# MikeNeal's Consolidated Build Thread/Works In Progress



## MikeNeal (Jul 1, 2017)

Well, Since Photobucket took a turn for the worst, all my build threads have no pictures. i feel it would be too time consuming to update all the threads, so i'm just going to highlight some pictures from previous builds here, then continue on updating the current builds, and adding new ones as they come.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 1, 2017)

So I'll start with Build 1.

This was a home depot challenge, I had never built a guitar before, so this build really suffered from inexperience.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 1, 2017)

The 2nd build, was the first i did with some proper templates, i fixed a lot of issues that i had with the first build.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 1, 2017)

Build 3 was the most challenging build i've done yet, the purpleheart gave me a ton of trouble.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 1, 2017)

Build 4 was the first attempt i made at a build for one of my bestfriends. It had a new body design that my friend helped me put together. this one never got fully finished as the neck was made with a small angle, so the bridge saddles had to be maxed out to be even remotely playable.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 1, 2017)

Build 5 was a 6 string version of the body from build 4, except this one was my first bolt on. i was really happy with how everything came together, so this became the template for the future builds


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## MikeNeal (Jul 1, 2017)

That brings us to the current builds, 

Build 6 is a 6 string that I'm building for myself.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 1, 2017)

Build 7 is the rebuild of the padauk/walnut build for buddy


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## MikeNeal (Jul 1, 2017)

Build 8 is a 6 string for another buddy.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 1, 2017)

Build 9 is going to be my first 8 string, just getting started on this one.


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## Kaff (Jul 1, 2017)

I like how your builds have refined one after another! Very interesting choices of woods also!


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## MikeNeal (Jul 1, 2017)

Kaff said:


> I like how your builds have refined one after another! Very interesting choices of woods also!



Thanks man. I'm hoping after this year's builds. That I've found a combination that im totally happy with.


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## MoonJelly (Jul 1, 2017)

Gotta say, I like the body shape of build 9 the best. Keep those little corners on the cutaways


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 1, 2017)

totally nicking that idea for the padauk on the neck heel, center stripe and headstock.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 2, 2017)

MoonJelly said:


> Gotta say, I like the body shape of build 9 the best. Keep those little corners on the cutaways



Yeah man! Really looking forward to doing that build


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## Omzig (Jul 2, 2017)

Great to see the progress you made between builds,cant wait to see that last maple top pic pop with some finsh.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 2, 2017)

finished the rough woodworking on #7


















i had a small screw up. usually i route the round over for the back of the body, then drill the output jack hole. I did it in the opposite order this time and the bearing on the roundover bit went into the output jack hole, routing away a small chunk of the body. luckily it looks pretty cool.


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## Omzig (Jul 2, 2017)

MikeNeal said:


> finished the rough woodworking on #7
> 
> i had a small screw up. usually i route the round over for the back of the body, then drill the output jack hole. I did it in the opposite order this time and the bearing on the roundover bit went into the output jack hole, routing away a small chunk of the body. luckily it looks pretty cool.



Use a Right angled jack and its a feature


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## MikeNeal (Jul 3, 2017)

applied the finish to the body and neck for #7


















My buddy and I decided on a distressed black finish. I think I nailed it.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 4, 2017)

carved the neck, and applied oil on build #8










love the colors and grain on the katalox


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## IGC (Jul 4, 2017)

Sweet thread you do some really nice work brother


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## MikeNeal (Jul 4, 2017)

IGC said:


> Sweet thread you do some really nice work brother



Thanks man.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 9, 2017)

Some updates.

Build 7:

i decided to apply a clear coat to the body since the wood was so soft.

started with 3 coats of clear 







then i wetsanded the clear and buffed










to be honest, I'm not super happy with this body, but since it's just a prototype I'll probably keep going and finish it.

Build 8:

did the fretwork, and strung the guitar up










I'm pretty happy with this one, plays great, and the action is nice and low. ready for wiring now.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 11, 2017)

ok. big update. got to spend a full day in the shop, so I did alot of work

Build 7:

I drilled the bridge and ferrule holes.









Build 9:

I planed the body flat, and to the proper thickness. then i cut it out on the band saw.






Then i built a 5 piece wenge and flamed maple neck










And i started build 10.

specs so far are padauk body, and a katalox/flamed maple neck


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## electriceye (Jul 11, 2017)

WHere did you get the template to recess the bridge? That's a nice little touch.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 11, 2017)

electriceye said:


> WHere did you get the template to recess the bridge? That's a nice little touch.



I made it myself.


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## Mr_Mar10 (Jul 12, 2017)

Zebra one is sick!! Starting stained blue zebrano n ash superstrat next so big inspiration 

Top work as usual


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## MikeNeal (Jul 12, 2017)

Mr_Mar10 said:


> Zebra one is sick!! Starting stained blue zebrano n ash superstrat next so big inspiration
> 
> Top work as usual


Thanks man


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## MikeNeal (Jul 16, 2017)

did the fretwork on build 7, then strung it up. - some remarks about this build. it's by far the loudest electric guitar I've ever played acoustically. it sustains forever, and the body resonates a ton, you really feel every note in your chest.


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## Mr_Mar10 (Jul 17, 2017)

Badness! love the fretboard n faded finish 
Shame about the bit by the jack, call it ergonomic design


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## MikeNeal (Jul 18, 2017)

worked on #9 today. routed the body, pickup and neck cavities, and the back round over. really happy with how this is turning out.


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## electriceye (Jul 18, 2017)

That's a beauty!!


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## MikeNeal (Jul 23, 2017)

did the scarf joint on #10 today.










chose a macasser ebony fretboard for this build.


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## getowned7474 (Jul 24, 2017)

Is that wenge and flamed maple body heavy at all? It looks amazing. I would be interested to hear what a wenge body sounds like, I love my bass and guitar with wenge necks.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 24, 2017)

getowned7474 said:


> Is that wenge and flamed maple body heavy at all? It looks amazing. I would be interested to hear what a wenge body sounds like, I love my bass and guitar with wenge necks.



