# Renk Build: Second Siren



## Renkenstein (Oct 2, 2014)

So I just finished up a build on Luthiertalk, which I shared some shots in the workbench thread and the guitars built by members thread. Since starting that, I decided to join this community. I've been to SSO on occasion in the past, but I never registered(honestly, because I've never been a 7 string player and didn't realize many of aren't either). I'm glad I joined, because I've now been exposed to builders that have inspired me quite a bit, namely Perry Ormsby, and Pondman. Purelojik is up there too, but I knew him from LT already 

I also discovered what a Blackmachine and a Daemoness are, and other guitars that I never even heard of before, so thanks for that.

I'm sharing this build with SSO to show some of my processes as a newer builder that could possibly help others. 

Advance warning: I kinda plan these things as I go, as you'll see in this post. I never seem to have all the materials on hand, or anything more than a rough plan and some pieces of wood that I've got to make work. That's how I like it though. I don't have the money for primo woods, so I make the best of whatever I have available. 

Rough Specs:
Renk Siren body shape(bevels on upper and lower bouts only)
Mahogany/maple/mahogany laminated back
Curly maple top (Blackburst, natural faux binding)
Laminated maple neck
Rosewood fretboard(or something else dark)
25.5" scale(if I order from the FB from LMII, I may go with a 666mm scale)
Hipshot hardware
Seymour Duncan Pickups(Duncan Custom(bridge) Duncan Jazz(neck))


Not much at this point, but I did some wood selection and body prep.







1x6" curly maple. I'm going to bookmatch this to give me a roughly 1/4-3/8" top. This is only 6" wide, so I'm going to cut the bevel deep into the upper and lower bouts so you see the mahogany on the edges. 







Same goes for the african mahogany. It's only 6" wide as well, so I'm going to build up the width(13" total) with a curly maple center flanked with 1/4" strips of this mystery wood. 








Mystery wood is HARRRRD. It could easily be a fretboard, but I don't have any wide enough. I thought it would be a cool contrast and transition from the mahogany to the maple. I may use some of it in the neck blank as well. 








Bookmatched the 1" maple on my table saw and drum sanded the pieces to matching thickness.








A little more figure for this build. I bought an 8' board of this stuff for $23 at Woodcraft. That's a lot of figure for what little I paid. I used this stuff for the fretboard of the last build.








Maple drop top on the mahogany back. The 'hog is really dark for some awesome contrast against the top. The drawback is it's HEAVY. I'm going to have to do some weight relief on this gal. I think the mystery wood for the center will be out. There just isn't enough contrast to justify using it. With the maple center strip, I'm going to need another 1/2" to fill out the body width, so I need to figure something out there and tie in a matching scheme with the neck. Shoptime thus far: 2hrs


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## immortalx (Oct 3, 2014)

Looks nice man and would be cool if you had a long blank to make it a neck through with mahogany wings.
Mystery wood looks like an iroko piece a have in my workshop.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 3, 2014)

The thought of a neck thru crossed my mind, but I'm all set up for bolt-on and set neck. I'm timing this build to judge how much time I actually spend working and how much time is spent scratching my head...I forgot to mention that. Testing the repeatability of my process.

After posting my last build on forums and facebook and playing her on the jam show I participated in, I've had a lot of interest. This is kind of a test run of my current setup to see how my costs and man hours should cost on these specs.

Thank you for the suggestion though! I'm definitely open to feedback from my fellow builders!



Mods...to clarify, I am not a professional luthier, nor am I peddling wares at this point. Still building for myself and the learning process. Plz don't move to dealer section.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 6, 2014)

Mystery wood is officially out. I had some leftover mahogany from my previous build that's quite a bit lighter....using that instead. This is pre-glue up after thickness sanding the gluing surfaces of the inner 3 pieces on the drum sander and planing the surface of the outer dark mahogany with my Stanley #5. The middle portion stands a bit proud of the outer, so those are shadows, not gaps.


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## XxJoshxX (Oct 6, 2014)

Its looking good Renk!


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## ElysianGuitars (Oct 6, 2014)

Should make it a multiscale


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Oct 6, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> Advance warning: I kinda plan these things as I go, as you'll see in this post. I never seem to have all the materials on hand, or anything more than a rough plan and some pieces of wood that I've got to make work. That's how I like it though. I don't have the money for primo woods, so I make the best of whatever I have available.





Man thats me 100%... 

I've only built one guitar so far in the past 4 years since I started this hobby but I've made 6-7 necks and bodies in the learning process. I'm currently working on my second build and I have gotten better at making a fully planned schematic and sticking to it all the way through the build... hopefully in a couple months I'll have that done.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 6, 2014)

DistinguishedPapyrus said:


> Man thats me 100%...
> 
> I've only built one guitar so far in the past 4 years since I started this hobby but I've made 6-7 necks and bodies in the learning process. I'm currently working on my second build and I have gotten better at making a fully planned schematic and sticking to it all the way through the build... hopefully in a couple months I'll have that done.


 
Hah! Sounds familiar. If you look at my collections of drawings you'll see the same thing...a whole bunch of half finished pieces. The fact that I finished one build is a complete surprise to me. This artistic medium is different, IMO. The end result is an instrument that can not only be appreciated from a visual perspective, but can also be played and used to make another form of artistic expression. I tell ya, lutherie is what I've been missing all my life. So rewarding, this endeavor. I only wish I had started sooner....and that I had a stockpile of primo woods to work from. 

So far I've got 3 bodies that are unfinished and 3 necks. The first attempts are completely unusable because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I've learned a bunch since then. Mainly from Luthiertalk, MLP, and you fine folks here at SSO.


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Oct 6, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> Hah! Sounds familiar. If you look at my collections of drawings you'll see the same thing...a whole bunch of half finished pieces. The fact that I finished one build is a complete surprise to me. This artistic medium is different, IMO. The end result is an instrument that can not only be appreciated from a visual perspective, but can also be played and used to make another form of artistic expression. I tell ya, lutherie is what I've been missing all my life. So rewarding, this endeavor. I only wish I had started sooner....and that I had a stockpile of primo woods to work from.
> 
> So far I've got 3 bodies that are unfinished and 3 necks. The first attempts are completely unusable because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I've learned a bunch since then. Mainly from Luthiertalk, MLP, and you fine folks here at SSO.




At one point I had designed about 40 bodies on my laptop, had drawn out 8-9 of them full size on card stock, used those 8 drawings to make full sized routing templates out of acrylic and used 4 of those 8 templates to route out the bodies I mentioned above, and out of all those, only one has become a playable instrument. 

Then one day about 4 months ago I got convicted and frustrated at the whole hobby. I needed to put things back in perspective so I threw it all away! the rough cut bodies, the templates, the drawings, the designs on my computer and all the scrap wood I had... lol. All except my tools and the very last two pieces I had ordered a week before for a neck and fretboard. 

I just recently got back on the computer, taking it easy and not expecting to build "THE ULTIMATE AND PERFECT GUITAR". I designed a couple good bodies, made one into a template and started shaping the two pieces I had into a neck. Those are coming along quite nicely now in my current build >>> THREAD HERE


Gonna take it slow from now on though and not get obsessed with it. Just one nice build at a time.


***EDIT*** ^^^ this hobby can be like raising a child... sometimes you gotta give it a spanking lol.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 6, 2014)

XxJoshxX said:


> Its looking good Renk!


 
Thanks brother!!!



ElysianGuitars said:


> Should make it a multiscale


 
Mannn, I see your multiscales and I want to try it soooo bad. If for nothing else than just to be able to play a multiscale guitar. My former metal band tuned to C standard, and even a set of "Not Even Slinky" strings still had a floppy action to the C. Having just an extra half inch of scale length could have made all the difference on the riffing hand.



DistinguishedPapyrus said:


> At one point I had designed about 40 bodies on my laptop, had drawn out 8-9 of them full size on card stock, used those 8 drawings to make full sized routing templates out of acrylic and used 4 of those 8 templates to route out the bodies I mentioned above, and out of all those, only one has become a playable instrument.
> 
> Then one day about 4 months ago I got convicted and frustrated at the whole hobby. I needed to put things back in perspective so I threw it all away! the rough cut bodies, the templates, the drawings, the designs on my computer and all the scrap wood I had... lol. All except my tools and the very last two pieces I had ordered a week before for a neck and fretboard.
> 
> ...


 
That build is looking great, man! I love that body. Familiar, but different enough to be unique. I've got a single cut design that I'm itching to get started, but that means making all new templates. I wanted to get at least 1 more build out of this design's templates before taking on the task of making a whole new set.


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## skeels (Oct 6, 2014)

Nice work, Renk! Love the top!


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## Renkenstein (Oct 6, 2014)

skeels said:


> Nice work, Renk! Love the top!


 
Thanks! I definitely got lucky when I found that board. It was [almost] perfectly flat sawn, with quite a bit of figure. It's no 5A top, but I got 8' of it for $23! Got enough for another top and a couple neck blanks. I was shopping for a fretboard blank when I saw this maple board. It was the same $$$ as an uninspiring piece of zircote that was 1/4"x3"x24". I put away the zircote and snagged the maple.


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## Knarbens (Oct 7, 2014)

I'm in dude! 

So is this going to be a 6 or 7? Either way it'll be nice to see your progress.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 7, 2014)

Knarbens said:


> I'm in dude!
> 
> So is this going to be a 6 or 7? Either way it'll be nice to see your progress.


 
This one's another 6. It's for me, and I have no clue what to do with 7 strings. 

I'll build a 7 eventually, but I think I'll build a multiscale before building a 7. I really want to try one of those.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 7, 2014)

Busy day! I took the body blank out of clamps, chiseled away the glue squeeze-out and ran the blank through the drum sander. Once I had all center pieces flush with the rest of the body, I cut the shape out on the band saw. I then sanded to the line on the ROSS. I then took it back to the drum sander to make sure it's perfectly flat on both the front and back faces. Here I've hit the back with some spirits to show roughly what it will look like when finished. Man, this is one beautiful piece of mahogany.







Another angle. I'm not making a south-paw fiddle, by the way...this is the back. Shoptime thus far: 6.5hrs


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Oct 7, 2014)

Really nice looking wood combination. How many guitars have you done in all?


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## pondman (Oct 7, 2014)

This is looking handsome


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## Renkenstein (Oct 7, 2014)

DistinguishedPapyrus said:


> Really nice looking wood combination. How many guitars have you done in all?


 
This is numero dos, not including the abortions.

I learned a lot from a LP copy build that I started last year. I royally fkd the neck and fretboard, so it got shelved. The body is still good, so I may return to her yet. Here's the story: LP Build - Imgur


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## Renkenstein (Oct 7, 2014)

pondman said:


> This is looking handsome


 

Thanka, Pondman! Oh, I guess I told a lie in your thread about my next build being a walnut top. Going with maple...as usual. Walnut SOOON!!!


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Oct 7, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> This is numero dos, not including the abortions.
> 
> I learned a lot from a LP copy build that I started last year. I royally fkd the neck and fretboard, so it got shelved. The body is still good, so I may return to her yet. Here's the story: LP Build - Imgur



Thats pretty cool man, my very first build (attempted build) was gonna be a 7 string LP, and it ended up terrible. I never finished it, but learned alot in the process...


