Narcissism Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 Well.... Here's all the parts for it in the MDF V! The finish is something i'm still thinking about. Right now i'm thinking of experimenting with all of the router bits I got for christmas. The wood is going to be Mahogany Ply The body shape is going to be a pretty tweaked out corvus (stretched/warped, in all the worst ways) The finish will most likely be black with some white accenting (I'll probably use this build to practice pin striping) The bridge is a Schaller TOM String-through Bolt on Ibanez neck Partial scalloping (12 through 24) 1Volume, 1 Tone EMG 81... or 85 in the bridge... I haven't decided yet. We'll see which sounds better. This is definatley going to be a project guitar. I'll be learning about refretting, pinstriping, material finish, neck-angle, and how to decide on weather to dispose of the monstrocity or hang it on the wall and call it "art". Wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 YAY!!! I've drug one more down into the depths with me. Better get crackin'. Judging starts 10 weeks from today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted April 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 (edited) Concept art I've always loved black/white in combination with pinstripes in any combination. Hopefully it'll make this a little less painful. Edited April 22, 2009 by Narcissism Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted April 22, 2009 Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 If you don't want to keep it at the end, burn it, take pics of the burn, and post them, it's great fun! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Wow cool! Another contender. I'm curious to how the pin stripes will turn out, sounds like a great finish. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae3 Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 If you don't want to keep it at the end, burn it, take pics of the burn, and post them, it's great fun! :D Yeah! light it on fire then smash it up! And film it, of course. But let's hope you build a keeper... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted April 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2009 I said mahogany, but the Cherry looked nicer, had less knots, was level, and it was more available. glue! *waves arms around* clamps! *waves arms around some more* The Cherry actually had a pretty neat grain on it, so its tempting to keep it. I'm pretty sure I'm going to just stick to the plan and go for the pinstriped look. I'm going to draw up a scale model tonight and cut it out tomorrow after the glue dries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 I say keep the cherry AND do the pinstripe. A black pinstripe on the cherry would look really cool, it would be an interesting contrast in styles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormLeader Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 I say paint it black, and do blue pinstrips Looking good so far! -Stormy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 Pinstriping onto natural wood doesn't sound very appealing visually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted April 25, 2009 Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 Pinstriping onto natural wood doesn't sound very appealing visually. Corvus doesn't sound very appealing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted April 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2009 Here's the outline on the spot I thought would look best with the given figure. Personally, I think the only way pins would look good on this is if they were suspended above the guitar about 5mm inside 10mm of clear. The finish would also have to be bursted. However, it would look like a modern Mac computer, and I don't want a guitar that looks like a computer. I deal with enough computers, and guitars are sort of my escape from them Anywho, I'm gonna get cuttin with the new coping saw I got from my father in law, and see how much I like doing that. It'll probably be cut out by next week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted April 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2009 all cut out! Since I can't figure out how to print out full sized templates on multiple sheets of paper, I've been reduced to using photoshop to get the guitar roughly to size. First i'll get the guitar to actual size by squaring off the space between the bridge and nut. Then i'll go into the image size editor and i'll change it to whatever the scale length is supposed to be. In this case, the scale was 24.75". The neck is for a 25.5", but whatever. Then I take the percentage increase and apply it to the entire picture and voila! actual size! Then I take my ruler and make sure that it matches up with the ruler on the screen. Then I take my trusty laptop and some trace paper and I trace the design onto several pieces of paper, cut out the design, tape it together, trace it onto the wood, and cut it out with a jigsaw. I tried the coping saw, but it was retardedly slow. So I went for the jigsaw. Today i'm going to work on shaping, sanding etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted April 27, 2009 Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Since I can't figure out how to print out full sized templates on multiple sheets of paper, I've been reduced to using photoshop to get the guitar roughly to size. If you've got a full-sized PDF (I suppose other file types would work, I just save PDFs from Inkscape for my design work) just take it down to the Kinko's on Main Street in a thumb drive - I took my baritone design there and got a full size printout in B/W for under 2 dollars. Handed it to the guy behind the counter, and walked out with the plans rolled up five minutes later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted April 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2009 Didn't know there was a kinko's here. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted April 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 More progress! Over the past week, I've done some routing, sanding, etc. I rounded over the edges using a roundover bit for the first time. I think its clear that I need practice lol. I think I like pickup rings! You would never guess that the pickup cavity looks like this: Hahaha. I decided to see if i could do a better job than Eddie using my "chasp." I'd say I did a pretty good job. I used a drill to loosen it up obviously, but the edges are straight, and the pickup fits in the spot perfectly. If i cleaned up the edges and mounted the pickup to the body you'd never know it was a ****ty job. Anywho, I also routed out a better control cavity than I did on my bass. I'm proud of it! I did it freehand. Its big enough for a volume pot and a battery: As far as the neck goes, I'm sad to say that this neck is going to be the official corvus neck. I accidently cracked the fretboard while mounting the neck to the body. That's why there's risers for the screws on the back. Neck's not ruined, but I don't want to use it on any other guitars now. Who knows, I may keep this thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 As far as the neck goes, I'm sad to say that this neck is going to be the official corvus neck. I accidently cracked the fretboard while mounting the neck to the body. That's why there's risers for the screws on the back. Neck's not ruined, but I don't want to use it on any other guitars now. Who knows, I may keep this thing That's a blessing in disguise. EVERYONE needs a Corvus in their arsenal. Most just don't know it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted April 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 On one hand, I feel like I'm pretty mistake prone when it comes to building. On the other hand, I'm going to call it a bunch of mistakes that I'm learning from. This is only my 2nd guitar, and one of the lessons i'm learning is that plywood doesn't sand too well... whole wood is just easier to work with. However, my wife told me that my corvus looks better than my bass The bass was entirely hand made, and the corvus is made mostly from power tools (except the control cavity). I do like building the guitars quite a bit though! The mistakes definately aren't discouraging me. I don't feel like I'm really good at this or anything, but I'm still happy about what i'm doing, and I have a drive to keep on learning and building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 I like your design! Pointy but works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted May 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2009 I sprayed it with primer on wednesday, and then a 2nd coat on thursday Friday night, I put detail masking tape on it for the pins, and then I sprayed it black. The pinstripes are pretty messy, and I really should have taken my time with them. Honestly, I think they're too thick, and there's too many of them. Here's me pealing off the pins. I used an exact-o to start them off. Here it is next to my awesome snowboard. On the snowboard, next to the spider sticker, there's an upside down crow sticker. Now you can compare! couple coats of poly are next as soon as the weather stops being a bitch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormLeader Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 Those pinstripes are wicked! I really like the design it creates. -Stormy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narcissism Posted May 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Done. I'm not proud of it at all, but its done. I basically just kinda knocked it out and used it to practice on with my new tools, and figure out what tools I'll need for the future. I may have to hollow out a spot on the lower wing and add weights so it'll balance properly. When I first plugged it in to hear it I heard the worst screaming noise. Naturally, my first reaction was to turn it down via onboard volume. Well, the pot just kinda spun around. Soooooooo yeah, pot is broken. When I replace it, I'll give you all some sound clips. Sweeping is pretty much impossible with this thing though, due to the lack of balance, and its low sitting position. Other than it being a rushed corvus with many design flaws, what do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I think the stripes look pretty good. I would have grain filled it though but i guess the wood grain showing through is okay. I would also sort out a cover of some sort for the battery instead of sellotape. Overall though it's a pretty awesome looking guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Jeez that's quick! And nice results too! I'm making slow progress on my body, but still have an entire neck (my first) to carve. Guess mine will be on the edge of the deadline or over. Great to see the other contestants finish though! Gives more motivation to get to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Jeez that's quick! And nice results too! I'm making slow progress on my body, but still have an entire neck (my first) to carve. Guess mine will be on the edge of the deadline or over. Great to see the other contestants finish though! Gives more motivation to get to work. I just took my first neck from ready to shape to shaped, sanded, and fretted in about 8 hours. I took a number of breaks as well, so I probably only had about 5 hours of actual work. So long as you have the tools and are all read up on your instructions, you can knock it out on a weekend day. Disclaimer: the frets aren't leveled & dressed yet, but they ARE in & beveled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.