It's pretty heavy. I haven't weighed it yet though


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## MikeNeal (Jul 30, 2017)

small update.

#9:

did the scarfjoint, and did the inital carve on the backside.









Build 10:

i slotted the macasser ebony fretboard.


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## MikeNeal (Aug 1, 2017)

so today i thicknessed the necks and fretboards and cut out the shapes on #9 and #10.














theres a scarf joint in there somewhere






i also tried a different carve on the front of #9. instead of the usual bevel i do, i tried to put just a small general radius on the top. i really like the look of flat top guitars, but i dont like the edge digging into my arm, so this is a good compromise i think.


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## MikeNeal (Aug 6, 2017)

routed the necks and fretboards for # 9 and 10










next step is to route the body for #10. i was holding off doing it, because the ebony fretboard i got for the build was really thin. so I had to make sure it worked as a 7 string first, otherwise the build would have become a 6 string.


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## MikeNeal (Aug 8, 2017)

big update:

first - i needed truss rods for builds 9 and 10 - so build 4 and an uncompleted build met there demise.










then i worked on the body and neck for build 10.






































and just for fun, heres a comparison in the color change of padauk from build 4 to build 10. all the padauk was cut from the same board. build 4 was last touched in march, build 10 was sanded today.


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## KnightBrolaire (Aug 8, 2017)

I like the color the padauk on build 4 oxidized to, it looks like some of the bubinga I have lying around.


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## KR250 (Aug 9, 2017)

Shame you had to salvage the previous builds, but new ones are looking good. BTW have you tried the eBay truss rods? They are considerably thinner than the StewMac ones so you can have a shallower route. I converted over on my last 2, I think the difference is about 3mm. 

Your glue joints look perfect.


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## MikeNeal (Aug 12, 2017)

KR250 said:


> Shame you had to salvage the previous builds, but new ones are looking good. BTW have you tried the eBay truss rods? They are considerably thinner than the StewMac ones so you can have a shallower route. I converted over on my last 2, I think the difference is about 3mm.
> 
> Your glue joints look perfect.



thanks man. i'll check out those rods.

some updates. builds 6,7, and 8 are out being wired.

glued the fretboard to build 9 and radiused the fretboard, and mounted the body to the neck


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## MikeNeal (Aug 13, 2017)

in the next couple of months, i'm going to be switching to cnc. not sure to what extent i'm going to use the cnc. but before i can do anything i have to teach myself fusion. I'm well versed in google sketchup - but it's like a childs toy compared to fusion.

so the first step was building an accurate model of my 6 string in sketchup (thats where all my files were).





then I imported this into fusion.





then after a whole bunch of lines, spline tool, extruding and using the form tool, i got this so far.









still have to do the whole back side contours, but feeling pretty good about this so far.


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## KR250 (Aug 19, 2017)

Looks good! Question on your templates, did you have to widen the template design going from 6 to 8 string?


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## MikeNeal (Aug 19, 2017)

Yes. The 7 string template is wider then the 6 and so on.

The 8 string is different all together because it has a longer scale


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## MikeNeal (Aug 19, 2017)

updates. 

did the radius and fretting for build 9 and 10


















also getting closer to having all the modeling done for the 6 string.


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## LiveOVErdrive (Aug 19, 2017)

That is some beautiful work. You are going to make some unbelievable stuff when you pick up a cnc router.


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## Mr_Mar10 (Aug 20, 2017)

Great fretboard again!!


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## MikeNeal (Aug 20, 2017)

#7 is totally finished. Going to be calling it Prototype 1 since it's the first guitar i've actually completed 100%

SPECS:
Strings: 7
Scale: 25.5
Body: Butternut with distressed black finish
Neck: Katalox/Ash with Katalox headstock
Fretboard: Pau Ferro
Pickups: Bareknuckle Aftermaths

Wiring was done by a local guy. not me - I suck at wiring.






































all in all, it plays great. the neck is comfortable and the intonation is perfect. the fret ends aren't sharp, and no dead notes with low action. 

My only issues with this one: 
- I'm not a huge fan of the body, the wood is way to light and soft. it dents and scratches very easily.
- I had one tuner break, and i'm not going to put an order through for a single tuner. I'll have to wait until i put in a bigger order to fix that.


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## Gmork (Aug 20, 2017)

Sssoooo mike when are you going to start selling?! Would you ever be up to doing a custom some day?


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## MikeNeal (Aug 20, 2017)

Basically. Once i go cnc for consistency. And get the designs nailed down, and the finishing stages perfected then I'll probabaly start selling


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## Grand Rabbit (Aug 20, 2017)

What method have you been using to install fretwire?


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## MikeNeal (Aug 21, 2017)

Grand Rabbit said:


> What method have you been using to install fretwire?



I just hammer them in. Then I put thin super glue in the ends.


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## Grand Rabbit (Aug 21, 2017)

Cool, just wondering. That's similar to what I've been doing too. I always like to gather information about different methods though.


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## MikeNeal (Aug 21, 2017)

#8 is finished. now known as prototype 2.

SPECS:
Strings: 6
Scale: 25.5
Body: Ash with Zebrawood top
Neck: Katalox/Ash with Ash/Zebrawood headstock
Fretboard: Katalox with EVO gold fretwire
Pickups: Dimarzio Dominons














































some remarks: 

- my buddy wanted a more classic neck profile. so its a pretty chunky 22mm C shape at the first fret and moves to a 24mm D shape at the heel. it sounds thick, but its really comfortable.
- the Dimarzio Dominions sound great. Really surprised by how versatile they are.
- nailed the set up on this one. it's just about as perfect as perfect gets.


