GuitarGuy Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 For the 2x4 special I have decided to use a piece of 40+ year old pine from the attic of our old garage. The two strips are oak for a bit of strength. I found them in the scap bin (trying to keep in the spirit of the competition and still have some kind of support) The Neck seems pretty solid but who knows, eh? It's going to be an explorer with a carved top done with highly figured 5A MDF. Maybe a PVC binding, we'll see. http://www.airos-guitars.com/images/pineguitar/pine4.jpg http://www.airos-guitars.com/images/pineguitar/pine3.jpg http://www.airos-guitars.com/images/pineguitar/pine2.jpg http://www.airos-guitars.com/images/pineguitar/pine1.jpg http://www.airos-guitars.com/images/pineguitar/pine6.jpg http://www.airos-guitars.com/images/pineguitar/pine7.jpg http://www.airos-guitars.com/images/pineguitar/pine8.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 This suggestion is free, and I'm only throwing this idea out there because I'm not going to be able to compete in this competition ...beer bottle cap inlays. It doesn't get much classier than that. Good luck. peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
american_jesus Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 This suggestion is free, and I'm only throwing this idea out there because I'm not going to be able to compete in this competition ...beer bottle cap inlays. It doesn't get much classier than that. Good luck. peace, russ YES YES YES! that would be awesome. anyways, lookin good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted February 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 This suggestion is free, and I'm only throwing this idea out there because I'm not going to be able to compete in this competition ...beer bottle cap inlays. It doesn't get much classier than that. Good luck. peace, russ Cool idea... but i got another one im going to try. Maybe bottlecap tone and volume tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 I don't think the bottlecap tone/volume would work well...alone. I say, leave the bottle cap on the bottle, and saw off the top 3/4" of the bottle, with the cap. Then just smooth the edges of the glass, fill it with epoxy, and drill a hole slightly smaller than the knurled pot shaft you're using. Presto! Two pretty awesome speed knobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewrathofraf Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 dude i am liking that headstock a lot!!! it looks really awesome...bottle top knobs eh? interesting idea... -RAF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
croaticum Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 ermmmm.... Can i be the guy that has to drink all the beer for your ideas?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 You are going to be shocked at the sound of this . . . Pine sounds great. KOMODO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Alex Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 Both solder and glue work, the solder is very diffucult to get to stick though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd Posted February 16, 2006 Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 You are going to be shocked at the sound of this . . . Pine sounds great. KOMODO i read a article written by a guy who built a guitar out of pine(dont remember the name had a big Z on the headstock) he said it sounded great, he didnt have any sound clips so its going to be interesting to actually hear one. the quality thus far looks superb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jens Posted February 16, 2006 Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 Pine is pretty soft, right? Couldn't that be a problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted February 16, 2006 Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 soft, brittle, and knotty...looks vintage though when all varnished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted February 16, 2006 Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 Hey...nice start... What are you going to do for a fret board..pine as well. I'd think it would be too soft to hold the frets too well. An idea to thoughen it up is to thin out some slow epoxy and well soak it in to the wood...then you'd get a hard outer layer with a soft inner...just a thought! As for the body, I've tried MDF and it sucked...how about selecting the clearest (non Knoted) sections of pine and laminating them together for the body blank...probably more in keeping with an all 2x4. MDF will weigh a tone also. You could also do something with builders quality pine ply...that could be quick and get an interestiong effect when you sand through the laminations... What are the rules anyway...only 2x4's or is MDF allowed? Do they need to be 2x4 pine even...what about OB hardwood...hard as nails and heavier than hell, but you could maybe hollow it out... I'm looking forward to some pine guitars. I'm sure it can be done reasonably successfully for tone and it would be a great practice material to make guitars out of, if anyone works out how to do it right. Good luck with it... pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted February 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 Ya beat me to the punch pete.I have some 2 part polyester resin thats going to be the finish. I'm toying with the idea of tinting it blue. The fretboard will be flame maple with a brass or aluminum nut ( haven't decided yet) Well, as I understand It must be built with construction grade 2x4's maybe I'm stretching the rules with mdf. Some ply could have an interesting effect when carved. But the carve top is going to be very shallow, more like a large bevel. Might not lend itself well. Im not buying ay lumber for this build, its just junk found in the shop. Never thought of the weight of the mdf? THe neck is REALLY light so balance could be an issue. The idea was a pine body and a mdf cap. But i might rethink that. We'll see. It's not a soft pine tho. As far as pine goes. I think beause the moisture content is low. Oh and the pickups are going to be rewound on the lego winder if I get time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted February 16, 2006 Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 lego winder? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted February 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 lego winder? Chris Lego winder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted February 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 Got a bit of work done today. It seems that everything I did today there was somthing else that needed to be done first before I could continue. Broken bandsaw blade, cluttered router table, out of double stick tape, the arse that parked behind me at wal-mart when I went to get tape, just to name a few. Last night I glued up the fretboard. Its flamed maple and has flame all down its length. I spent most of the day making 10" radius blocks on the mill. They turned out great! You'll notice I haven't carved the back yet, I don't carve it untill the neck is complete. This way the neck stays put for any operation like radiusing , fretting, inlaying, etc. If you use some double stik tape on the back of the neck it will stay put as well. Partly radiused Radiused and headstock transition completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted February 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 The neck is now finished. And if this works out I'm going to try a basswood one next. The neck is just so light. The whole guitar is going to be incredibly light I can't wait to hear it. I fretted the neck today and carved the back as well. And I made an explorer template and glued up pine blank for it. Bendin up a bit of fretwire in the home made bender. I made this block for keeping the individual pieces of fretwire organized. UHMW Block And heres my caul i made a while back for pressing in the frets. Im using the drill press for this because I havn't gotten around to making a hole in the bottom of my arbour press for the caul. I chopped of a sliver of my radius block for the caul. Fret press I started carving the neck with my weapon of choice Die grinder Fretted neck ready for carving First side done. Other side roughed out Finished carve Heel Headstock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~john~ Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Very nice. What finish you going to put on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted February 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Im going to use the polyester resin i think. tinted blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted February 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 Well its update time again. The body is pretty much done minus the carve. I'll probably get at that tomorrow. Heres the masonite template laid out on the pine blank. The template was printed full scale and taped all together. Im not sure if the dimensions are correct. I found a picture on the net and traced the outline in CAD. Its my guitar anyway so I could care less if they are correct. Mdf sub-template being routed Body being routed (outside is already done with template bit) Final body route The bridge position was laid out on Cad and transfered to the body blank. I made a template on the mill with the exact locations of the posts. The jig has a crosshair at the scale length and the holes are drilled to 1/4 inch. The reason for this is I use a centre drill with a depth collar to mark the locations of the holes. The center drill as you can see below has no flutes on the sides so it rotates in the holes without damaging them or throwing them off. Finally, I drill them on the drill press to size and depth making sure the drill bit is correctly centered. Bridge jig Centre Drill with collar Centre drill dimples Finished holes Bridge test fit Made a humbucker template for future use and also a template for the pickup holes in the top Pickup hole template The highly figured oak veneer plywood top Pickup routes completed (did them on the mill no templates) Neck pocket completed, 3 deg(or so) neck angle Body Mockup (lets play name that beercap) Neck installed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!!METAL MATT!! Posted February 25, 2006 Report Share Posted February 25, 2006 HAHA THIS THING IS WICKED MAN!!!!!! !!METAL MATT!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyd Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Thats great, finally someone actually has a REAL answer to all the folks that have asked about making a guitar out of pine!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted February 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Thats great, finally someone actually has a REAL answer to all the folks that have asked about making a guitar out of pine!!! Im still not all that convinced yet....hasn't be strung up yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 it'll be fine, im sure if 300lbs men can sit on pine furniture, a guitar should be fine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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