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## Renkenstein (Oct 7, 2014)

DistinguishedPapyrus said:


> Thats pretty cool man, my very first build (attempted build) was gonna be a 7 string LP, and it ended up terrible. I never finished it, but learned alot in the process...


 
I definitely learned a lot. I learned that building a guitar needn't be so fkn difficult! The LP is a tough bugger to build. Building a flattop electric was a walk through the park compared to a carved top. I was so close, and fudged it all up on the fretboard. That's when I decided to keep my neck blanks square until the fretboard is glued and radiused. I wanted a finished build so bad that I proceeded with fretting the monstrosity. I eventually just threw my arms up in defeat and started my own design...which is what I should have been doing in the first place.


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## immortalx (Oct 7, 2014)

That looks sexy as hell with the center maple stripe!


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## Renkenstein (Oct 8, 2014)

Today I glued the drop top together. After thickness sanding the bookmatched pieces, I'm right at 3/8" thickness. My phone flipped out, and didn't save the pictures I took of how I prepped the joint. I used a shooting board that I had made a while ago, but for some reason I couldn't get the joint perfect. I may have to build a new one for future projects. I got it close enough on the shooting board and then clamped the two pieces together and carefully ran them over a piece of granite(not pictured) with some 80 grit stickied to it. This closed up the gaps. 

Here was my strategy for joining the drop top. It took me a while to figure out a way to make it work. I had seen how Adam of Elysian glues his tops and I went off that. The end of my bench has a plane stop that works great for clamping. I screwed a piece of scrap into my workbench, located so that the two top pieces would tee-pee and support each other. Pushing down on the pieces so they're flat creates enough pressure to hold the joint together. I applied futher vertical pressure with this piece of synth-granite and clamps, while adding a little more lateral pressure with a couple F clamps. 

tl;dr....I glued the drop top. 

Shoptime thus far: 7hrs,45min...almost a full workday.

Some of the best advice I can give newer builders is call around and find a local kitchen and bath remodeller. I got several slabs of granite that work very well for sharpening, flattening, clamping, and just about anything else you can think of. The place down the road from my house let me raid their dumpster for offcuts.


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## KnightroExpress (Oct 10, 2014)

Man, you made me go and join another forum. Siren 2 is looking beautiful!


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## Renkenstein (Oct 13, 2014)

Heyyy Knightro! Welcome to SSO. I followed Alex over here. There's a lot of cool superstrat builds, which is my cup o' tea.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 13, 2014)

Well, it was a rough weekend in the shop. This pic is the sum of all my progress. I decided to cut neck stringers, and planned on using a center piece of curly maple that would be the same thickness as the center maple piece in the body. I was also going to use 2 mahogany stringers flanking the maple matching the thickness of the 2 strips in the body. Well guess what...the width of those materials is greater than that of the neck at the nut. I figured this out after I cut the stringers for the neck, so now I've got to scrap that idea. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm probably going to be making a 3 piece neck now of hog/maple/hog, that will match the center portion of the body. The 'hog on the sides will just be wider than the lighter pieces in the body. An insignificant change, really...it just irks me. 

Now that I've got extra curly maple stringers, I'll be cutting one of them up into binding for the fretboard, which I'm pretty excited about. I wanted to bind it originally, but the maple on the edges of the neck wouldn't have given a good contrast. It will now, so I guess that's a silver lining. 

Never go into your shop angry...just...don't.


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Oct 13, 2014)

^^^ yea man thats good advice. Never leave your shop angry either.


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## metaldoggie (Oct 14, 2014)

It wouldn't be too wide for a 7 or 8


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## Renkenstein (Oct 14, 2014)

Very true, MD. This is a guitar for me tho, so making it a 7 would only ensure that I wouldn't be able to play it.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 14, 2014)

Rebounding from the weekend's debacle. I cut a couple new quartersawn mahogany stringers for the neck and ran them through the drum sander. This should look nice enough. I really need to find me some black maple veneer to get those sharp pinstripes down the length of the neck. Maybe on the next build.





Glued and clamped. Again, granite slab comes in handy as a true flat surface to make sure those stringers stay flat on the bottom...very important. My next step will be to drum sand the neck blank, so it's critical to have a flat surface on the bottom, to keep the top parallel and the sides perpendicular. Total shoptime thus far - 12.5 hours(subtracted the time wasted butchering wood)


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## Renkenstein (Oct 15, 2014)

After removing the blank from clamps, I used a #4 that I use as a scrub plane to remove the glue squeeze-out and then ran the blank through the drum sander. I then cut the scarf on my band saw and cleaned the surfaces on the oscillating belt sander. 








As good as the Ridgid belt sander is, I still like to true up surfaces on the granite slab. I'm a huge fan of hand planes, but the sandpaper on granite trick is the easiest and most fool-proof way to get it perfectly flat. 









It's at this point that I realized I fkd up. Not a throw-it-against-the-wall fk up, but bad enough to derail my initial plan. For some reason, despite my many years of drafting and drawing experience, I can never seem to flawlessly execute a scarf joint. I like the scarf to be on the neck, and not on the headstock, but as you can see, I accidentally cut it for a headstock scarf. 









So I'm going to have to proceed with the headstock scarf or glue on a totally separate piece. I weighed my options, and since I was planning on doing a curly maple laminate on the headstock, I'm opting to proceed as is. Both methods of scarf joints are valid, and both are used, I just prefer the joint to be on the neck side, and it irks me that I made this mistake...again. I'm going to have to figure out a way to ensure I don't do this from now on.









I drill 1/16" holes and use 0.06" brads to prevent slipping during scarf joint glue-up. Joint is all prepped and ready for glue tomorrow. 

Total shop time thus far: 14 hours


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## immortalx (Oct 15, 2014)

As you said either way works, so it's not a [email protected] up man and you're doing very clean and tidy work!
I used to get confused about this until I realized: Short side=headstock length, so I measure the headstock length from the under side of the neck blank.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 15, 2014)

immortalx said:


> As you said either way works, so it's not a [email protected] up man and you're doing very clean and tidy work!
> I used to get confused about this until I realized: Short side=headstock length, so I measure the headstock length from the under side of the neck blank.


 
Did you do a headstock side scarf on the Hunter? I was looking for a scarf joint on the neck, and didn't see one.


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## immortalx (Oct 15, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> Did you do a headstock side scarf on the Hunter? I was looking for a scarf joint on the neck, and didn't see one.


Yes i did! It's the first method with the scarf on the neck.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 15, 2014)

That's a PERFECT joint then. Completely invisible in those pics. Well done!


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## Renkenstein (Oct 20, 2014)

Major update!!! Renk bought a better potato. This is just a boring photo of a scarf joint dry clamping run, but you can see it's much better than my previous updates. I went from an LG Optimus to a LG Triumph. Huge leap forward, and it shows. 








Scarf joint out of clamps. Scribbled some lines on the HS face and ran it on the flat rock with sandpaper stickied to it. 









Cut a headstock plate and finished up flattening the HS face. Ready to roll with the TRC rout.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 21, 2014)

Routed the TRC with an edge guide. 1/4" x 3/8" channel, then for the access I change the bit to the 3/8" bit. 








Rout a little deeper on the 3/8" access rout to allow clearance for the TR nut.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 22, 2014)

Rough cut the headstock thickness on the bandsaw. 








Cleaned up the back of the headstock and took it down to a half inch thickness. I need more sticky spray to change my drum sandpaper. I've been limping along doing tasks on the neck that require small width, while the top and body have gone neglected. 









The 4" drum determines the transition from headstock to volute. 









Traced the headstock shape to see the size of ears I need to glue on. 









Rough cut the taper on the bandsaw. I then sanded to the line on the Ridgid. Flush trim template is stickied to the neck under a granite slab waiting for tomorrow morning. 19 hours total.


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## immortalx (Oct 22, 2014)

That headstock shape looks perfect 
Very clean work man, can't wait to see more!


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## CD1221 (Oct 23, 2014)

Great build, nice work!


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## pondman (Oct 23, 2014)

Loving that head-stock and everything else. This is really tidy work man 
Wish I had a drum sander


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## Renkenstein (Oct 23, 2014)

I highly recommend you build one, Pondman. My old man and I built it over a weekend and it's easily the most used tool in my shop. I'd love to have an auto-feed drum sander to minimize the amount of time I spend at it, but even so, I find it a huge asset. I don't have a planer, so it sees a lot of action when preparing stock.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 24, 2014)

Filled a whole page. Jotted times and tasks for each day I worked. 20 man hours thus far. Not bad for a half built guitar.








Bought some spray adhesive...Loctite 200 med tack. Works great for sticking sandpaper to the drum and to my granite flat rocks for leveling surfaces. The top had been cupping just the slightest amount...maybe a 32nd of an inch across the full width of the top. Decided to break in the new drum by flattening the top. 









With the top perfectly flat, I did the same for the gluing surface of the body. I won't be doing any weight relief on this. She'll be a hefty bitch, but I think she'll be manageable. What do you expect in a girl with hips like that?


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## Renkenstein (Oct 24, 2014)

Took the headstock wings out of clamps, scribbled some lines and went to town on the flat rock until all the lines were gone.








Once I had a perfectly flat headstock face, I ran it back through the drum sander to level the back of the ears.









Headstock bandsawed and sanded to the line on the ROSS. Had to make an emergency template to transfer the headstock shape on the back. The volute gets in the way of my other template, so I turned a cocked up template into one thats useful again.









After today's 1.5 hour session, I have a neck that's ready for a fretboard(streaky macassar ebony, haven't ordered yet), a body ready for top gluing, and a couple thick maple headstock veneers. Gluing the top this weekend.


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## Renkenstein (Oct 24, 2014)

duplicate post.


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## immortalx (Oct 24, 2014)

I'm loving your build process man! Extremely detailed, clean and organized.
And your drum sander rocks. I've made an ugly, redneck version of it out of scrap metal a couple of years back, but i can't stress enough how much useful it has been!


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## Renkenstein (Oct 24, 2014)

Yeah, man. If you look at my work log, you'll see how much I go back to that drum sander. It's so convenient. Mine's nothing more than a few 2x4s and a bit of MDF. The pillow block bearings and the pulley were the most expensive parts. The motor is from an old GE dryer that my dad has had around since I was filling diapers.


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## BlackMastodon (Oct 25, 2014)

How do you adjust the height on the drum sander? Sorry to make this thread about your drum sander instead of the guitar.  The work is looking great so far and really clean!


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## JuliusJahn (Oct 25, 2014)

BlackMastodon said:


> How do you adjust the height on the drum sander? Sorry to make this thread about your drum sander instead of the guitar.  The work is looking great so far and really clean!



I think the bed is on an incline, that you adjust using pins/springs/screws/trunions/something so the height from bed to paper changes?


Anyways, loving the build. Nice to see such clean work and an original design. Starting to get tired of all the Mayones and BM clones lately...


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## Renkenstein (Oct 27, 2014)

BlackMastodon said:


> How do you adjust the height on the drum sander? Sorry to make this thread about your drum sander instead of the guitar.  The work is looking great so far and really clean!





JuliusJahn said:


> I think the bed is on an incline, that you adjust using pins/springs/screws/trunions/something so the height from bed to paper changes?
> 
> 
> Anyways, loving the build. Nice to see such clean work and an original design. Starting to get tired of all the Mayones and BM clones lately...




