# First guitar build



## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

I decided to give making my own guitar a go.
Thought it would be handy to share my first attempt with others, to see were the difficulties are and potential problems to avoid.
Before i start, i would like to point out that i have had no previous wood working experience, so this was more for the learning experience than getting a top guitar at the end (i can hope ).
My selection of tools, and workspace are also highly limited.

I started with buying some wood. 
Not as easy as i i thought, in Australia.
Around were i live, there is Bunnings, Bunnings and, wait for it... Bunnings. (Im sure there would be some kind of lumber yard, but as a complete novice, i was lost)
So, i picked up this






It is what they advertise as 'hardwood' but a few google's suggested it might be Victorian ash? (hopefully someone else can confirm? Also, as far as a quick google went, vic ash = tas oak = actually some kind of eucalyptus?)
Either way, i wasn't too fussed. 
It wasn't soft pine, and it looked ok. Perfect for a 1st build.





After cutting into 1/4's i smoothed the sharp edges on the ends, and got carried away and smoothed the length side too slightly. 
Not the best idea, as i had to join there shortly...



I dont have a jointer, but i do have a hand plane.
So to cut down the sides i rounded and make them flat i tried using a 'shooting board' pictured.
It made a nice shiny cut (after i sharpened the blade a bit) but i must have been rocking it around a little, as the edge appeared slightly rounded at the end.
So i decided just to go for it, by hand/eye with a straight edge.
This turned out better.



Had to buy 2 cheap sash clamps to glue them together ( i later bought a 3rd, witch probably would have helped at this stage)


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

After a quick smooth to get rit of bits of excess glue, this was the join.
Not bad in the middle, but a bit of a gap on the ends.
This slab was still much too large, so most of the ends will be cut off anyway. (hopefully with the gaps)




Other side is nicer.



I traced my template (witch i cut out from mdf, from tracing my mtm2) and attempt to cut ~1cm from the line with a jigsaw, to make it easier for the router.



I had to do it in parts, as the little jigsaw struggled to cut through wood this thick & tough.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

Anti guitar 
As you can see from the offcuts, the region around the horns was quite challenging to get around.
It was too tight a circle for the jigsaw to happily cut, so i had to hollow out little spots were i could start at a more severe angle.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

Time to route to the template.



Routing is much more of an art/skill than i had thought.
With my complete underestimate of the tool, i managed to escape with only 1 major tear-out and a few bits were it went wobbly (fixable by sanding).



The tear-out/chip 



not sure what to call this, but its not how its supposed to be.



The router base was getting wobbly on the 1 horn.
Luckily this only happened in 1 spot, and not particularly deep.




Aside from those bits, i was happy with the results.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

Using my sash clamp again.
i found one of the chips that flew off while routing, and squared off both the chip and the hole with a chisel as best as i could.




Glued it in, with the flexy plastic coaster to stop the wood gluing onto the clamp (i used far too much glue for this bit, just to be sure)




After letting it dry, and sanding flush.




Re routed, to trim it back into shape.




Only really visible from the side, and i planned on rounding the edges slightly anyway.




Here is the join, behind were the bridge will be.
Flush most of the way, except the end 5mm, witch makes it appear as a crack.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

Getting a start on the neck, as it want to have the neck before i route the neck pocket in the body (and place the bridge and pickups etc)




More 'hardwood'. This was from the trimmings isle, for skirtings etc.
i found an exceptionally light piece that i liked.




Cut down to size, and in a mockup of how i will glue them.




The bits for the headstock.
Note, this is all the same species of wood.
The sides of the headstock are the darkest i could find, and the middle is the lightest.
The out parts of the neck was the same light piece, and the middle sections are the average color available in the shop.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

All glued up




Running out of clamps








Happy with how this turned out. About to give it a quick pass of the planer, to make it flat.








Looking a bit grubby, but promising.




Cleaned up with hand plane, and a quick sand. Also trimmed the ends so they are even lengths.




The future neck


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

The scarf joint.
I did a quick test run on a soft pine neck i made (forgot to take pictures).
This went ALOT smoother (on the actual neck) after having sorted out how i was going to approach this, and getting in a bit of practice.




Marking off the angles.




