foil1more Posted August 7, 2008 Report Share Posted August 7, 2008 (edited) This is my first guitar I'm building from scratch. I've built an acoustic and a bass from kits I bought from Grizzly industrial. (the bass didn't come with instructions so I learned a lot on that one) I used a picture of an Ibanez artcore for measurements but then decided I didn't just want another ES-335 copy so I changed some stuff. stats 25 inch scale 24 frets bolt-on maple neck (direct coupled) Golden-Age overwound humbuckers with a super switch (pos. 1 neck hum, 2 outer coils parallel, 3 both hum, 4 inner parallel, 5 bridge hum) recessed TOM semi-hollow Mahogany body with flamed maple top Edited August 7, 2008 by foil1more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted August 7, 2008 Report Share Posted August 7, 2008 Oh, I love your design! It reminds me of off-kilter 60's guitars (maybe weird vintage Asian guitars too?), but it preserves the ES-335 feel. My one suggestion is that the headstock follow the same "off-kilter logic" as the body. The headstock looks pretty traditional and symmetrical to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted August 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 Thanks. you're right about the headstock. I changed it a little before I started my templates. It follows the shape of the body a little more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted September 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Progress has been made but I haven't had a chance to upload pictures. I will soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted September 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 progress photos. I've made the templates by tracing the master plan with tracing paper then gluing the paper to the whiteboard which turned out very well. This is the neck and top/body template together. Gives a good idea what the final will look like Here's the routing template for the body Here's the biggest rout. All of this was done free hand. This part was interesting. My dad told me that I was a 1/4 inch away from being screwed. I didn't take the size of the router base into consideration so at one point I was practically holding the router up. Here's the finished rout. The neck pocket will be routed after the top is on and the electronics compartment will be taken out with forstners and a drill press. I highly recommend kobalt routing bits. They aren't extremely expensive and they cut like a dream. The bits can cut through about 3/4" mahogany no problem (that's what the little accident in the big section is) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Yep, I made the same mistake. Large cavities that need to be routed get you in trouble when the router base has trouble spanning the big distances. I got away with it - just - as I see you did, but next time, I'll be leaving some 'bars' of material part way across the big cavities in a few places, to make the router much more stable while I'm working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 So... why didn't you hog out the main part of the cavity with a big forstner bit, then just rout around the edges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted September 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 The drill press isn't big enough to reach the cavity without cutting the body out of the blank. I didn't want to rout without support. I did do the outline with a small bit to the final depth before I hogged out the center. The router worked fine even though I was covered in mahogany dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted October 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 (edited) Okay I finished the routing (except for the neck, control cover, and the bridge recess). I also cut out the top. I cut the pickup holes and f-hole with a jigsaw. I have decided that I'm going to do a blue burst on the top with faux binding and natural back. The neck will be lightly stained to tone down the brightness of the maple. I'm going to use a burl veneer on the headstock. Hardware is chrome. I might try an ebony nut if I have time to try one on my acoustic. I just have a few things I'd like opinions on 1. Pickguard or not? I'm kinda split on that. If you think it should, what color? 2. I accidentally drilled the holes for the switch too wide. (Yeah I had a "What the hell did you do?" moment the next day) Any ideas for filling it? I was thinking colored epoxy. Edited October 1, 2008 by foil1more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 I'm going to use a burl veneer on the headstock. Why would you use burl on the headstock when it's nowhere else on the guitar? There's nothing to tie it to visually. I'd be concerned that it would look out of place. Another thought is: let's say you CAN introduce it elsewhere. Would the figuring in the burl be in competition with the flames top? Quite possibly. 1. Pickguard or not? I'm kinda split on that. If you think it should, what color? This could be an opportunity to introduce more burl. Back the burl with some thin stock and bind the whole thing. Otherwise, maybe a tortise-shell or cream. I like the idea of repeating the plastic colors elsewhere on the body. EG: p/g, knobs, switch tip, tuner buttons, TRC, pup rings, etc. It ties things together visually. In any event, I like the Gibson style "elevated" p/g's for this type of build. 2. I accidentally drilled the holes for the switch too wide. That blows, and I know exactly how you feel. Can you make a mounting ring of sorts for the switch? That'd be a LOT easier than plugging the hole, and it'd look better in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted October 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 Hmm. I didn't think of the burl competing with the flame but you have a point. I'll just use a nice flame on the headstock then. I was thinking cream too but the wood pick guard would look good too. I already bought the parts and they are all chrome (the pot knobs have abalone on the top). I like the idea of making a cover to attach the switch too. Can a veneer be glued to a plastic back for the pick guard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted October 1, 2008 Report Share Posted October 1, 2008 Can a veneer be glued to a plastic back for the pick guard? I don't see why not. Plastic binding is glued onto wood bodies all the time, so it's at minimum possible. That being said, I'm not the one to tell you how to do it. IMHO, I wouldn't go with a wood p/g, even if it matched the top. A solid color (black or cream) would be a much better contrast. If you were able to find a fancy one with extra binding to match what you're doing to the body would be that much nicer. Little details like that can make all the difference in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops1983 Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 If you have a nice figured top i would leave the pickguard out. But a pickguard might assist with covering your switch hole because fillers never look quite right. Goodluck its looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted December 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2008 Okay, long time since an update. First semester of