# New Evertune 7 string build



## Serratus (Aug 3, 2014)

Not got too far on this one yet, but here's a few pics!
It's gonna have a single cut body, ash back with walnut front, wenge and maple neck, 22-fret 25.5" scale, rosewood board with Les Paul type inlays, 7 string evertune bridge, Bareknuckle black dog bridge and stormy Monday neck in camo covers.

Here's the bridge:






The walnut top, after gluing it together:





Gluing the neck laminates together:





The neck laminates roughly planed:





Headstock roughly shaped:





Gluing the scarf joint:





The neck inlays sat on the fingerboard, before inlaying them:





More later


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## esp_eraser (Aug 3, 2014)

Nice choice of woods and hardware, will make for a unique build.


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## immortalx (Aug 3, 2014)

That's some very very clean work 
Have you made up your mind about where should the guitar's butt will be on that beautiful top?


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## Tesla (Aug 3, 2014)

Can't wait to see how this one looks!


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## Serratus (Aug 3, 2014)

immortalx said:


> That's some very very clean work
> Have you made up your mind about where should the guitar's butt will be on that beautiful top?



Yeah, it's gonna be vaguely Les Paul shaped, with the neck going off to the right in the picture above. The black line across the middle of the top will be at about the narrowest part of the body, so the rounded figuring of the top will roughly follow the round curves of the widest part of the body


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## immortalx (Aug 3, 2014)

Very good choice! I would do the same too


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## JuliusJahn (Aug 3, 2014)

Bound inlays? Very nice. I've been thinking about it recently but can't help but wonder how long they'd take to make by hand.


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## Serratus (Aug 4, 2014)

JuliusJahn said:


> Bound inlays? Very nice. I've been thinking about it recently but can't help but wonder how long they'd take to make by hand.



Took a couple of hours to glue the white sheet around the black blocks, then sand it all back flush. Would be pretty fiddly to do a more complicated shape though, imho


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## Renkenstein (Aug 4, 2014)

Beautifully clean work. Love the inlays and that hole in your head there.


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## Serratus (Aug 6, 2014)

Got the fingerboard inlayed and roughly sanded down level - they'll look much nicer once they're fine sanded and polished


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## Pikka Bird (Aug 6, 2014)

Inlays with outlines... schwiinnng! That walnut top appears to be going slightly mad. It's gonna be insteresting to see it all done up and finished.


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## Serratus (Aug 16, 2014)

Little bit more done 

Shape drawn out on the front:





Levelling the top of the neck laminates using a plunge router. Normally I would just use a plane for this but because I'd already glued on the headstock front, I had to do it this way to get it all flat:





And after I'd routed for the truss rod. Just a bit more tidying up to do before I glue the fingerboard on:


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## XtremelySLOW (Aug 16, 2014)

Subscribed!

I don't know squat about luthiery, but I'm a sucker for single cut 7's.


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## Slunk Dragon (Aug 18, 2014)

I'm liking where this thread is going. This looks like a proper Les Paul 7!


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## immortalx (Aug 18, 2014)

THAT top and THAT fretboard


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## noj (Aug 18, 2014)

Those inlays are pure class, love them!


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## Serratus (Aug 31, 2014)

Gluing the fingerboard on:





Levelling the board after sanding the radius:





Cut down to size, board levelled and sanded, etc:





Showing off the grain of the wenge:





And I received the pickups - Bareknuckle Emerald bridge and Stormy Monday neck in camo finish with black bolts:


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## TKOA-Dex (Aug 31, 2014)

Serratus said:


> Gluing the fingerboard on:
> 
> And I received the pickups - Bareknuckle Emerald bridge and Stormy Monday neck in camo finish with black bolts:



Those pickups are pure works of art.


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## Serratus (Sep 1, 2014)

All fretted with nice big fretwire!! Love doing ball end frets (well, don't love doing them that much, cos they take ages, but they're nice once they're done!).


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## immortalx (Sep 1, 2014)

Stunning work! Those ball ends look so consistent that I'm wondering what's the trick! Do you have a special process or you just going by eye and feel?


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## Serratus (Sep 1, 2014)

immortalx said:


> Stunning work! Those ball ends look so consistent that I'm wondering what's the trick! Do you have a special process or you just going by eye and feel?



Thanks! I just do them by eye - I cut the fret to exact length first, and file the tang back at an angle, then file the end into a ball with a metal file, sand with 1000 grit and polish with wire wool. Then push them into the board. Although they're not completely identical, once they're polished they do look very close to each other.