Obliterated the excess with an electric hand planer (that thing is vicious), then made it nicer with a (proper) hand plane, and a quick sand. (pictured is immediately after the power planer)




Flipped it over, and glued.




I sanded the join (and the rest of the top of the neck) flat.
Routed for a truss rod.
The black ring is a burn mark, it is actually quite smooth and even.
This step was harder than trimming the body, as i didn't have a template.
I had to clamp a straight piece of wood to my bench and follow it with the flat side of the router base.


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## jahosy (Oct 20, 2013)

Shaping up nicely there mate!! And yeh love Bunnings hahaha

For more timber selections maybe try Lazarides (QLD) 
Imported Timber 

or Mathews timbers (VIC) at nunawading / mitcham 
Timber Melbourne | Exotic Timber Supplier | Timber supplier Melbourne


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

A month later (after being very busy) i got back to it.




Bought some sanding drum drill bits, to smooth out the edges.
I did NOT want to get rid of some of those bumps on the inside of the horns by hand.
This worked surprisingly well for such a cobbled together kinda... duct tape solution. (excluding inhaling a good 100g of dust)




It looks quite nice (imo) now. Got rid of all the bumps, and things.
Cleaned up the patched chip a bit too. 
After this picture was taken i sanded by hand a little too, to get rid of the little burn marks.
left of the chip is a discontinuous dark band (witch sanded out) and just after that is a little wiggly line that has since routing appeared.
Not sure what to do about that yet.




After sitting for a good month, the join seems to have gotten worse too 
Its still the same length that is affected, but its just opened up a bit more.
Looks like i mite have to forgo a nice oil finish for a solid color...
Anyone have an idea of what to do?


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

Planed some merbau (by hand again), this was actually a decking plank.







A mock-up




put a piece of tape over the truss rod for gluing.
I think i read this was a good idea somewhere?
I forget now, but i did anyway.




Glue-d

(now up to date, so posts will be -much- further apart )


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

Oh wow. That's about 5mins away. 
Now i know, thanks for that


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## pondman (Oct 20, 2013)

You've got worm holes in that wood , lots of worm holes .
Make sure they have vacated


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## XxJoshxX (Oct 20, 2013)

Did you try to route the body in one pass?
Unless your using one of those scary monster upcut spiral bits, I wouldnt recommend it.
Looks nice though.


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Oct 20, 2013)

Looks very good so far, especially for a first build. I have had the same issues in the past with router tear out and such, just gotta take it down in several layers and several passes, a bit deeper each pass. Routers are not really made to dig into bulky material removal, they're more suited for shaving small precise layers.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

pondman said:


> You've got worm holes in that wood , lots of worm holes .


Yeah, the 2nd set i cut has none, but his has quite a few 
Not quite sure how to make sure they are dead/gone, but i don't really mind the look (not that id intentionally make more).
Any pointers? Poke with a piece of wire? 



XxJoshxX said:


> Did you try to route the body in one pass?
> Unless your using one of those scary monster upcut spiral bits, I wouldnt recommend it.
> Looks nice though.





DistinguishedPapyrus said:


> Looks very good so far, especially for a first build. I have had the same issues in the past with router tear out and such, just gotta take it down in several layers and several passes, a bit deeper each pass. Routers are not really made to dig into bulky material removal, they're more suited for shaving small precise layers.



Almost, i did it in 2 or so passes, but even so i probably should have done more. I see what you two mean now.
If i had a band saw i probably would have done closer than 1cm for the rough cut.

Thanks for all the comments


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 20, 2013)

Ah yes, 
of the hardware that has arrived so far:
Gotoh 510 wrap around bridge (chrome)
A500k pot (still not sure if this will be necessary, certainly not going to include a tone knob)
Barrel input jack
3 way toggle, i was thinking wiring it coilsplit/humbucker/off
GFS Crunchy rails pickup (seemed like a reasonable time to try one, i have a few spare pickups to replace it if i need too)





I have also ordered some Wilkinson locking tuners 3L3R (which i have used in the past, and thought suited balance of cost to function needed here)

Going for the excruciatingly simple setup


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## pondman (Oct 21, 2013)

Megaton_900 said:


> Yeah, the 2nd set i cut has none, but his has quite a few
> Not quite sure how to make sure they are dead/gone, but i don't really mind the look (not that id intentionally make more).
> Any pointers? Poke with a piece of wire?
> 
> ...


