# Builds 4 and 5 - Padauk, Walnut, Maple ETC



## MikeNeal (Dec 20, 2016)

Hey guys, 

I've decided to build 2 guitars at the same time, a 6 and a 7. These will be my first multilaminate necks, and trying a new body style with rounder horns, hopefully to have better luck with routing.

anyways on to the specs and the pictures

6 string:
Padauk body
Bookmatched Walnut top
3 piece curly maple/wenge/curly maple neck
curly maple fretboard
wenge headstock with matching walnut cap

body






top





neck





Wenge for neck stripe





Fretboard






7 string:
Walnut body
Padauk top
3 piece walnut/padauk/walnut neck
Ziricote fretboard
Maple headstock with padauk cap

Body





Top





Neck





fretboard





thats all for now, will get cracking on it very soon!


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## Walshy (Dec 21, 2016)

I look forward to seeing this progress. Nice wood choices. Just try and keep that padauk dust away from any maple or light coloured wood as it'll stain it red!


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## MikeNeal (Dec 22, 2016)

did some work on the 7 today

planed the body flat





planed the top flat





cut and routed the body to shape





and glued the top on (pretty crude way of doing it, but havent had any issues yet)





going to let that dry overnight then cut and route the top


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## MikeNeal (Dec 23, 2016)

some spec changes:
6 string is going to have an ash body
7 string is going to have a wenge fretboard

anyways. got out into the garage for an hour this afternoon

rough cut the top, routed it to shape, and cleaned it up.














i had good luck with this one, and had no tear out!


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## skeels (Dec 23, 2016)

skeels likes this


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## M3CHK1LLA (Dec 24, 2016)

looking good so far. ..

the fret board for the 7 looks incredible


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## MikeNeal (Dec 24, 2016)

M3CHK1LLA said:


> looking good so far. ..
> 
> the fret board for the 7 looks incredible



the 7 is for my buddy, he changed his mind, and wants a wenge fretboard now.


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## MikeNeal (Dec 26, 2016)

MOAR PICTURES!

did the first round of body routing today.

basically i route the neck pocket, the the neck pickup, the control cavity, and the jack access, then drill the hole between the neck pickup and the control cavity










next step is to build the neck, do the fretwork and glue the neck in. once the neck is glued in i can verify the centerline of the guitar then route the bridge pickup and drill for the bridge.

still have to start the 6 string


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## MikeNeal (Dec 27, 2016)

making some good progress over the holidays

glued up the neck blanks






curly maple/wenge/curly maple and walnut/padauk/walnut





closeups









a picture of the wenge fretboard for the 7 string





curly maple fretboard for the 6 string


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## BlackMastodon (Dec 29, 2016)

I was bummed to see you weren't using that ziricote fretboard but that wenge one is also really nice. Looking good so far!


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## MikeNeal (Dec 29, 2016)

im going to save the ziricote board for another build.

i've been stockpiling wood for some time now, so i have some sweet fretboards to use for later builds


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## MikeNeal (Jan 10, 2017)

so i got the morning today to do some work

i cut the angle for the scarf joint on the 7









and glued the padauk headstock on





the wenge fretboard i was going to use ended up warping really bad. after planing it flat it was 5mm thick. so i had use the other wenge fretboard blank i had. this one planed down nicely to 7mm, so i slotted it





quick mockup


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## MikeNeal (Jan 11, 2017)

cut out the neck and routed it to shape - not super exciting.













sexy scarf joint


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## MikeNeal (Jan 14, 2017)

in typical fashion for me, i changed my mind once again, and instead of ash the 6 string will have a black limba body

so today i prepped the top and the body blank









i have a dilema though; the black limba is thick enough to be an entire body. so the question is should i thickness the body for the top, or leave the body and use a black limba headstock?


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## KnightBrolaire (Jan 14, 2017)

leave the body as is dude. limba on limba is overkill imo.


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## MikeNeal (Jan 14, 2017)

The top is black walnut


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## KnightroExpress (Jan 14, 2017)

Are you talking about thinning the limba body core to account for the added thickness of the walnut top?


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## MikeNeal (Jan 14, 2017)

basically i'm unsure if i should put the walnut top on the body or not. so far most of the people i have asked have said yes.


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## Millul (Jan 15, 2017)

I'd go all-limba


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## MikeNeal (Jan 15, 2017)

Millul said:


> I'd go all-limba



too late! a bunch of my friends all said put the top on, so i glued it on today.









there will be lots more limba in the future.


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## Millul (Jan 16, 2017)

I won't hold a grudge to you for that


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## MikeNeal (Jan 19, 2017)

routed the body for the 6 string to shape, then planed it to the proper thickness


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## Walshy (Jan 24, 2017)

Nice work so far! I think that router sled you made is similar to the one I'll be making this weekend. Can't bear to blow a load of money on a router planer at the moment.