That is exactly right. The plans I used can be found here:
Pat Hawley's thickness sander

I don't mind talking about my tools and process at all. 

Thank you fellas! Finding the right process and equipment through trial and error has made clean work possible. I'm nearing some hairy tasks that will test my ability more. We'll see how it works out!


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## Renkenstein (Oct 28, 2014)

No work over the weekend. I threw the football around with the boy and my back pitched a fit. 

I did put the Siren prototype on Projectguitar.com's Guitar of the Month on a whim. She's doing well. Usually there's more competition, but I guess this was a slow month for submissions.

Got a postponed farewell/reunion type show with my band Moire coming up before the end of the year. Hoping to have this longer scale guitar done before then. I got used to the tension of 10-52ga strings tuned to standard, and 12-56ga tension on C standard is just a flopfest. I'm interested in finding another solution to get more string tension, in case the 2nd build doesn't get finished in time. I know you guys are pretty experienced in the detuning realm, so I could use some advice.

...and for S&Gs, my deceased and recently reanimated band Moire, performing Revenge Kill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw95_hoHeKs


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## electriceye (Oct 29, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> I highly recommend you build one, Pondman. My old man and I built it over a weekend and it's easily the most used tool in my shop. I'd love to have an auto-feed drum sander to minimize the amount of time I spend at it, but even so, I find it a huge asset. I don't have a planer, so it sees a lot of action when preparing stock.



I was wondering where the hell you got that from! What a GREAT idea!!! Thanks so much for posting the link to the plans!!


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## Renkenstein (Oct 29, 2014)

electriceye said:


> I was wondering where the hell you got that from! What a GREAT idea!!! Thanks so much for posting the link to the plans!!


 
You're welcome, bud. I kind of built it on a whim, not really knowing how much I'd be using it. I wanted something that could quickly flatten a wide surface area, but it's so well suited for a variety of tasks. I still need to build the dust cover and wire in a switch. Once I got it operational, I just left it. 

That woodgears.ca site is amazing for home made tools. There's a few other things I would like to try out on there.

PS...I like the username. Judas Priest reference?


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## Renkenstein (Oct 29, 2014)

In preparation of gluing the top, I drill a couple holes through the top and into the body. This does 2 things. First, it aligns the top and body to the common center, and second, it provides clamping pressure that's needed in the middle(I don't have any deep throat clamps). The butt-beak on the ass of the body serves as a handy centerline. 








Spread around some glue with an expired debit card.









Clamped up with every clamp in my arsenal. I really need more. Particularly ones that can reach the middle of a guitar body. Now that the top's on, I have a LOT of work ahead of me. Flush trim the body, rout neck pocket, carve bevels, etc...etc...etc... Really looking forward to my next shop session.


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## metaldoggie (Oct 30, 2014)

Why don't you just make a slight curvature on a couple of 2x4s, wrap them in duct tape so the glue doesn't stick to them? Put them curve down, place another couple of flat pieces under the guitar, then clamp at either side.
That should give you good pressure in the middle and you can use smaller clamps.


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## JuliusJahn (Oct 30, 2014)

metaldoggie said:


> Why don't you just make a slight curvature on a couple of 2x4s, wrap them in duct tape so the glue doesn't stick to them? Put them curve down, place another couple of flat pieces under the guitar, then clamp at either side.
> That should give you good pressure in the middle and you can use smaller clamps.



I used to do that just with some scrap, until I got these heavy duty German clamps from my dad 

This is what 45lbs of clamps looks like, kids!





I also recoment taping on a template on each side, stops you from marring the surface and you dont have to juggle cauls around while you have glue sitting. I didn't do it on that one since it'll be a carved top anyways.


----------



## electriceye (Oct 30, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> In preparation of gluing the top, I drill a couple holes through the top and into the body. This does 2 things. First, it aligns the top and body to the common center, and second, it provides clamping pressure that's needed in the middle(I don't have any deep throat clamps). The butt-beak on the ass of the body serves as a handy centerline.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I think you use a bit too much glue...


----------



## electriceye (Oct 30, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> You're welcome, bud. I kind of built it on a whim, not really knowing how much I'd be using it. I wanted something that could quickly flatten a wide surface area, but it's so well suited for a variety of tasks. I still need to build the dust cover and wire in a switch. Once I got it operational, I just left it.
> 
> That woodgears.ca site is amazing for home made tools. There's a few other things I would like to try out on there.
> 
> PS...I like the username. Judas Priest reference?



Yes. Biggest Priest fan there is.


----------



## JuliusJahn (Oct 30, 2014)

electriceye said:


> I think you use a bit too much glue...



Nope. Looks perfect to me! I usually spread 1/2 that much on the other side as well just because I'm slightly paranoid. Nothing worse then a black line in between your laminates. Any extra will simply squeeze out.


----------



## Renkenstein (Oct 30, 2014)

After flush trim. I couldn't wait any longer. I grabbed the Shinto and decided to cut a bevel.










After the Shinto, a sanding block with 60grit, and a card scraper. 











I may go a little steeper with the bevel on the ass end to work that hard corner out. The maple portion of the bevel will be masked before dying and will flow into the faux binding around the cutaways and horns. That's the plan.


----------



## Pikka Bird (Oct 30, 2014)

Yeah, if you can do it tastefully then you should blend it just a tad more. The sharp non-transition from the bevels to the main outline is the one thing that keeps me from really falling for the Carvin SCB models. I can see it's a delicate balance, though...


----------



## Renkenstein (Oct 30, 2014)

Oh yeah...lookie there. That's pretty much what I'm going for, but a smoother transition. I may have to bevel the full thickness of the maple at the butt-beak to get what I'm looking for.


----------



## BlackMastodon (Oct 30, 2014)

If you can make the back wood and the top maple both come to a point on the butt beak (as you called it ) then I think that would look incredible. Not sure if I'm explaining myself well, but basically work the bevel on the bottom end of the body a little bit more until the back wood shows all the way to the swoop/beak part.


----------



## Renkenstein (Oct 30, 2014)

I get what you're sayin, and I may have to just to get that kink out of the bevel. I'd rather cut into the mahogany and have it show than have the bevel end at the joint. The original Siren's bevel ended at the beak, but I've been thinking about carving it past the point, as you're imagining it.

Good suggestion!


----------



## immortalx (Oct 30, 2014)

You guys have a point (pun intended ). +1 for shaping it that way!


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## charlessalvacion (Oct 31, 2014)

Awesome build! Im following this thread. hehe


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## Purelojik (Oct 31, 2014)

renk damn that looks good. looks like knarbens has influenced everybody. that wood combo is fantastic


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## Renkenstein (Nov 3, 2014)

Carved the other bevel. I stuck to the original Siren layout on the upper and lower bout bevels, and blended them in at the waist. 







I still may take it below the mahogany line at the point, but I'm undecided. The output jack recess limits my carving depth around the center point, as that hole is drilled a few inches off-center of that location. The more I look at the carve, the less it bothers me. I kind of like the way the top maple edge looks like the point of a blade, and the lower edge looks like a claw. 

I set the carve aside for now and proceeded to set up for neck pocket routing. I'll get all that done, and get a GLO happenin' in the meantime.


----------



## Renkenstein (Nov 3, 2014)

charlessalvacion said:


> Awesome build! Im following this thread. hehe


 


Purelojik said:


> renk damn that looks good. looks like knarbens has influenced everybody. that wood combo is fantastic


 

Thank you fellas! 

Ya know Alex, if I could build as clean as Knarbens, I'd be a happy man...and be taking on orders right meow! I'm pretty stoked about this wood combo...definitely some of the better stuff I had on hand.


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## Prophetable (Nov 3, 2014)

I agreed that it should go to the point before I saw the second bevel. I like the width it provides with the dark wood stopping short now, though. I think the guitar would come to a strange point if you brought them both in to center.

Looks really good so far.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 3, 2014)

Prophetable said:


> I agreed that it should go to the point before I saw the second bevel. I like the width it provides with the dark wood stopping short now, though. I think the guitar would come to a strange point if you brought them both in to center.


 
That was my other concern....I'd have to do it steep, like a 45deg angle at the point and blend to the shallower bevel angle on the sides to retain anything resembling the top surface as it is now. The jack recess will have the final say, but if I had to declare the carve done right now I wouldn't be disappointed. 



Prophetable said:


> Looks really good so far.


 
Thank you much!


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## charlessalvacion (Nov 3, 2014)

Awesome build!!!


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## BlackMastodon (Nov 4, 2014)

I think it looks great now with the bottom bevel!


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## Renkenstein (Nov 4, 2014)

Setting up for routing the neck pocket. The quick and dirty way. I'd like to make a permanent jig to handle this on future builds.








Hogged out some material. Taped the sides of the template to make the pocket a scosche tighter. Routed away.









Rounded the corners of the neck to fit the radius of the router bit. 









I found the neckjoint to be ill-fitting at the end, due to the end of the neck being out of square. Set the flush trim bit to ride the top edge and trimmed the bottom.


----------



## Renkenstein (Nov 4, 2014)

I was able to line up the laminations on the body and neck, which I had hoped for. 
















I really enjoy this part, when things really take shape. Layed out the scale length and located the bridge position and pickup cavities.









Carved a belly cut...









...and rough shaped the headstock overlay.









32 hours total.


----------



## immortalx (Nov 5, 2014)

It's just so perfectly executed


----------



## Renkenstein (Nov 5, 2014)

immortalx said:


> It's just so perfectly executed


 
Hours and hours of reading other builder's threads on multiple forums. I've got no one to blame but all you guys for my results.


----------



## CD1221 (Nov 5, 2014)

That looks bloody great.

+1 vote for leaving the carve now, the bottom balances it very nicely.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 5, 2014)

CD1221 said:


> That looks bloody great.
> 
> +1 vote for leaving the carve now, the bottom balances it very nicely.


 
Thank you! Yes, I think I can retire the Shinto until it's neck carving time. 


Thanks for all your input, everyone!


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## Renkenstein (Nov 7, 2014)

Falling behind!!! Lots going on!






Sanded to the line on the ROSS. I tried flush trimming with the template pictured here, but the maple was too thin and chunked on some end grain. I ended up finish shaping the overlay with the ROSS. 








The blade will just a little shorter now. No worries. Clamped the overlay in position, drilled a couple brad holes. 









Verifying room for adjustment with an allen wrench.









I'll clamp the whole thing up with the template on top. 









Overkill? Probably.


----------



## pettymusic (Nov 7, 2014)

Admiring your work Renkenstein. Looks great! Very inspiring!


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## Renkenstein (Nov 7, 2014)

Thank you, pettymusic! Through my blunders I teach others. 

Let's keep it rollin, shall we?


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## Renkenstein (Nov 7, 2014)

Removed from clamps. Final shaped the headstock flush with the overlay. 








Drum sanded the back of the headstock until reaching 1/2" thickness. Drilled 1/16" pilot holes for the tuners. Couldn't resist snapping a pic in natural light. Notice the shape of an R the headstock has. Yup.









I really need a fretboard.









Spent some more time leveling out any irregularities on the bevels with a sanding block and blended transitions. Hit it with some naphtha for a photo op.


----------



## Renkenstein (Nov 7, 2014)

Bevels done. Sides sanded at 60grit.