They could be inactive but you seriously don't want those beetles emerging into your house and laying eggs. Boron is the usual treatment .


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## Daf57 (Oct 21, 2013)

What a great build project! And you appear to be going at it very well! Should be epic when done! Subbed for updates.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 24, 2013)

I got back to work today, to tidy up the neck.





Here i Just trim the fretboard flush with the neck so i can hold it in my vice.





I was quite worried how the scarf joint and fingerboard glue line would turn out. Before i cut it back it looked pretty dodgy (sorry, forgot to take a picture)
After it looked like this, which was heaps cleaner, but still not as good as i was hoping.





Marked off the final thickness, on both sides to make sure its level, and got to work with the power planer (no hand plane to take off 2cm excess ).
After i planed across the neck a few times were it will be rounded, but stopped when i remembered i still needed it flat to route 





Thankfully the routing went ok this time, and the scarf joint looks much cleaner after this. note this is were it will be rounded, so only really the fretboard has to be cleanly routed at this spot.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 24, 2013)

Tape 1, template 0






The heel looks nice and clean cut to me.




Happy with this so far.

I now have some abalone side inlays, jumbo fretwire, abs plastic to cut cavity covers, some neck screws & inserts and some strap buttons.
The Wilkinson locking tuners and i ordered arrived too.
Only have to buy a nut and some sort of knob for the volume pot.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 24, 2013)

Daf57 said:


> What a great build project! And you appear to be going at it very well! Should be epic when done! Subbed for updates.



Thanks 
Its been loads of fun so far, and i am not even 1/2 done.
Definitely considering doing more after.


I have a suspicion that i should have left the body a bit longer before cutting it to its final shape. Does anyone know how long i should leave bits like this to settle (eg, the neck now)?


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 28, 2013)

Rounding the neck with a bastard cut file.




My aim at this point was to make it THIN. Wizard thin.
Had to remember there is a truss rod route in there somewhere, but as i didn't have the depth measurement (i routed mm by mm until the truss rod fitted) i had to guess based off the depth at the nut side.
This was a problem 




Went for the off-centre carve.




It did turn out good, except for a few things.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 29, 2013)

I managed to get closer than i was hoping to the truss rod route.
Not broken through, but close enough that i could flex the wood with my thumb.




First idea was to flood the route with glue, and hope it solidifies a bit.
Here i am using a syringe and some shrink tubing to get it behind.
This did not work. At all.
It was actually a very stupid idea come to think of it...
I just made heaps of mess.




Split it slightly, to let the glue seep out.
Put a dab of super glue too.

After letting it dry and realizing it hadn't worked, i thought perhaps a thick poly finish could save it (you cant -see- the crack, but you can feel it flex)

It turns out my neighbor it a top notch cabinet maker (who knew ) so i picked his brain a bit.
The poly finish is a no-go, as it would work fine initially, but after a year or so it would split. Poly is sharp when it splits, don't want to cut my hand open when it happens.
He also helped me identify what happened to the body.
The method Bunnings uses to dry their structural grade hardwood is not nearly as good as it used to be (in his words). 
He had a quick glance over the body and noticed that the whole body had twisted diagonally minutely, causing the corners to be high/low and the join to split slightly more at each end.

So, change of plan:
I will be continuing with the body, starting the neck again (salvaging the truss rod if i can) for the sake of gaining experience, but not mounting any hardware.
Probably attempting a solid finish (or even a swirl if i fell brave), to practice.

Just to finish on a high note:
I think i will adapt this thread (rather than waste it) to my journey of learning to make a first guitar, as opposed to just that one. Hopefully this will help anyone else going down this path avoid any of the mistakes i make (there will be plenty more to come).
My neighbor very kindly agreed to give me a hand if i need help/some tools.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 29, 2013)

I picked up some much nicer woods to start again 




Left to right; New Guinea rosewood, Padauk yum, American wallnut








Not quite sure what the wallnut is for, as it is slightly to thin for a body, and to narrow for a drop top. I just could not let this one get away


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## Jacobine (Oct 29, 2013)

How thin is that walnut? Might be 'super thin blackmachine-ish' worthy. Or bookmatched possible given it's the right size. Gorgeous none the less!