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## Mr_Mar10 (Aug 22, 2017)

Zebra one rocks 
Inspired, Might go & plane my zebrano bm ripoff today lol


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## MikeNeal (Aug 23, 2017)

did the string through holes, side dots, and thinned the headstocks.






































some of the side dots came out a little off-center. i think i need to make a drilling template to get them straight from now on.


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## KR250 (Aug 23, 2017)

It's amazing how hard it can be to make perfect dots, lol. I hear ya. I clamped down a vertical piece of wood on my drill press to run the neck against when doing those as a jig, but still so easy to get just a bit off. 

Question on your bridge routing, are you doing that to allow the fret board to sit completely flush with the top of the body? Is that the .125 Hipshot bridge?


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## MikeNeal (Aug 24, 2017)

KR250 said:


> It's amazing how hard it can be to make perfect dots, lol. I hear ya. I clamped down a vertical piece of wood on my drill press to run the neck against when doing those as a jig, but still so easy to get just a bit off.
> 
> Question on your bridge routing, are you doing that to allow the fret board to sit completely flush with the top of the body? Is that the .125 Hipshot bridge?



Actually, I do it to make bridge placement idiot proof. I dont have to measure or anything. I just throw the base on and drill my holes.

It's the .125 bridge. My neck pocket is .75" inches deep. And my necks are .78" thick


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## LiveOVErdrive (Aug 24, 2017)

All your images just died...


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## MrYakob (Aug 24, 2017)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> All your images just died...


^ They're still working for me!


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## LiveOVErdrive (Aug 24, 2017)

MrYakob said:


> ^ They're still working for me!


Huh. Something must be weird on my end then. Carry on, then!


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## MikeNeal (Aug 25, 2017)

expect lots of little updates over the next couple weeks, going to be making a ton of progress.

today i carved the neck on #9.















really happy about this one, feels very comfortable in the hands. 

I will admit though. I'm running blind on this one. I actually have never had any real play time with an 8 string other then just noodling at the guitar store for a minute or two. So this will be a huge experiment for me.


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## MikeNeal (Aug 27, 2017)

did the control cavity, output jack recess, and did the top finish on build #9










for the finish i tried to get something close to the dusty waring PRS.

so i started by sanding the wood to 220 and applying black stain.





then i let that dry in the sun for 20 minutes and sanded it right back so only the deep parts of the flame were black and the rest was natural again. once again to 220. then i applied the red stain






let that dry for 20 minutes and sand to 220, then i did the first black band on the outside for the burst





then i sanded this to 320 and did the black and red again.





then i let it dry for an hour or so, then sanded again from 320-400-600 and applied an oil finish to make sure i get that satin look





next up will be fretwork, then the initial string up.


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Aug 28, 2017)

That's dank. Love the way you did the finish on top. Over all it's a nice looking build; but I gotta know how much does that body weigh? really curious about it with all that wenge.

My next personal build will be an 8 string, I've never owned one, just mess with them at music stores, it'll be all new territory for me also.


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## LiveOVErdrive (Aug 28, 2017)

Wow that's pretty. I just love dyed flamed maple and you did a NICE dye job on that.


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## MikeNeal (Aug 28, 2017)

DistinguishedPapyrus said:


> That's dank. Love the way you did the finish on top. Over all it's a nice looking build; but I gotta know how much does that body weigh? really curious about it with all that wenge.
> 
> My next personal build will be an 8 string, I've never owned one, just mess with them at music stores, it'll be all new territory for me also.



Body weighs about 3 lbs. Not too heavy.


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## MikeNeal (Aug 28, 2017)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> Wow that's pretty. I just love dyed flamed maple and you did a NICE dye job on that.



Thanks. It went surprisingly smooth. Next time I'll do an even better job


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## MikeNeal (Aug 28, 2017)

I strung the 8 string up today 





I'm not sure I like 8 strings, or 27" scales. Feels awkward to me. It's a shame, cause the guitar is well built


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## Mr_Mar10 (Aug 29, 2017)

Get it wired up & sold then, someone will bite your hand off for that beauty!!  ( *checks bank balance  )

Great work, stain turned out brilliant


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## KR250 (Aug 29, 2017)

Looks great! Keep it. I really like 27" scales up top (the wider spacing helps my fingers a little). BTW what stains/dyes did you use?


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## MikeNeal (Aug 29, 2017)

KR250 said:


> Looks great! Keep it. I really like 27" scales up top (the wider spacing helps my fingers a little). BTW what stains/dyes did you use?



I use keda stains.
http://www.kedadyeinc.com/

Part of the problem could be the string gauges. They are a little thicker then I'm used to, but the only 8 string set they had

10-13-17-30-42-54-64-74

On a 25.5 7 string i usually run a 10-59 set. Any suggestions for a more comparable set of strings? Maybe the d'addario 9-65 set?


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## KR250 (Aug 29, 2017)

I'd go for something more like 9-74, or a size smaller than you usually use on a shorter scale to get the right tension. You can order custom sets from D'Addario (single strings) to play around since most of the "sets" are all over the place. If you haven't seen this, it's a great easy to use tension calculator (not mine). 
https://rodrigocfd.github.io/string-tension-calc/

Maybe something like this:


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## MikeNeal (Aug 29, 2017)

Thanks man,

Also since I've got a bunch of questions on this. Without pickups or electronics, but with all The hardware. The wenge 8 string weighs 6.8lbs


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## KnightBrolaire (Aug 30, 2017)

MikeNeal said:


> Thanks man,
> 
> Also since I've got a bunch of questions on this. Without pickups or electronics, but with all The hardware. The wenge 8 string weighs 6.8lbs


dayumm that's lighter than my ash 8 string.


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## MikeNeal (Aug 30, 2017)

KnightBrolaire said:


> dayumm that's lighter than my ash 8 string.



The body is also 1.25" thick at the thickest point. That helps for weight reduction


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## LiveOVErdrive (Aug 30, 2017)

MikeNeal said:


> The body is also 1.25" thick at the thickest point. That helps for weight reduction


Wow that is thin. How deep are your pickup routes? I usually do mine 1" deep but that would be too much here.