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## Necromagnon (Sep 1, 2014)

Serratus said:


> Thanks! I just do them by eye - I cut the fret to exact length first, and file the tang back at an angle, then file the end into a ball with a metal file, sand with 1000 grit and polish with wire wool. Then push them into the board. Although they're not completely identical, once they're polished they do look very close to each other.


You mean you do the fret ends BEFORE putting them onto the fb? I'd be too scary to completely mess the length... 

Btw, great looking build.


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## guitarxtc (Sep 1, 2014)

Good job man


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## Serratus (Sep 1, 2014)

Necromagnon said:


> You mean you do the fret ends BEFORE putting them onto the fb? I'd be too scary to completely mess the length...
> 
> Btw, great looking build.



Yeah, if I'm doing ball ends then I do them first. The hardest part is making sure they're the right length and pushing them in accurately (that's why I start with the longer frets, so if I cut one too short then I can still use it as I get to the shorter frets). I do love the fact that they're so smooth though, and that I don't have to round off the rough ends after they're in. 
I also sand off the top edges of the board before I start fretting - only a mm or two, but then the frets don't go all the way to the full width of the neck, they're back from the edge a touch, which means they don't get knocked when I final sand the neck, and the positioning of the fret as I push it in doesn't have to be quite so perfect (did that make sense?). Also means nice rolled FB edges.


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## Renkenstein (Sep 1, 2014)

Sensational work. Your attention to detail is astounding.


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## Serratus (Sep 8, 2014)

Got the back of the neck shaped and rough sanded.

I used a plunge router to get the neck down to thickness along most of its length:






The router got it to this stage:





Shaped each end:





After shaping the rest of it:









I've not completely finished shaping it yet. I want to get the body built and then once I can screw the neck on I'll do the final shaping around the neck joint, so it's a really smooth transition from neck to body. It also needs a bit more around the volute on the back of the head, and maybe a touch taking off the shoulders of the neck itself. Once that's all done I'll sand the whole thing properly.


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## TauSigmaNova (Sep 8, 2014)

This thing is amazingly beautiful from the inlays to the woods to the construction. Nicely done, keep it up.


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## TauSigmaNova (Sep 8, 2014)

This thing is amazingly beautiful from the inlays to the woods to the construction. Nicely done, keep it up.


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## mathloss (Sep 8, 2014)

this looks terrific , great job.
I'm waiting for the next step!!!


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## theo (Sep 8, 2014)

Lookin nice!


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## Renkenstein (Sep 8, 2014)

Serratus said:


> I used a plunge router to get the neck down to thickness along most of its length:



YOINK!!! Idea stolen! Hope you don't mind. 

Man, genius. I cut the profile on a bandsaw then finish shaped with a Ridgid OSS. This is a great idea. I'm gonna try it.


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## Serratus (Sep 9, 2014)

Renkenstein said:


> YOINK!!! Idea stolen! Hope you don't mind.
> 
> Man, genius. I cut the profile on a bandsaw then finish shaped with a Ridgid OSS. This is a great idea. I'm gonna try it.



I don't mind at all mate, give it a go 
It's the first time I've done it this way, I set up the two bits of wood at a slight angle so the neck is thinner at the head end - it's really nice once it's done because you know the back of the neck is dead straight and the right thickness.


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## Serratus (Sep 13, 2014)

Started on the body!
When I have a front on the body there's some jobs that I find easier to do with drills and saws before I glue the front onto the back, so this is the work done to the 6mm walnut front so far.











The next job is to drill and cut the cavities in the ash back, and then it'll be time to glue the two together


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## immortalx (Sep 13, 2014)

Amazing work! You are a true craftsman mate


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## Serratus (Sep 17, 2014)

More progress 

First, testing that the electronics fit in the cavity ok, considering that I'm using big paper in oil caps and a 5-way super switch, I wanted to make sure there was plenty of room:





Cavities in the ash back roughly routed:





After I'd glued the front on, and just routed the neck pocket:





And after roughly cutting out and sanding the body. Still lots of final shaping and sanding to do yet though:


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## HurrDurr (Sep 17, 2014)

Looking great! Your fretwork is astounding my friend. Excellent progress!


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## Necromagnon (Sep 17, 2014)

Fck, that's some huge pool you got there. 
I personnally prefer to route everything (except electronic cavity) after gluing the top. I use the place where the pups will be to put some screws to help clamping the top to the body.
But anyway, that's some very very clean work. I dig it!


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## TommyG (Sep 19, 2014)

Good Lord dude.....
That is impecable work. Very impressive!