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 29, 2013)

The walnut is 32mm x 240mm x 700mm, so i guess it could make a very thin guitar, like a sabre or a sg. Not quite sure about the width though, it would need to be jointed.
I was considering perhaps a 4 or 5U rack cabinet or a rediculously deep carved top, but it really depends how hard joining it will be (for a body).
Its still early days 

I also have a nice ebony fretboard i picked up for cheap a while back. 
I have been saving it for something nice, but i thought it mite go well with the almost fluorescent red of the padauk.
Once i get my method sorted a bit more


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Oct 29, 2013)

Bummer, don't feel too bad man, my first guitar has taken 3 years and 5 attempts to achieve. 

This is it, I had the same problem with nearly cutting into the truss rod route.


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 29, 2013)

DistinguishedPapyrus said:


> Bummer, don't feel too bad man, my first guitar has taken 3 years and 5 attempts to achieve.
> 
> This is it, I had the same problem with nearly cutting into the truss rod route.



To be honest, i was in a great mood all day 
I noticed that:
- My insight to use the crappy end of the beam first paid off
- It has cost me ~$40 in timber for well over 30hours fun & practice
- Bought some wood that i am reaaaaly looking forward to working with
- Had an amazing lasagnae for lunch 

I had a browse through your build too, nice work.
You approached the same problem completely differently to me, and it turned out nicely from what i can see from here 


A small update on the neck:
I had it glued 3 days ago from today, and my previous assessment was after my usual day wait for it to dry.
I checked just this morning, and it is absolutely rock solid 
Not really surprising (in hindsight) it wasn't fully dry, with the amount of glue that went in there.
The thinned space has slight shoulders, i think i can fix that, and none of the flex from before.
Lets just hope the truss rod still works 

If i can pass the body through a thicknesser, and touch up the neck, i could still save this lot. If not, i just started gluing an identical neck.


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## Neilzord (Oct 29, 2013)

Enjoying the progress in this thread! You definitely have the right attitude, And an "amazing Lasagnae" allways helps! 

Look forward to more of this story to your first completed guitar!


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## fastmerc (Oct 29, 2013)

Nice way to jump in. I haven't had the guts yet to tackle a from scratch build.


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## Megaton_900 (Nov 9, 2013)

Small update again.
A combination of bad weather and being kept very busy meant not much has been happening sadly.
When i have had a chance i have been pouring over guitar builds from other people, YouTube demonstrations and other assorted guitar building/woodworking guides.
Several purchases have arrived (such as a fret slot saw) and i have made myself a little list of tools that would make this much easier.

I have figured that:
- A table saw
- Jointer planer (8"+)
- Thickness planer/drum sander
- Belt sander
- Bandsaw
would make this considerably easier to get things cut square/flat/accurate (assuming i can use them properly )

The neck, after a single (feather-light) pass of 320 grit to remove the squareness of the almost sanded through part.




2 little dark lines, so i probably wont use this neck for anything other than practice. 
Try things on this first.




The next one that i glued up, then made to the correct thickness (and as flat as i could with a hand plane).




Scarf joint.
I will be going and buying a belt sander or something to make this a bit easier/better. I have had to do this part about 10 times now, so hopefully im getting better




Picked up a few ideas on how to make gluing a bit less messy.
I started spreading out the glue with a little scraper thing (old plastic drink coaster) rather than use the timber to squeegee it around. I saw a few times people using paint brushes, and i did try that, but i found i like this better.
(ignore the pencil drawn angle, i drew that one wrong)




I have done just about everything wrong with a hand-plane that i can now 
i moved the angle adjustment bar by accident, and it made these gauges on the otherwise smooth fretboard side.
I have also realized that grain alignment is much more important than a visual thing.
For this, the grain on the right and the headstock (and the middle was parallel, so doesn't matter) were aligned 1 way (cut towards camera) and the left side would cut smooth cutting away from camera (and that direction peels up the join of the scarf joint ).




Somehow i managed to make both sides flat, but not parallel, and the neck heel is too slim (14mm).
Must have been a bit plane-happy. oops
Looks like this has become another practice piece.