college pretty much shut down working on it. I routed the channel for the truss rod and got the pickup holes finished. I'm on Christmas break right now so I'm going to try to get this done in the next few weeks. I'm planning on working on it for most of the day tomorrow to get the top ready to be glued on and getting the fretboard glued. Any time left will go to experimenting with making an ebony nut for my acoustic which, if successful, I'll make one for my bass and this guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted January 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I made a huge amount of progress the past few days. I got the body glued, fret board glued, neck carved, and body carved. I got the veneer on the headstock and started tru-oil on the neck today. I'm going to try to have all the hardware fitted and have the body sanded tomorrow. The only problems I've had weren't big. I broke a pickup ring screw in the body but fixed that easy. I also royally botched the headstock with a jigsaw and broke the blade. The funny thing is that my redesign around the mess up is better than the original. This is a sketch of my pickguard. I'll likely get cream pickup rings to match the pickguard the next time I order parts. Here is the result of accidentally wiping the maple after rosewood. I was happier with this color (fits the mahogany better) than the amber I had mixed up so I wiped the whole neck. There is a shot of the amber in the background in the next pic of the Here's a mock up of the guitar. Nothing is attached. I got the neck pocket almost perfect. The larger side of the pocket was perfect. The other side got messed up somehow. I shimmed it and now I can pick up the guitar with the neck. I also decided after some experimentation to angle the neck to avoid recessing the bridge. It also looks better with this style of guitar. And I like cutting really thin stuff like shims on the bandsaw. Here's a sample of the blue. It doesn't look quite this florescent in person. There will be burst with darker blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Looks good! What shape is that neck carve? It almost looks flat, but maybe that's an illusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted January 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 I tried to do a slightly asymmetrical with the treble side being thinner. It feels pretty comfortable. I'm happy with it being my first neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted January 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 I'm really happy how this is going. I cleaned up the carve with a drum sander on a power drill and my new favorite finishing tools, card scrapers. I barely had to do any sanding. I'm starting to finish this thing. I didn't have any grain filler and I forgot to buy some when I went to Woodcraft. I did have an old batch of shellac (2 years old) so I tested it and it is fine. I used that in heavy coats to seal and fill the back and sides. It's working pretty well. It's also garnet shellac so it gives the wood a nice color.. Got the dye on. I bought blond shellac and tried it on a blue dyed scrap and it looks fine so I probably over reacted a little to the first muddy samples. I'm leaving the tape on for now in case I need to touch anything up. Got the first coats of Tru-oil on the neck. I am using it on the fretboard too. And yes, I will clean out the slots before I let it cure for a week. I not going to build it up very thick on the fretboard. Just enough to bring out the color of the wood and protect it. I'll polish it after it hardens with some micro mesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted January 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 Here's it with a few coats of sprayed shellac. Here is the pickguard. Here it is from the side Here is the back I had problems getting the spray to not run. I used a Preval aerosol sprayer, which worked ok but I'll definitly get a good sprayer t next time. I'm going to sand out the runs and use French polish to level it out. I did the first session of FP last night and it's working pretty well. I'll never use Tru-oil on rosewood again. It just stayed gummy. I sanded that off and cleaned the board with alcohol. The rest of the neck is going well. I'll hopefully fret it this weekend. I also wired up the switch and the pots without screwing up or burning myself, which is quite a feat for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted January 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 I have the guitar almost complete. I just need to set up the action and buy a new jack. The back didn't get great. I was sanding with alcohol and I got too much on and chunks of the shellac came off and the whole thing got rough. I fixed it as best as I could by building up the spots. I also ended up having to build the top up again. I sanded through a layer of what I think where bubbles. Next time I won't cheap out and I'll buy an adjustable spraygun. Here's the headstock with my sharpie art under tru-oil. Someday, I'll have the skill and tools to do a vine inlay up the fret board and headstock but until then, sharpie will have to do. Confusing birds nest that is the super switch http://www.dimarzio.com//media/diagrams/E.pdf I actually got the switch wired right. I managed to wire my guitar without burning myself or setting something on fire. And here it is. It has a great acoustic sound. The electric sound is pretty good to. My jack was messed up though. If I plugged the cable in the whole way, I got no sound. It only worked when the cable was 1/8" from being the whole way in. I'm using one of the barrel jacks that can be used with stereo cables. I didn't have the problem with my bass (same jack type) so I think there was a problem with the jack. I'm going to run to guitar center tomorrow and get a new one. So far I'm leaning towards naming it "Mad Dutchman" One of my friend suggested it and I can't think of anything better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinny Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Beautiful work! I dig blue flame top guitars, -Vinny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necroscience13 Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 really nice job on the guitar, looks great, but the fret dots are in the wrong places Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 really nice job on the guitar, looks great, but the fret dots are in the wrong places Hmm, I didn't notice that. at least its only the ones after 12. I forgot the space after the 12th. At least that's the worst thing I messed up on the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wood is good Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 WHOA WHOA WHOA!!! What were you doing Wet sanding with Alcohol on a shellac finish? That's just basically stripping the guitar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foil1more Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Massive orange peel, runs and bubbles from the cheap spray/being a spraying noob. It worked well until I got too much on. A few drops at a time worked great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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