Sanded the cutaways carefully on the ROSS to remove router burn 









Previous build's pickup rout templates were a wee bit snug, with no room for vertical movement of the pickups. I opened up the original template a bit and transferred it onto the master pickup template.









Quarter-rounded the back and blended that radius into the belly cut.









Finally have a Macassar Ebony fretboard on order. I'm going with #3, but I'm going to have the sticker facing the nut. I like the grain flow better that way. Fretboard is getting slotted with a 26.25" scale. I also nabbed up #2 for a future build.


----------



## neun Arme (Nov 8, 2014)

Man, I really like the shape of that body, it's really tasteful.


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## jwade (Nov 8, 2014)

That fretboard is dope. You're a dick for buying it though, I've been trolling LMIIs fretboards every night trying to decide what to get, probably would've bought that myself if it hadn't been purchased


----------



## BlackMastodon (Nov 8, 2014)

This is gonna turn out noiiiiiice.


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## CD1221 (Nov 8, 2014)

Clean. Me likey.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 10, 2014)

jwade said:


> That fretboard is dope. You're a dick for buying it though, I've been trolling LMIIs fretboards every night trying to decide what to get, probably would've bought that myself if it hadn't been purchased


 
I held off as long as I could! It's already going to put me back a week. I couldn't wait any longer, and I had lmii show me some B stock. I've been talking to Purelojik, and he's getting some really good stuff from Gilmer. Might hit them up.




neun Arme said:


> Man, I really like the shape of that body, it's really tasteful.





BlackMastodon said:


> This is gonna turn out noiiiiiice.





CD1221 said:


> Clean. Me likey.


 
Thank you fellas!


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## Renkenstein (Nov 11, 2014)

We're getting into some territory where I needed improvement since my last build. I redesigned the control cavity for this build, and maybe for good. Cut out a template for the cavity rout. 








Rout the control cav until I hit maple. Drilled a hold for a barrel jack at the angle I like. I drilled this with a small pilot hole, then a 5/8" spade bit for the recess, then drilled all the way through with a 3/8" spade bit. Last time I tried this, I used a forstner bit which made a mess of things. Pondman(Sawdust Al) mentioned he used a spade bit, so I tried it. Good advice. Thanks dude!









Made a positive and negative control cav recess template. The cover template is inside the recess template.









Routed the recess ledge.









Cover template fits. 









At 43 hours logged, I'm just over a full work week.


----------



## Prophetable (Nov 11, 2014)

[/URL]


How did you go about making the cover template fit so well into the cavity? This is a step I need to get sorted for my next build.

Specifically this bit:


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## Renkenstein (Nov 11, 2014)

I made the recess template first, then sharpened the fk out of a pencil(to get the sharpest point possible) and traced it to the cover template. I cut and sanded the cover template to the very outside of the line on my ROSS, and adjusted to fit.


----------



## Renkenstein (Nov 13, 2014)

Really running out of shit to do that doesn't involve a fretboard. Note to self...always have all materials on hand before starting a build.








Routed some pickup cavities. Now I'm really out of shit to do.


----------



## Dabo Fett (Nov 13, 2014)

I'm getting really jealous man. Im usually a fan of flat top guitars but those bevels look great!


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## Renkenstein (Nov 13, 2014)

Next run will have a flat top and no bevels. I've got my heart set on a claro walnut top with white/cream binding. Maybe a black limba back if I'm lucky.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 13, 2014)

Dabo Fett said:


> I'm getting really jealous man. Im usually a fan of flat top guitars but those bevels look great!


 
Thanks! Groovy tunes, btw.


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## JuliusJahn (Nov 14, 2014)

[No offense to everyone else] but I've gotten pretty tired of seeing BM clones day in day out on this forum, and appreciate seeing some well planned, original work going on. 

I dig the subtlety of the headstock, and almost wish it was my own


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## Renkenstein (Nov 14, 2014)

JuliusJahn said:


> [No offense to everyone else] but I've gotten pretty tired of seeing BM clones day in day out on this forum, and appreciate seeing some well planned, original work going on.


 
I'm fairly new around here, and I stopped chasing gear several years ago. The last guitar I truly drooled over was a Caparison Horus. I could never afford anything more than a $500 guitar so I stuck to used Japanese made Ibanez and the Korean Schecters. Mighty fine instruments for the money, really. With the setup skills I've honed over the years, I was able to make them play and sound as good as I ever needed a guitar to perform. 

Long story short, I've never even so much as heard of Black Machine, Ormsbsy, Skervensen, or Strandberg before joining this forum. I can appreciate the simplicity and comfort a BM offers, and I can see why it would be emulated by other builders. 

Copying isn't for me. I tried an LP build, and it was fighting me every step of the way. I wasn't enjoying the process. I had to stick to plans...plans that were designed by someone else for someone else's shop. It didn't flow logically to me. I didn't make what I would consider true progress until I scrapped that build and made a template of a drawing I had laying around for a while.



JuliusJahn said:


> I dig the subtlety of the headstock, and almost wish it was my own


 
Thank you. The headstock was originally designed as 4/2 config, but I changed it to 3/3 before I knew that vendors sell tuners individually. DERP! I'm thinking about taking it back to 4/2, so that will easily allow 4/3 to fit when I build a 7 version.


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## Dabo Fett (Nov 14, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> Thanks! Groovy tunes, btw.



thanks very much dude. its looking at guitars like this that give me that itch to pick up my own and start playing. i cant build them, but i can play them, and the creativity thats inspired is coming out one way or another


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## Renkenstein (Nov 14, 2014)

Dabo Fett said:


> thanks very much dude. its looking at guitars like this that give me that itch to pick up my own and start playing. i cant build them, but i can play them, and the creativity thats inspired is coming out one way or another


 
Happy to provide a source of inspiration. After 23 years of playing, I appreciate inspiration no matter what the source. I went through a huge fkn rut where I couldn't write a riff to save my life. This is what made me realize it was time to move on to another form of creativity. I've always believed that the best art just flows from the artist. If it's forced, it's shit. This applies to song writing as well as building. 

I honestly didn't miss playing music much in my year off, but as soon as I had that guitar finished, I sure was wanting a band to try it out with. I played that guitar more than I had played in a long time. Again, inspiration. Now the band is back together for a final/reunion/farewell show, and I'm having a fkn blast again. Looking forward to have this guitar done for that show to get some extra string tension in C standard...it's pretty taxing on the old right hand.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 17, 2014)

So according to FedEx tracking info, my fretboards were delivered Saturday and were "left at the door" at 8:17am. 


Surprise! Nothing was there. There was no knock, or my dogs would have flipped shit as they normally do when someone even walks onto our driveway.


I called FedEx and reported that I had not received the package. They said they will open an investigation and "interrogate the driver". I hope there's waterboarding involved.


Years and years of ordering shit online, and not once has this happened to me. Do I have a chance of recovering anything if FedEx comes back at me with "it was delivered...tough titty"


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## ElysianGuitars (Nov 17, 2014)

FedEx and UPS both blow.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 17, 2014)

Ring-run....cept now they're leaving out the ring. 

I've literally caught them stashing a box and bolting without knocking or anything. Fkn laziness, man.


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## Prophetable (Nov 17, 2014)

I've had packages just left at my door without a knock or anything. My front door is right next to my couch and my dogs panic at the slightest hint of a knock... so...

Anyways, good luck, man. That's ridiculous.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 17, 2014)

Legit lutherie delays right here. 

...at least the customer and the builder are one and the same in this case.


----------



## immortalx (Nov 17, 2014)

That sucks man :/ I've heard so many horror stories with FedEx that I simply refuse to buy anything that has to be shipped by them


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## jwade (Nov 18, 2014)

Non-guitar related Fedex story: At a prior job of mine, we were sending everything through Fedex for months, never hearing a word back about the items being sent. Then one week, we had FIFTEEN customers contact us and say 'hey, the package we thought Fedex had never delivered was here, crammed behind _____ in the loading dock' or 'the package was left on another floor in an undeveloped office, we found it by fluke when an intern went looking for better cell reception' or other various hilarious stories.

We ended our association with them when the final customer of the bunch contacted us and said they'd found their order OUTSIDE NEXT TO THE BUILDING TUCKED BESIDE A SHRUB.

Fedex is an absolute joke.


----------



## Renkenstein (Nov 18, 2014)

I checked all my shrubs...just in case.


----------



## JuliusJahn (Nov 18, 2014)

I'm mostly surprised they deliver on weekends!...all we get here is 9-5 M-F and they refuse to leave anything at my door, even though im in the rural country and keep telling them to.


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## Dabo Fett (Nov 18, 2014)

you guys are getting me nervous now, i have my first 8 string coming from one side of the US to the exact other through Fed Ex, mainly because I don't trust UPS after a driver tried stealing $650 in hockey tickets!


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## Renkenstein (Nov 18, 2014)

Request delivery only upon signature. That'll sort things out for ya.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 18, 2014)

Moving forward...FedEx be DAMNED!!!







Plans are good and all, but sometimes you just need to deviate just because you can. I routed the neck pocket 3.5" long. After fitting the neck pocket, I figured 3.5" was a little generous so I removed about 1/4" inch. Just went by what was comfy. 








After I recieve a fretboard(FedEx SUCKS, but LMII is fkn awesome and I think they're going to make good in the end), I'm going to take the neck down to a cunny hair above body level. I need the fretboard glued on to perform this task because I do it on the drum sander before sanding the radius on the fretboard. There will be a fretboard overhang. 









Planning where to put my neck bolt holes. My neck pocket on this build wasn't as tight as my first build. Had it been that tight, I would have glued the neck. This is still a clean pocket, it just won't support the weight of the body unassisted. After a thin finish, it should be perfect. I've got a neck pocket routing jig on the list of things to do before starting the next build.









After center punching the marks, I drilled pilot holes for the neck bolts.






Went with a subtle carve on the heel. It'll probably change later, but right now I'm pretty happy with it.








Finished off the day by drilling some tuner holes.


----------



## pettymusic (Nov 19, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> Happy to provide a source of inspiration. After 23 years of playing, I appreciate inspiration no matter what the source. I went through a huge fkn rut where I couldn't write a riff to save my life. This is what made me realize it was time to move on to another form of creativity. I've always believed that the best art just flows from the artist. If it's forced, it's shit. This applies to song writing as well as building.
> 
> I honestly didn't miss playing music much in my year off, but as soon as I had that guitar finished, I sure was wanting a band to try it out with. I played that guitar more than I had played in a long time. Again, inspiration. Now the band is back together for a final/reunion/farewell show, and I'm having a fkn blast again. Looking forward to have this guitar done for that show to get some extra string tension in C standard...it's pretty taxing on the old right hand.





I can relate to all of this. I went through a 2 year period where I didn't even have the urge to pick up a guitar. Which is odd for me because, playing guitar for over 20 years, it becomes like breathing. I started mentioning to my wife that I was itching to play and she bought me an acoustic guitar for my birthday 3 years ago.......I've been back into playing and writing again with even more appreciation than ever. 

Now, I have been dealing with a medical condition that makes my joints swell and hurt which, is a guitarists' cryptonite (did I spell that correct?) So, the last year I have been getting into building. To me, it's next best thing! While I may be using my hands to build, this is different than performing. If my hands hurt, I just take it slow on a build. If I take it slow in the middle of a performance, well....that just won't do! 

