# First Build: Mayonnaise



## sehnomatic (Dec 3, 2013)

After 2 hard years of hunting for my ideal guitar. Buying, selling, modding, selling. And half a year of solid planning and budgeting: It's time for my first build.

As a highschool student, this guitar will likely be my absolute free time project so I don't expect to finish until the summer. Though the urge to drop pen and paper and head to the workbench slowly kills me.


Shall we begin?

Mayones regius/setius-ish (some horn and contour variation) body, 7 string. 26.5" Scale
-Chambered walnut or swamp ash body
-Flame maple top, red, or black dye faded burst
-Maple neck
-Ebony Fretboard
-16" - 20" fretboard radius
-22 Jumbo evo gold frets
-Hipshot open back tuners and bridge
-Volume/3way
-Pickups: I have no clue.

Since the beginning of the semester, I've spent most of my free time in tech design class laying down ideas:








And I have decided on this:
EBMM style chambering + Gibson swiss cheese






Alongside the obligatory handsaw, #6 handplane, rasps and files; The power tool trifecta:





I will be starting on the neck as I rack in more paychecks for more wood and hardware. I hope I keep all 10 digits by 2014






















Truss Rod Routing Jig:





And so that's about it. The next update should come around when I acquire some fretboard wood, a figured veneer for the headstock (to hide the seams) and a truss rod.


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## BlackMastodon (Dec 3, 2013)

Shit dude, that's a pretty nice scarf joint for cutting and planing it by hand! I need your patience. 

As for finish, I think you should do both red and black in a fade like this if you can:






Because that would look like sex on a Mayones style guitar. Also good choice on the headstock. Real excited for updates, just take your time and I think this will turn out awesome.


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## sehnomatic (Dec 3, 2013)

BlackMastodon said:


> Shit dude, that's a pretty nice scarf joint for cutting and planing it by hand! I need your patience.
> 
> As for finish, I think you should do both red and black in a fade like this if you can:
> 
> ...



Many thanks friend, a body I made some weeks ago was destroyed by my impatience, didn't tighten the black part that holds the bearing in place on the template bit and before I knew it I was already an inch into the body 

luckily it was a 5 piece bargain bin poplar board.

A local builder gave me his scraps (i'm honored) so I can test some dyes.


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## jahosy (Dec 3, 2013)

Nice clean work mate! Yeh i reckon all luthiers must take some chill pills to do this for a living 

Looking forward to see the progress


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## Daf57 (Dec 4, 2013)

Looks like a great project! Subbed for updates - keep up the good work!


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## chrisxrome (Dec 4, 2013)

This looks rad! Good stuff, man.


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## sehnomatic (Jan 9, 2014)

At Exotic Woods, Burlington






Sadly twas warped






Settled for macassar ebony






Was sanding in a 20 inch radius when I realized: Both sides are actually 16 inches? Looks like the guitar is going to have a 16 inch radius.











Change of plans: biggest stainless steel frets LMI has.






Borrowed an idea or two




















Will likely be using aluminum for the block for weight concerns and to match the frets and neck mounting hardware.

Might start a thread for this little guy:


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## dougk (Jan 9, 2014)

Looking good! Great drafting skills and man, I can't believe how clean that scarf joint is for doing it by hand!


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## CD1221 (Jan 10, 2014)

Great stuff so far. Subbed.


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## Neilzord (Jan 10, 2014)

As said great work so far! Look forward to seeing more of this!


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## Primitive Guitarist (Jan 10, 2014)

Coming alone real nice dude, keep it up
Shall keep watching this build!


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## MF_Kitten (Jan 10, 2014)

Nice! the washer thingies under the fretboard thing, like in strandbergs and dB guitars, are a cool idea. The metal block string retainer is too, and I have one in my custom 7 string (which is above the ocean on it's way to me!) too.


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## sehnomatic (Mar 23, 2014)

Thread resurrection!

Progress has been made. 












































I only noticed yesterday that I only put in one dot for the twelfth fret.


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## sehnomatic (Mar 23, 2014)

Got the absolute lightest swamp ash (lbs/square inch) that I could find, total body thickness should be 1 7/16" or 36mm.






Thicknessing the classic way, 1 7/8" to 1 1/4"





Some epoxy should anything decide to break off, no rattling should occur while it's a guitar.














The ever controversial "neck pocket tightness test" ... pass.










She's a featherweight!