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## pondman (Nov 10, 2013)

I love your attitude to this build - not getting pissed off and just ploughing on 
I've burned a few necks on my way 
A belt sander is a great investment and so are a couple of bungee straps to attach it to a workmate for shaping .

Great build


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## Megaton_900 (Nov 10, 2013)

Thanks for the comments everyone 

I am hoping to commandeer a shed in a few weeks time, so i should be able to spread out the sawdust a bit


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Nov 10, 2013)

Megaton_900 said:


> - A table saw
> - Jointer planer (8"+)
> - Thickness planer/drum sander
> - Belt sander
> ...



I managed to do my first complete build without any of those. What I have is a router, drill press, jig saw, circular saw and a few other basic hand tools. the build came out quite nice, check it out: 6 string build

Yes those tools would help out tremendously, but for a n00b like me, I'm not at the level of cranking out $2000 guitars every month, so I dont need thousands of dollars in equipment to do a nice build.


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## Megaton_900 (Nov 10, 2013)

DistinguishedPapyrus said:


> I managed to do my first complete build without any of those. What I have is a router, drill press, jig saw, circular saw and a few other basic hand tools.



How did you make the laminates for the neck?
I have been using the thickness of the boards i get, and cutting them flush after gluing, so i cant get anything as slim as those wenge pinstripes. 
And how did you rough-cut that scarf joint angle? 
I have been struggling to get an accurate angle with power/hand planes.

I have been getting by so far with a plunge router, power & hand plane, jig saw and a rasp.
The list is more of a wish list 

I will be trying to burrow as much as i can, and some (ie bandsaw) are a bit more optional.
My father has a 40yr old hobby bandsaw that struggles with 2mm balsa, that needs replacing anyway


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Nov 10, 2013)

Megaton_900 said:


> How did you make the laminates for the neck?
> I have been using the thickness of the boards i get, and cutting them flush after gluing, so i cant get anything as slim as those wenge pinstripes.
> And how did you rough-cut that scarf joint angle?
> I have been struggling to get an accurate angle with power/hand planes.
> ...




The neck lams are thickness cut with a router hovering above a marble slab on a sturdy jig made of scrap ply wood, like this: 





^ yes I know its a full neck blank but the same idea applies to each individual lam. I also thickness the guitar body like this. The piece of marble came from Home Depot (home improvement store). It's sold as window sill material. Works great not only to cut super flat pieces but I also have a second piece of marble that I use to sand with. Just spray some mild adhesive on the marble, lay out a few strips of sand paper, and you can sand machine quality glue joints with a little practice.

Ane the scarf joint is cut with the same router using a very simple jig of two pieces of scrap... like this:





I cut the scrap 1x4 pine at exactly 11.5 deg. and clamped it up real square against the neck blank. Then slide the router along the angled part, taking about 2mm per pass. I did rough cut the scarf with a hand saw first just to remove the bulk of the material and make the job a little easier on the router. Note the acrylic sheet that I bolted the router to, it gives a bigger, more stable footing to the router and helps alot to keep dust from flying up into your face and you can still see through it to where the bit is cutting. Also note that the whole set up is hovering out away from the work bench on a 4x4. I love working on necks like this, it makes it easier.





Notice the tightness of the glue joints? Thats done completely using the methods described above, right in my garage. It does take a little practice but it all comes out very well in the end.


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## Youne (Nov 12, 2013)

Good job dude ! Keep it positive !!!! You've done a good gluing !! Wat to see it finish !!


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 2, 2014)

Hey guys, its been a while but im not dead yet!
I have been kept really busy, but i have a break coming up so hopefully ill get a little more done soon.
Whenever i get a chance i am working on little projects (i've made a nixie clock, a tray for my pc case, a 3d printer).
I think i am getting a bit more confident at woodworking.
Been adding/upgrading my tool collection too, bought a much better jigsaw (i found i use it all the time) and a table saw among things.
Also got to relocate from an uncovered table in the back yard, to the garage.
Luxury 

But first, i think ill also give those 2 speakers (hiding in the background of my last pic) a home.
I want the floor space their boxes occupy back...
Once i figure out how to prevent accidental limbs/digit removal with my table saw, i hope a cab wont be quite as challenging as a guitar neck.