Check out this great tutorial if you plan on doing a few more drop tops - great jig to consider: https://youtu.be/UNY1C9HYqDQ


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## MikeNeal (Jan 29, 2017)

update time!

worked on the neck for the 6 string.

first i cut the scarf joint angle and glued on the walnut headstock





then planed that flat





next i cut out the neck and routed it all to shape













then i slotted the fretboard





Heres both guitars as they sit so far


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## Deegatron (Jan 30, 2017)

I'm trying to decide whether I absolutely LOVE the walnut/Padauk combo.... or absolutely despise it.... I'm currently very torn.....
I will hold judgment until after finish is applied and the Padauk oxidizes a little....
Loving the builds tho.... they both look quite stunning... and that wenge fretboard... wow... hot....


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## MikeNeal (Jan 30, 2017)

Deegatron said:


> I'm trying to decide whether I absolutely LOVE the walnut/Padauk combo.... or absolutely despise it.... I'm currently very torn.....
> I will hold judgment until after finish is applied and the Padauk oxidizes a little....
> Loving the builds tho.... they both look quite stunning... and that wenge fretboard... wow... hot....



i feel the same way, i'm hoping the finish just pulls it together


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## MikeNeal (Jan 30, 2017)

small update.

cut the truss rod slots and glued on the fretboards


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## MikeNeal (Feb 12, 2017)

update

shaped the headstock of the 7





radiused the fretboard





installed frets


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## IGC (Feb 12, 2017)

Just found this build thread, man these are turning into some really nice guitars! Can't wait to see them finished. Love the zircote fretboard. Zircote has such beautiful figuring.


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## MikeNeal (Feb 12, 2017)

IGC said:


> Just found this build thread, man these are turning into some really nice guitars! Can't wait to see them finished. Love the zircote fretboard. Zircote has such beautiful figuring.



my buddy decided on the wenge board, so ill have the ziricote board for another build


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## MikeNeal (Feb 18, 2017)

i made a modification to the 6 string, it's now going to be my first bolt on guitar
heres a picture with it and my new template





then i radius'd the fretboard and installed the frets


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## MikeNeal (Feb 21, 2017)

did the fretwork, drilled the tuner holes, brought the headstocks to the right thickness, and installed side dots

















then i married the neck and body for the 7 string


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## Deegatron (Feb 22, 2017)

Ah, I'm excited to see someone else rocking the powerfist clamps / tools... good show.... some of that stuff is 1/2 decent... and like 1/2 the price too....


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## MikeNeal (Feb 24, 2017)

Deegatron said:


> Ah, I'm excited to see someone else rocking the powerfist clamps / tools... good show.... some of that stuff is 1/2 decent... and like 1/2 the price too....



these c clamps are tough. i can put some serious force into them with no issues



carved the neck and tummy cut on the 7 string.













feels great so far.


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## MikeNeal (Mar 1, 2017)

routed the neck pocket and pickup cavities on the 6 string





and i fit the hardware and strung up the 7 string. going to let it sit under tension for a week then finish sand and oil the guitar


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## Mr_Mar10 (Mar 2, 2017)

What a lovely pair 

Look forward to seeing them complete.


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## MikeNeal (Mar 5, 2017)

worked on the 6 string, trying to get it caught up to the 7 string
i drilled the neck and body for the bolts









then i drilled for the bridge. Limba can be a pain in the ass to drill, even with a drill press, on a good day. so i have a bit of tear out for the ferrules, but the hipshot ferrules will cover the tear out i think









then i started carving the neck profile









applied some oil to see how it would look, i think it looks awesome





heres how it sits so far


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## BlackMastodon (Mar 7, 2017)

Damn, the back of the neck looks great. Also love the profile change from D to V cool.


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## electriceye (Mar 7, 2017)

Looking awesome!


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## MikeNeal (Mar 7, 2017)

BlackMastodon said:


> Damn, the back of the neck looks great. Also love the profile change from D to V cool.



Yeah it moves from a hard v to a soft v. But the soft v is more pronounced on the set neck. I find v shaped necks really comfortable. My hand seems to sit perfectly on it


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## MikeNeal (Mar 17, 2017)

Did the finish sanding and first coat on oil on the 7 string.
Feeling pretty meh about this one


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## electriceye (Mar 17, 2017)

You mentioned the tear out with the limba. What drill bits are you using? I just got my hands on a body blank and long board, so looking forward to being able to use them some day.


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## MikeNeal (Mar 18, 2017)

I used just normal drill bits. A spade or forstener may yeild better results. I have to drill one more hole in the limba, I'll use a spade bit and see if I get less tearout


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## electriceye (Mar 18, 2017)

MikeNeal said:


> I used just normal drill bits. A spade or forstener may yeild better results. I have to drill one more hole in the limba, I'll use a spade bit and see if I get less tearout



I just got a set of brad points, so I'll test those out on a piece of scrap. I believe those will results in less tearout. The forstners should work for you. They're really nice.


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## MikeNeal (Mar 19, 2017)

carved the 6 string, finish sanded and oiled the body


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## trebal (Mar 19, 2017)

Good work!


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## MikeNeal (Mar 20, 2017)

tiny update. 
put the first coat of finish on the 6 string neck





going to do the control cavity covers, 2nd coat of oil, and assembly this week hopefully


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