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## sehnomatic (Mar 23, 2014)

Almost forgot some neck pictures


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## TheFashel12 (Mar 23, 2014)

Are you sure this is your first build 
Looks Amazing


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## AliceLG (Mar 23, 2014)

That fretboard looks awesome!


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## BlackMastodon (Mar 23, 2014)

Umph, the side of that headstock showing off the veneers. This is looking great!


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## DredFul (Mar 23, 2014)




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## asher (Mar 23, 2014)

Wow. Super clean work - I'm impressed!

That is also a stellar example of Macassar. Just wonderful streaking and colors there, you lucky dog.


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## pondman (Mar 23, 2014)

Really nice work. I'd be really tempted to put a bevel on the edge of the head-stock to create a pin stripe border.


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## sehnomatic (Mar 23, 2014)

TheFashel12 said:


> Are you sure this is your first build
> Looks Amazing



Oh don't worry, there are a number of mistakes. It becomes a game of "how well can I hide this?"

I actually broke one of the maple top halves in half. It's all hidden now.


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## Coreysaur (Mar 23, 2014)

I simply cannot believe this is your first one. Any( read: a lot of ) prior woodworking experience?


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## sehnomatic (Mar 23, 2014)

pondman said:


> Really nice work. I'd be really tempted to put a bevel on the edge of the head-stock to create a pin stripe border.



Quite an appealing option.This is currently being processed in my brain (and on a scrap).


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## sehnomatic (Mar 23, 2014)

Coreysaur said:


> I simply cannot believe this is your first one. Any( read: a lot of ) prior woodworking experience?



Built the workbench, mainly hand plane, file, handsaw and drill action. First time with a router, haven't even touched a laminate trimmer

I was in absolute fear the first time I used it, was tempted to fall back to my comfort zone of rasp and sandpaper. May as well learn by consequence, should it happen.


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## sehnomatic (Mar 23, 2014)

A question for you guys, bridge placement. How do you do it?

Would it be safe to assume it would be okay to:
Move the saddles to their forward-most position, position the bridge as 26.5 and intonate from their as intonation length is always slightly longer than scale length.

Thanks in advance to all replies. About time to go to work and make more money for the next build.


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## Purelojik (Mar 23, 2014)

sehnomatic said:


> A question for you guys, bridge placement. How do you do it?
> 
> Would it be safe to assume it would be okay to:
> Move the saddles to their forward-most position, position the bridge as 26.5 and intonate from their as intonation length is always slightly longer than scale length.
> ...



thats what i do. not entirely forward most but i'll unscrew the bridges so they hav eabout 1-2 mm movement forward JUST incase. if you plan on tuning real low you're better off asking hipshot to send you the shorter saddles for the lower string.


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## sehnomatic (Apr 3, 2014)

Life gets less cluttered, build time increases, progress gets made.



























Black plastic cavity cover is currently a placeholder for an aluminum plate to complete the brushed metal look of the back.

Red, black, blue/black, and red/black are currently in the testing phase. Leaning towards blue as I already have a red and black guitar.

22 frets made the bridge placement far enough back to make it look super baritone, not sure if I love or hate it. Then there's the awkward gap between neck pickup and fretboard. Maybe 24 next time, and next time being the rebuild of this guitar, with original body and hopefully less generic headstock design.

Finish sanding and then off to finishing, cheers.


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## charlessalvacion (Apr 4, 2014)

Awesome build. I wish I had some skills like you do.


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## AliceLG (Apr 4, 2014)

That blue


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## Chemical-Pony (Apr 4, 2014)

You have some skills, man. Respect.


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 4, 2014)

Question: Why do we let crazy flavor of the month luthiers bend us over when our members are super talented?


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## sandalhat (Apr 4, 2014)

This build is awesome! I can't wait to see it finished.


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## sehnomatic (Apr 4, 2014)

teddy_baca said:


> It always makes me so jealous looking at people's builds. Wish I had some skill to do this stuff



I encourage picking up luthiery, hell, any art. Coming from initially just refinishing guitars, there's a feeling of serious accomplishment whenever a project is completed. This feeling becomes greater as the difficulty of the project increases. 

I had no woodworking experience. None. I was shopping for a guitar with very specific... specifications. I simply decided "Screw it, I'll make it myself" and $400, several months later and a number of "I have no clue what I'm doing" moments, we're here.

If you have the patience, I say go for it.