I too, get much of my inspiration watching your builds, other builders, family, music, art, and whatever else I'm open to. 

My old band is back playing out again as well so, I know that's an amazing feeling. I'm really happy for you. 

Hopefully, I too will soon know the feeling of playing music I wrote on a guitar that I built.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 19, 2014)

It feels like I'm the fkn MASTER of the guitar. 

Step 1) Carve a guitar out of a tree carcass
Step 2) Commence wailing on said guitar in front of a packed house
Step 3) Rule the world!

Still haven't figured out how to get from step 2 to step 3, but I'm working on it. 


Sucks about your joint pain, man! That is indeed Kryptonite(you were close, but I'm a fkn nerd and know these things) to guitarists. I've always gotten shoulder pain in my right arm due to picking, and it's returning now that I'm rehearsing weekly. Fingers never bothered me, and woodworking has strengthend my digits quite a bit.

The only discomfort I've discovered is what I call knuckle-lock when I'm sanding. Knuckles on my hands will just freeze and no longer bend until I work them loose. Kinda weird.


Also...HUGE update. My crazy neighbor lady with the 30yr old son who still lives at home delivered my fretboards. FedEx still fkn sucks because they can't read the large YELLOW numbers on a BLACK sign on my front door, but LMII was ready to service a new set of fretboards overnight and ship them in the morning. I caught the dude just in time and gave him the news. Fantastic service from LMII!!!


----------



## pettymusic (Nov 20, 2014)

Haha! Thanks! ...and yeah, I had a feeling there was disturbance in the (grammer) force.  



Good deal on getting you fb's!  

BTW, are you going to go with standard "Ibanez" style screws and ferrules for the neck joint or threaded inserts, or ?


----------



## Renkenstein (Nov 20, 2014)

I'm going with the standard Ibanez style screws and ferrules. Personally, I'm not convinced of the benefit of threaded inserts over normal wood screws. I've never had a neck screw strip out in the neck, nor have I noticed where a machine screw would make a tighter neck joint than a wood screw. 

The way I see it is each connection between components on a guitar is chance for loss of resonance, much like the degradation you'd see in a signal chain on a pedal board. I do like the idea of metal on metal connections in the neck pocket, but is it truly necessary? I honestly don't think so. 

Now one thing I've thought of is the screws will be going into the softer mahogany part of the neck, which could indeed strip out...I don't have any experience with mahogany neck and a bolt joint. If that happens, I can always install inserts after the fact and switch to machine screws.

I'm sure I'll eventually use some threaded inserts on a future build to appease my curiosity though.


----------



## immortalx (Nov 20, 2014)

I don't see a huge benefit of threaded inserts too, but I'm still using them because I have the bad habit of trying the neck a couple dozen times during construction lol and by the end of the build those threads are abused to death  
It's not like a finished guitar will have its neck pulled out more than a couple of times during its life span!


----------



## Renkenstein (Nov 20, 2014)

Now that is a good point. I'm going to try to minimize neck removal during mockup and all that business.


----------



## Purelojik (Nov 21, 2014)

Renk buddy, you're working as clean as knarbens! Man thus build is already above the last. Well done dude!


----------



## pondman (Nov 21, 2014)

immortalx said:


> I don't see a huge benefit of threaded inserts too, but I'm still using them because I have the bad habit of trying the neck a couple dozen times during construction lol and by the end of the build those threads are abused to death
> It's not like a finished guitar will have its neck pulled out more than a couple of times during its life span!



That used to bug me as well. What I do now is use cheap wood screws of a smaller gauge, then when everything is ok for the final assemble I drill out for the final larger screws.

Excellent build Renk


----------



## Renkenstein (Nov 21, 2014)

Purelojik said:


> Renk buddy, you're working as clean as knarbens! Man thus build is already above the last. Well done dude!


 
Once again you flatter me, sir! I eagerly await your next batch. That ebony and koa are gonna be siiiiiiiick!



pondman said:


> That used to bug me as well. What I do now is use cheap wood screws of a smaller gauge, then when everything is ok for the final assemble I drill out for the final larger screws.
> 
> Excellent build Renk


 
Solid advice! I do believe I'll be employing this method to stay on the safe side. Thank you sir!


----------



## immortalx (Nov 21, 2014)

pondman said:


> That used to bug me as well. What I do now is use cheap wood screws of a smaller gauge, then when everything is ok for the final assemble I drill out for the final larger screws.
> 
> Excellent build Renk



I wouldn't have ever thought of that! Thanks for the tip man!


----------



## Renkenstein (Nov 21, 2014)

After a 5 day delay due to shipping drama caused by FedEx, I finally got my fretboard from LMI. I bought it pre-slotted to a 26.25" scale. I drum sanded it to remove some material. It's right at 1/4" thick now.








Tapered fretboard on the bandsaw(my high TPI blade did NOT want to go through it). Persistence won out in the end. Here I've drilled two 1/16" holes through the fretboard and into the neck to ensure no slippage. 









Silicone to keep the truss rod from rattling in the slot. I wiped down the fretboard with naphtha and let it air dry before gluing. 









Spread some glue after masking the TRC off with tape. Removed tape and placed fretboard. Clamp clamp clamp. I still need more fkn clamps! Now that I have my fretboard on, the floodgates of productivity are about to burst open.


----------



## Renkenstein (Nov 22, 2014)

Removed clamps. Took my trusty Stanley #5 and shaved down the bulk of the excess fretboard in preparation for flush-trim. Holy balls, this is the first time I've worked with ebony, and it planes beautifully. Schick...schick...schick. The tight grain of the ebony makes each pass so smooth. Wonderful stuff.








Flush trimmed the remainder of the excess. 









There was still a tiny bit of a lip where the FB hung over the neck. I have no diamond plate, nor a perfectly flat file that I trust to keep things straight. My #5 is too bulky to get close to the headstock, so I turned to my homemade fret leveler. It's a piece of Corian that I flattened on my granite block. I sticky sandpaper to the surface and that gives me a really nice leveling tool. I haven't tried it out on its intended purpose, but it made the sides of the neck perfectly flat and square. Worked like a charm in this application. 









I didn't remove too much material from the sides. Neck pocket is still tight. 









I wanted to do something a little fancy on the end of the fretboard, so I made it match her ass. I like it.









Sanded a 16" radius on the fretboard.









After sanding the radius, I couldn't help myself...I had to do some sanding. I sanded through 1500grit and polished with some lemon oil. My son was a sport and gave something to reflect. He actually showed a lot of interest today and asked a lot of questions....there's hope for him yet.


----------



## immortalx (Nov 22, 2014)

That fretboard edge is a really nice touch!


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## Renkenstein (Nov 22, 2014)

Thanks bud! I couldn't just leave it square. That did nothing for me.


----------



## KnightroExpress (Nov 22, 2014)

That looks killer, man. Are you gonna do a tiny bevel on the end of your fretboard?


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## Renkenstein (Nov 22, 2014)

The thought had crossed my mind!


----------



## XxJoshxX (Nov 22, 2014)

This build is coming along real nice Renk. 
But if you dont bevel the inside of the horns ill probably cry my self to sleep tonight


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## Renkenstein (Nov 22, 2014)

Yeah...I kept the cutaways flat because I was going to dye the top, and try some faux binding. I was just talking to my neighbor about the cutaway carves from the prototype. I'm weighing options.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 24, 2014)

I'm gonna try something new with the pics. I don't like how obnoxiously large they are in the post, so I had Imgur scale them on upload. Maybe this will look better.






Got 2 sizes of brass rod, aluminum tubing, and brass tubing. Drilled some holes. Filled some holes. 









Filed and sanded flush. 









Carved another bevel.










TA-DAAAA. A lil bit of bling for the lady.


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## immortalx (Nov 25, 2014)

Every little detail on this build is simply fantastic


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## Renkenstein (Nov 25, 2014)

Thank you, sir! I hold your builds in very high regard, making that a huge compliment. 

I'm going to be needing some fretwire soon, and I was thinking of going stainless or EVO. 

What do y'all think...would EVO and those fret markers be too much? I'm planning on using a Hipshot bridge...brass/gold base with black saddles. Kinda going with a bling/black theme.


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## BlackMastodon (Nov 25, 2014)

I don't think EVO would be too much, I think it would fit really well especially with the inlays. The inlays are pretty subtle for now but I can't wait to see them polished up! This is looking better and better with each update.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 25, 2014)

Thanks for the input, dude. I'm probably going to go with EVO. I'm all about trying new things with this build, and I used nickel-silver for my last build. It's the most logical progression, I just wanted to make sure it didn't sound gaudy with the brass I already have on her.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 25, 2014)

With all the tasks performed that required a flat surface on the back of the neck, I got to do one of my favorite things. NECK CARRRRVE!!! I woke up this morning, threw on my favorite lumberjack flannel and went straight to work.







Right now it's got a D profile with a little less shoulder. 0.80" at the 1st fret, 0.90" at the heel transition. 

























Ol' girl's got a thick neck. I love a nice meaty neck, as long as it's shaped well and comfy. I've got a Hamer superstrat that has one of the fattest necks I've ever seen(for a Floyd equipped shred machine) and I loved it, I'm trying to achieve the same with this build. Low tuning, extended scale, voluptuous neck = BEEF. 









Heel transition. This literally just fell into place with a few strokes of a 4-in-hand. I obsessed over the heel of my last build, and this one just happened effortlessly. Go figure.


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## pettymusic (Nov 26, 2014)

Haha! Nice! Looks really good there! 

Judging by that drill press, I see you're a fellow Harbor Freight customer.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 26, 2014)

Half my shop is from Harbor Freight, the other half is from the flea market. Haha

I wish I never bought that drill press. It does the job, but barely. I have to use the drill-in-a-box next to it to do anything bridge related. That drill press will be the first to go when I find a deal on a decent press. 

I still love Harbor Freight...you just gotta know what to buy.


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## metaldoggie (Nov 26, 2014)

Shes really coming together.....looking good!

I'm planning on building my own drill press for that reason.....probably have to have a couple of tries at it to make it work right though.


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## Renkenstein (Nov 26, 2014)

Did a little fine-tuning to the neck carve. Removed a bit more material. Nothing major. 









Carved a volute. I went with a wider volute. My last build had a bit of a skinnier one, but it serves its purpose. 










Volute transitions all flow well. 



















Basic neck construction complete. I didn't want the board drying out after hitting it several times with naphtha to clean, so I rubbed a bit of lemon oil on it to keep her moist. Bitches love being moist.


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## shikamaru (Nov 27, 2014)

man that is the sexiest fretboard overhang Ive ever seen ! 

The whole build is really stunning !


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## Renkenstein (Dec 2, 2014)

Thank you. I really appreciate that.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 2, 2014)

With the neck shaping complete, I had to do something with the horns. With the holiday season, I can't really go spending money on myself, so I decided against waiting for a 1/16" roundover or a chamfer bit. I took this as an opportunity to try something new. I wanted a consistent edge around the horns...binding, but not traditional binding. I sketched out some lines roughly 3/16" from the edge, and on the sides 3/16" from the top. 








I connected the lines with some files, sanding blocks/stick, and a card scraper. 









Photo opportunity with all her edges finalized.

















