# Second build: Multi-scale Seven



## Taylor (Jan 21, 2015)

Specs:

25-26.5" Scale length
Neck-Through Body
Neck: 5 piece Walnut/Maple
Body: Still undecided, maybe Swamp Ash again
Fretboard: Cocobolo
Top: Figured, Quilty/Burlish Maple
Bridge: Hipshot Singles
Tuners: Hipshot Locking
Pickups: Homebrew
Finish: Tru-Oil back and neck, dyed top

Alright all I have for you guys in the way of pictures is my drawing at the moment.








The shape is still being tweaked right now, and I might change up the bevels/contours.

I'll get more pics up tomorrow of the wood.


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## DancingCloseToU (Jan 22, 2015)

Woot!

It's awesome to see this thing getting started already!

This hobby is infectious in the best way possible. You and many others here have inspired me to take on my own build. I can't wait...

Godspeed goodsir!


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## immortalx (Jan 22, 2015)

Seems like a nice plan man. I'd prefer the lower horn just a bit smaller but that's just a personal opinion!


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## Taylor (Jan 22, 2015)

DancingCloseToU said:


> Woot!
> 
> It's awesome to see this thing getting started already!
> 
> ...



Thanks! I hope to see your build up here soon! 



immortalx said:


> Seems like a nice plan man. I'd prefer the lower horn just a bit smaller but that's just a personal opinion!



That is definitely one of the tweaks that's in the works.

Wood pics coming soon. Guitar wood that is.


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## Taylor (Jan 22, 2015)

Pics of the fretboard blank and the top:


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## DancingCloseToU (Jan 22, 2015)

Damn! Is that a Bocote blank? 

This thing is gonna be gorgeous.


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## Taylor (Jan 22, 2015)

Nope, Cocobolo. I do have a Bocote blank leftover from my last build, but I think Skeels wants it...


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## Steinmetzify (Jan 23, 2015)

Nice dude. Really enjoyed the last one; subbed!


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## DredFul (Jan 23, 2015)

Very interesting looking top. Can't wait to see it finished! Decided the colour yet?


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## Taylor (Jan 23, 2015)

DredFul said:


> Decided the colour yet?



Yup....


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## Taylor (Jan 27, 2015)

I forgot to add: There will be an inlay. A logo/symbol from one of my favorite book/movies.


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## Taylor (Mar 10, 2015)

Well, a few things have changed. There is still going to be an inlay but not what I originally intended. Also the color I originally intended has also been changed. The new color scheme will be a "Dino-Burst" (patent pending ). Pics this week now that I actually have a little time to work on it.


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## absolutorigin (Mar 11, 2015)

Looks pretty sweet!


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## Taylor (Mar 16, 2015)

Thanks! 

Okay I need some opinions. Body wood. Black Limba or Mahogany?


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## skeels (Mar 16, 2015)

I like both. Limba is very light and resonant. Mahogany is heavier but reverberates well. How thick is that top? -which is very nice btw...


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## Renkenstein (Mar 16, 2015)

Diggin' that fretboard. I need to try me some Cocobolo.


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## Taylor (Mar 16, 2015)

skeels said:


> I like both. Limba is very light and resonant. Mahogany is heavier but reverberates well. How thick is that top? -which is very nice btw...



Top is 1/4".

I'm leaning more towards Black Limba for this build, might do mahogany for the third build.


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## immortalx (Mar 17, 2015)

I always drool at the sight of black limba. Nature at its best


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## Taylor (Apr 13, 2015)

Finally got some work done.

Neck got glued up.

























Scarf joint getting cut:











And the headstock getting glued:


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## Taylor (May 3, 2015)

Haven't gotten much done lately, alas, finals week is upon me.

Here's a small pic update.

















Headstock juuuuust fits. 





Had my first screw up:






As you can see the dowel I put it to hold the headstock in place was 1/8" too close to the fretboard, so I'll have to drill it out and fill it with sawdust and glue. 

