demonx

I want the binding to match the body perfectly - so I cut the binding from the edge of the body! A few bandsaw cuts later and a bit of drum sanding and then we have a pile of binding. Ash, Wenge and Padauk binding. Not available at a store near you!

There's an old saying, something about if you find yourself saying "it's good enough" then you should throw it out and start again! I know what you mean though. Most of my stuff ups are simply from rushing or not slowing down and doing something properly. It's a personality trait i'm still battling nearly every time I step in the workshop!

Whoops - double post

They're neckthru blanks, so the raw blank has to start thicker than the body thickness AND allow for a neck/body angle. If I wasn't using scarf joints these days the blanks would be even chunkier! The width on a neckthru blank needs to come close to three inchs wide (my opinion) otherwise the center section to wings timber ratio looks strange. I've made them thinner with my earlier builds before I was putting logos on them (before I was Searls Guitars) and without that width it looks terrible. I am however hoping to be able to arrange the angle in a manner to remove a couple bolt on blanks from under where the neck will be. I'll have to be careful with my layout but should be able to make it happen.

It's a good question. Technically I guess the answer would be when you do it for money, but I'm not making enough to earn a living, pay my bills or mortgage, I'm not charging enough for it to be a wage by hour, so I still have a job that pays my bills. I work in a factory as a **** kicker/machine operator/process worker. Depends on the day. As far as hobby vs professional. A professional would have their process down pat. I'm still trying to find my process. Still changing, evolving and experimenting with my methods and occasionally making stupid beginner mistakes. I'm far from professional, but I'm getting there!

I usually leave a roller door open when I'm working so my 2 German Shepherds can come and go as they please. I've got a carpeted area in the workshop and more often than not they'll be asleep in there while I'm working. They seem to find their way into a lot of the backgrounds of my build pics!

Nice work. The timber/grain in the headstock looks great!

Excellent work. Coming along very nicely!

That isn't a "table saw", it's a "sliding panel scribe saw". Believe it or not there is a difference! It doesnt get used much at all in guitar building, however for some jobs it is very handy. Unless you make furniture etc as well as guitars I wouldn't recommend as the money is better spent elsewhere, I tend to find myself making all sorts of things so I do have the need for one occasionally.

It's been a while since I've done a build thread, so I though I'd post a few pics of what I'm working on at the moment and get one started. For those of you who don't know me, G'day. I'm Allan, located in Victoria Australia. I'm a hobby builder like you guys but I've been doing it for a while now and have recently registered as a business to keep the tax man happy and stay out of trouble. I build mostly "metal" guitars but occasionally some other styles will sneak through the cracks. I've just got a new domain/website up this week so if you want to check it out, visit: www.searlsguitars.com.au Then theres also my facebook page which I keep up to date the most out of everything: www.facebook.com/searlsguitars Ok, so what I've got in the works at the moment is: These two are in paint stages. At the moment they're in 2k sealer. Sometime next week I'll sand them back and get some clear on them. An All Aussie timber 8 string neckthru and a Rosewood themed 6 string tele neckthru The rear of the tele: Another one thats in paint stages at the moment is this lefty SS6. I cannot do any more of the airbrushing until some airbrush parts arrive in the post. I needed to order a new cap and O ring as I ws getting splutter and cannot get the brush close enough to start the freehand detail without making a mess. As soon as the parts arrive I need to get this done, cleared and to the customer. Heres the back of the SS6 lefty: Heres the top before the airbrushing (I couldnt talk him into keeping it clear, he wanted the gfx!) Today I was a working on a batch of neck blanks ready for the next series of builds, half are neckthru and half are bolt ons: Mostly Wenge and Padauk with a touch of Maple

Heres a quick video of my fretting process. It's not the way I've always done it, it is the way all my experimentations have evolved to this point and I'm sure at some stage the way I fret will change again, but this is how I do it at the moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWQxGYyuMLM&feature=plcp

Wes, that's why the tang expanders. Ever since using those I've never had a problem. In ebony I've never had a issue (except when a guitar I built was on tour and got crushed in transit, a couple frets lifted slightly) but sometimes in softer timbers I was getting the ends wanting to lift, after a squeeze with the fret tang expanders everything always stays, so I just use them as a part of my process on every fret now.

I agree - if the board is slotted correctly you won't "need" glue. However I still glue them in. It's the idea of overkill. It's the security that I know they won't lift and it removes the "what if" factor. It's the same reason I use fret tang expanders at both fret ends. I used to use wood glue but after realizing wood glue doesnt really adhere to metal I changed to superglue which is actually much easier to manage for the purpose.

