Desopolis

yeah, i definatly have PG in my online routine..

ninjas fo life.

one of the coolest Ive ever seen...

seriously wondering where you got that burl

Definatly a cool body shape.

why the single action?

and I totaly agree, I almost attacked my neck after I put the fretboard on, but figured fretting and everything would be 10x easyer on a flat surface.

got pentatonic?

plus half step.

add a bunch of bends and totaly un needed slides and mutes..

no but seriously, I love SD stuff.

the hot coils in my strat are what got me into wanting to build my own guitar, if pickups alone could change so much...

VERY hot. but I definatly lost that bit of Strat vintage sound.

So I used a classic Single coil in the middle, and when I want higher hot tone I switch to just the hot coils, when I want a vitage/heat mix, I use both.

and for most rythm and clean leads I use a duckbucker in the bridge, although I get a gibsonesque tone from the Hot coil when clean. I bet a cold coil would do the same.

also the JB or 59 allways does well in a few friends rigs..

go to Seymour Duncans website and preview.

It's like the Bible of finishing books, and a very enjoyable read also, formatted and chaptered in a very common sense way.

The only other thing I ever used really was the video series from Stew-Mac, 'Spray Finishing Basics' and 'Spray Finishing With Colors', which also helped me a lot.

That, and a LOT of trial and error, which yielded a feast for my W.O.D.

Times are getin' lean for the little fella lately tho...

I may have some for you.. im coming up on the finish stages and cringing..

halves of the top or of the body? like, down the centerline, or between the top and body?

if the second, you could allways use a dremel cutoff wheel, make a rig like the one I did in the tool tutorial section(cheap dremel base) and make the base run over the top of the flat body, set the depth of the wheel, and hold the long piece over the body to support the dremel

OHH I just got how to do it if its the centerline and its allready glued, but you need a stewmac fretting table saw.. the rest should be obvious..

explain more, maybe I can come up with a better ghetto rig..

well a 8.5 x 2 x 70 board is 28lbs...

soo.... lol

find a local wood shop, I can get flamed maple 2' long, 8" wide x 1" deep for $15, and im talking nice flame:

to bad I mutilated the neck, although it made me decide on a nicer one.

anyway..

glue it BEFORE cutting the shape, that way, you can allways align the centerline, and there is no possibility of you cutting one side shallow, and spending forever trying to shape it right, only to find you passed your line(what I did to ruin my neck)

once the glue dries, it will be like using one solid piece, just watch grain orientation while using power tools.

also, use alot of clamps, and I used a piece of wood over everything to apply preseure in the center.

well it really messed up my talking to Matt about his walnut... and calculating shipping.. so..

other then that I like to troll

personally, Id mill down to a flat level, then put a maple top on it...

Matts new Walnut

http://www.desopolis.com/guitar/mattswalnut002.jpg

http://www.desopolis.com/guitar/mattswalnut003.jpg

http://www.desopolis.com/guitar/mattswalnut004.jpg

I dont know why that guy said he didnt have 10" he did..

8.75" X 70" (BIG!!)

i gotta go for tonight, be back in like 3 hrs.

56.47 after tax

damnit, I wanted the pics to show the glimmer in the wood.. pretty cool..

pics changed to links...

EDIT:

Ok, so you mean the edges between where the top and the body meet may not be flush.

i would use a ton of clamps, all arround the edges and some in the middle.

as long as the faces are level(or are level when pressed) the gap should be pretty small.

Dont be afraid to clamp i REALLY tight, that was my problem when joining the boards for a body blank, I thought it would be TOO tight, so I left it loose.

the glue made a bit of a gap. I cut it apart, put it on a jointer then glued it back together SUPER tight.

Now without the pencil line down the center, I cant see the middle line.

+1 just glue it, you will be suprised when it holds..

im confused, you mean trim the edges and the crowns before gluing it to the fretboard?

if thats the case, then no.

attach it first. what if you do it and its alittle off?

I guess you could do it first, but After reading, and watching builds, I've never seen it.