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## MikeNeal (Aug 30, 2017)

The neck pockets and pickups are .75" deep, which works well for direct mounted pickups.


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## MoonJelly (Aug 30, 2017)

^Can confirm, 3/4" is practically perfect for direct mount.


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## MikeNeal (Sep 1, 2017)

Carved the neck on #10










Went for a traditional carve for this neck. That way i will have a 7 string prototype with the asymmetrical V and a traditional carve for comparison sake.


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## MikeNeal (Sep 2, 2017)

strung up #10







i made a couple real bonehead mistakes on this one. the most glaring was routing the recess for the bridge to 1/8" deep instead of the 1/16" its supposed to be. the second was when i was bringing the neck to the final thickness of .78" on the jointer, i somehow ended up with the bass side slightly bigger. all of this combined means i had to really jack the saddles. 






i could remedy this solution by sanding the neck a bit, and switching to a .175" baseplate. but aside from that, the action is low and it plays awesome. maybe has the best "mojo" of all my builds so far.


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## crackout (Sep 3, 2017)

Why do you recess the hipshot .125 in the first place?
On my latest build I used a 32mm body and routed the pocket to 19mm depth. That basically leaves only the 6mm fretboard sticking out.

Without a recess for the hipshot bridge I get a very comfortable saddle placement:




There's no need for a recess at all.


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## vansinn (Sep 3, 2017)

Haven't been through the whole thread, but dear oh dear, some lovely stuff you got going


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## Lemons (Sep 3, 2017)

MikeNeal said:


> i made a couple real bonehead mistakes on this one. the most glaring was routing the recess for the bridge to 1/8" deep instead of the 1/16" its supposed to be. the second was when i was bringing the neck to the final thickness of .78" on the jointer, i somehow ended up with the bass side slightly bigger. all of this combined means i had to really jack the saddles.



Why don't you just make a 1/16" wood spacer to place under the bridge? If its recessed anyway then no one's gonna see it.


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## MikeNeal (Sep 3, 2017)

crackout said:


> Why do you recess the hipshot .125 in the first place?
> On my latest build I used a 32mm body and routed the pocket to 19mm depth. That basically leaves only the 6mm fretboard sticking out.
> 
> Without a recess for the hipshot bridge I get a very comfortable saddle placement:
> ...



Initially it was to have perfect bridge placement. But now my bodies have a radius carved into the top. So it allows for a flat surface to mount the bridgd


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## MikeNeal (Sep 3, 2017)

Lemons said:


> Why don't you just make a 1/16" wood spacer to place under the bridge? If its recessed anyway then no one's gonna see it.



I could. But I'm not going to be selling this guitar, so I'm not super concerned


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## MikeNeal (Sep 4, 2017)

finished the woodwork on the padauk 7.









then applied ciranova unicoat oil










in regards to the high saddles in my last post. it turned out there was a ridge left over from routing the neck pocket that wasn't letting the bass side of the neck sit totally flush. So i took care of that.






as you can see the saddles are much lower now, they are still higher then i would like at the moment. but no need to purchase a .175" baseplate. taking a small amount of wood off the neck heel should do the trick on this one - if need be.


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## MikeNeal (Sep 5, 2017)

did a little work on the 3d modeling for the 6 strings,

worked a bit more on the headstock to neck transition





and did the blind slots for the fretboard





slowly getting the hang of things, only thing left to really do is the bridge holes, and insert holes for the pickups.


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## Mr_Mar10 (Sep 6, 2017)

Mad skills


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## MikeNeal (Sep 10, 2017)

modeling update.

i had a huge struggle for some reason to do the truss rod slot, it was interfereing with the lofts for the neck profile. I finally got it sorted out.






that was the last piece i needed to get done, so now my entire guitar is modeled.










now I have to get my machine up and running and I can start cutting some wood. I think i will probably focus on 6 strings for now to get everything fine tuned.


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## KR250 (Sep 10, 2017)

Cool! I just downloaded and started playing with Fusion 360. Bit of a learning curve but was able to import my 2D Sketchup model as as a start. Do your models include a scarf joint in the neck or will the angle be cut in via CNC?


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## MikeNeal (Sep 10, 2017)

KR250 said:


> Cool! I just downloaded and started playing with Fusion 360. Bit of a learning curve but was able to import my 2D Sketchup model as as a start. Do your models include a scarf joint in the neck or will the angle be cut in via CNC?



I'll be able to do either way. I could make a big blank and carve the angle. Or do the scarf joint before the cnc cutting.

And yeah it was a pretty steep learning curve. If you have any questions let me know


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## LiveOVErdrive (Sep 11, 2017)

What machine did you buy?


There's enough of us cnc-ers around now I think we need our own discussion thread...


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## MikeNeal (Sep 11, 2017)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> What machine did you buy?
> 
> 
> There's enough of us cnc-ers around now I think we need our own discussion thread...



Haven't bought one yet. Still doing research on if i want a shapeoko or x carve. Or keep saving for a larken or something. Hopefully will be doing my early prototyping with Brian Bowes. So I'll have someone experienced walking me through it


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## LiveOVErdrive (Sep 11, 2017)

MikeNeal said:


> Haven't bought one yet. Still doing research on if i want a shapeoko or x carve. Or keep saving for a larken or something. Hopefully will be doing my early prototyping with Brian Bowes. So I'll have someone experienced walking me through it


Very nice. I definitely recommend the shapeoko.


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## MikeNeal (Sep 12, 2017)

Starting #11.

This build will be a more simple design, in the hopes that I nail it. I'm hoping this build will have my first cnc cut fretboard.

Specs so far:
6 string
1 piece ash body
Pau ferro fretboard and matching headstock veneer.

Here's a picture of the piece of ash. I bought a massive board so I have 5 one piece bodies. This piece was the end piece so I thought it would be perfect for a prototype.






