CudBucket Posted February 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 Thanks a ton Meegs! To cut the slot for the 5-way, I'm going to clamp a hardwood fence to the body, parallel to the slot. Then, I'll toss my Dremel into the router attachment and use a 1/16" cutter head to make many light passes till I'm through. Then, from within the cavity, I'll just use my router to sneak up on the proper thickness for the switch. Today, I tried to drill my trem posts but found I need an 11/32" bit and not 5/16". Had I tried to "coax" the stud into that smaller hole, I would of split her for sure. So instead, I started hand-sanding the edges. In the pics you can see that the round-over bit worked well on the top and back but left a flat area about 5/8" wide all around the body. It's taking much longer to complete the roundover this way than I had expected. I need larger sheets of 40 grit to remove material faster. I'm basically holding the body between my legs and holding the paper in each hand over the rounded edge. The motion looks as if I'm polishing someones shoes. Works well because it follows the entire roundover and gradually removes the flat. But it's SLOW. I hope I can finish that tomorrow. Thanks again! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted February 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Finished rough sanding the sides yesterday. My fingers are in bad shape from holding the 36 grit paper so long. Now I've got a nice round edge with no flat spots all the way around. I'll have to smooth it out with 80, 120, etc. but that will be WAY easier than the rough sanding. I'll post more pics when I've got more to show. Thanks. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 36 !!!!! , holy cow, I don't go heavier than 220 once I finish routing, you got a long way to sand now my frien, but it is coming out very nice, so post more pics ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted February 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2005 Yeah, it was basically shaping like with a rasp. It was worth it. Just wouldn't have been right if I didn't do it. I've got pics to post later. Thanks. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted February 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2005 I'm waiting on a drill bit set to be delivered so I can drill my trem posts. In the meantime I've completed the body round over by hand. I'll have pics soon. Yesterday I made Jay5s $15 fretbender. All the parts were found at Home Depot and I used a piece of acrylic I had laying around. Here's a pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted February 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 I just posted some pics from the hand-shaping I did on the round overs around the edge of the body. The pics are in the "Making The Guitar Body: Shaping" section. Some of you may have noticed that the routed roundovers left a flat area all the way around the body. I removed that by hand shaping with 36 grit paper first and then working up from there. The pics below show the layout I'm using for the tuners. These pics aren't up on the site yet though. Thanks again. Dave www.downinfrontht.com Ok, so I retraced my string layout on graph paper and then centered my headstock template over that and traced it's outline. Then I layed out my tuners closer to the edges of the headstock and ended up with a nice layout that will have a very slight splay (angle) to the strings. What do you think of it now? Thanks again fellas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Looks great man! That headstock looks really good with the tuners on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Lookin' very cool. Can't wait to see it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 I finally drilled my trem post studs. I also thicknessed my Mahogany control cover and have cut a piece for my trem cover. Pics are up in the "Control Cavity" and "Trem Cavity" links. Thanks. Dave http://www.downinfrontht.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 Damn man, that is some really clean work! I really admire the fact that you are trying to do everything right (the first time) and not rushing. Patience is definately a virtue! Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted March 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2005 Got another update folks. Here's what was done today: 1) Cut the slot for the 5 way pickup selector. See the "Control Cavity" page. 2) Drilled the trem claw holes. See the "Trem Cavity" page. 3) Laminated the back of the headstock with mahogany. See the "Making The Neck" page. 4) Drilled my tuner holes into the headstock. See the "Making The Neck" page. Thanks for taking the time. And as always, comments are welcome. Dave http://www.downinfrontht.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted March 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 I've posted a pic in the "Control Cavity" section of my attempt at routing the cavity deeper in the area where the 5 way selector switch will sit. You'll also see a problem I created for my self. I didn't notice that when I set the depth of the bit, the router collet extended below the base. It, in turn, made contact with the lip of the cavity recess and chewed it up. I'll have to route the lip to 1/4" now (from 1/8"). Of course the opening will be bigger and my cover won't fit so I'm thinking of laminating a 1/8" border of maple around it to make up the difference. If that fails, I 'll just cut another one. Thanks for looking. Dave www.downinfrontht.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 I can't see what you are talking about, all i see thta got damaged it the inside lip were the cover will rest, I see not damage to the outer edge unless it's masked by the black ink on the picture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 I think the black ink is actually a burn, and I assume that is the damage. Right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted March 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 That's it jer. I'd love to put a micro-radius on the lip. That would even help with finish build-up. But I can't find a Dremel bit with a short enough pilot. Maybe I'll buy a Dremel bit and cut the pilot down myself. I'll just slow down the bit to reduce burning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted March 13, 2005 Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 Cud, everything is looking great. Does that lip give you enough room for screws to attach the cavity cover or did you have another method of securing it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted March 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 Jay, thanks. Initially I intended to make small cleats and attach them to the inner walls of the cavity. That won't be necessary anymore since in order to fix the damage I caused to the recess, I had to open the recess another 1/8" and make a new plate. Now I have room for the screws to sit in the recess. I'll be posting pics of the repair later. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted March 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2005 I repaired the control cavity damage I inflicted last week. Made a new cover to go with the larger opening, installed my 5 way switch (will make it perfect later this week) and did my arm carve with files and sandpaper. Pics are in the "Shaping The Body" and "Control Cavity" pages. Thanks. Dave http://www.downinfrontht.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted March 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2005 Tonight I did the belly carve with a spokeshave, scraper and sandpaper. See the "Shaping the Body" page. Thanks. Dave http://www.downinfrontht.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted March 22, 2005 Report Share Posted March 22, 2005 let me just say that your website (down in front) Is very informative. Man I wish I saw all that before I started my first guitar. keep up the good work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted April 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Thanks Godin! I appreciate that. Here are the installed trem studs and completed cavity covers. http://www.downinfrontht.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Cavanaugh Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Man, I really hope the guitar I'm building right now (OK I bought a neck) turns out as good as that! I'd be SOOOO happy! BTW, it actually looks rather original for something that was Strat inspired! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 one thing I just noticed in that last pic is the sides are a diffrent color than the back. The reason for this is when you bought the board it was oxidized. Meaning that the air had made it darker. Now when you sanded it made the sides lighter than the back. Before you finish you need to sand the back down past the oxidation line in order for it all to be the same color. Or you could let it sit foua a couple of months and let the sides oxidize also... Just warning you that you might need to sane a millimeter off the back before you go to far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted April 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 I noticed that too. In fact the cover pieces were darker before I sanded them. It doesn't seem to take much sanding to get the color back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted April 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2005 I test fitted the trem tonight. Seems OK but the rear cavity is a bit shallow. When I push the bar all the way down, the strings bottom out on the cavity floor. I'll have to route about 1/8" to fix that. www.downinfrontht.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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