Chonker Posted June 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 finished shaping the head and drilled the post holes for the tuners, Then discovered the head thickness was 3mm too much and the tuner pegs wern't coming though! Took the thicknes down with the router and now my volute looks really weird, feels comfortable enough though. Now just have to hope it doesn't catastrophically fail when i first go to string it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 I found the best way to do a volute and thickness the headstock at the same time is with a drum sander, if you have one. Using a fence, or better yet, putting the press horizontal (I lucked out; I have a lathe), will give you a smooooooooth volute and a properly thicknessed headstock. check it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael.Speer Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 so what. jsut thickness the whole headsctock with a drum sander? interesting. how long did it take? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted June 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 (edited) That looks really sweet, I think part of the problem I'm having is just working out the shape it should be because of the diagonal nut. I can either make it normal and put where the midpoint of the nut meets the neck centreline or have it kind of angled. I've not got a drum sander alas, In fact the only powertools I've really been using is a cheapo bandsaw and a cheapo router, all the rest of the shaping/sanding is being done by hand (my arms are killing me!) Edited June 15, 2008 by Chonker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted June 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Done a bunch of stuff today. Sorted out the volute with much rasping/sanding Carved the neck, I think it might be a little on the thick side still but I keep getting nervous as it starts to look thin! I'm going to take a bunch off the back of my fretboard and then see how it feels to hold. Can also see the complex angle I cut the head at due to compounded scale, in future I don't think i'd do that again, it was a headache. Also got the trussrod glued into place and cut to width/planed flat the sides at the body end ready to glue the wings on Now I'm gonna jump in the bath 'cos with all the sanding I've done I look like a bleeding flour grader! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dudz Posted June 17, 2008 Report Share Posted June 17, 2008 Seems to be going along pretty nicely. I also like the look of that nice chunky neck. I would make it a v shape and use a nice glossy finish but that's just my preference for guitarsnecks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted June 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Also I need to make up some sort of brige plate to hold my wilkinson style saddles to, I have been thinking about using some of the rosewood leftover from my fretboard. Do you think this might work? My concern is the little height adjust grubscrews burrowing their way into the wood rather than pushing up the saddles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Also I need to make up some sort of brige plate to hold my wilkinson style saddles to, I have been thinking about using some of the rosewood leftover from my fretboard. Do you think this might work? My concern is the little height adjust grubscrews burrowing their way into the wood rather than pushing up the saddles. Not quite sure I understand, but it sounds like you should use a metal plate rather than rosewood, if you're afraid of something burrowing into it. This is a totally cool guitar! I agree, the thick neck looks cool. My suggestion (just a personal preference)... carve it into a V, but offset the center of the V from the neck centerline so that it's somewhere under the bass side of the neck. This makes for a very comfortable neck that fits in the crook of your hand easily. I did this on my last electric and it's my favorite guitar just because the neck is so comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted June 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 (edited) Yea I was originally going to use a metal plate but I dont have anything suitable and was looking around for what else I might be able to use. I think the rosewood would look nicer, though I could send the metal bridge off to get chromed, this will take time and slow completion of my build. The bridge saddles have two little grubscrews running through them vertically to lift the front end up raising the string height. Similar to those on the stratocaster bridge. I quite like the idea of that neck shape but I am mindful that I have to keep the neck so thick in the middle to allow something behind the trussrod! Also would that not make the strenght in the neck uneven and encourage bending/warping? Edited June 18, 2008 by Chonker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 I think the rosewood would look nicer, though I could send the metal bridge off to get chromed, this will take time and slow completion of my build. I quite like the idea of that neck shape but I am mindful that I have to keep the neck so thick in the middle to allow something behind the trussrod! Also would that not make the strenght in the neck uneven and encourage bending/warping? RW would look much better of course. Perhaps you could inlay a strip of metal or put some small screws in for the grub screws to rest on. Hopefully someone else will chime in; perhaps the wood alone won't be an issue, it just sounds like a problem to me. As to the neck shape... you can always put some carbon fiber in if you're worried about the stiffness. Remember, too, the different string gauges have different amounts of tension when tuned to pitch, so I think any neck is already dealing with that. Also, I don't think it should affect your truss rod. I used a rod from LMI which needed a 3/8" deep channel, so there's a lot to work with there. The asymmetry of the carve isn't that pronounced. FWIW, I'm pretty sure Tobias basses have an assymetric neck carve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dudz Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Using wood for the metal baseplate of a bridge will work if it's a fixed bridge and you shouldn't have to worry about the grub screws with a nice dense would like rosewood. If you are trying to make a trem then the bridge will crack under tension against the metal posts attaching it to the body. If you are going with a fixed bride you should be all set and if you are really worried you can just use some small ferrules or a small metal plate to hold the grub