Other than that everything has gone swimmingly. I really liked routing the compound scarf joint. I'm thinking about getting the fret slots cut on a CNC, doing "blind slots" so that I can nip the tang ends and have no visible slots. Does anybody have any experience with this? I have a dxf file of my fretboard but how would I go about "nipping" the ends of the slots out of the cutting path?


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## Taylor (May 25, 2015)

Top got glued the other day, still haven't sanded it so excuse the squeeze out.

















The burst is gonna look so good on this. If I don't screw it up of course.



I added about 4 more clamps to this after taking the picture. (So don't worry)


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## TamanShud (May 26, 2015)

Dayummmmm nice top is nice


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## Renkenstein (May 29, 2015)

Super clean work! Lookin' great!

Dowel situation sucks, but it happens. Won't make that mistake again!

I just drilled through a fretboard, so I've got a similar patch on mine.


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## Taylor (May 30, 2015)

Thanks! Kind words coming from SSO's great builders is always awesome. 

Definitely won't make that dowel mistake again. Though I can't say I was distracted by a phone call at the time, I just plain wasn't thinking. 



Edit: I just drew this up, thoughts?


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## All_¥our_Bass (May 30, 2015)

^Very cool inlay and dots layout.


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## Renkenstein (May 30, 2015)

GraveyardThrone said:


> Thanks! Kind words coming from SSO's great builders is always awesome.
> 
> Definitely won't make that dowel mistake again. Though I can't say I was distracted by a phone call at the time, I just plain wasn't thinking.
> 
> ...



Absolutely sick! Love it!


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## Taylor (May 31, 2015)

I'll just leave these here 






















It still needs some cleaning up, but things are moving along!


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## Steinmetzify (May 31, 2015)

Yaaaaaasssss!


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## skeels (May 31, 2015)

skeels likes this! 





I better get back in my shop!


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## MaximilianD (Jun 1, 2015)

I have oodles of experience with cnc'ing fretboard slots.

To slot them blindly;

1.Create a fretboard on FretFind
2.Download it as a single page PDF
3.Open inkscape (I'd suggest inkscape with the GCodeTools Plugin) or other vector editing program (I use EazyDraw on my Mac) and import the single page PDF at 100% scale
4.Trace over the fret slots and the fretboard outline
5.Design and overlay any inlay designs or fret markers also to be cut on the cnc
6.Draw a line 2mm (or however blind you want your fret slots to be) from the edge of the 24th fret to 2mm from the edge of the 1st fret. Do this to the top and bottom of the frets so essentially each fret is 4mm (or so) shorter than before
7.If you're using Inkscape (like I suggested) then turn all of the strokes into paths and set the orientation points for the corner of the page (this should be by default, I usually set the 'Z' depth to 6mm to allow for hand radiusing of the fretboard)
8.Separate the outline from the fret slots and paste it into a separate document for use later
9.Import the tool library and set your tool/spindle parameters (probably 0.6mm end mill at 450mm/min)
10.Export the Gcode for the fret slots
11.Select and delete the fret slots in the current document and import the outline ensuring that it lines up with the orientation points (change the 'Z' depth of the orientation points to 0.1mm further than the width of the fretboard stock material to account for uneven material)
12.Import the tool library and change the tool parameters to a 3mm end mill (or something capable of cutting the fretboard outline)
13.Export the Gcode for the outline
14.Orientate the cnc's home position in accordance with the orientation points on your inkscape document and exported Gcode (zero your machine)
15.Cut the fret slots in your fretboard material plus any inlays etc
16.After cutting the fret slots, zero the machine to the same point
17.Change end mills from 0.6mm to 3mm and load the Gcode for the outline
18.Cut the outline
19.Done





Or just send your spec to me and I'll create some GCode in about 5 minutes.


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## Taylor (Jun 1, 2015)

MaximilianD said:


> I have oodles of experience with cnc'ing fretboard slots.
> 
> To slot them blindly;
> 
> ...