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## Adventrooster (Apr 4, 2014)

sehnomatic said:


> I encourage picking up luthiery, hell, any art. Coming from initially just refinishing guitars, there's a feeling of serious accomplishment whenever a project is completed. This feeling becomes greater as the difficulty of the project increases.
> 
> I had no woodworking experience. None. I was shopping for a guitar with very specific... specifications. I simply decided "Screw it, I'll make it myself" and $400, several months later and a number of "I have no clue what I'm doing" moments, we're here.
> 
> If you have the patience, I say go for it.


 
Shawn, this is fabulous. And I never use that word. I've been pondering this for a long time, and the fact that you had "no clue" what you're doing is comforting. I want to start planning!


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## sandalhat (Apr 4, 2014)

Adventrooster said:


> Shawn, this is fabulous. And I never use that word. I've been pondering this for a long time, and the fact that you had "no clue" what you're doing is comforting. I want to start planning!



Do it. He's right, it's extremely rewarding.


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## skeels (Apr 4, 2014)

Love the string block!

Looks great man- can't wait to see the finished product!


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## HexaneLake (Apr 4, 2014)

Wow dude! Who ARE you!?!?lol


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## sehnomatic (Apr 4, 2014)

wootsmitty said:


> Wow dude! Who ARE you!?!?lol



Someone who got a job... just to build a guitar. Now I have enough to build three.

Next up on the shopping list is a good air compressor and gun + clear. 
Heavy sandback tomorrow morning.

Thanks everyone for the kind words.


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## jimwratt (Apr 6, 2014)

Dude, this should _definitely_ be a part of your college application. High school?!?! Sheesh.


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## sehnomatic (Apr 6, 2014)

Last update for a long time. Can't start spraying any finish until conditions get warmer and until it stops raining.



























Notes:
The color accuracy of this camera is terriblr. The last shot is far too bright. Once wet/with some clear on it, think the Mayones Djentlemen without the sand-back in the middle

General finish steps:
-Dye black, sand back, minimal black left over.
-Stain dark blue, sand center
-Stain bright blue in the center. Damp towel rubbed the bright blue out towards the edges.
For any canadians wanting these colors: Ebony, bright blue, and peacock blue aniline dyes from Lee Valley. The stuff is _extremely_ good, takes 0.3 grams to stain the entire guitar top.

There was an end gash on the maple top, forced me to pursue a faux binding look. I ended up liking it

I'll get the photography class to take some pretty pictures when it's done.

Until good weather, cheers.


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## Djentliman (Apr 6, 2014)

Dat blue! I have a torrent of red guitars/things and I have been dying for a blue guitar. Whenever I have the time to seriously build a guitar, I will definitely come to you for advice man!


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## VigilSerus (Apr 7, 2014)

Watch out, Misha might come and steal the blue right out of that guitar (or the guitar itself :3)

Jokes aside, this is an incredible build! Keep up the awesome work.


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## Neilzord (Apr 7, 2014)

Halkns jfnljng kn ljnj ajnwk lkajhst kjn ajasn wkantgj rjn aljnt

N LKNX JKAB !!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

:O 

Real words escape me.


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## metaldoggie (Apr 7, 2014)

Re: the binding.
I love the fact that you turned a small flaw into something that really improves the look.
I'm not usually that into bindings, but this looks really clean!


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## Coreysaur (Apr 9, 2014)

This should be officially named "The Bulb Burst".  But it's very very nice looking.


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## sehnomatic (Apr 12, 2014)

Good news and bad news.

Bad: You know the notion where when things are going so right... Things go terribly wrong?

... Yeah. It happened. About 6pm in the car, driving on the highway with the neck and body in the back. The car was rear ended. Headstock's gone, I couldn't even find it. The body looks like it toured with steve vai from his alcatraz days. Probably capable of salvaging the truss rod. Had an argument with the other driver but complaining about it on a guitar forum wouldn't be healthy for me whatsoever.

Good news: not our fault, guy was a drunk. We get $$$.
$$$ = new build.

Still a little sour... But how can I be when I can afford bare knuckles now 

I'm still a bit shaken, first crash i've ever been in so i'll start build mayonnaise 1.2 or an original guitar in the near future. I'll take pics of the mess if the shop doesn't throw the stuff away.

Unscathed! Cheers, till next time.

edit: actually, the guitar body was still structurally fine (only one big gash and denting into a chamber ) if I find the headstock, hopefully the shop doesn't throw it away, I can assemble it and make an art piece from it.


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## Devyn Eclipse Nav (Apr 12, 2014)

Dude that's heartbreaking, I'd probably have beat the shit out of the guy with the remains of the guitar. But thankfully you're okay, and not discouraged enough to give up!

