burst fairly thin so you can still see that nice wood! I'd just mix a little black into the red for the burst.

Do a neck-through!! It's no more difficult than any other type, and as far a sound goes, it doesn't get any better than that. Even with a neck angle, as long as you draw it all out (including a side view, that takes into account your fretboard thickness, bridge hight, etc.) you shouldn't have any problems. You need to do this to find out what your neck angle will be, but once that's done, the rest is easy! As everyone else has suggested, get a copy of Melvyn Hyscock's book, it tells you everything you need to know. If you have any questions, you'd best ask them here BEFORE winging it... unless you like paying for new wood! Don't get all excited just because you have some parts, you really need to think everything through before you start. And good luck! I wish I would have started building guitars when I was 13!! Cam

It looks like a plucked turkey!! Just kiddin. But I have to agree, the body does look a little big. And I'm not sure if it's just the picture or what, but it looks like the neck isn't exactly parallel to the center line on the body... looks kinda weird to me. Looks like it was built well though. What are you going to do for a finish? Cam

I have been going over this thread for about an hour now trying to make some sence of it (Ya, I know what you're thinking... Get a life!) The thing that I couldn't wrap my head around was this: At first, I thought this was a bunch of gibberish and contradictions (no offence), but after much pondering, I think I know what you were trying to get across. This is how I interpret that (I'm gonna throw in some random numbers, just cuz that helps me explain it): Say you have a scale length of 25 inches, and another 3 inches of string from the saddle to the body/ferrules. With a very sharp break angle on the saddle, there is a lot of friction at that point. When you strech the string (by fretting or bending, etc.) you effectively only have 25 inches of string to stretch and absorb the increased tension (ignoring the string behind the nut). Now, if you reduce the break angle across the saddle, this will obviously lower the friction at that point. For the sake of argument, let's say it's eliminated. This effectively gives you another 3 inches of string to "absorb" the increase in tension from fretting/bending the string. In my mind, this would have the biggest impact on the strings feeling "looser". So what Rich said about having to bend the string farther to get the same pitch (with less break angle on the saddle) makes sence, because there is more string to stretch. So thanks Rog, for making me think!! Your explaination, as confusing as it was to me, was probably the best one! Cam

I think your finish turned out great on this one. I really, REALLY like it. I just built an SG that I need to finish yet (check out my posts and let me know what you think of it), and my dad suggested doing a red burst into black. I had something else in mind, but after seeing yours, I think I might try it. I hate to say it, but that 19-fret fingerboard sticks out like a sore thumb. I was wondering why someone would do that, and then after reading further back in your thread, I realized that this was a mistake. I really wish you would have considered your other options before chopping the end off of the fingerboard, like cutting a block to sit under the protruding end of the board. I think it would have looked much better. But hey, hindsight is always 20/20... But on the bright side, the finish is awesome, and it plays well, that's all that really matters. I guess it really is a "custom" guitar. Nice work! Cam

Cool, I've never even heard of one of those. Any chance you can post some sound clips? What's it sound like? That's a pretty heavy gauge "string"! Cam

Looks nice! I really like the headstock, I've never seen one like it.

Question - how'd you get the truss rod cover to stay on?? I don't see any screws. Did you use magnets or some kinda clip underneath it? Whatever you did, it looks NICE. That inlay is sweet too, especially for a first try. Did you use any special tools for that? Cam

I wasn't suggesting that he should buy one of these, just an easy way to make one. I don't think that the cost of a six inch piece of 2x4 is going to break the bank This tool works much quicker than trying to do the same thing by hand, because it keeps the file in exactly the right spot, and puts a perfect bevel on all of the frets. I'm just saying that, for me, doing this by hand would have taken much longer. Cam

You probably already know this, but I'll mention it anyway - since your nut will be slightly farther down the neck than originally planned, make sure that you compensate for this by moving the bridge farther back, to keep the same scale length. Otherwise your intonation will sound like @ss! I don't know if you have to change the pickup placement at all, you probably won't notice much difference in the sound, but it might look a little "off". Also, for cleaning up the fret ends, I made a tool similar to this: Fret Beveling File I just used a piece of 2x4, routed a thin channel into it, and jammed a flat bastard file into the slot (after cutting the pointy tang off of the end of the file, so it doesn't get in the way). This turned a 1-hour-or-more job into about 10 minutes of work. It gets the frets all flush and beveled in a fraction of the time. Have fun! Cam

You could add a piece of wood on the other side of the nut like Simo did, I think that looks awesome

Thanks for the comments guys. Vinny - I actually have gotten into building recently, I built an SG-type baritone guitar from scratch. I started last October, and have it pretty much finished now. I have some pics posted in another topic if you want to check them out. Building is pretty addictive though, I'm already thinking about the next one... probably a Les Paul-ish guitar, semihollow neckthrough! I want to get a little more fancy with binding and inlays on this one

I'm new to this forum, just joined to get some feedback on an SG I built, and I thought I'd post a pic of another guitar I re-finished. This was done with Tremclad spray bombs and some tape. I used the Tremclad "hammered metal" paint and also Tremclad clear coat. What do you guys think? Any comments?

That maple is one of the nicest lookin pieces of wood I've ever seen. And here I thought Canada had the best maple... Nice carve on the top too. I'd sure like to see some build pics, like doing that inlay on the headstock, and your technique for doing the carve. Did you do that by hand? Cam

It seems to play pretty good. I'm no star player or anything, but I took it over to a friend's place for him to try it out, and he didn't seem to have much difficulty. It just takes some getting used to. I have big hands though, and some people might find it to be a bit of a stretch to play certain chords. By the way, thanks for the use of your shop Trevor, you ROCK! I've been thinking about all the comments about the finish for this thing, and the idea of a translucent black is kinda growing on me. At least for the top, and then gloss black for the back and neck... Can anyone suggest a good technique or tutorial for doing a finish like this?