You. Are. Amazing. Thank you so much!


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## Taylor (Jun 2, 2015)

Pics of what I've done today (evening up the back and sanding smooth):


















What's on the to-do list:







Need to rout the excess from the back of the neck
Need to cut out the headstock
Need to rout the top of the body for the drop top
Need to drill and rout control cavity

I'm still waiting on the truss rod and Transtint dyes to show up from LMII, I don't want to rout the truss rod channel without having the rod in my hands obviously. That reminds me I need to order the wire and magnets and stuff for my homebrew pickups.


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## Taylor (Jun 8, 2015)

Small update.

Headstock got cut out, and tuner holes drilled. The third hole got a little wonky, though 





Don't mind the mess around the soon to be volute 





Neck excess got removed






Dat side grain tho






Still waiting on the truss rod to get here. 


Anyway, back to work!


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## pettymusic (Jun 8, 2015)

Looking good! Glad you went with the limba, especially nice side grain!


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## Taylor (Jun 10, 2015)

What does a guy have to do to get a truss rod delivered around here?!?! 

Neck is tapered.










Here is the screw up I had with the dowel. It should be too bad after the neck gets shaped. But it still irks me to no end. 












Dyes still have arrived yet either. How am I supposed to practice bursts?

Imaginary rep to anybody that can guess the colors I'm going to use.


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## Taylor (Jun 16, 2015)

Well it turns out that there was a screw up at LMII and they didn't end up processing my order (even though they charged my card for it ). The guy said the stuff should be here by the end of the week. I just love having the time to work on something but not being able to due to materials not being delivered.  Time to make templates for guitars 3 & 4!


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## Taylor (Jun 17, 2015)

Truss rod and dyes got here early. 







Also picked up some timbers. Went in looking for some small pieces of ebony for pickup bobbins, but came out with something different. 











I'm out of control!!!


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## pondman (Jun 17, 2015)

The timber combo's and everything else about this one are just beautiful.
Excellent build


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## Taylor (Jun 17, 2015)

pondman said:


> The timber combo's and everything else about this one are just beautiful.
> Excellent build



Thank you. You probably don't know this but yourself and skeels are the reason I started building! When I first joined here you guys were the main two people I saw churning out amazing axes. It gave me the confidence to start my own builds. Anytime I get a compliment from you, or skeels, or any of the other builders on here, I can't help but feel honored. 

You guys are awesome!


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## Taylor (Jun 18, 2015)

Still need to rout a clean path where the fretboard will sit. (waiting on a specific router bit to arrive).





Dyes:









Wondering what the colors are?






































Hmmmm






I think I could have sanded back the black coat a bit more, make the colors a little brighter. Maybe a bit more green in the very center? What do you guys think?


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## TKOA-Dex (Jun 19, 2015)

looks like a galaxy! try adding a little green like you said


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## Hywel (Jun 19, 2015)

GraveyardThrone said:


> What do you guys think?



I think that looks damn sexy!


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## Blue1970Cutlass (Jun 19, 2015)

TKOA-Dex said:


> looks like a galaxy!



That's the first thing I thought too


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## Taylor (Jun 19, 2015)

TKOA-Dex said:


> looks like a galaxy! try adding a little green like you said





Blue1970Cutlass said:


> That's the first thing I thought too



Now that you guys mention it, it does really! I like it.


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## BlackMastodon (Jun 19, 2015)

A touch more green but otherwise the colour looks great!


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## pondman (Jun 19, 2015)

GraveyardThrone said:


> Still need to rout a clean path where the fretboard will sit. (waiting on a specific router bit to arrive).
> 
> 
> 
> ...



The purple to dark blue on the right is horny as f*ck.


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## pondman (Jun 19, 2015)

GraveyardThrone said:


> Thank you. You probably don't know this but yourself and skeels are the reason I started building! When I first joined here you guys were the main two people I saw churning out amazing axes. It gave me the confidence to start my own builds. Anytime I get a compliment from you, or skeels, or any of the other builders on here, I can't help but feel honored.
> 
> You guys are awesome!