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## metaldoggie (Sep 19, 2014)

Awesome work!
Is anyone else noticing how the bridge route is right smack bang in the middle of what looks like a lady part?


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## Tesla (Sep 19, 2014)

metaldoggie said:


> Awesome work!
> Is anyone else noticing how the bridge route is right smack bang in the middle of what looks like a lady part?



So it's going to be an Everpube bridge?

...I'll go now.


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## Serratus (Sep 20, 2014)

metaldoggie said:


> Awesome work!
> Is anyone else noticing how the bridge route is right smack bang in the middle of what looks like a lady part?



Haha, yes, several of my friends have pointed that out!!lol


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## Serratus (Sep 20, 2014)

Got the corners rounded over and some rough sanding done:


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## Serratus (Sep 24, 2014)

Quick pic of the back after lots of sanding, etc. The holes around the cavity are for magnets that are going to hold the backplate on.





And this was just a quick mock up to make sure it all lined up okay.


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## joshuallen (Sep 24, 2014)

great idea with the frets. I will have to try that. Do you just hold them by hand for shaping, or do you use a vise?


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## joshuallen (Sep 24, 2014)

I've never seen Walnut with figure like that. Amazing. Walnut is a personal favorite.


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## Serratus (Sep 25, 2014)

joshuallen said:


> great idea with the frets. I will have to try that. Do you just hold them by hand for shaping, or do you use a vise?



I have one of the StewMac nut vices so I use that to hold them while I do the shaping of the ends


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## The Q (Sep 25, 2014)

That's a great job, my only beef is that it reminds me of a... spider. And I #$(&# hate spiders!


Good work however; don't mind me!


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## metaldoggie (Sep 25, 2014)

Now with the hardware it reminds me of a LOTR dwarf.
Cant wait to see it finished.


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## Serratus (Sep 29, 2014)

Couple of sneaky pics now I've got some oil on it


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## Serratus (Oct 10, 2014)

This is pretty much finished now - I'll get some decent pics up soon


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## Neilzord (Oct 10, 2014)

MOAR!!!!!


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## Serratus (Oct 10, 2014)

Quick teaser!!!lol
Had a tiny bit of sun so snapped a quick phone pic - more to come later


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## SkyIllusion (Oct 10, 2014)

Holy shit. That is one stunning guitar. I mean... I wish I had something more constructive to say but it's a very unique build. Fantastic work!


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## Maggai (Oct 10, 2014)

That is awesome, great work!


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## daveofdonnell (Oct 10, 2014)

Oh lawdy... That is one gorgeous build!


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## immortalx (Oct 10, 2014)

So beautiful and elegant! Congrats man


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## Serratus (Oct 11, 2014)

Thread for the finished guitar! 

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/sevenstring-guitars/281280-ngd.html


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## Serratus (Oct 11, 2014)

Although I've done a NGD thread, I did want to share this pic in this thread, just because I love how you can't really see the scarf joint because of the grain of the wenge!


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## IVIaverick52 (Oct 18, 2014)

I was about to say "where the hell is the joint!?" Excellent work!


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## KR250 (Apr 28, 2016)

Awesome build! Question related to the Evertune install, how thick is the guitar body? I'd like to install one but the specs I've found require a minimum 2.1" total body thickness. My current build at 1 5/8" thickness looks to be too thin for it to work. Any other advice for planning out an Evertune build?


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## Serratus (Apr 29, 2016)

KR250 said:


> Awesome build! Question related to the Evertune install, how thick is the guitar body? I'd like to install one but the specs I've found require a minimum 2.1" total body thickness. My current build at 1 5/8" thickness looks to be too thin for it to work. Any other advice for planning out an Evertune build?



Thanks!
I've done two Evertune builds, both with a body thickness of 1.75", and both are right on the limit of the bridge fitting. So I don't think it'd work with a body any thinner than that, and if the neck and therefore strings sit really low to the body front then even that would be too thin (The depth of the bridge is dependant on the height of the strings - as you lower the action on a string it's saddle sinks further into the body, potentially sticking out the back).
My only advice is to plan it well from their plans or templates, and be prepared for a lot of routing! It is an awesome design so it's totally worth it imho 

(My only other thought was that if you'd completed the build and then found the body was a touch too thin then you could either rout a bit of the inside of the back plate away, or add a thicker part to the outside edges of the back plate to step it out from the body slightly. This would allow the back plate to fit while letting the bridge saddles stick out the back of the body slightly.)


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