Ill be back in Austin arround X-mas..

unless I go on that trip to barbados to install prison fences...

lol...

oh and I saw your wanting walnut for the body. the local wood shop here has it for a bunch of different prices:

http://www.northwestlumberco.com/domestic.php

my guess is arround $16 for a 1" worth of walnut (16"x22") but I doubt its 16" wide, so you could allways get less and bookmatch it.

if you wanted that and the Zebra I could send them together.

it wouldnt be a big deal, because im going there soon to get another ebony fretboard.

ok, as far as for your first, Id hate to see you shape the neck and uncover the truss rod.

you would have a better chance from the top

second, slotting is IMO pretty dificult. I bought the preslotted board for my first neck(witch I ended up making to thin) and now im using the stew mac blade and slotted ruler. but I plan on doing a few, and it will eventually pay for its self.

ha, I would of just added +1 but right when I went to hit reply my Server went down..

we had to wait untill tech got it working again for me to hit the reply button.

1. How much different is the 5150 (Kramer Pacer Special) then a standard strat? I was planning on drawing an outline of my strat and transfering that over to mdf to make a template in case I screw something up bad.

one thing that I love about making guitars, is it doesnt have to be exactly like what inspired you. I think the address is www.guitartemplates.com for MDF templates of some standard designs.

2. Is there someplace that I can get a template for the headstock or should I just attempt to size it up in photoshop print it and trace that out?

that template site may have it, but your headstock doesnt have to be perfect either, as long as the nut/scale/bridge/neck pocket matches up

3. I am not sure if I want to increase the nut size to 1 3/4. I know you are looking for 1/8 inch or so from the string to the edge so If i had to increase this size would I have to make it wider all the way to the heel? Ill have to read some more into this. I have large fingertips.

It most likely wouldnt be a whole 1/8 but the spacing will need to be changed if you plan on keeping it 1/8 throughout. the gap will shrink the closer you get to the nut.

4. Were the original necks fitted with a truss rod adjustable from the head or heel side?

I dont know about that model, but for adjustibility's sake Id do it on the headstock side. you can leave the strings on while making a adjustment, witch is the tension the rod is facing anyway. Otherwise you have to remove the strings, remove the neck, make a adjustment, put it all back together, restring it, check it, then when the guitar is back under full tension it could be wrong.. then youd have to do it all over again

5. I would like to make a one piece neck but If i have to I can cut off the top of the neck to rout a channel in for the truss rod and then reglue it, I will. What would you think would be the best idea? I am not scared of trying. Its the only way to learn.

im not sure I follow here.

to route a truss rod channel, I made a template out of a 4" x 1/2" x 2' with a 1/4" width to it. and some centerline markers. I line up where I want the rod to go, drilled a pilot hole with my drill(id use a press if I had access to make sure it were square) then used the edge guide on my router with my template.

now Im not using a angled headstock so I didnt need to make a scarf joint. but thats the only reason I could see to "cutting the top off"

FYI im planning on using a SD custom custom and OFR. It seems the Custom Custom is a good choice for sound close to the 5150 album and Live Without A Net recording.

I am open to all suggestions from the vast wisdom from all those that have done these projects before me.

I have a friend whom builds cabinets and has a huge workshop so I am not worried on the tool portion of this. We are doing this as I always liked the guitar and we want challange ourselves. I Do have Melvyn Hiscocks book "How to Build an Electric Guitar"

We used the Custom in my friends ibanez, pretty versitile PUP

as far as the book goes, read it, over and over, untill you understand everything.

I read over it when I get stuck some times.. but honestly this forum has enough info and help that I dont need it much..

I definatly will when it comes to finishing and electronics though.

matt, I have a big piece of Zebra I was going to make a fretboard from, but I decided against it.

its alittle over 1/4 thick, about 5" wide and decently long( I dont remember.. maybe 2 feet+)

I dont see myself using it, definatly not for this project or one like it for a little while. Plus I allready ripped the one I needed from the original 1" board.

heres the piece:

your welcome to have it if you cover the shipping, I dont want to waste a nice piece, and figure you could use it.

I figure your in the states or Canada so It shouldnt be that much.

let me know..

where is the finished product?

Im using it as a neck wood and am wondering what to do about the huge pores.

and what would be the best finish(oil im assuming) to keep it from turning very brown. Right now its a very rich red.

I vote padauak fretboard with a piece of maple veneer between the board and the neck.

I thought about that too, but im thinking using the red as a accent to the guitar witch will be mostly black.

I like the veneer Idea though..

Ill look into Bubinga..

any other ideas..

where are you located?

So I built a really pretty piece of mahogony/maple/paduak/maple/mahogony laminate neck:

I was at the exotic wood store loosing my mind.. my other neck will have ebony, but wouldnt that look a bit bland?

I was going to use Zebra but I dont want to mix it with this "classy" neck..

any advice?