Thanks GT but I used to lurk around forums watching builds and that's where I got most of my inspiration 
I've said it before and I'll say it again, this site has the most talented and imaginative builders on the internet, hands down. 

Back on topic. This is looking just perfect


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## Taylor (Jun 23, 2015)

Didn't get too much done over the weekend.

Control cavity and pickup wiring got routed. 





Don't mind the ugly rout at the end of the wiring channel. The base of the router I was using was butting up against the neck, so I had to finish with the drill press. 


Jack location sketched out. Slightly recessed.







Roughed out the maple top where the fretboard will sit. 







If I can get the cutout on the top perfect by later today, I might be able to get it glued up tonight.


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## Taylor (Jun 24, 2015)

Prepping the body for gluing.






















You might think that is just an ordinary piece of MDF I'm using as a glue spreader, but it's not. This, my friends, is a piece of highly sought after Spalted Brazilian MDF.


After using several different interrogation techniques, the top still wasn't talking. So I decided to give it the squeeze.


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## BlackMastodon (Jun 25, 2015)

The return of the ultra-rare Brazilian Spalted MDF! We are not worthy!


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## Taylor (Jun 26, 2015)

A couple chips came out of the top when I drilled it for the toggle switch. I even used a brad point and a sacrifice. It probably didn't help that I was drilling through a burl. Oh well, the chips will be covered by the mounting washer anyways.












The top also came off center a tad. At the tail the bookmatch drifted off center line by about 2mm. Not too noticeable but still 


Here's my messy rough sketch of what I'm working on right now:


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## Taylor (Jun 29, 2015)

Cut a chunk out of that Macassar Ebony I picked up two weeks ago. Should be able to get quite a few bobbin tops out of it.







But the real question is what to do with the leftover piece. It's 7/8" thick so I should be able to get three nice fretboards out of it, OR I could use it for a bolt on neck. Decisions man.


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## Taylor (Jul 2, 2015)

I made up a template.







And then I got to work.



















The top has a bit of a gap. 






The fretboard will overlap and cover the end of it, but not the sides. 


Also routed through to the control cavity in the pickup route.






This one was due to poor planning. At least there's still enough wood to mount the pickup. 

The mistakes haven't been huge so far, but they're still mildly infuriating.

One last shot:


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## ThePIGI King (Jul 2, 2015)

You could always try filling the gap on the sides a little bit with some sawdust and glue maybe? I'm no guitar builder, but that's what I've done to fill gaps in other wood-ly projects...I think...Looking great! Might have to try a guitar myself someday.


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## Taylor (Jul 2, 2015)

ThePIGI King said:


> You could always try filling the gap on the sides a little bit with some sawdust and glue maybe? I'm no guitar builder, but that's what I've done to fill gaps in other wood-ly projects...I think...Looking great! Might have to try a guitar myself someday.



Yeah that'll be what I end up doing, I'm just bitching


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## Blue1970Cutlass (Jul 2, 2015)

loving the progress on this...

Remind me - what's the finish gonna be on this?


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## Taylor (Jul 2, 2015)

Blue1970Cutlass said:


> loving the progress on this...
> 
> Remind me - what's the finish gonna be on this?



Thanks!

Purple to blue to greenish blue burst, finished with Spraymax 2k high gloss, and Tru-Oil on the back and neck.


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## Blue1970Cutlass (Jul 3, 2015)

Taylor said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Purple to blue to greenish blue burst, finished with Spraymax 2k high gloss, and Tru-Oil on the back and neck.



Oh yeah! That's awesome 

(following so many builds on this site I forget which is which sometimes )


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## Taylor (Jul 11, 2015)

Got a little work done today.

Got the bridge holes drilled.







And something that may be of interest.















I didn't take any pictures of the body after I sanded the black back, sorry.