Here's the finish that I'm going to be going for with this build. Basically, everything that's a bevel on my design will be masked. Where the bevel ends and the top begins, that's where the black will start, bursting into natural in the center. I've got maple scraps prepared to test on. My first try will be black dye with a Tru-Oil top coat. If that doesn't succeed, I'll look into spray-clear, wipe-on poly, or zpoxy-like options.


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## jwade (Dec 2, 2014)

I would buy the shit out of that. You're doing some great work here, dude.


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## pettymusic (Dec 2, 2014)

Looking killer! I get a double vision effect when I get to the lower bout!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 3, 2014)

Thanks fellas! Got my EVO fretwire on order, and marked the location for a Hipshot fixed bridge this morning. Almost down to the test play.

I've also found some pinstripe tape so I can mask the bevels I made on some test pieces from top offcuts. I'll be practicing masking, dying, and finishing in one fell swoop.


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## metaldoggie (Dec 3, 2014)

I can't wait for this to be finished.....hurry up bro!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 3, 2014)

Haha...I'm tryin, bud! Got a show in January, and she's got to be done. The day after I get the fretwire, I'll put her together and have a go at her.


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## BlackMastodon (Dec 3, 2014)

What the hell did you do!?!? You made me ruin my pants! Now what am I gonna do with this gaping hole in the front!?

Seriously, though, imaging that finish on your guitar is boner inducing.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 3, 2014)

Hahaha...rippin pants n shit!

I really hope I can nail down that finish, and that it works with the bevels. I think I have enough top surface area to get a good burst going.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 4, 2014)

Layed out bridge position. Found a clever little way to ensure the outer saddles stay put while using the inside 2 holes to hold the strings. I put an Ibanez Edge nut in between the saddles to keep them in place. 










I made a 1/4" MDF template for the Hipshot fixed bridge. I'm going to transfer to a thicker(maybe harder) stock to ensure the drill bit is guided to the exact right location. 











I've had a love affair with scalloped frets that started in 1995 when I bought an Yngwie Sig Strat. That guitar was flippin amazing. It was nothing more than a Strat with scallops, but I had it at my 5 year playing mark. Scalloped frets helped me develop the wide vibrato I have today. Unfortunately I had to sell that guitar when I fell on hard times. When I saw a partial scallop job, I knew I had to try it. I took a spare fretboard I had on hand and gave it my best shot. I worked from left to right, so it wasn't until I hit around the 15th fret that I started to figure out the best method. The right-most scallop is what I'll be going for. It's shallower and I want enough clearance between the edge of the scallop and the fret. If there's ever a need for a refret that extra meat will be there. 












This will be the layout. I marked the edges of the fretwire and a nice arc where each scallop will end. I'm a little nervous about performing it on the ebony, but scallops look so beautiful on ebony. I can't wait to have scallops again. This is really turning out to be a turbo self indulgent build. Everything I could want in a fiddle.


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## immortalx (Dec 5, 2014)

Your test piece looks perfect and it almost seems it was done by a CNC man!


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## metaldoggie (Dec 5, 2014)

I thought the test piece was the final FB......you made me forget the previous posts lol


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## pettymusic (Dec 5, 2014)

Yeah man, you can tell when someone really enjoys what their doing; the attention to detail is astonishing. It keeps getting better with every update!!


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## KnightroExpress (Dec 5, 2014)

I might be in love with your scallops.


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## JuliusJahn (Dec 5, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> I made a 1/4" MDF template for the Hipshot fixed bridge. I'm going to transfer to a thicker(maybe harder) stock to ensure the drill bit is guided to the exact right location.
> 
> [URL="http://i.imgur.com/UuDjDcK.jpg"][COLOR=#0066cc][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/UuDjDcK.jpg[/COLOR][/URL]



I did the same thing with acrylic. It helps if you also mark your center and scale line on the "footprint" as well so you can always align it 

Mounting screws go 22mm behind the scale length if memory serves correct.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 5, 2014)

I worked on the test scallops a little more, evening them out and I sanded up to 400grit, making them a lot more comfy. I'm ready to move on to the ebony board.








They're turning out a weee bit different due to the maple board having a 12" radius and the ebony having a 16". A bit more hammer and nail and less manicured fingernail on the shape. I've got them down to a consistent depth, so I'm going to work on widening those that have room to be widened and sand them smooth. Any scratches at the pinnacle of each scallop will be removed by radius sanding the fretboard again.


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## CD1221 (Dec 5, 2014)

Loving tha scallops!

Tidy work, sir.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 5, 2014)

Thanks man. I'm kinda miffed that I don't have that parabolic curve that I got on the maple board with the 12" radius. I'm thinking I either need to go wider, or maybe I just need to round off those edges where the scallop meets the regular fretboard surface. I'm going to play around with it tomorrow and see what happens.


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## immortalx (Dec 6, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> Thanks man. I'm kinda miffed that I don't have that parabolic curve that I got on the maple board with the 12" radius. I'm thinking I either need to go wider, or maybe I just need to round off those edges where the scallop meets the regular fretboard surface. I'm going to play around with it tomorrow and see what happens.



It looks wonderful as it is because the shape of the scallops is so pronounced!
If you want them rounded though, here's one I did if it helps having a photo for reference.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 7, 2014)

Thanks fellas, but I think I solved it for myself. If you work from the edge of the board only, you'll end up with a spike like the first pic. If you turn the board around and work from the center out, while holding the tool flat, you'll end up with the parabolic curve I was looking for. Behold!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 7, 2014)

immortalx said:


> It looks wonderful as it is because the shape of the scallops is so pronounced!
> If you want them rounded though, here's one I did if it helps having a photo for reference.



...and that is a FANTASTIC scallop job. Better looking than the Fender I owned.


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## immortalx (Dec 7, 2014)

You really nailed it man! Your eye for detail is something very rare, you left me speechless


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## Renkenstein (Dec 8, 2014)

immortalx said:


> You really nailed it man! Your eye for detail is something very rare, you left me speechless


 

You're too kind, man. I'm just a starving artist trying out a new medium and trying not to hack it up too bad.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 8, 2014)

Drilled for the bridge, pilot holes for electronics, and attached the neck for a photo. Awaiting fret wire now. I'm also going to order a REAL radius block. My home made fair have worked good enough up til now, but I noticed a low spot on the bass side of the middle of the neck. It's really insignificant, and looks like just a hair of neck relief, but the treble side is dead flippin flat. I'd like both to be dead flat before fretting. I need a proper tool rather than one I cobbled together at the beginning of this whole journey. I'll be practicing dye and doing some finish sanding while waiting for the radius block and fretwire. I'm up to 70 hours on this gal.


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## Deegatron (Dec 8, 2014)

I think you need a few more scalops ahead of the 12 fret... they seem to start abruptly there and i think it needs to ease into them the same way you eased out of them from the 18th to 24th... just my 2 cents tho...


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## Renkenstein (Dec 8, 2014)

Ya think so? I was kinda thinking the same, but I don't really NEED more. They are fun to make tho, and I do a lot of runs that include frets 9-11. Maybe if I get bored waiting for supplies.


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## Prophetable (Dec 8, 2014)

I like it as is.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 10, 2014)

Taped off the top of a test piece, leaving the bevel exposed. Sprayed shellac on the bevel to seal it for dye testing.




 


So I can build a guitar. It kinda comes naturally. I've had my bumps, but I've figured out how to overcome them and plan a better process to address them. That being said, these next steps...I HAVE NO FKN CLUE. I've read interwebs pages, I've watched youtubes, I've asked questions on forums and received a lot of input. I still don't know. Time to unravel the mysticism that is a burst and test on scrap. I taped off the bevels after the shellac had dried.





 


I mixed up a medium black and covered everything. This will be my grain enhance, and I'll sand gradually to see what happens.





 


I sanded with 400grit, favoring the right side.





 




 


I applied more dye after mixing a darker batch and a lighter batch. I did the darkest on the right, switched to a clean cotton wad(water only) and blended toward the right. I'll also sand this back and repeat(if needed). I still need to figure out how to burst this into natural. I'm pleased to see that any dye that gets under the tape is completely blocked by the shellac and wipes off easily.





 


While dye was drying and whatnot, I sanded the body up to 400grit and cleaned it off with mineral spirits. This is right about the time that I usually get enthralled by the natural beauty of the wood and I scrap any dying ideas. This is certainly no exception, but I need to press forward and learn something new.


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## immortalx (Dec 11, 2014)

Your test piece with the masking looks very good, nice crisp line!
Just a heads up: 400 grit finish sanding might be too fine for some products. Tru-oil has excellent adhesion and should stick to it with no problem. 2K sealers for example (urethane, acrylic, etc) need a better mechanical bond and are usually applied to no more than 220 grit sanded surfaces. Whatever you use check the technical data sheets just to be safe!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 11, 2014)

I'm leaning towards an oil finish as long as it doesn't make the dye look like shit. I think I can improve on my previous oil finishing experience.


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## CD1221 (Dec 11, 2014)

Those scallops look bloody great. Well done. 

Dye test pieces looking olid as well. Excellent work, fella.


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## JuliusJahn (Dec 11, 2014)

If you mix poly with some nut/tung/linseed oil it won't cause the dye to "bleed", atleast not with the stains I use which are also water bursts.

I'd also do the burst tests with 220. I only touch 400 on my last 5-6 coats of an oil finish, 220 for all the runs and peel before that.


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## pondman (Dec 11, 2014)

just when you think this looks the tits it gets even better.
Amazing build Renk


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## IbanezDaemon (Dec 11, 2014)

Stellar work so far. That's gonna be awesome.
I'm intrigued as to what the finished article will
look like.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 11, 2014)

Thank you, fellas!



JuliusJahn said:


> If you mix poly with some nut/tung/linseed oil it won't cause the dye to "bleed", atleast not with the stains I use which are also water bursts.
> 
> I'd also do the burst tests with 220. I only touch 400 on my last 5-6 coats of an oil finish, 220 for all the runs and peel before that.



So you'll sand back dye with 220? I've been using 400grit and noticed it takes quite a lot of effort. I wanted to play it safe and remove a little at a time...that's worked for me in all other aspects of guitar building.

I will be using a random orbital sander to sand back on the actual body. I've been doing it by hand because it's tough to hang on to the little test pieces, and again...I wanted to remove as little as possible at a time as I'm learning. With the bigger surface area of the body, I'll have to forgo the blocks in favor of the ROS. In that case would you still use 220 to sand back the dye?

My 3rd dye coat today is really looking nice. I was finally able to get an edge that's blacker than the blackest black times infinity and still burst it out fairly nicely. I think that center portion of the Mayones example pic was untouched by dye...I don't think it's possible to get it that light by sanding back a grain enhancement coat of dye. Maybe with the 220grit...I'll have to try it on the scrap after it dries.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 11, 2014)

After the 2nd application of dye was dry, I sanded a bit to blend the transitions. I'm happy with the fade, but I'm not satisfied with the level of black.




 


I applied more black, letting the darkest of the mixed dye I prepared sit a while on the edge. Blended in with some medium black in the middle, then just plain water on the right edge. I blended it all together and let it dry. I'll sand it again tomorrow to blend it and see where I need to go. I'm pretty happy with the level of black on the bevel edge. Oh, and I considered the shellac masked bevel a complete success, so I didn't tape it before this application. I wanted to slop some dye on it "accidentally" to see just how resilient the shellac is to the dye.


