angry_jeremy Posted January 21, 2004 Report Share Posted January 21, 2004 Howdy, I've got 2 projects on the go at the moment and some questions have come up from reading various posts as of late. Here's basic descriptions of both: 1)PRS McCarty wanna-be: Carved top solid mahoghany body, set mahoghany neck, rosewood fingerboard, 25" scale, 3/side locking grover tuners, either 2-piece tune-o-matic or one-piece bridge (consistent with original). Questions: My wood for making the neck is thick enough to cut out the angle in the headstock, would it be better to make a joint for the angle or just cut 'er out? Should I use a volute (i think that's what they're called, the wonky thing opposite the nut)? Should the stump of the neck extend into the neck pickup cavity under the pickup? Should I angle the neck pocket or the neck stump itself? 2)Jackson Randy Roads V wanna-be (not intended, but had a case of the stupids when I went to buy the wood for the McCarty and only bought a 2' length when I needed 3', curse and swear. Besides being sweet, the V is the only shape I could think of that would fit on the board I had. An unexpected turn of events, but not unwelcomed ): Mostly the same questions as above I guess pertaining to neck stuff 'cause I've never made one before. I think I might make it just a bridge pickup metal monster! In this case how would I hide the neck joint? Under the fingerboard? Anyways, I've got some (crappy) pics at home that I'll post soon. I keep forgetting to bring them to my parent's house to a scanner. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 At this tired moment, I say yes volute, yes joint. Read post tomarrow. There's a lot of words there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Page_Master Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 just a suggestion. use a tune-o-matic w/ a stop tail piece. the original PRS guitars had these - before they started making production models and using one piece fixed bridges anyway. speaking of the original PRS guitars, they didn't have huge heels like they do nowl. so you should consider making the heel as small as possible. consider a deep tenon joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted January 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 yeah, it was a little wordy Another thing, my neck wood is mahoghany and pretty close to quarter-sawn. Do I need to rip it and flip the middle section? Someone was going on about that I think. I would think that the original piece of wood would be the best option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted January 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 How do people cut their frets? Use a mitre box and saw? A saw with a depth guide? Just a chunk of wood to keep the saw in alignment? Man, the questions just keep rollin... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted January 23, 2004 Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 I personally dont like scarf joints. I would angle the neck stunp, not the pocket, simply for ease. Volute is good, and just cutting the angle is good too. How close to quartersawn is the piece. With mahogany, if it isnt perfectly quartersawn, there will likely be issues later. I would use a center strip of bubinga, purpleheart, ebony, or wenge in there just for the extra stability. Then the type of cut matters less. Note, I said less and not that it doesnt matter. Still try for quartersawn. However, many fender necks are riftsawn and I have seen a plethora of flatsawn necks. I tend to steer clear of the flatsawn ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted January 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2004 The piece is pretty close to quarter-sawn actually. It came from the same board as the body pieces. I wonder if it would be easier to sandwhich some harder wood (the same width as a trussrod) instead of trying to rout the right width. I'm still working on making a straight channel without a fence and a round-ish router base... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daddy ray Posted January 26, 2004 Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 How do people cut their frets? Use a mitre box and saw? A saw with a depth guide? Just a chunk of wood to keep the saw in alignment? Man, the questions just keep rollin... i use a fret slot miter box from stew/mac has depth controll...works good if you'r doing a standard scale length they have tepmlates that eliminate need for calculating & laying out dimensions dr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted January 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 Yeah, I checked that out but was wondering if there was a less expensive way with shipping and exchange and such Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 26, 2004 Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 i use a cheap plastic miter box from ace and a stewmac saw. the box was $4 it works but you have to mark out your frets carefully and make sure the saw is perfectly square when you cut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted January 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 westhemann, I think saw a pic of your little setup and that's what inspired me to look for cheaper alternatives. Another question came to mind the other night while puttering away in the shop...I want to do a 45 degree bevel around the top edge of the v but I'm worried about blasting a chunk off at the points cause they're quite sharp. I want the sharp points but don't wanna screw it up with the router. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarMaestro Posted January 26, 2004 Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 @Jeremy: Mabye you should rather only route until short before the sharp points and do the rest by hand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted January 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 yeah, that was kinda what I was thinking I was gonna have to do. Stupid me forgot to scan the pics again this weekend... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrock Posted January 26, 2004 Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 Could you attach some wood to the sides of the guitar and route into them at the points . Get what I'm on about, not sure I'm explaining it too well? If you attach a bit of wood to the side of the point that you're not routing so that it's sticking out past the point and then you run the router down towards the point and into the scrap wood, would that stop it spliting? Kinda like putting scrap wood under the heastock when you drill the holes! Anyway the usual rectum protectum applies. I have never tried this, I have no idea if it will work (although I can't see why not) and I'm generally regarded as a bit of an idiot, take my advice with a pinch of salt . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted January 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 Hmm...seems plausable. I'll have to try it on some (s)crap wood before hand. Thanks to all who have posted so far, there seems to be a lot of new/active topics lately so I appreciate people keeping this in the top few pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_jeremy Posted February 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2004 Bah! Finally scanned the pics and they're here http://v5o5jotqkgfu3btr91t7w5fhzedjaoaz8ig...n-progress.html I can't just post them normally cause they're just on the main site and not a specific file(?) Groan. If anyone knows how to fix it... It's just a page in html with an <img src> tag right now Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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