Needs a little work on a few spots, but not too bad. Parts of the dye had already dried by the time I took pics and others were still quite wet so it looks a little splotchy.

Didn't bother taping the sides to stop any dye drips, I'm gonna give them a good sanding later anyway.


My friend who was going to mill my fretboard on his CNC no longer has a functioning CNC at the moment, so I'm looking at other local options.  That might take a bit, but it'll give me time to work on making pickups. 

Even with work, summer classes, this build, and my refinish project, I've got a hankering to start working on the third (Rhoads) and fourth (headless) builds I've got rolling around in my head. As if I don't have enough to deal with


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## Steinmetzify (Jul 11, 2015)

Dude for some reason this reminds me of Skeletor on He-Man. Compliment, by the way. Looks dope and I'm hyped to see it done.


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## TamanShud (Jul 12, 2015)

Duuuuuude, that stain!!!!!!!! It's like a nebula or something


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## BlackMastodon (Jul 12, 2015)

F**k yes, that stain. And don't feel bad about wanting to start your other builds before this one is done, I think we all run into that problem.


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## pondman (Jul 13, 2015)




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## pettymusic (Jul 13, 2015)

Dang bro! That just looks awesome!! I always wondered if you layered/ overlapped colors to get that "nebula burst" effect. It looks like you just mixed up you 3 colors and they don't really overlap at all.....hope that makes sense

Can't wait to see this finished!!!


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## Taylor (Jul 13, 2015)

pettymusic said:


> Dang bro! That just looks awesome!! I always wondered if you layered/ overlapped colors to get that "nebula burst" effect. It looks like you just mixed up you 3 colors and they don't really overlap at all.....hope that makes sense
> 
> Can't wait to see this finished!!!



Thanks.

I didn't really overlap the colors. I rubbed the dyes in separately then went back and rubbed the edges separating the colors with a circular motion (while the dye was still wet) to sort of blend them together a bit. That was just so there isn't really a stark line dividing the colors. If that makes sense. 

And I like "Nebula Burst", think that's what I'll be calling it.


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## pettymusic (Jul 13, 2015)

Haha! Nebula Burst it is!! I'm sure I got it from somewhere or someone!!!


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## BlackMastodon (Jul 13, 2015)

If you take some 0000 steel wool, you can gently blend the colours together even more, just be careful with the steel shavings getting into any pores or cavities.


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## russmuller (Jul 13, 2015)

Dude.... that is a show-stopping stain right there. I can't wait to see this thing finished!


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## immortalx (Jul 14, 2015)

What a SEXY AS HELL paintjob am I seeing


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## haieb (Jul 15, 2015)

This guitar is going to be a beauty


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## Taylor (Aug 12, 2015)

Sorry for the lack of updates, I haven't gotten too much work done I'm afraid.

Here is how she stands as of today:

The backside body bevel getting sanded to remove micro tear-out.






The heel and tummy carve drawn out:





And the Nebula Burst:





I'm not sure yet if I want to sand back the burst or not. I'm pretty happy with it, but not completely. I think tomorrow I will retouch a few spots and call it good. Or maybe I'll sand it back and just do a gloss black finish 

It looks like I'm going to have to hand slot the fretboard, which isn't too big of a deal, and I'll do the inlay by hand also. Looks like I'm buying a router base for my dremel!


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## Pikka Bird (Aug 13, 2015)




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## Taylor (Aug 13, 2015)

Carved out the tummy cut today.






Chiseling out the rough shape






Cleaned up on the belt sander




















Tried to show off the contours, but the lighting in my basement sucks  It still needs some work, but I like how it turned out.


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## Pikka Bird (Aug 13, 2015)

Thanks for blending the contour into the outline.


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## Blue1970Cutlass (Aug 15, 2015)

That burst is gonna pop like crazy once there's some clear on there!


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## Taylor (Sep 4, 2015)

Caveman fret slotting:











A couple of the slots got a little messy, but nothing that will show up after the frets are on. 