Here's the board of pau ferro I will be using. I'll probabaly get 3 fretboards with matching headstock veneers out of it.






Undecided on the neck. Thinking of forgoing my usual exotic 5 piece necks for something simple like rock maple


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## MikeNeal (Sep 18, 2017)

debating doing my next build in a more traditional super strat shape. I've learned that its very difficult to draw a superstrat shape that doesnt copy any other designs directly.

this is what i've got so far. any opinions?


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## MikeNeal (Sep 19, 2017)

did the last coat of oil on the 8 string body. gotta say though. the more i look at the dyed wood the less i like it. I think i may strip it back down sometime down the road if i get the desire. (I'm sure that by the time that happens my skills will have progressed past this build)














also, still playing around with the superstrat design - now with a carved top!


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## MikeNeal (Sep 27, 2017)

working on some inline headstocks





mockup






builds 9 and 10 will be wired soon, and i will be starting to cut wood for builds 11 and 12. they will be superstrat twins, one 6 and one 7.


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## MikeNeal (Oct 3, 2017)

Some updates.

Got the templates for my new body shape and headstocks






Some build 11 updates too.

Machines the pau ferro down to a fretboard with a matching headstock






Found a huge board of pau ferro to make tops from. So this is the one I've chosen for this build


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## MikeNeal (Oct 7, 2017)

was able to get into the shop for a few hours today, but i had to get a new bandsaw blade which took up a big chunk of the morning.

i was able to book match the pau ferro top 

here it is fresh off the band saw






and planed





as I'm sure everyone who builds guitars here knows, you win some and you lose some. Well - I lost today. Immediately after resawing my nice and square board, it warped instantly. So for the glue up, i had to use the non bookmatched sides of the boards.






looks a little funny right now, but i still think it has potential






hopefully i can get this planed and routed sooner then later.


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## MikeNeal (Oct 18, 2017)

so this happened






going to build an enclosure so i can run this in the basement.


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## Mr_Mar10 (Oct 19, 2017)

Whoops, what a tragedy 

Looks like fun just building it


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## KR250 (Oct 19, 2017)

Going to have to live vicariously through those that have CNC machines now  Look forward to hearing how it works out.


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## MikeNeal (Nov 4, 2017)

so got the machine calibrated. and cut out the template that i will use to line the body up on the waste board, so it can be flipped to carve the back.






up next Im going to build an enclosure for the machine.


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## LiveOVErdrive (Nov 4, 2017)

MikeNeal said:


> so got the machine calibrated. and cut out the template that i will use to line the body up on the waste board, so it can be flipped to carve the back.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Oh that's interesting. I've been just milling the body out of a squared blank and leaving it attached to the blank with tabs. Might have to try this way.


----------



## neun Arme (Nov 5, 2017)

This thing is going to be gorgeous.


----------



## MikeNeal (Nov 5, 2017)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> Oh that's interesting. I've been just milling the body out of a squared blank and leaving it attached to the blank with tabs. Might have to try this way.


It will still be left on the blank woth tabs. The 4 holes are for dowels so the body can be flipped without re zeroing the x and y. The cut out of the body in the center is so I can align the template with the best looking part of the top


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Nov 5, 2017)

MikeNeal said:


> It will still be left on the blank woth tabs. The 4 holes are for dowels so the body can be flipped without re zeroing the x and y. The cut out of the body in the center is so I can align the template with the best looking part of the top



Ohhh that makes sense. I've been drilling a single hole through the piece as my zero point and just rezeroing when I flip it. I'll have to try this. It seems better.


----------



## MikeNeal (Dec 9, 2017)

Small pictureless update.

got the cnc machine fully calibrated, and it's duplicating cuts well. will be cutting my first cnc body in the next two weeks.

My original plan was to play the shit out the prototypes I've built so I can really identify what I like/Don't like. Then start building again in the new year. 

Gotta say, I'm not a fan of the 8 string. It just rubs me the wrong way. The 6's and 7's feel great though.


----------



## geoffstgermaine (Dec 10, 2017)

MikeNeal said:


> so this happened
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Like the looks of this build and I'm seriously interested in the machine you purchased. I'll be curious to see your impressions of it.


----------



## KR250 (Dec 10, 2017)

MikeNeal said:


> My original plan was to play the shit out the prototypes I've built so I can really identify what I like/Don't like. Then start building again in the new year.


Very sound strategy. I've been doing the same thing with my past builds, coming up with a clear favorite. Can't wait to see your CNC builds.


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## MikeNeal (Dec 18, 2017)

had a slight programming error, so i had to re calibrate the machine.






got it to .005" on the x,y, and z axis. pretty good i think.

also started designing a tele style body based on my superstrat.


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## LiveOVErdrive (Dec 18, 2017)

Looking really good, man. I'm loving the amount of CNC on this forum.


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## MikeNeal (Dec 26, 2017)

just some design updates

doing some fretboard design work:

6 and 7 25.5"





7 string multiscale
25.5 to 27 with the straight fret at the 7th





also refining the superstrat shape.





and the tele shape





waiting on the 1/8" collet adapter to show up, then actual wood cutting will happen


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## LiveOVErdrive (Dec 26, 2017)

Holy triple post, Batman.

Looking good. Those fretboards look sharp.


----------



## skmanga (Dec 29, 2017)

Amazing work and progress!
Would love to try out one of those beauties 

Keep it up man, youve got something special going on.


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## MikeNeal (Jan 15, 2018)

cnc cut my first body out of pine. when i flipped the body over my zero on the backside was out a milimeter or so. so everything on the back side is shifted to the treble side a mm or so. not bad for my first try.


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## LiveOVErdrive (Jan 15, 2018)

Looking good. Also what is that neck? It's gorgeous.