screws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted June 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 Yea gonna be fixed. I'm going to give the rosewood a try then, worse that happens is it puts depressions in the rosewood and I eventually replace it with a metal one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted June 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 One rosewood bridge I'm a little concerned as the spacings of the saddles doesn't seem quite right, but I was very careful when marking up and punching the holes that for the saddle retaining bolts so hopefully the string tension'll pull them all into place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted July 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 No progress shots for a little while as I have been mostly waiting for glue to dry! Finished carving the neck and glued the wings to the body. The body parts slipped a bit as I glued it so I now have lots of planing to do to get it flat. At least I have a little more thickness than I want int he final body to play with. The weight balance seems body heavy at this point which I guess is great. hopefully this wont changed too much with the routing of the cavities. I've also been following a tutorial on here for fibreoptic sidemarkers, quite pleased with the results, alot of hassle to do though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 The side shot of that neck makes it look veeeeeeeeeerry thin *bites fingernails* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted July 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 (edited) Yea I went a bit further than intended really, once I thought I'd finishe with the spokeshave I noticed it was not straight, it was thinner in the middle and thicket at either end. By the time I got it down to a straight taper this is what I'm left with! It looks bad but bear in mind that it's quite long (29" scale at the bottom) and the body is still overly thick as I've not planed it yet) also my fingerboard is thick and the thickness of this and the fingerboard together is no less than my ibanez 7 string so hopefully that's cool. Only time will tell I guess. Edited July 5, 2008 by Chonker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim290280 Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 Liking the progress. What colour LED will you use for the side dots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted July 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 I've not decided, I'm still yet to decide how to finish the guitar so I gues that'll probably influence my decision abit. Most likely I'll be boring and just go for white Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 Yea I went a bit further than intended really, once I thought I'd finishe with the spokeshave I noticed it was not straight, it was thinner in the middle and thicket at either end. By the time I got it down to a straight taper this is what I'm left with! It looks bad but bear in mind that it's quite long (29" scale at the bottom) and the body is still overly thick as I've not planed it yet) also my fingerboard is thick and the thickness of this and the fingerboard together is no less than my ibanez 7 string so hopefully that's cool. Only time will tell I guess. Ya still have to put 8 strings on it, and they're going to be both thicker than 50, by my guess....... Time will tell. And it's more important to have a thick neck back than fretboard.... But hey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWishICouldShred Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Yea I went a bit further than intended really, once I thought I'd finishe with the spokeshave I noticed it was not straight, it was thinner in the middle and thicket at either end. By the time I got it down to a straight taper this is what I'm left with! It looks bad but bear in mind that it's quite long (29" scale at the bottom) and the body is still overly thick as I've not planed it yet) also my fingerboard is thick and the thickness of this and the fingerboard together is no less than my ibanez 7 string so hopefully that's cool. Only time will tell I guess. Ya still have to put 8 strings on it, and they're going to be both thicker than 50, by my guess....... Time will tell. And it's more important to have a thick neck back than fretboard.... But hey. To take tension off and increase his range, he could go with a lower 7-string tuning and add a high G or something-- low to high ADGCFADG or a similar config. That way you have DGCFAD (lower than normal tension, as it's tuned down a full step) in the middle, with an extra low A and a high G up top. Just an idea good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 8 string compound scale for a first build? I like it! I like the parker fly head stocks but not really the blackmachines, they just look a bit weird. I do like strings that span air though, does look cool when done right. +1 Yeah, it's looking good man! That thin neck makes the volute look a little beefier than ideal in my opinion, will you be shaping it some more as well? Loving the idea of the multiscale/fanned fret/compound scale/just-gimme-a-minute-and-I'll-invent-my-own-term-for-it approach. Never actually played one, but often wondered how it would feel to play...maybe I ought to make one as well...hmmm... Like the body shape as well. DJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted July 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Yea the volute was okay until i took the neck thinner, now it looks a bit silly Will make it a bit smaller but will leave it on the large side still as I like the idea of having the extra thickness in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted July 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 Did some shaping of the body this morning While shaping the neck to body curves i took a chunk out of the back face at the edge It caused me to shape down the neck to body which I was toying with anyway but that's not gone deep enough and there's still a small ding in the edge. Any ideas how I can deal with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 My only advice is you'd be surprised at what you get rid of when you do the final sanding. I had a similar problem with my V, and my mistake was gone by the time I was done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonker Posted July 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 Yea that does look quite similar. I might go around it with a small roundover bit to bevel the edge, that should get rid of it I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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