And from now on I'll try to update this thread a little more often!


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## skeels (Sep 4, 2015)

+1 for caveman slotting! Great looking ferretboard!


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## MaximilianD (Sep 7, 2015)

This is beautiful work, especially that burst!


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## dankarghh (Sep 8, 2015)

This is great man. Give me more.


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## Taylor (Sep 11, 2015)

The real inlay work is starting


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## Taylor (Sep 16, 2015)

Roughed out the inlay with the dremel.












Coming along nice and slowly, which is good! Don't want to go too fast and screw something up!


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## Taylor (Oct 5, 2015)

Not really an update, as I haven't gotten much done. Thirty hours of work plus 30 hours of classes per week plus helping my dad build a deck haven't helped 

I got the burst mostly how I want it:







And the fretboard inlay is almost cleaned up:


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## THB430 (Oct 6, 2015)

O wow! Love the top, are you going gloss or matte? cant wait to see more!!


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## Taylor (Oct 6, 2015)

THB430 said:


> O wow! Love the top, are you going gloss or matte? cant wait to see more!!



Thanks! It's going to get a gloss coat, though I was tempted to do matte.


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## joeyanderson4 (Oct 29, 2015)

Wow, this is awesome!
Keep it up, excited to see where this goes.


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## Obstsalat (Oct 31, 2015)

great to know I'm not the only caveman in here


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## Taylor (Oct 31, 2015)

Thanks guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Life is kind of getting in the way right now


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## warped (Nov 4, 2015)

This looks great, and you might be solving a few issues/questions I am coming across (I'm trying my luck with building a fanned fret guitar and hoping to use these bridges). Did you get the hipshot solo bridges with the 2 end pieces with the little tab? Does this mean when you install them each individual saddle are side by side and touching (and all held together/sandwiched by the tabs on the end pieces) or is there a gap between each saddle?


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## Taylor (Nov 4, 2015)

Yeah, I'll be installing them touching each other. I'm not sure what you mean by two end pieces with the tab, these are the ones I ordered:


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## BlueGrot (Nov 4, 2015)

Great build, can't wait to see the result.


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## warped (Nov 5, 2015)

I've seen you can get them where there is a little tab that would stop the saddle moving - you can see them in the pic below (sorry you'll have to click the pic to make it appear larger).. It looks like it's to keep them tightly locked together, although the height screws sit in a little valley to stop the saddles from moving


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## odibrom (Nov 5, 2015)

The tab was on their first model, then they grooved the base plate so the screws that control the string action would prevent the saddle from moving sideways. It gets cheaper, because all baseplates are the same now. I think they ditched the first design.


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## Taylor (Dec 16, 2015)

Again sorry for the lack of updates; maybe this will make up for it?











Grain pops a bit eh?

Had a few unseasonably warm days this week, so I put the clear coat on. You may notice a lack of fretboard in these pics. Well I screwed that up 

I (stupidly) didn't check my fretfind printout before I slotted the board. For some reason the printout didn't print to scale (even though every other time it had). So I guess I get to use that fretboard on another guitar 

The clear coat still needs wet sanding and buffing but at least I got it on the guitar before the temperature drops below freezing!


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## metallidude3 (Dec 16, 2015)

Oof, that finish is baller!


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## Bdtunn (Dec 16, 2015)

That looks killer!!


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## sezna (Dec 16, 2015)

that finish is dreamy...
How off was the scale? Just out of curiosity...


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## Taylor (Dec 16, 2015)

sezna said:


> that finish is dreamy...
> How off was the scale? Just out of curiosity...



It was off by about half an inch.


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## sezna (Dec 17, 2015)

Taylor said:


> It was off by about half an inch.



Ah, okay. You said you're going to make another guitar from it, so I was hoping to see a build thread for an 18in-20in multi scale seven string or something like that in the near future.


