Project S907

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This is a 6 string. I know you guys play 7 strings but I asked if it was ok to post and a few said go for it.


SO here it is


Maple/Cocobolo neck attached to a super thin Sapele/Exotic topped body with hipshot parts and custom pickups.
Aiming for dark fast shreader 6 strings light enough to enjoy.

Neck : Maple/Cocobolo
Fretboard : Cocobolo
Scale : 25.5
Frets : 24
Trussrod : ALLPARTS

Body : Sapele/Exotic (33mm)
Tuners : Hipshot
Pickups : Diablo 6 Strings && Destroyer 6 Strings
Bridge : Hipshot
Electronics : 1 Vol 3-way



Start with a neck blank. These were really hard to square up because the flame maple tears out with the jointer. The drum sander had to do all the heavy lifting. Going back to using 1.5" neck blanks and peeling the headstock from the back of the neck for these builds. Allows me to keep the stripes straight.

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The neck blank was 2 inches short of making 2 necks without scarfs. Since I ended up with one blank scarfed I need some accents.

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Got them lined up and glued.

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To scarf or not to scarf that is the question...

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Back of the body blank



The neck with the joint in the headstock looks perfect. I will not even need a backstrap. It sanded up nice and is ready for trussrod and headstock wings. I ordered the wood for the tops of these 2 guitars this week but it won't be in until maybe Monday next week. When I resaw the tops I will use a bookmatched piece of the top for the headstock plate.

Over the years I have learned that sometimes things just need to be scrapped. After reviewing the scarf joints I noticed that the stripes on the scarf neck were 1mm off. Then looking at the placement of the scarf I felt it was too close to the headstock. You can't see it very well in the picture but you should be able to tell that the scarf is just too close.



So instead of trying to fix it with a 1/4" headplate (silly idea anyway) and live with the slight offset in the strips I asked the bandsaw to help. Yes I cut the nice headstock off and grafted a new one on. Since this is a prototype I decided to not wast a nice piece of flame maple and instead used a piece of birdseye that I had laying around for just this type of event. While not ideal for looks it is always better to be functionally correct before being aesthetically uniform.

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I went looking for a fretboard for the project and didn't really find anything I liked so I grabbed a piece of coco off the rack and sawed it up. Since I am using thinner fretboards on the S9 series I got 4 out of a nice 5/4 piece. While not as wild as some of my previous boards I think this one will do. Of course it will "Orange Up" in a few weeks as the build progresses.

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Disaster. Jointer got me. I was close and didn't feel like hand sanding so I tried one last pass... and BAM! --- tear-out. All is not lost... I will end up using it for something. I think I will test laminated fretboards and practice my binding skills on it.

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I noticed a slight (1/32) irregularity (a twist) in the face of the neck blank. Probably occured when I cut the piece from the back as the wood released a bit. Anyway I do not have a really nice belt sander (on the list) so I had to true up the blanks. Stuck 80 grit to the face of the router table and trued up by hand. Only took a second.

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Going with this fretboard because it matches the stripes in the neck better.

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Tried these...but just didn't like any of them for this neck. They look better on the padauk and sapele necks.

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Miscelaneous templates and blanks.


Trussrods siliconed in.


What a mess.

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Hello Mr. Tree. Nice to meet you... Have you met Mr. Bandsaw? This is a nice piece of flamed spalted Oregon big leaf maple that I got reasonable. If I saw it right I get 2 tops. So lets saw it right. The main trick is to setup the bandsaw right. I almost had it but the blade cupped a little and I lost 1/16" of the set. Still ended with 2 sets but one is only a 1/4" drop top instead of a 3/8" top I was shooting for. Oh well I will buy a better bandsaw one day until then the dumpster 14" will have to do. Oh yes the 14" Central Machines was saved from a dumpster... I ordered a new deck brace, riser, crank tensioner and it has done great things since being abandoned as scrap.

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And this is what we ended up with. This is really only 2 sets I was just testing for the best configuration.

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While the sapele body is waiting for its spalted top. I broke out the hand plane for this set because of the spongy spalt. I was afraid the jointer would destroy the soft stuff. Plus I recently read that Rick Toone has been using his hand planes for joints and has been enjoying the increased precision. Then I stick the top in the pipe clamps with a large aluminum plate to keep everything flat.

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Top glued up and the set. I wanted to get a look at all the pieces together before moving on.

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Top glued on.

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Top sides trimed flush and starting on the head plate.

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The headplate is 2 different pieces of wood. I wanted to capture all the great burl that was left from another top I had. It goes like this.

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Headplate finished up.




The blank was still pretty thick and for some reason I forgot to profile it before gluing the fretboard on. So "To the bandsaw" and cut off the excess. Then level by belt sander and finish by hand. Make sure to have the calipers handy and take measurements on all four corners to make sure it is still square.

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I never seem to have MDF laying around so I made the neck template three ply ECUA board so it is plenty still and very smooth. I treat the edges if my templates with CA to harden them. I use the forstner to clear out before routing.

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Forgot to take a shot of the finished pocket. Here is the fitted neck.

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Extra shots.

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Thin. Still a lot of carving to take place.


A look at the back after the heal has been roughed in and before shaping the neck.

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Here is where I leave off for the day.