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## MikeNeal (Jan 15, 2018)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> Looking good. Also what is that neck? It's gorgeous.



the neck is from a previous build. its going to be destroyed soon


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## KnightBrolaire (Jan 15, 2018)

MikeNeal said:


> the neck is from a previous build. its going to be destroyed soon


why are you destroying it?


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## MikeNeal (Jan 15, 2018)

to get at the truss rod. this one will also meet its demise soon.


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## MikeNeal (Jan 17, 2018)

test cut a fretboard out of curly maple, with blind fret slots. the radius came off the machine awesome, very smooth. I brain farted a couple times, but next time i'll get it perfect.


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## MikeNeal (Jan 18, 2018)

so i foolishly decided to machine a good piece of pau ferro, before measuring the maple one.










it looked awesome! untill i measured it.

both the fretboard and the body are too long in the x-axis. so the scale length ended up 25.8 instead of 25.5.

the y axis, and z axis cuts are pretty close to perfect. I'm not too sure whats going on here. But i'm going to cut the neck anyways since everything will line up to 25.8. then i guess i'll have to trouble shoot.


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## MikeNeal (Jan 18, 2018)

so i foolishly decided to machine a good piece of pau ferro, before measuring the maple one.










it looked awesome! untill i measured it.

both the fretboard and the body are too long in the x-axis. so the scale length ended up 25.8 instead of 25.5.

the y axis, and z axis cuts are pretty close to perfect. I'm not too sure whats going on here. But i'm going to cut the neck anyways since everything will line up to 25.8. then i guess i'll have to trouble shoot.


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## MikeNeal (Jan 18, 2018)

no idea why i keep getting triple posts?


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## LiveOVErdrive (Jan 18, 2018)

Beautiful.


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## neun Arme (Jan 19, 2018)

That fretboard is gorgeous!!!!


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## LiveOVErdrive (Jan 19, 2018)

MikeNeal said:


> so i foolishly decided to machine a good piece of pau ferro, before measuring the maple one.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I assume you are using the carbide 3d post process option in fusion 360, yes?


----------



## MikeNeal (Jan 19, 2018)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> I assume you are using the carbide 3d post process option in fusion 360, yes?



yes i am


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## LiveOVErdrive (Jan 19, 2018)

MikeNeal said:


> yes i am


Blerg. Well it was Worth a check anyway. Is the model off or is your machine off?


----------



## MikeNeal (Jan 19, 2018)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> Blerg. Well it was Worth a check anyway. Is the model off or is your machine off?



The machine I think


----------



## BlackMastodon (Jan 19, 2018)

MikeNeal said:


> to get at the truss rod.


Whoa whoa whoa. If all you want is a trussrod I'll get you a damn trussrod if you give me that neck. 

Edit: Now that I see you're in Toronto, I am dead serious about that offer.


----------



## MikeNeal (Jan 19, 2018)

BlackMastodon said:


> Whoa whoa whoa. If all you want is a trussrod I'll get you a damn trussrod if you give me that neck.
> 
> Edit: Now that I see you're in Toronto, I am dead serious about that offer.



Well hamilton actually... you don't want this neck haha


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## jwade (Jan 21, 2018)

Man, I'd just build something around the 25.8" scale. That's a gorgeous fb.


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## MikeNeal (Jan 21, 2018)

jwade said:


> Man, I'd just build something around the 25.8" scale. That's a gorgeous fb.


Yeah that's the plan. Not going to waste this fretboard.


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## MikeNeal (Jan 28, 2018)

machined the body today. i machined it with the x axis accuracy problem so it would match my 25.875 fretboard. the only issue i had was for some reason the z axis skipped a tooth after cutting the neck pocket. so the pickup route and the bridge route are .06" too deep - I can live with that!


















going to carve the neck next. then fully dissassemble the machine and move it to the basement, and re square and calibrate everything.


----------



## MikeNeal (Jan 30, 2018)

figured out why i skipped a tooth on the z axis.






at the end of cutting the neck pocket it drives the bit into the stock. cant seem to figure out how to stop it from doing that.


----------



## electriceye (Feb 1, 2018)

I gotta get me a CNC table next year....


----------



## MikeNeal (Feb 4, 2018)

Cut out and machined away the tabs on the body, and started chopping up my board of roasted maple into neck blanks, fretboards, and headstocks


----------



## MikeNeal (Feb 22, 2018)

built and cnc cut the neck, still with the 25.875" scale


















really like working with this roasted maple. smells great!

now that this is done, i can tackle my accuracy issues on the x axis.


----------



## MikeNeal (Feb 25, 2018)

mockup!


----------



## MikeNeal (Feb 25, 2018)

cut the trussrod slot, glued the fretboard, and started fitting the neck into the pocket. the cnc accuracy issues showed their head again. the neck was cut wider then the neck pocket slightly.


----------



## MikeNeal (May 6, 2018)

been a while since i did an update, still putting together my new shop.
but in the mean time, Ive been working on a new design - with multiscale!






edit - are all the old pictures not working now?


----------



## crackout (May 7, 2018)

You should flip the shorter horn around so it goes along with the longer one.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (May 7, 2018)

Disagree. I like it that way.


----------



## MikeNeal (May 7, 2018)

Yeah I've been playing around with both ideas actually. I think popular opinion so far is for the downturned horn


----------



## KR250 (May 7, 2018)

Having played a down-turned horn on my last build, it's now absolutely my preference from a playability standpoint. If you do anything, I would flow the lines of the top horn more similar to the lower horn. Looks like you'll also have a REALLY strong neck joint if you set it all the way to the back of the pickup. Could almost cut in further if you wanted to.