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## mathloss (Oct 2, 2014)

great to hear news from you!!!
I really enjoy readind your post
keep on working!!!!


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## Megaton_900 (Oct 14, 2014)

A little update.
Im still pretty well busy, but in about a month i get a whole lot more free time.
I have made myself a bit of a better plan.
it turns out i got a little overzealous when i was buying guitar hardware before, so i have enough components for 3 full guitars (all 6's however )

1) les paul/tele hybrid, ye olde' styling (open back tuners, brass highlights ect), an old rocker.
2) Iceman(or fireman), veneer top, possibly trial run at binding, tom wraparound bridge, a "suit" guitar.
3) RG shape, EVH pickup ect, however a fixed bridge, a different kind of flame guitar (explained later)
I also decided since the hardware was kinda the majority of the cost, i upgraded my timber a bit.
To make it a bit more... fancy?





Thats the padauk there on the right, up top (from a prev post).
Its sitting on a lump of fiji mahogany, enough for another 2 bodies easy, 3 if im cram them in.






top to bottom:
Fiji Mahogany (body)
Tasmanian Blackwood (2 necks)
Tasmanian Blackwood also, this just has been planed already (neck)
US Maple (fretboard, seenn previously)
Sheoak lace (fretboard)
Gabon Ebony (fretboard, seen previously)





Here is what blackwood looks like once its finished.
That's the other 1/2 of the planed piece, i used it to make a nixie clock.






nice veneers i aquired.









The RG, assuming i dont ruin anything again 

I have the number of a furniture maker nearby who may be able to pass the mahog/padauk over a jointer ,to make the bodies, which will be a great help.
I cant wait to get started again


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## XxJoshxX (Oct 14, 2014)

You may not want to try binding an Iceman on your first attempt, its just much more difficult than a more conventional shape. Not trying to discourage you, just try to practice first.


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## Megaton_900 (Nov 28, 2014)

Back to work finally.

Got some outlines printed for 2 of them, i've been looking around online for inspiration, so a few things changed. Still undecided on a shape for the 3rd (or if ill do it at all). 








(i changed my mind on the slight multiscale, now just a 650mm scale [~25.5"])

I took the mahogany & blackwood to that furniture shop, and had them thickness & straighten the edges.
Much easier.





cut to length













On the others I had some baking paper hiding under the plywood, to stop the glue oozing out from sticking. Worked really well. 






(i drew over the join with a pencil, its really tight vs what i had lasttime round )


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## foreright (Nov 28, 2014)

Good job - wish I had a friendly furniture shop around where I lived to do thicknessing / squaring of blanks... would make a lot of things much easier!


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## Megaton_900 (Nov 28, 2014)

I would like to rout neck pocket, pickups ect before i cut the body shape out, so next in line is a neck.
Starting with some jigs.





10' and 13' cut from some spare pine. 
I gave them both the same bottom edge with a pass of the router.





A bigger router base. Training wheels i guess 
Quite happy with this.
Its 10mm acrylic.
Thanks to DistinguishedPapyrus for the idea.





Now a scarf joints.








Accurate hand-sawing 
No matter, this is longer than itd need to be for a neck thru (but not enough for 2 necks).






Jig works ok, its a little wobbly (i think that causes those snail lines?). 
I was thinking of buying some 40x40mm alu extrusions to stiffen it up a little, and double up for thicknessing.









The marks disappear in seconds with a little sandpaper on a flat surface.
I realised i had also forgotten to screw the headstock part onto the neck section for the prev step, so i did it before sanding.





New holes, for gluing up.






That was the last few days, now up to date again.
Today was a day of sanding.




Was a little over excited bringing all that outside at once, i only managed to get thru 2 parts (a macacauba fretboard and a maple one)










A quick mock-up of the fretboard, and pickguard.
I fretboard-oiled a little bit of the end there to see some color, didnt really do anything (this wasnt the parts i finished sanding).
Both pieces are from a ukulele set i bought. 
I was intending just for top to be the pickguard, but sides make a good fretboard, and just thick enough at 5mm.





Seems a little large for a uke however 
Only has a top too, no back. Little confusing.
Oh well.

I have also made a little progress on the speaker cab.
In the bottom right of that uke picture there is hiding a test print (in white ABS) of a protective corner for it.
I mite make a thread on its own for that, once its done.