This build was amazing, the next one is gonna be even better, I can tell.


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## Noxon (Apr 13, 2014)

Oh ...., dude. Nooooooo. I'm glad your alright. Let us know how the next build goes. Keep your head up. The next guitar will be even better (that one was awesome).


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## BlackMastodon (Apr 13, 2014)

Glad to hear you're okay. That's gotta be some of the shittiest luck ever it was looking so good, too. 
Will definitely keep my eye out for build 1.2, though.


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## Coreysaur (Apr 13, 2014)

Well at least you gained some experience and the next one will definitely be better. And also with BareKnuckles  Will keep an eye out for ir.


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## Sang-Drax (Apr 14, 2014)

Too bad. You were doing an excellent work!


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## asher (Apr 14, 2014)

Hey man: you're okay! Priorities!

And yeah. It's a big bummer, but when you start over you'll catch a lot of places you can improve


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## metaldoggie (Apr 14, 2014)

Dude that sucks, glad you're ok though.
I was really liking how this was coming out!


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## sehnomatic (Apr 14, 2014)

I'll start a new thread for this guy once I get everything together. Will mainly be reusing hardware:

BODY: Swamp ash, Black korina, or curly walnut that I found, may not be large enough.
TOP: Figured maple top
NECK: 3 piece curly maple neck with black veneers, ebony strip inserts instead of carbon fiber
FRETBOARD: Ebony or richlite fretboard. I live in an area where most houses are still being built, going to talk to the builders about getting cutoffs from the black richlite countertops.
FRETS: 24 Jumbo stainless steel frets. I ordered 8 feet from LMII... they gave me 13. Luck's on my side today.
Ivoroid Binding.
Blackmachine-esque arm cut

Hardware being transferred over:
Hipshot tuners and bridge
CL LF pickups as placeholders.

Experimental stuff:
LEDS! Learned how to cnc and vaguely remember how to circuit, maybe I'll try to get an led lit inlay or side dots.

Things learned from the build:
Headstock veneers: meh. maple headstock caps from now on. Veneer was too brittle.
Figured maple top: Gotta be wary of wide figure. The base of the figure takes up more stain and having it very wide in some parts make it look incredibly dark.
Swamp ash: nice weight (and smell) but carving is very finicky. The darker pore area of the wood is incredibly soft and the tummy cut ended up being lumpy. These are *amazing* both as a normal file and for carving swamp ash. Same thing but a higher price at Stewmac

Some ambitious stuff, but this build's going to be killer.






What's left is a name. Black Mayonnaise Regius Machine?


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## Purelojik (Apr 15, 2014)

dude taming veneers are easy! just use aluminum foil and a spray bottle of water with a drop of soap. mist the veneer and then smash it with the iron when its under a few layers of foil then take somthing flat and heavy and clamp it down for 30 min and BAM its flat and useable


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## asher (Apr 15, 2014)

sehnomatic said:


> What's left is a name. Black Mayonnaise Regius Machine?



I think you might wanna get that out of your fridge and into your trash, I think you've kept it for too long.


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## 9Lives (Apr 15, 2014)

I love what you did to the string through. Nice touch!


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## OWHall (Apr 16, 2014)

I'm sorry to be the one to break this to you man but you don't get to 'just build' a guitar that awesome. Not allowed. Sorry. Nope. Expect a knock at the door soon, followed by the confiscation of all instruments and your immediate execution.


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## asher (Apr 16, 2014)

OWHall said:


> I'm sorry to be the one to break this to you man but you don't get to 'just build' a guitar that awesome. Not allowed. Sorry. Nope. Expect a knock at the door soon, followed by the confiscation of all instruments and your immediate execution.



... but then where do you get new spec combinations?


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## sehnomatic (May 1, 2014)

Good news! It's been salvaged to the best of my ability.

The gash into a chamber I saw was just a dent. Steamed it out.
Edge dings - forced me to do an edge radius,
Glued headstock up - Had to cut off an end and glue on a new one. There are now 3 seams on the headsstock.
Put new veneers on both sides of the headstock. Headstock ended up being a little messy due to all of this.
Gash at input jack - cut a slot and glued a piece of swamp ash to it.
Had to give her a new fret. Ended up chipping out a little
Maple top cracked, no clue how.
1/16" deep dent in string retainer route, routed a bit and made a new retainer to about 3 1/8"
Dyed the entire guitar to make a couple patches less apparent.

Just finished in clear satin. I don't believe this guitar is worth investing any further as money is going towards build #2.