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## Taylor (Dec 17, 2015)

sezna said:


> Ah, okay. You said you're going to make another guitar from it, so I was hoping to see a build thread for an 18in-20in multi scale seven string or something like that in the near future.



Ha! Now that's an idea...


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## Ram150023 (Dec 17, 2015)

Absolute $iC looking build!!

The ONLY thing holding me back from doing my own is the fret boad/neck. Scares the hell outta me to screw it up. Especially on a neck through...


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## BlackMastodon (Dec 17, 2015)

That finish is not of this world.


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## Taylor (Jan 26, 2016)

And another update. Sorry I haven't gotten further!












New fretboard is slotted and getting glued up! Waiting on new pearl dots and inlay material to arrive. Started working on the pickups, which was quite intimidating at first, but I think they'll turn out alright (sorry no pics of them yet). 

Will try to update this more frequently now that I have time to work on it!


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## KR250 (Jan 26, 2016)

Looks awesome! Can't wait to see it completed. BTW, your build was a huge inspiration for starting on my own project.


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## Taylor (Jan 26, 2016)

Thanks! It honestly feels a little weird to be inspiring build threads here.


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## Taylor (Jan 28, 2016)

Another small picture update. If you couldn't guess from the last round of pics, the fretboard got glued on!
















I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised with how well this build is going. I really like how this one is turning out. Still waiting on inlay dots, but now that the fretboard is on I can start carving the neck.


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## Taylor (Feb 1, 2016)

The heel is mostly finished, just needs some cleaning up.






The neck still needs some work but is almost there.






The little hole from the dowel made a smaller blemish than I'd thought 






Next thing on the list is to get the volute done.







Until next time


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## pondman (Feb 1, 2016)

Wow


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## Taylor (Feb 8, 2016)

More pics!


























Everything just needs a good sanding to remove tool marks, then I can break out the Trv-Oil.


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## Spicypickles (Feb 9, 2016)

Hawt. 


Man I want to start my own! But I have no tools....or extra money....or a house to do it at.


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## Pikka Bird (Apr 6, 2016)

Oh I'm liking this a lot! Put a veneer on the back of that headstock and it'll look pretty baws.


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## vansinn (Apr 6, 2016)

Man, I can't decide what I like the most.. dat burl'ish top, seemingly with parts of it recessed - you gotta optical illusions; or the limba on the backside. Yes, I'm such a sucker for limba..


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## skeels (Apr 6, 2016)

"Sorry i haven't got much done" *builds whole awesome guitar* 

Pondman school of building!

skeels approves.


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## Taylor (Aug 24, 2016)

Just wanted to say that this build's not dead! Right now I'm working on getting some pickup bobbins made. I still need to fashion myself a pickup winder, preferably with a wind counter of some sort. Anybody have experience with this?


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## bostjan (Aug 24, 2016)

Can't you use a cheap revolution counter? There are lots of approaches to building a mandrel, but the key is to get the speed low and jig a guide for the wire. I can only advise not to go too fast.


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## Deegatron (Aug 24, 2016)

I bought a cheep counter and some reed switches off ebay for like $20 but sadly I haven't finished my winder build so I cant comment on how well they work... I can tell you they do work... but not 100% sure about what speed they can handle....


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## Taylor (Aug 24, 2016)

bostjan said:


> Can't you use a cheap revolution counter?



Where's the fun in that? 





Deegatron said:


> I bought a cheep counter and some reed switches off ebay for like $20 but sadly I haven't finished my winder build so I cant comment on how well they work... I can tell you they do work... but not 100% sure about what speed they can handle....



I'm thinking of doing a cordless drill powered mandrel, and fashioning a wind counter out of a calculator plus a reed switch/magnet. I've heard that this method works, though I haven't seen it in action.


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## Grif (Aug 26, 2016)

Not a fan of the sudden end at the volute, personally I'd have a veneer on the back of the headstock


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## Taylor (Aug 26, 2016)

Grif said:


> Not a fan of the sudden end at the volute, personally I'd have a veneer on the back of the headstock



Yeah, it's pretty ugly haha. I'll throw a flamed maple veneer on it before I put finish on the back.