All Australian timber 7 string SS7 Neckthru (7 string Superstrat) Tasmanian Blackwood Neck and headstock Victorian Blackwood body wings Wandoo fingerboard Tiger Myrtle fingerboard binding OFR Tremolo (no rear cover by customer request) Bareknuckle Aftermath Bridge pickup Bareknuckle Cold Sweat Neck pickup First of all, click the link to view the build: And a quick video walk through: http://youtu.be/nRfbglWe_PY

I should add that I recently built a trolley with three shelves and two clamp racks which hold 20 clamps (pic on my facebook page) to solve the tools everywhere problem. I can't believe I never built one before, it's so handy! When I'm fretting I just drag it over to my tool board, load it up with everything I need, then pull it over to where I'm working, when I'm clamping or unclamping I pull it over to my clamping bench and they're all hanging on it ready to go or it's there ready to hang them straight on so the clamps never touch the bench!

If choosing/making a bench, think of what jobs you'll be using it for in relation to the height. Also think about clampability. I recently bought an old style workbench but had to dowel joint some stilts underneath it as I found I was bending over too much. I also found it sucks to clamp things too as it's so big, so I'm still using my other benches for a lot of jobs. It's got the tool tray down the middle which I find I'm always having to clean as it just keeps getting filled with clutter I've got four vices in my workshop for different jobs but the two that get the most use are old style ones with timber in the jaws.

This is the bobbin/spindle sander I've got. It's only .25hp, but I've found thats enough to make a mess of something if you're not being careful. I use it for inner horns on superstrats and other tight curves on guitar bodies. Also use it for headstock wings where the headstock joins the neck. I dont thickness headstocks like you mentioned so I cannot comment on that. http://www.ledamachi...n-sander-detail I just made a stand for mine a few months ago so its not on a benchtop anymore. You can see it in here somewhere: Also take note of the bandsaw as a case of what NOT to buy!! This drill press too - DO NOT buy anything that looks liek that - its ****ing ****. Aweosme for MDF/pine and other softwoods. Hardwood not so much.

A note on bandsaws (copied from an old woodworker)

I can understand where RAD is coming from and to the guys suggesting the cheaper options, dont take offense to his blow offs. I'm in the same boat (but without the budget to upgrade!) I've got a full workshop minus the CNC but a lot if it was bought on tight budget, for example RAD mentions bandsaw. Mine is a weak point as well. I think it cost me about $700-$800 at the time and it gets the job done, but I need something in the $3000 price range for the amount of work I do since I'm now building guitars about five to six days a week every week. I need a bigger drum sander, I just cooked the curcuit board on mine. It was repaired under warranty but it shows I need a bigger one. My drill press sucks. Its big enough but not good enough for hardwood. I cannot offer advice to RAD as most of all the brands they sell in USA are rebranded as other brands here. For example your grissly is Leda over here, most of my machines are Leda. Sine if your others are rebranded carbatec and so forth. Advice I can offer which is exactly what RAD is doing and what I'll be doing soon is buy right, buy according to the workload so it does the job right without creating work and it lasts.

Trans Candy Red SS7 Mahogany body and headstock Rosewood fingerboard Maple 3pc neck Bareknuckle Holydiver bridge p/up Bareknuckle Mothers milk neck p/up Kahler Tremolo Grover tuners Build pics here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.352354684846372.82745.122774891137687&type=1

I just uploaded this quick clip of my guitar being played by a local Jazz musician who stopped in to check out my guitars. I met him for the first time today, seems like a great bloke! Enjoy: http://youtu.be/2Q8H83zSK-Q

Curtisa: thanks for the kind words. The lock nut cancels out your concerns, however these were only temperary strings in a temporary bridge for the photos. The guitar now has a Floyd rose pro bridge, ebony pickup surrounds and the strings are wrapped around the tuners the correct way!

Zyonsdream: Thanks for the kind words A guy saw this on my Facebook page and has ordered a variation of in 7 string neckthru form. Is going to look amazing! The Tas blackwood is the neck and then slightly lighter Vic blackwood for the body. Check it out!

These GOTM keep getting tougher and tougher! Great entries everyone... EVERY guitar looks brilliant in its own light.

All this is on the backburner at the moment anyway as I've got four guitars mid construction and taking another couple deposits as we speak, so I'll have my hands too full to do gimmick builds.