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## A_Alexandrov (Nov 28, 2014)

You are very persistent and your gluing skills have improved.

My advice, since is your first guitar/s. Buy a pre slotted fretboard or cnc cut or mark the frets, or use fretting template. Make sure you glue the fretboard well with enough clamps and then have the fretwork done by professional. Be carefull with bridge positioning and allignment. In this way you will have an accurate playable guitar. Wood work, wood selection and design will improve in time.


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## Megaton_900 (Nov 29, 2014)

foreright said:


> Good job - wish I had a friendly furniture shop around where I lived to do thicknessing / squaring of blanks... would make a lot of things much easier!



I found them from asking at the place i bought the (current) timber, maybe your local lumber yard will know someone?



A_Alexandrov said:


> You are very persistent and your gluing skills have improved.
> 
> My advice, since is your first guitar/s. Buy a pre slotted fretboard or cnc cut or mark the frets, or use fretting template. Make sure you glue the fretboard well with enough clamps and then have the fretwork done by professional. Be carefull with bridge positioning and allignment. In this way you will have an accurate playable guitar. Wood work, wood selection and design will improve in time.



Thanks, it has been lots of fun so far.

I already have some fretboards i wanted to use, so unless i ruin them i think ill try cutting them myself.
I was planning on gluing on a template, printed off fretfind2d and setting up a little mitre box (i think the name is?) to keep it square to the table & to a constant depth.
Hopefully that, and taking my time, will be ok?

Fretwork is i think a bit beyond me at this stage.
I had an old strat junker i tried to re-fret, didnt go so well 

Thanks for the comments guys

A little side note, would epoxy be best to glue brass to timber?


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## dankarghh (Nov 29, 2014)

I'm in AUS too, i'd love to know where you got those veneers/tops from? I've had a really hard time finding decent stuff. Build looks exciting!


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## Megaton_900 (Nov 29, 2014)

dankarghh said:


> I'm in AUS too, i'd love to know where you got those veneers/tops from? I've had a really hard time finding decent stuff. Build looks exciting!



The veneers all came from here on thebay, i bought a few so they could combine shipping. 
They get new things in often, by the looks.
Really friendly too, so send them an email before ordering international.
They sell Aus timber veneers, so i wonder where the local supplier is?

The Blackheart sassafras was from the melbourne woodworking show, back in October. 
I forget what the company name was, but they had a bunch of mostly tasmanian stuff, all looked pretty nice.
I almost bought some sassafras for a drop top there. (hmm... blackheart sassafras )
If you were after some drop tops instead of veneers, Big sky timber (also at the show) had some really nice stuff, but was a little out of my price range.
They are up near Daylesford.

Fiji Mahogany & Blackwood are both from mathews timber, who have also been nice and helpful.
They dont have any figured wood and such however.

Another i have purchased from so far is Australian tonewoods, from WA.
I got the lace she oak fretboard there.
Tim is also a friendly guy, responds to emails quickly.
He might have a few tops/veneers in stock, that haven't made it online yet?


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## skeels (Nov 30, 2014)

I love watching this! Keep on having fun and learning, man- you're hooked now!


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## dankarghh (Nov 30, 2014)

Super helpful reply. Thanks heaps. I can't find much in my local area and it's not really something you can easily buy online from a timber yard. This makes life easier.


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## Obstsalat (Nov 30, 2014)

what kind of wood is the second one from the right?
the flame is so nice!


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## Megaton_900 (Nov 30, 2014)

Obstsalat said:


> what kind of wood is the second one from the right?
> the flame is so nice!



In order left to right:
African etimoe
Ovangkol
Queensland walnut
Bubinga


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## Obstsalat (Nov 30, 2014)

Man that walnut looks insane...i am so jealous right now


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## Megaton_900 (Dec 2, 2014)

I got around to making the 2nd scarf joint.









I don't really have a plan for the 3rd one yet, so i'm not want to start cutting anything until i do.
I was thinking that bubinga veneer top, bleached (to remove the reds) then stained light blue, with a maple fretboard. And.. hmm... 
No idea about body shape. 
I was originally thinking flat top strat (Ibanez RG ish), but im a little over that shape. Most of my guitars all have the same basic shape...
The other 2 i have all the details nailed down, and they all fit together, in my mind. 