Honestly, I don't know why I chose 28 inches. I guess it was because I don't own a baritone guitar (I've never even played one before actually) and wanted to see what it would be like. I figured 28 is about halfway between a standard guitar and a bass, and it would give me some extra "punch" without being too much of a stretch to play. I also wanted something I could down-tune like crazy. I don't consider myself to be a very good player, but I do enjoy mashing out chunky power chords! On a side note, I uploaded a few pictures of that spalted maple I mentioned before. Check out the crazy patterns in this wood! I got this chunk for $20 and I should get at least two tops out of it! http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/cb.../Picture071.jpg http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/cb.../Picture072.jpg http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t253/cb.../Picture078.jpg And good luck on your SG! It's looking good so far. Cam

I guess everyone has their opinion. To me, it's exactly what I was going for. I didn't want this to look like any SG ever made. I'm really happy with how the carve turned out where it meets up with the points. I didn't plan this, it just kinda happened, and I don't think it could have turned out any better! But that's just my taste... As I mentioned before, there are a few "oopsies" that I made in the wood... nothing major, but just annoying things that I'd rather hide, for the sake of my pride That might sound lame, but this Is my first one, and for my next one, I've got a sweet piece of spalted maple that will have a translucent finish. I'm not sure how the lack of controls has affected the tone, as I have nothing to compare it to, but I can say I am pleased with it. I forgot to mention, I put a Bill Lawrence LX-500 in for the pickup. Thanks. I made it with about $5 worth of parts, and it's adjustable! Thanks! That's exactly what I was going for - simple, solid design. I put some baritone strings on it (14 - 68 guage), and tuned it to drop A, but I'm sure it would work fine at higher tunings as well. By the way, this thing is loud! Even playing it acoustically, it's almost twice as loud as any of my other guitars. I think it's due to a combination of heavy strings, longer scale length, but mainly, the neck-through design. The whole body resonates when played. I don't think I'll ever build a guitar that isn't a neck through after playing this. I have thought about this, but the likelyhood of me ever doing a stage show is slim to none. This thing was built for sitting at home and rocking out, and when I'm done, I just unplug it, or turn off the amp! I know what you're saying though... Thanks for the comments everyone.

Thanks. I always liked the shape of SG bodies, but never really cared for the way the contours looked. I wanted to do a carved top but didn't really know how deep to go. I think I went down 1/4 inch... maybe. I dunno, that was 4 months ago The headstock was definately inspired by B.C. Rich. Not that I love BC Rich guitars, but I just wanted to do something pointy and evil-looking to match the body. I dunno, some people like it, some don't. But I love it, and that's all that really matters I guess! I uploaded some more pics of the build process. If anyone's interested, check them out below. I'm really interested in hearing some feedback about how it was built. This was my first one and I'd like to hear what some more experienced builders think about how I did things. These are all pretty much in chronological order: Side view of neck, with 3 degree body angle The headstock before glueing The wood Cutting out the body with a scrollsaw Glueing the scarf joint Routing the trussrod channel with home-made arched jig thingy Laminating the body to the neck - used the scraps from the body to help with clamping Truss rod adjustment groove roughed out Using disk grinder to rough out the neck Truss rod fillet glued in Cutting fret slots Using spokeshave to contour the neck - this part was scary, but was a lot easier than I thought it would be! Started roughing out the carved top Gluing the fretboard on A tool I made for radiusing the fretwire Almost done!

That wood gives me... WOOD! I love the finish, that rootbeer color looks tasty! Nice work on the F holes. I just finished my first solid body guitar and plan on building a semi-hollowbody next. This one sure is inspiring!

I thought that blanket would make a nice background! I was chuckling to myself as I took the pictures... looks almost GODLY doesn't it? Just kidding. As for the finish, I'm still undecided. I love the look of translucent stains, and black would be kick-@ss, but there are a few slight imperfections in the body that I will have to fill in, which will probably be noticeable with a clear finish. Also, I don't think there's anything really exciting going on with the grain on the basswood body, nothing worth showing off anyway. But who knows, maybe I will change my mind again, it's going to be a couple months before I can paint it. At one point I was even thinking about an ivory-colored paint...

Just a little hint for transfering the pattern - I'm no expert, but this worked great for me: Since you already have it drawn out on paper (I'm assuming it's to scale), just put two-sided tape on the back of it and tape it to your wood. Leave it on and then just use a scrollsaw or bandsaw or whatever to cut out the outline. Make sure you leave a little extra material on the outside of the line so you can sand out any imperfections. I think this is an easy way to cut out a body without a template and router.

Here's a few pictures of my first guitar. It's a neck-through design, with a 28 inch scale length. I used a pattern based on the SG for the body outline, but everything else is pretty much custom designed, one-of-a-kind. It's pretty much finished, other than painting and some "fine tuning". I used maple for the neck, basswood for the sides, and cocobolo for the fingerboard. It has one humbucker and no controls (always at 11!!). I wanted to keep it looking clean, and figured I never use the tone or volume anyway... I think I'm going to paint it gloss black, I have to wait till spring though, it's pretty frigid here now. This thing sounds better than I imagined. The neck-through design gives it great sustain. I knew it would make a difference, but never realized how much better it would be than all of the factory-made, bolt-on neck guitars I've played before. What do you guys think? Here's some bigger pictures: Full View Body - Close up Headstock - Close up For my next one, I'm thinking of doing a semi-hollow body, with a body shape similar to a Les Paul. I've got a nice piece of spalted maple that should be enough for two tops.