n8rofwyo Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Ok, I figured I'd try to keep tabs on a build start to finish for the sake of keeping notes for myself. Who knows it might even help inform new builders (or amuse veteran builders). So to start at the beginning, I have drawn up the plans for a guitar based loosely on the PRS Macarty. The specs of the guitar will be: 25.5" scale 3x3 grover locking mini tuners Hipshot baby grand bridge EMG select non active pickups (HH or HSH configuration) Electronics are unressolved at this point Solid african mahogany body at 2" thickness 9 piece laminate neck (Maple and Walnut) Zebrawood fingerboard Varathane finish on neck Painted body Tomorrow the fun begins. Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted November 20, 2005 Report Share Posted November 20, 2005 Looks like a good start Nate. Lots of room for body shaving and shaping, makes for a little bit more work but it gives you options like recessing control knobs etc., if you like. Take your time and make sure you count your fingers at the end of each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted November 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Today was all about the glue it seemed. I swear I must have used a quart of Titebond on the neck blank alone. The neck consisted of: 2 - 2" slabs of maple 2 - 3/64" pieces of maple 1 - 3/16" piece of maple 4 - 1/8" pieces of walnut Body is just two chunks of 2" x 8" african mahogany 20" long. Body glue up Most of the monotiny is behind me now (barring the whole finshing process that is ). Will begin roughing out the body and neck shapes tomorrow. Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted November 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Couldn't wait till tomorrow, so I went back to the shop to trim out the blanks. Leveling the body with a router and planing jig Planing down the neck blank There's a neck in here somewhere... Everythings ready to shape, WooHoo! Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSo_Spencer Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 looking slick.. im definitally going to keep an eye on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsilver Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Looking good. I want your clamps. I don't have any two that look the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledzendrix1128 Posted November 21, 2005 Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 (edited) is it just me, or does your neck blank look like if you cut a little off the sides, you could make a whole other neck out of it. monster! nvm nvm, I saw the picture with the plane sitting on top of it... the pinstripes are just really small... I REALLY like that idea... small pinstripes make it look like a skilled woodworker made it. Good work Edited November 21, 2005 by Ledzendrix1128 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted November 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2005 Thanks for the votes of confidence. Southpa: Day three and no AWOL digits (knock on wood). Johnsilver: I got those clamps at Harbor Freight during some kinda annual sale, I think they were around $5 apiece. I'll be keeping an eye out for that sale again. Ledzendrix: It is a monter of a chunk of wood for just one neck. I didn't want to see the scarf or heal joints, so I decided to go for the full depth of the neck with the blank. My guess is that decision cost me about $20 more than doing the joints, but that was the look I was after so....it is what it is. Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted November 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 Ok before the pic I want to justify why I did this the way I did. I come across quite a few posts of guys who have small benchtop bandsaws or no bandsaws at all so I got to thinking about how I could cut out the body with out one. I don't care for using jigsaws as the blade wanders more than I like, and though a coping saw would work I just don't have that kind of patience. Don't own a scroll saw so that was out. What I did have was a router and a 2" long straight bit. I did this with a 1/2" collet in the router and the template, of course. Template mounted Second pass with the router Top view of body Side view of body The key is light passes. I wouldn't do this with a bit that had less than a 1/2" shank. Also, bear in mind that the african mahogany was pretty soft - trying this with a harder wood is going to put alot of stress on the router. If you decide to try this method I recommend putting a couple of wraps of masking tape on the collet to essentially make the collet a little thicker. Make your passes until you have completely cut the body out. Then remove the tape and make a final clean up pass. This will remove some of the stairstepping you may see with all those passes. Anything to reduce sanding, right? I don't think I would use this method again, as I do have a bandsaw, but it was effective if just a little time consuming. The upside was that there was almost no sanding necessary. Nate Robinson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSo_Spencer Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 (edited) holy crap, this one is really moving along quick. keep these pics coming so i can drool all day (especially over the router, danm i want it) Edited November 22, 2005 by ZoSo_Spencer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 I did this with a 1/2" collet in the router and the template, of course.← Just to clarify, are you talking about a guide bushing? We've discussed it here before but I want to be sure I know what you mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLOAD Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 i reckon this is one of the best ways to shape the body, i used a similar technique on my guitar i very roughly cut the shape using a jigsaw about 10mm from where it needed too be, then attached the template and routed the body to the final shape this project is coming along really nicely and quickly, can wait to see the finished result Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSo_Spencer Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 (edited) I did this with a 1/2" collet in the router and the template, of course.← Just to clarify, are you talking about a guide bushing? We've discussed it here before but I want to be sure I know what you mean. ← in the picture named "template mounted" it looks to me like he has a guide bushing on it instead of a bit with a bearing. and in the pic named "second pass with router" you can see a step between the template and the body cut which does indicate he was using a bushing, unless it was a bearing alitte bit bigger than the bit?????????? thatd be strange tho nate - keep up the good work. Edited November 22, 2005 by ZoSo_Spencer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted November 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 Marksound: You are absolutely right, it is a guide bushing that I used. I had just ordered a new 1/4" collet from woodworker supply. Guess it was still on my mind when I posted. Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 I used a guide bushing too (nothing as fancy as the one in marksound's link, I'd love to have one of those). It works great. I only have a single size bushing (16mm ) but I use that to my advantage --I start with an 8 mm straight bit and work my way up to a 15 mm bit. It takes a little longer that way, but it gives me lots of control --and space for errors. Once I'm within 1 mm of the final shape, I take off the bushing and use my bearing bit (which is long enough to cut an entire body). This also lets me save wear and tear on the bearing bit, which cost me a lot. On the other hand, straight bits are fairly inexpensive here. Nice work, N8...wish I could work that fast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted November 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 Idch: This project will slow down here pretty quick as work is going to engulf my daylight hours for the next 6 weeks solid. I did enjoy it while it lasted though. Got to rough out the neck today, this is where I tend to get really excited about a build. Had to take a couple of timeouts today to double check measurements and layouts. But after a few hours here's what I got. Layout on side of neck Layout on top of neck Cleaning up the rough neck with the #4 All the cutting was done on the bandsaw, no routers today! Because it is crucial that these cuts are all either perpendicular or parrallel to each other, I took some time this morning to check that the saw was tuned up and the table was perfectly perpendicular to the blade. From there its no big deal to cut out the rough neck as long as the blank is square to start with. Have a Happy Thanksgiving, Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSo_Spencer Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 danm....that neck is starting to look like a shovel. good work though.... happy thanksgiving to you two, dunno when it is over there but it has already been over here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracked Posted November 26, 2005 Report Share Posted November 26, 2005 Wow! That looks great. Just out of curiosity, what size bandsaw do you have? I have to get a book on tuning mine obviously, the blade will NOT cut perfectly vertical on anything wider(higher) than about 1.5" It's a 14" fairly cheap one ($150) with a 1/4" blade. Cutting a scarf , well, I'm going to look up ye olde router jig tut now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted November 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 Cracked: I cut this neck with a 14" Ridgid bandsaw. The blade I used was a 3/4" rip blade. The thicker blades are less likely to wander than the thinner blades when cutting through thicker stock. ZoSo: Thanks for the compliments, man. So Today I finally got a chance to get back to the shop after the holiday. I got the headstock cut, trimmed, and ready for drilling tuner holes. Headstock with template on it. Then I decided to cut the neck pocket. Neck pocket jig viewed from top Neck pocket jig viewed from side I loaded the router with a 1/4" x 1 1/4" straight bit and began making shallow passes just along the perimeter of the jig. This went fine for awhile, but after achieving roughly half the depth of the neck pocket, the bit seamed to be dulling very quickly. Sooo...I changed out the bit for a 1/2" x 1 1/2" bit. This also meant that I had to swap out the guide bushing. I then continued the route to discover that I had created a stairstep of of 1/16". I set the neck into the pocket see what kind of problem I had created to find that it fit as it was supposed to in the deeper second cut that I had made after swapping from the 1/4"bit. Pocket with neck installed View from top with neck installed What had kicked me in the teeth was the fact that I have a full set of matched guide bushings that all have the same width wall - I also have a few guide bushings that I had collected that did not have the same dimension wall. Moral of the story: Double check your bushings! So now I gotta fill that gap tomorrow, too flustered to bother with it today. Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSo_Spencer Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 (edited) That step kinda looks like what ive done to mine but mine is like a 3-4mm wide step lol.... so you are alot better off than me headstock looks great... might i ask though, how do you go about making your templates ie.. headstock and what would you do to make them symetrical? also how do you get perfect curves for templates, what is your method? to fix the neck pocket are you going to route the hole pocket to the biggest step and then glue some wood to the side of the pocket then re-route?? hope neck pocket gets fixed, will be waiting for some more pics. Edited November 29, 2005 by ZoSo_Spencer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoofnagle Posted November 29, 2005 Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 Is the neck pocket jig from Stew mac? Looks good so far. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted November 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 whoofnagle: Yes it is. ZoSo: I think I will just fill the portion that is missing now and leave the part of the pocket that is correct alone. Not a major deal, just a stupid mistake. As far as the templates go I start with a paper template, then transfer that to a piece of 1/2" MDF. I usually cut the templates on the bandsaw then clean up the saw marks with a pattern makers rasp. The last thing I do to get nice clean edges is hit the MDF with some 36 grit sandpaper. The template for that headstock took aprox. 15 min to create. Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted November 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2005 Had to spend today backtracking - which is always a fun and productive way to work. However the pocket is taken care of and the project is back on track. First I attached a piece of scrap mahogany to a piece of mdf via double stick tape and then ran that setup through the planer until I had the thickness I needed to fill the stairstep. Creating the veneer Finished veneer ready for bending Then I peeled the mahogany veneer I had just made off the mdf and soaked it water. After holding the veneer in front of a tank mounted propane heater until it began to steam, I moulded it to the neck and let it dry out. Moulding the Veneer to the pocket Finally applied the glue and used masking tape to hold the veneer in place - I set the neck in to give the joint a little more pressure. Veneer taped and ready to set Trimmed the veneer flush with the top of the guitar.... Cleaning up the patch ....and here's what I ended up with. Tomorrow I'll start shaping the body. Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoSo_Spencer Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 is that a veritas shoulder plane? danm i want one of those nice job on the pocket, looks like it fits great. i await more updates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoofnagle Posted November 30, 2005 Report Share Posted November 30, 2005 Looking good. Are you angling the neck? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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