----------



## MikeNeal (May 7, 2018)

will be bolt on. i still dont know if i am going to actually make a multiscale - its messing with my brain a bit

had a guy basically accuse me of copying his design on instagram - even though they arent that similar - and his literally used the black machine headstock. ugh


----------



## MikeNeal (May 8, 2018)

finalizing the models before I generate the gcode

basically did a 6 and 7 string, with Hipshot and Schaller Hannes (always wanted to try one)


----------



## MikeNeal (May 17, 2018)

been struggling a bit to get a 4x3 and 3x3 headstock design. been trying really hard to get straight string pull. and it feels damn near impossible.

this is what i got so far





as you can see - the string pull is most definitely not straight.

also, is there any way to go back and edit all my old posts? postimg changed from .org to .cc so all my pictures are dead


----------



## MikeNeal (Aug 20, 2018)

well its been a while, but i have the cnc machine all set up in the shop. so i decided to re-calibrate and try cutting my newest design














after measuring everything, all my inside dimensions ended up approx .04" inches too small. Was talking to LiveOVErdrive and it seems to be a common issue, and he gave me a good workaround. I was able to fit another neck from a different build in though










hopefully after i cnc cut a neck i can get it to fit so this body isnt a total waste. at the very least it'll be practice for the carving on the body - I'm hoping to really carve the top and back on this design.


----------



## MikeNeal (Aug 25, 2018)

destroyed an old build to get the truss rod out, broke right at the center line on the top. thankfully my gluing skills have improved


----------



## KR250 (Aug 26, 2018)

You should check out the Black Dog truss rods on ebay.... much thinner and better designed than the SM ones. Only thing is you have to glue on the spoke wheel. 420, 440, 460, 480, and 620 mm lengths. 
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338014327&icep_item=371917265909


----------



## MikeNeal (Aug 26, 2018)

KR250 said:


> You should check out the Black Dog truss rods on ebay.... much thinner and better designed than the SM ones. Only thing is you have to glue on the spoke wheel. 420, 440, 460, 480, and 620 mm lengths.
> http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338014327&icep_item=371917265909



yeah nextgenguitars sells a thinner one too, but for the time being i'll use up these stew mac ones first


----------



## electriceye (Aug 26, 2018)

Why did you make the control cavity so big on that new body? It’s at least 2x the size it needs to be.


----------



## MikeNeal (Aug 27, 2018)

Just playing around with shapes, aesthetics, and weight relief.


----------



## MikeNeal (Sep 9, 2018)

more prototyping. I'm really trying to push the limits of this shapeoko. Im having the machine do all the carving on the body










































The total machine time was 4 Hours. but before cnc this would have taken approx a week to get to this point. 

no mistakes on this one. almost at the point of cutting some really good wood.


----------



## MoonJelly (Sep 10, 2018)

@MikeNeal Did the shapeoko cut it down to that level of smoothness in the last two pics? If so, that's pretty impressive for a sub-$2k machine.


----------



## MikeNeal (Sep 10, 2018)

yes. all i did was trim the tabs off the side. i used a .01" step over with a .25" ball nose bit


----------



## MikeNeal (Sep 10, 2018)

For what it's worth, I think im approaching the limits of this machine, as far as repeatability and accuracy is concerned. And I have spent months setting it up and calibrating.


----------



## KR250 (Sep 11, 2018)

If you were to do it over again, would you get the same machine? I keep putting off a purchase until I get better with the software portion.


----------



## MikeNeal (Sep 11, 2018)

No definitely not. 

I would get something without belts. Belts can move fast. But you have to calibrate for the stretch, so your accuracy will decrease over time as the belt wears.


----------



## MikeNeal (Sep 16, 2018)

Cut a neck and fretboard today, had some mistakes, but i know how to fix them, so thats ok.


the good: the scale length is finally right, Truss rod fits great, neck dimensions are correct

the bad: had trouble lining up my zeros between the neck and headstock operations - I can fix that for the next one. i had my retract height set too high initially and i skipped a tooth machining the headstock, and the bit dug into the wood.


----------



## Bearitone (Sep 18, 2018)

Can i ask, how did you figure out the proper location of the bridge mounting holes? I can’t find a clear answer for this.

I also find that bridge pickup distances from the bridge vary a lot. How did you choose you bridge pickup pocket location?


----------



## MikeNeal (Sep 18, 2018)

kindsage said:


> Can i ask, how did you figure out the proper location of the bridge mounting holes? I can’t find a clear answer for this.
> 
> I also find that bridge pickup distances from the bridge vary a lot. How did you choose you bridge pickup pocket location?



I had read somewhere that the hipshot mounting holes go 22mm behind the scale line. So I tried it and it worked out well for me.

As for the bridge pickup, i'm still experimenting. My last batch of builds had the pickup closer to the bridge. I moved it away from the bridge a few more mm's for this batch. Ill compare the tone after I finish a couple and make my decision from there


----------



## Bearitone (Sep 18, 2018)

MikeNeal said:


> I had read somewhere that the hipshot mounting holes go 22mm behind the scale line. So I tried it and it worked out well for me.
> 
> As for the bridge pickup, i'm still experimenting. My last batch of builds had the pickup closer to the bridge. I moved it away from the bridge a few more mm's for this batch. Ill compare the tone after I finish a couple and make my decision from there



Thank you!


----------



## MikeNeal (Sep 23, 2018)

made some changes to my design, namely went to a smaller control cavity, and a more traditional jack location, and made the stomach carve a little less pronounced, and brought back my recess for the bridge

new design is on the left. thats exactly how it comes off the machine, i only cut the tabs with the band saw - the one on the right has about 5 minutes of hand sanding with 220










its safe to say my accuracy issues are a thing of the past.





the bridge sits fantastically in the route for it. absolutely no wiggle room, and all the holes line up spot on.


----------



## MikeNeal (Sep 27, 2018)

Test fitting hardware in the body

bridge fits, pickups fit, volume pot fits, switch fits






ferrules did not fit, have to try undersizing the hole .01"






gotta find a jig to drill the output jack recess better, it's slightly offcenter






all thats left is to test fit a control cavity cover


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Sep 27, 2018)

Looking good. Is that the "suk-it" dust boot? How does it work with a 4" dust collection hose like you've got there? I have both but haven't mated them yet. I was gonna try to build a boot that takes a 4" directly so I wouldn't lose suction on the narrowing passage, but maybe that's overkill.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Sep 27, 2018)

kindsage said:


> Thank you!