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## Taylor (Sep 23, 2018)

This thread hasn't been updated in over two years  Let's change that.


Some wood pron for you all.






I made a fret beveling file to get the fret ends flush with the fretboard and then bevel the ends.











Excess material from the maple top that I'll utilize for the electronics cavity cover:




As it stands I still need to level and crown the frets, add the side dots because I forgot to earlier, finish wet sanding the top and headstock, buff the finish, make the pickups, and throw on the hardware.

Sorry to keep everybody waiting btw


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Sep 24, 2018)

Taylor said:


> This thread hasn't been updated in over two years  Let's change that.
> 
> 
> Some wood pron for you all.
> ...




Bravo good sir!, exquisite work. I know the feeling for sure of letting a project sit for too long, after my last build I darn near havn't touched a tool for several months... idk, just sort of dropped off and out of the game. Feeling the itch again though, I ordered a truss rod and some carbon to put into the build I have sitting in a closet half finished right now, gonna get back on it sometime soon hopefully. 

I really like that file jig, I made a crappy version of that out of a StewMac wooden radius sanding block, slotted it down the edge kinda like that.


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## Taylor (Nov 1, 2018)

I didn't like the contour of the neck, and definitely had some material to work with, so I took the neck thickness down some more. I think when I first carved it I was so afraid of breaking through the truss rod channel I left more thickness than I needed on the neck. So I took what is becoming one of my favorite tools to use, a card scraper, and took the neck down a few millimeters. She's now at ~20mm at the first fret and ~22-23mm at the twelfth fret. I also redid the veneer that I put on the back of the headstock. The first time I tried the veneer cracked at the volute pretty badly. The second time went better, but there were still some small cracks that needed to be filled.



The card scraper can make some shavings.






After the first couple of hand buffing attempts. It's getting shiny, but there are still swirl scratches to get rid of.





Please ignore the ABSOLUTELY HORRID wallpaper. But she's looking good hanging up next to the #3 and my Xiphos. It will look even better when it's done!


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## Taylor (Dec 4, 2018)

Small update. Working on the pickups. Had a hard time winding for a while. I think my spool had gotten knocked around in storage for a while and the strands wrapped over themselves and would snag and break when being pulled off the spool. So after a few failed attempts at winding I think I have worked all the kinks out of the spool.








One bobbin down, three to go.


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## AeroSigma (Dec 19, 2018)

Beautiful build, thanks for documenting for us, it's very interesting to see a guitar in all the middle steps between raw lumber and playable instrument!


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## Taylor (Apr 9, 2019)

Got some pictures taken a little while ago. They'll have to do until I get more pictures and sound clips of my pickups for when I post an NGD. I am proud to finally announce that this build is finished! (for the time being). I still need to make a truss rod cover, but I want to move on to new projects. This build certainly isn't perfect, but I'm really happy with what I've accomplished. 







You can see in this photo that the string alignment is a little off. It's still completely playable, but it irks me. The inlay was my first attempt at an inlay. EVER. As in I didn't even practice on scrap first (stupid). It turned out really well though, I think.





The back of the body is almost as droolworthy as the front IMO. The screws in the cavity plate are just some I had around, I'll throw some black ones in eventually.







Thanks for everyone who kept up with this thread. I'm sorry it took so long!


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## Defyantly (Apr 9, 2019)

DUDE!! Super impressed! Great job at keeping up with this build and not packing it in. The guitar looks stunning!


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## LiveOVErdrive (Apr 9, 2019)

Duuuuude


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## Albake21 (Apr 9, 2019)

Considering this build has been going on since 2015, happy to see this beauty finally built! Can't wait to hear sound clips. If it sounds as good as it looks, it's perfect to me!


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## KR250 (Apr 10, 2019)

HNGD!


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