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## electriceye (Dec 12, 2014)

This gets better every time I click on this thread! Gorgeous work!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 12, 2014)

Thanks dude. I really appreciate that.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 15, 2014)

Created a recess for a ferrule plate. I made one last build out of necessity, but I rather like them, so I'm using one for this build as well. Used the string thru holes as pilot holes, and drilled to a marked depth with a forstner bit. Cleaned up with a chisel.




 


Fret wire arrived!





 


Pressed in 24 EVO frets. I don't have any end cutters, so I tried with those pliers shown there. Yeah...that didn't work very well at all and hurt my hand. I took the neck over to the band saw and carefully(and easily) lopped each one off. EVO is a brittle metal, I noticed. RIP Megadeth lighter. Ran out of fluid.





 


Filed the fret ends flush and put a slight bevel on them.





 


Woke up Sunday morning on a mission! Installed the hardware from the original Siren and strung her up.





 


Busted out my favorite licks and riffs and threw her in front of a black curtain for a photo. She plays nice, but there's a double chin on this girl's neck. Now that I know the neck/string/bridge alignment is all good, I can make adjustments to the neck profile.


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## metaldoggie (Dec 16, 2014)

Love it dude.....but this shape is screaming to become a seven!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 16, 2014)

Worry not! A seven is on the docket. I've got Xmas Eve through New Years off work and I'll be wrapping up this build and making templates for a seven and a bass.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 16, 2014)

Adam mentioned I needed a better way to hold the neck when carving, so I whipped together a little carving buck that can be held by my vise. Used an old MDF fretboard template, an offcut of mahogany, and a bit of cork to protect the frets. I carved the neck some more, giving me an offset profle that's a bit thicker under the bass strings, with a lot less shoulder under the treble strings.




 


You can kind of see the offset in the curl of the maple.





 




 


Adjustments required tweaking of the heel and volute transitions.


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## KnightroExpress (Dec 16, 2014)

That's one sexy neck.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 17, 2014)

Thanks dude! Almost as clean as yours....almost!

Looking back, I wish I would have had some black veneer to put in between the 'hog and maple. I love that look. That's why there's always a next build, I reckon!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 17, 2014)

Back to finishing. On the left, 1 coat of an oil/poly mix finish that I rubbed on. On the right, 3 coats of spray shellac that I'm using as a spray finish example.




 


Bottom, Oil....Top, Shellac. I like the warm tone of the oil over the black, while the clear coat sample seems like a much cooler tone. With all the warm amber of the maple binding and bevels, and the complex browns and reds of the mahogany, I'm thinking the oil over the black will look a lot better. I'm going to do a couple more coats of oil on this sample piece and then I'll be ready to do something crazy.





 


After finish sanding, I taped up the top and the mahogany portions of the body and sprayed a couple coats of shellac to seal the bevel binding from dye.





 


Did the same for the headstock.





 


4 coats of oil on the left. Same spray shellac on right...no change there.





 


The oil is getting there, but the reflecting ability of the shellac just destroys the oil. I did wet sand the shellac, while the oil is still in the application phase, so there is that. I may try using gloss poly in the formula and testing before moving on to finishing the guitar.





 


Removed the masking tape. Any shellac that made it under the tape got sanded off the top using a corian sanding block and 220. I also wet the top to raise the grain and knocked down the fuzzies by sanding. I'll be slingin dye tomorrow morning!


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## BlackMastodon (Dec 17, 2014)

I gotta say, I like the way the shellac leaves the edge of the black dye much darker than the oil. Great idea with sealing the bevels with shellac, too! Definitely' going to use that method for when I want to do natural binding.


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## skeels (Dec 17, 2014)

This is just the bee's tits, Renk!


I mean, ahem... skeels likes this.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 17, 2014)

BlackMastodon said:


> I gotta say, I like the way the shellac leaves the edge of the black dye much darker than the oil. Great idea with sealing the bevels with shellac, too! Definitely' going to use that method for when I want to do natural binding.



Got that idear from Heretic, or Hammerhead as he's known here(I'm pretty sure that's the same fella?!?). Next time I think I'll forgo the masking, brush it on, then sand the top so the line will form itself. That'll save me a couple hours of taping. Might wanna try that BlackMastodon.


Thank you Skeeeelz!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 17, 2014)

Oh, and I think I went heavier on the black on the shellac piece. I wasn't very consistent when working with the two pieces, so I may have lifted some dye on the edge on the oiled piece. You can see a slight difference in the pieces in post# 178 above.


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## BlackMastodon (Dec 18, 2014)

I thought it was especially strange since on my first build I used shellac to seal the grain and when I touch the maple that was dyed green, the dye began to run. But that was because both the dye and shellac were alcohol, though, don't remember if you used water based dye or not.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 18, 2014)

Yes...water based dye. Alcohol based would have melted right into the shellac. I'm using water based because of the oil finish. I was wondering if I should use shellac as a sanding sealer after the dye, but I'm not sure how well the oil would work over that as far as uniform adhesion is concerned.


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## Renkenstein (Dec 19, 2014)

Dye Day #1: A Leap of Faith. 
I left the shellac coated bevels untaped to apply dye, still have a clean line. It's a little sketchy at the butt-beak, but I think dye is just sitting on the shellac and I didn't want to wipe it and risk cocking up the dye on the top. I taped up the edges to prevent dye from getting on the mahogany, but it was unnecessary. Letting this sit overnight.




 


Not going for the burst to natural on the headstock. It'll just get a normal black burst, so I slopped some medium black in the middle and went around the edge with dark black.





 


I think she'll look really nice. Lots of grain peeking through the darkest dye. That's a good sign, right? Pretty flippin jazzed about how clean the dyed edge is. I was really worried about that. After I snapped this pic, I took a bit of water and a cotton rag-ball thing and drew some of the black into the center from the medium to the natural and from the dark into the medium just to get the transitions started a little earlier. I'll be sanding and blending(and reapplying) tomorrow.


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## KnightroExpress (Dec 19, 2014)

Dude, this is gonna look spectacular. Awesome work!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 19, 2014)

Thanks dude! I'm pretty stoked. I've got a lot of time off coming up and she'll be buttoned up before year's end!


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## immortalx (Dec 19, 2014)

Your attention to detail is amazing man. I don't have a picture in my mind of the final outcome, but I've great faith in your skills and I believe it'll be an eye candy!


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## Neilzord (Dec 19, 2014)

Such a great build so far. Bursting to see that Burst blended and sanded back!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 22, 2014)

Sanded back the first layer of dye.




 


Applied more dye to get the edge darker.





 


Sanded back the dark stuff and blended further.





 


Burst finalized and ready for finish. The black/gray beard approves of the black/gray burst.





 


Mixed up some oil/poly/spirits according to The Drunken Woodworker's formula and applied the first coat. Interesting observation. Water based dye is not 100% safe from being lifted by oil. There will be a little color difference, and I did notice a bit of the black being lifted on the application rag.





 


The oil made the mahogasapele look REALLY nice.





 


Finished the neck with the same stuff, but I left the fretboard untouched. I'll be applying fretboard oil to that.


----------



## ghost_of_karelia (Dec 22, 2014)

Absolutely beautiful. Well played, sir.


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## MikeK (Dec 22, 2014)

I wasn't thinking the black would look too good with the brown of the body wood, but that turned out great man. Nice work all around.


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## jwade (Dec 22, 2014)

This is turning out really well.


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## FIXXXER (Dec 22, 2014)

simply amazing!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 22, 2014)

MikeK said:


> I wasn't thinking the black would look too good with the brown of the body wood, but that turned out great man. Nice work all around.




I wasn't sure about it either, but I had to find out. I didn't know until I peeled the tape after the dye. I got lucky. 

I was pretty confident though...the oil finish brought out the browns in the black more than the blues, which is what made it work. If it was a blue-black like the test piece with the shellac top coat, it would have looked like shit.

Thank you everyone. I'm in the home stretch! Very exciting stuff.


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## pettymusic (Dec 23, 2014)

Looking killer! You definitely have a unique vision and direction.


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## BlackMastodon (Dec 23, 2014)

Absolutely perfect.


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## neun Arme (Dec 23, 2014)

it's really looking great, man.


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## CD1221 (Dec 23, 2014)

Ridonkulously good!


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## Renkenstein (Dec 24, 2014)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Shit happened and I sanded through the finish. I now understand luthier delays, but I stand by my statements in other threads regarding extended build times.

I'll be either sending the body back through my drum sander(HUGE ERASER), or attacking it with my random orbital sander, taking it down to bare maple. I'll do the burst over(and better this time), and change tactics. 

A seal coat is PARAMOUNT when going from dye to a wipe-on finish, folks.


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## BlackMastodon (Dec 24, 2014)

Well nuts. At least you know now, though. What are you going to use as a seal coat when you redo it?


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## pettymusic (Dec 31, 2014)

Question:

You're Jescar EVO frets were pre-radiused @ 10" and your fret board is 16".

Did you bring them closer to 16" radius before installing the frets?

I ask because I have some nickel/ slvr and SS frets from jescar that I will be installing(pre-cut and radius 10"). The nickel/ silver ones, I'm not too concerned but, I was worried that the SS frets may need to be brought either closer to the radius I want, if not the exact radius I want. 

Just wandering how you tackled this?

BTW - Happy New Year Everyone!!!


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## pondman (Dec 31, 2014)

Aw man what a shame  that was looking awesome.
If you do take it back, a set of cabinet scrapers will remove most of the oil and crud to save you instantly clogging up your sanders.


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## CD1221 (Jan 2, 2015)

Bummer. Hopefully second time around will be the shnizzle.


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## Renkenstein (Jan 2, 2015)

pettymusic said:


> Question:
> 
> You're Jescar EVO frets were pre-radiused @ 10" and your fret board is 16".
> 
> ...



Nah, I just pressed those fkrs in. They haven't moved in the middle due to the tighter radius of the wire, so all is good so far. I'll be keeping an eye on it as I near fretwork. I used nickel-silver frets on my last build and they turned out fine, but the kerf of those hand cut fret slots was a bit tighter than the kerf of the slots on the LMI slotted board. 



pondman said:


> Aw man what a shame  that was looking awesome.
> If you do take it back, a set of cabinet scrapers will remove most of the oil and crud to save you instantly clogging up your sanders.



Man, I wish I would have read this before doing it. I have cabinet scrapers and love to use them, but the thought never occurred to me. After 1 clogged ROS 100grit pad, I switched to a 60grit pad and blasted it off. The good thing was I only had to wipe the finish back on on the top and I used a couple spray poly coats to lock the dye down for good. Worked well.


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## Dust_to_Dust (Jan 2, 2015)

That is beautiful man, great work!


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## Renkenstein (Jan 2, 2015)

The oil/poly/spirits mix wasn't curing well between coats, and it was moving the dye all over the place. I gave it a couple days and tried to wetsand, which didn't go well at all and I sanded through. With this many bad things happening, I called it quits and stripped the top down to bare maple before the holiday break.




 


Xmas brought me a doo-dad organizer, so now I have plenty of room for all that shit that was cluttering up my work spaces.