In the end, I think spending the last week repairing it and spending an entire day on fretwork was worth it because this thing plays like no other guitar I've ever owned. From playing a friend's ESP horizon and my own ltd MH-1k, both with around 1.3mm to 1.7mm action and high gloss necks, it feels like going from bicycle to a ducati panigale.

0.016" (.4mm) is the absolute lowest action, any further and I begin to fret out while bending full steps.




















NGD soon. She's a bit ugly, but I'll try to show off her good sides.


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## sehnomatic (May 1, 2014)

Well that's quick; It's up!


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## jimwratt (May 1, 2014)

Can't make mayonnaise without cracking a few eggs.


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## 9Lives (May 1, 2014)

Man. I love your build. Nice job


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## BlackMastodon (May 1, 2014)

Dude, all in all I think you did a great job salvaging it. I expected the worst but it still looks fantastic, and the maple neck is just awesome. Just do the things you weren't able to do one this one on your next build.


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## kylewagner (May 3, 2014)

Absolutely incredible! I'm from the Niagara Region and I was very surprised at how many awesome exotic wood suppliers we basically have at our doorstep. Also, this guitar is jaw dropping. Can't wait to get my first build underway!

Cheers!


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## sehnomatic (May 3, 2014)

kylewagner said:


> Absolutely incredible! I'm from the Niagara Region and I was very surprised at how many awesome exotic wood suppliers we basically have at our doorstep. Also, this guitar is jaw dropping. Can't wait to get my first build underway!
> 
> Cheers!



Word of advice if you haven't done so already:

A perk of living in Ontario or northeastern North America in this case is what I call maple hunts.

Go to the nearest couple lowes/rona/home depot stores and sift through all of the maple. For $7, I just added this to the pile. Enough for two necks:


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## kylewagner (May 3, 2014)

That's insane! I actually planned on doing that soon, I can't believe you found those nice flamed pieces for $7. Definitely going to visit a few lumber yards on my next day off!


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## jimwratt (May 3, 2014)

When you go full DIY like this, what's the production cost like (minus tools)? Basically just woods and parts.


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## sehnomatic (May 3, 2014)

jimwratt said:


> When you go full DIY like this, what's the production cost like (minus tools)? Basically just woods and parts.



This build took some deal hunting and pseudo group buys.

Body: $80 (it was 1 7/8" and super oversize) - exotic woods, burlington
Top: $20 - exotic woods, burlington
Neck wood: $20 1"x6"x6', enough for 4 scarf jointed necks home depot
Fretboard: $24 - exotic woods Burlington

Aluminum - bought a 1"x1"x12" back in 2012 from fastenal. They offer 1"x3/8" now, but for current prices you can get around 3 blocks worth of aluminum for $5.

Crunch lab/liquifire - $98 used, kijiji

Hipshot bridge- got it from a tech for $50 because the baseplate has a bunch of intonation screw scrapes.

Hipshot tuners - $69 new, ebay

Jack, push/pull pot and switch and knob - from warmoth, they have black switches and flat top knobs. Cheaper than stewmac for these parts.

I forgot the strap buttons 

Butchered an other guitar for the cavity cover
Neck bolts: $0.50, not too certain.


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## AndruwX (Jun 1, 2014)

A big total of 400~ $
Excellent.


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## alvaro89 (Jun 1, 2014)

Sehnomatic you are a boss !
I love the flame maple neck.


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## will_shred (Jun 1, 2014)

.4mm action? Holy shit. I think the only guitars I've played with action in that ballpark were a 1968 Les Paul Custom (with the flat fretwire) and a 1972 Ibanez MC500. 

I think that OP was a luthier in a past life.


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## sehnomatic (Jun 1, 2014)

will_shred said:


> .4mm action? Holy shit. I think the only guitars I've played with action in that ballpark were a 1968 Les Paul Custom (with the flat fretwire) and a 1972 Ibanez MC500.
> 
> I think that OP was a luthier in a past life.



20 inch radius was 50% of the equation, the other half is leveling the last 3-5 frets a hair lower than the rest. Due to the nature of neck relief, the last fret is always the culprit when it comes to bending out and sometimes buzz.

You'd be surprised how low you can get those 7.25" fretboard radius strats simply by taking down the last fret down a bit.


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## Stereordinary (Jun 2, 2014)

Awesome thread. Heartache and luthiery, what more could I ask for? Keep up the good work. I wish my first build was half as good.


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## david_pri (Jun 3, 2014)

I love that flamed maple neck. Congratulations


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