Daniel Schmolze Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Alright, right off the bat I must warn everyone that I'm about to head out on a cross-country motorcycle trip and won't be back until early September. So, this thing will be sitting in it's current state for a couple months. I still wanted to start a thread though, if only to help with my motivation =] Here's the design: basically a PRS-style carved top, but of my own design. Walnut neck-through, mahogany wings, 3/4" spruce top. I sorta dropped the ball with the photos in the earlier stages, so here's the fretted neck, all ready for the wings: Wings being glued on. I used the top template to route out the cutaways before the glue-up. Out of the clamps: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Leave it like that! Looks good. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Schmolze Posted July 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Wings rough-cut on the bandsaw: The 3/4" spruce top. It's nice looking, but super soft, as expected. Gonna have to be real careful to avoid dents. Roughly cut to shape on the bandsaw: Final shape: Gluing on the top: Out of the clamps: Wings cut to final shape: More later, I gotta go watch the Netherlands/Uruguay game =] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarnut Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Looks nice. I like the neck thru concept. Am I missing something? The neck is flat to the top? That might cause some issues with the carve and faux binding. Looking at your carve pattern you may be okay, but PRS have an angle where the neck meets the body. Not having this angle means the center portion of your guitar...highest level of the carve will be flat. It should be pitched, reducing in thickness toward the neck pocket, to match a neck angle. I'll be watching this one when you return. Have a fun and safe trip. Peace, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Schmolze Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Geo: yeah, I thought about that, but decided I could improve the playability that little extra bit with only a few more steps guitarnut: right, no neck angle, so duplicating the PRS carve exactly wouldn't work. The way I'm doing the carve it'll be fine (I think...) The back before any carving: Starting the carving on the back (heel transition and tummy cut): Neck profile roughly carved: Should be pretty comfy when all the carving is complete: Rabbet for the top carve: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Schmolze Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 Carving progress pics. I did most of the work with that little finger plane. Works great with the soft spruce, but it can't get in the tighter curves: I made more progress on the carve today, and I'll post another photo tomorrow before I leave. Then it's off to Albuquerque (from MA)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Foreigner Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 looking good, Daniel. Where in MA are you?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Schmolze Posted July 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 looking good, Daniel. Where in MA are you?? I'm in school in Worcester, but I grew up in Great Barrington in the Berkshires, and that's where my folks are and where I'm departing from momentarily. More pics! That's my hog I'm about to ride about 3000 miles on (1985 450cc Honda Nighthawk ). Tough to capture the carve in the sun with the bright spruce. Alright, see ya'll in a couple months (find me on facebook if you'd like to follow along). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 MMmmmm.... spruce!!!!! I didn't know how i felt about that headstock when I saw it in the CAD file. But in real life it really works well. Congrats, I think designing a unique and personal headstock is one of the more difficult steps in guitar design. Just out of curiosity, this is guitar number....? Looks sharp. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterblastor Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 That's my hog I'm about to ride about 3000 miles on (1985 450cc Honda Nighthawk ). Tough to capture the carve in the sun with the bright spruce. Looks great man. Awesome scoot too. I had one of those for years as a commuter bike. It's rare to see one in such good shape these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Schmolze Posted July 10, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2010 Greetings from Minneapolis! Some long hours on the road over the last few days, but now I can take it easy as I move West and South. MMmmmm.... spruce!!!!! I didn't know how i felt about that headstock when I saw it in the CAD file. But in real life it really works well. Congrats, I think designing a unique and personal headstock is one of the more difficult steps in guitar design. Just out of curiosity, this is guitar number....? Looks sharp. Chris Thanks Chris. I spent a long time coming up with that headstock design, and I'm pretty happy with it now that I see it in real life. This is my 3rd build, but I had a couple experiments that failed and that I ended up scrapping. Looks great man. Awesome scoot too. I had one of those for years as a commuter bike. It's rare to see one in such good shape these days. Yeah I love that bike. Runs great, hasn't given me any problems. Gonna have to sell it when I get to Albuquerque, and I'll be sad to see it go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Schmolze Posted April 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2012 Holy smokes, it's been a while! Between moving to a new city and starting residency I've been kinda busy, but she's been done now for a few months. I finished it with Tru-Oil on the body, and oil and wax on the neck. It plays and sounds great! My best guitar yet for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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