 


I also got a gift card that I immediately spent on a 4 pack of these. They were on sale for $19.99, which is a price never seem to be able to catch. This time I did. Oh, I also got to rummage through my dad's screw bins and grabbed a metric ass-ton's worth. The antler was given to me by my brother, a skilled deer slayer. I'm going to try to cut some nuts out of it.





 


2nd dye session. I let this sit for 3 days while I ran to STL to visit the fam.





 


After returning from STL, I sanded back the dye into a burst.





 


Learning from my past mistake, I decided to seal the dye under 2 coats of spray poly.





 


After 7 coats of wipe-on poly.





 


13 coats, and I'm calling it done. A little bit of natural light to show it off.





 




 


Drilled out the neck screw holes to fit a #10 and attached the neck.


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## jwade (Jan 2, 2015)

Fack, looking schweeeeet. Seriously badass job.


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## Renkenstein (Jan 2, 2015)

Thanks dude! I'm pretty happy with it. Applying finish is the most tedious shit ever, when all I want to do is put it together and fkn ROCK.


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## immortalx (Jan 2, 2015)

Awesome stain job buddy and it looks 10 times better under poly


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## Renkenstein (Jan 2, 2015)

I totally agree. Poly gives that holographic quality to the figuring that I just wasn't getting with the oil mixture, but it's still thin enough of a finish to feel the woody nature of the back. The oil on the neck feels great. I think I'm going to give Alex's secret weapon a shot next build.


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## Mvotre (Jan 3, 2015)

that must be the happiest .... up ever 

looks amazing now! congrats!


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## pondman (Jan 3, 2015)

Oh mother !


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## neun Arme (Jan 3, 2015)

looked great, looks awesome now.


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## FIXXXER (Jan 3, 2015)

that burst OMG!


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## metaldoggie (Jan 3, 2015)

That is gorgeous dude!!!!


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## Renkenstein (Jan 5, 2015)

A teaser shot. I still have to complete the truss rod and control cavity covers, but I cannibalized the Siren prototype to get this gal running. Final photos and review coming as soon as possible.


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## metaldoggie (Jan 5, 2015)

Strung its even better!


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## Renkenstein (Jan 6, 2015)

Thanks, man. I'm having a blast playing her. The build quality is light years beyond my last guitar, so I didn't feel bad robbing her of parts for this one. 

The extra 3/4" (26-1/4")on the scale length...wow. I struggled for years trying to keep floppy strings(12-56 tuned C standard) tight during gallops and punchy thrash riffs, and all I had to do the whole time was go with a longer scale length. Riffs I'd slop through before are now clear and punchy. The EVO fretwire is like glass, making bending and vibrato smooth, while the scallops really let me dig in there and make her squeal.

This guitar has taught me a LOT. I pushed to try as many new things, and add everything I could want in a guitar(Rubenesque neck, ebony FB, bevel binding, partial scallops, brass accents), and the end result is a guitar that I honestly can't put down. I'll definitely have to postpone an NGD for a while because this gal's got me DRUNK!

The covers are getting poly applied and should be ready in a couple days. I still have to break her down and do the fretwork as well.


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## CD1221 (Jan 6, 2015)

Stellar work!

Rubenesque neck?


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## Renkenstein (Jan 6, 2015)

Yeah, man...Rubenesque. Baroque painter Sir Peter Paul Rubens famously portrayed thick women in erotic poses. No thigh gap round there...noooo sir. More cushion for....well, you know all that...

I like a fat neck...is what I'm tryin to say.


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## CD1221 (Jan 6, 2015)

Gotcha. Never heard it used in this context before, missed it entirely.

I also am a fan of thick chunky necks.

Nicely done. I applaud thee.


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## metaldoggie (Jan 7, 2015)

So you're sayin' your guitar has mudflaps?


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## pettymusic (Jan 7, 2015)

Well done. Looks amazing and glad to hear you can't put it down. That's what its all about!


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## pondman (Jan 7, 2015)

metaldoggie said:


> So you're sayin' your guitar has mudflaps?



Sounds more like piss flaps  You'll be wiping the fanny batter off this one.
Most excellent result Renk.

Mega congrats


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## Neilzord (Jan 9, 2015)

pondman said:


> fanny batter



Can't wait to see the NGD of this with plenty 'o' Pictures!


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## Kullerbytta (Jan 9, 2015)

That is... One of the coolest guitars I've ever seen.
Hypothetically... If ya din't jive as well with it as you do, what would you consider charging it for?  

Seriously, if I had money for a custom, I would bring that money to you in hope of an equally awesome guitar! Same specs, shape 'n all.

Really cool work.


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## Renkenstein (Jan 9, 2015)

I'm glad you all diggit. I've avoided discussing price on the forum until I'm up and running with the proper credentials to do so. Look for an announcement soon. 

NGD coming soon. I finished up the cavity covers and tried to take some pics today, but the lighting and focus just wasn't working with me. I'll give it another shot this weekend.


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## Renkenstein (Jan 12, 2015)

The time came to do something about the frets, and I needed some practice before hacking away at my EVO fretwire on my pretty MacEbony board. Luckily I had a well loved Ibanez RG560 neck laying around. The frets had seen over 20 years of my punishment, and were well dimpled. I don't have a crowning file, nor do I have a diamond plate, or a mill file flat enough for the task. I made a long sanding block out of Corian and ground the corners off a triangle file.




 


A couple hours later, they're nice and shiny with no evidence of the previous 20 years of wear. I let it ride and gave Siren #1's frets the same treatment. I was surprised how easy this task is once you get it down.





 


Day two of the fretwork weekend. I mummified the MacEbony board in masking tape and went to work with my caveman tools.





 


Closeup after leveling and crowning. I also deepened the slots on the disposable nut to compensate for the minor loss in fret height





 


The action is perfect for me. Zero buzz up and down the neck. I love looking down at this upper horn and seeing that clean dye line and the natural maple popping in between the darker woods. Nice little reflection in the top finish as well.





 


I've got to ditch the Corian nut, so I cut into the antler my brother gave me. Whew....lemmie tell ya...smells like Bigfoot's dick. I sanded a side true just to see if there would be any pores or signs of weakness, but this stuff is as solid as can be. It'll work nicely.










I'm really frustrated with my attempts to get a final photo shoot of this girl. I'll keep trying, but I don't want to post FINISHED photos until I can capture her properly. I may just call in a favor from a friend. I did take her out on her maiden voyage to band practice, where she received a right proper spanking. I could not be happier with the outcome of this guitar. The added scale length was just what I needed to tighten up my rhythm playing. I've always struggled with 12-56ga strings tuned to C standard. With this longer scale, it's tight and responsive. Thrashin' gallops and brutal chugs were no match for her. She plays beautifully, while mercilessly crushing skulls.


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## Renkenstein (Jan 15, 2015)

Still no photos, but I did finish cutting a nut this morning and recorded a quick demo clip. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi32_9_RGqM


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## Renkenstein (Jan 16, 2015)

The light was cooperating today. Still just phone pics, but it's going to be a nice weekend(50-60 degrees in January!) so I'm going to try to get some nature shots with the Canon DSLR. For now, here she is in shitty phone quality!


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## immortalx (Jan 16, 2015)

Oh man, I can't stress enough how much I love this guitar and even in phone pics it looks stunning. Waiting to see this beauty under natural light


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## pettymusic (Jan 16, 2015)

I get excited every time this thread has an update!

Just beautiful man!


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## Renkenstein (Jan 17, 2015)

Here's something else I found that was pretty cool. After making the antler nut and slotting it to the correct depth, the action was perfect. A little low for my taste, even...but it feels so good that I can't bring myself to raise the string height.

Here's the action at the 24th fret of my favorite Ibanez.







Here's the action of the Renk Siren. No buzz. She practically plays herself.


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## neun Arme (Jan 17, 2015)

That guitar really looks awesome.


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## BlackMastodon (Jan 17, 2015)

Look at that f**king perfect line around that black binding. With the light hitting it that way, it is just...goddamn. I can't say it enough, this is an amazing instrument. Can't wait to see more stuff from you in the future (because like hell are you allowed to stop building ).


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## Renkenstein (Jan 17, 2015)

Thanks dudes! 

Worry not, BlackMastodon....nothing's stoppin' this train. I'm doing some shop improvements over the next couple weeks, and getting right back to it. It's easier and quicker every time, so I'm hoping to have a couple stock guitars built by spring to test the waters of semi-pro lutherie.

I'm thinking a Claro Walnut top build, and maybe building the sister guitar to this one using the other piece I saved from the maple board.


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## SilentCartographer (Feb 2, 2015)

Awesome build!!! this makes me want to take a Luthier course asap..


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## Renkenstein (Feb 2, 2015)

Thanks, man. These forums and YouTube were about all the courses I needed. DIY.

I've got somethin' cookin up that'll make some SSO peeps happy. Progress on it is flying.


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## Renkenstein (Mar 18, 2015)

OK...this is long-flippin-overdue. Finally got some nice shots of the Second Siren!!! She's a beauty, I'm the beast.





















































...and if anyone wants to look at it through the microscope, here is the unedited super hi-rez album.
Second Siren


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## JLocrian (Mar 18, 2015)

Damn


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## pettymusic (Mar 18, 2015)

I dont even know what to say brother. I mean, that is a true work of art!! Amazing work man, really. Cant wait to see your other 2 when they are complete.


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## Renkenstein (Mar 18, 2015)

Thank you fellas! 

I'm stoked about these upcoming builds too. I've got a lot going on. This guitar here saw me through many breakthrough moments in skill development, and I'm pretty damn proud of her.


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## BlackMastodon (Mar 18, 2015)

You should be proud, it turned out great, man!


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## Renkenstein (Mar 24, 2015)

So I decided I needed to get a real unbiased answer on just how good of a guitar this really is. I'm over the moon on this guitar, but I'm very biased. 

I took this Siren into a guitar shop. Not just any guitar shop, but one that deals in high end Taylor and Paul Reed Smith guitars. I've gotten familiar with the owner of the shop and added him on Facebook a few months ago. He told me he's been following my progress the whole way.

Three older experienced gentlemen went over it with a fine tooth comb. One was the owner, the other an experienced salesman, and finally the shop's tech. They were very impressed with the craftsmanship and had many questions on how I did things. The tech even loved my fretwork, which I was really not sure about. It's comfy to me, but that doesn't mean it's comfortable for everyone. 

I offered up quite a detailed conversation in how I run my shop, and it ended up being a casual demonstration on features and shop practices. Kinda like something you'd hear at NAMM. It just flowed out, and I could tell I had their attention.

I mentioned multiscale instruments and stood in the middle of the showroom and spun around, looking at all the guitars in the room. "I don't see a single multiscale guitar in here, and I'm certain they are the future of guitars", I said. That got him scratching his chin and he agreed with me. He's got high end Taylor guitars and high end PRS, but this is something he doesn't have.

I think I planted a seed that just may turn into something great.


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## Steinmetzify (Jun 5, 2015)

Necro. 

Dude? Wow. 

There is no way in hell I'd leave this in a shop if I found it there. It'd come home with me, guaranteed. No thinking about it, nothing. I'd see it and pay immediately. 

Stellar job.


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## Renkenstein (Jun 8, 2015)

You can necro all you want if it's a compliment like that! Thank you, sincerely. I'm rather fond of her.


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