I also tried my luck at thicknessing with a router




That was a test run with one of the macacauba spares.
I think i pushed my leg into the bit hanging off the edge and it lifted up 

Next peice was double-sided taped into place





This is for the pickguard & controll cover, cut it down to ~3mm, and worked much better this time.
Still needed a little touch up with some sandpaper, but saved tons of time.









The maple offcut i found was hiding a little flame! 
I liked the look of it before that already, so this will hopefully find its way onto something sooner or later.

Cut out a negative template to see how the pickguard would look.





Im having a tough time deciding where to cut it from, but i kinda like the knot.
Thoughts?
Plan atm is to laminate a 1mm brass plate underneath that macacauba, so when it gets chamfered it will have a thin brass outline around it.



If it stops raining i might try drilling some tuner holes and thicknessing the headstock to 15mm (and somehow leaving material for a volute).


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## jwade (Dec 3, 2014)

I'd be curious to see what it'd look like with the knot dead-center.


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## BlackMastodon (Dec 3, 2014)

Always always double-sided tape your piece that you are routing if you can't clamp it down. Accidents happen a lot more often when the piece isn't secured. 

As for the pickguard, I vote for 3 or 4 since you like the knot. And for the record I like the look of the knot, too, and since it is just a pickguard it doesn't have to really be structurally sound. And you can just fill it with epoxy to make sure it's mostly stable.


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## Megaton_900 (Dec 11, 2014)

After several days of bad weather, i had planed out where i want my volutes & mark outlines on things.





Finally a bit of sun.
I started thicknessing the headstocks.

I set up the following jig, which worked pretty well. Just 2 pavers underneath some 18mm plywood. 
The neck was propped up to stop it tipping.
The extra large router base helps heaps.






This couldn't quite cut deep enough, with the router as low as it could go, so i got rid of the plywood.






Worked great, aside from scratching the crap out of my shiny router base. 
Really wish i had thought to put a piece of paper or something smooth in between.
Oh well, it wouldn't stay clean forever and its still totally functional.









The results, and after a light bit of sanding.
The little nick on both of them is outside of the part i need, happily. 

After this, i was catching up on a few other projects while waiting for some parts in the mail.






These are some carbon fiber beams i bought.
The reason i bought these was 
a) not sure how stable the necks will be since they are flat sawn (forgot to check when i was buying timber)
b) I have a 10mm router bit, and 2 c.f. strips and the truss rod are exactly 10mm wide






Lining them up.






The setup.
I bought an aluminium L bar, which is nice an straight and the perfect height for a depth stop for my fret saw.
Here it is doubling up as a straight edge to follow.
On one neck i lost concentration for 1 sec, and i wavered alittle.
Its fixable, it was only the first (less than 2mm) pass, and not very bad (shown in a later pic, on the red truss rod neck).






Cutting the bars to length (carefully).
The wet paper towel is to catch the dust (which is nasty stuff), also wear a mask.
The cuts i smoothed quickly on some 600grit paper, then wet the ends with superglue. 






A few minutes later they were dry, and i installed them into the necks with a little gentle persuasion.









Definitely pleased with these necks so far! 
Will be gluing on some fretboards soon.


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## Megaton_900 (Dec 15, 2014)

Gluing the fretboards.





















I tried cutting the taper with the router (after roughing in shape with a hand saw).
I'm still not the best with a router.









The join on this one was not quite flush, a little glue line. 
I hope i had enough clamps, as i glued both up the same way now.


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## Megaton_900 (Dec 15, 2014)

As seen here it bent in the middle a bit, where the clamps where.





I decided to make this one of those slim les paul necks.
It looks like if i take just a little off the gap will dissapear.




Smoothing out my dodgy routing.





Re-flattening the board.
The gap had to come from somewhere.
I was having trouble getting the sander right up to the nut, so i fixed that up here by hand too.













Considerably better, but still a slight gap.
I think i can fill that will a little super glue and blackwood dust.
Or even cover it with some binding, but id rather not.









Still rather pleased with this anyway.

Now i knew the routing didnt work so well for me, i did things different.




No more hand sawing





I cut the headstock-neck transition part too, for slightly more access to the sander.


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