When in doubt, grab the part and go to town with your caliper.


----------



## MikeNeal (Sep 27, 2018)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> Looking good. Is that the "suk-it" dust boot? How does it work with a 4" dust collection hose like you've got there? I have both but haven't mated them yet. I was gonna try to build a boot that takes a 4" directly so I wouldn't lose suction on the narrowing passage, but maybe that's overkill.



Works really well. The dust collector is 1200 cfm. And in most operations there is no dust.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Sep 27, 2018)

MikeNeal said:


> Works really well. The dust collector is 1200 cfm. And in most operations there is no dust.


Awesome. I'll have to give it a shot. My dust collector is only like 700cfm but it'll probably do the job.


----------



## MikeNeal (Oct 6, 2018)

Eventful day in the shop

cut another body prototype with in a different body style, and cut a neck - only to find my cnc machine has gone out of calibration, not sure why, but I am about to give up on cnc.


















every single dimension was made too big. I almost give up. my next builds will probably be done by hand.

speaking of those next builds - i started prepping some wood

#1 specs

African Mahogany body
Flamed maple top
Roasted maple neck
Wenge fretboard

Prepping the blank





Glued and planed down





Collection of wood





#2 specs

White Limba body
Black Limba Top
White Limba/Bloodwood neck
Snakewood fretboard

Started Prepping the neck blank





SNAKEWOOD!





Thats it till next week


----------



## MoonJelly (Oct 6, 2018)

I _love _snakewood, it's so damn pricey though. One of the prettiest ever.


----------



## Soya (Oct 8, 2018)

Snakewood ferret, the thing dreams are made of.


----------



## MikeNeal (Oct 14, 2018)

did some work prepping bodies and necks

gluing flame maple top










White limba body glue up






Roasted maple neck blank






White Limba/Bloodwood neck






Pau ferro neck


----------



## Soya (Oct 14, 2018)

That Pau ferro is a really cool piece.


----------



## MikeNeal (Oct 14, 2018)

Soya said:


> That Pau ferro is a really cool piece.


Wait till you see the pau ferro fretboard for that build. 

The exotic wood dealer near me always has tons of really cool pau ferro


----------



## Soya (Oct 14, 2018)

Color me jealous, nicest stuff I can find anywhere around here is walnut. That snakewood blank you have is tasty too, though I don't envy working with it.


----------



## MikeNeal (Oct 20, 2018)

Did some more work today

worked on the limba body and black limba top














also cut the wenge and snakewood fretboards














As I'm sure you can see in the snakewood picture, the side being cut wasn't totally planed flat, This stuff is brutal. My planer and jointer really struggled through this. It makes Katalox seem like Pine. Thankfully it machined really well on the CNC.


----------



## MikeNeal (Oct 28, 2018)

did a tiny amount of work today.

Finished putting together the one neck.

made a limba headstock with a snakewood cap, then glued it up!











i am getting really tired of working with the snakewood haha. such a pain in the ass. i have 2 more fretboard blanks of this stuff. one is a grade A++ so I'm going to save it for something really special. the other one has the snake pattern on half the board, then the other half is plain - so not sure what i'll do with it.


----------



## jwade (Oct 29, 2018)

You could do inlays on the boring side!


----------



## MoonJelly (Oct 29, 2018)

jwade said:


> You could do inlays on the boring side!


Or _make inlays_ with the patterned side!


----------



## MikeNeal (Nov 10, 2018)

cut a body today

i got some new Amana Bits, and I'm a believer now. These things cut so nice.


























it passed the neck joint test with a prototype neck






planed the neck flat, and did a quick mock up. the neck will be cut next weekend


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Nov 10, 2018)

Beautiful.


----------



## KR250 (Nov 10, 2018)

Tasty, and very clean looking! Glad to see the CNC is working out.


----------



## geoffstgermaine (Nov 12, 2018)

Looking great! Like you I love Amana bits and pretty well order them exclusively now.


----------



## canuck brian (Nov 15, 2018)

Mike is a top notch guy. Love watching his stuff come to life.


----------



## MikeNeal (Nov 17, 2018)

cnc cut the neck














turned out really well - the neck blank was kind of thin. so i may glue a layer or 2 of veneer onto the heel.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Nov 17, 2018)

Wow that's sharp. How did you line up the two setups for the headstock and the rest of the neck? I've not figured out how to do that yet.


----------



## Randy (Nov 17, 2018)

Could be done a couple ways. I've been experimenting a bit, one approach is making your model like normal and another model as a separate body that'll be your scarf jointed blank, which you end up using as your stock. In that scenario I'd have one setup for my neck cutting and then duplicate it but delete all processes and make maybe a single 3D adaptive (because of the angle of the headstock) with all stock deselected and just the 'model' for the face of the headstock. I'd assume he used something like that since something like the contour process doesn't like cutting anything unless its allowed to do so in a circle and this seems to have a clearly defined 'start and stop'.

Could also be done with two completley separate models and setups. I used my 60 degree v cutter to do a grid about .03" deep and I've been using centerlines, and my zeros at the center and edge of my models as opposed to the edges of my stock. I've been getting more precise results, using less lumber and you can use several separate models/setups on a single project as a result. In that scenario, he could have made a model and setup JUST for the headstock just using the centerline and wherever he had the headstock sketeched on his blank.


----------



## KR250 (Nov 17, 2018)

Wow, that turned out nice!


----------



## MikeNeal (Nov 17, 2018)

i draw a centerline on the neck and the headstock, then just line it by eye. i have a spacer block that lifts the neck off the waste board (its visible in the first picture). i cut the headstock with the neck hanging off the front of the cnc machine. then i flip it with the neck running along the x-axis and cut the truss rod slot and the contour of the neck.

next build i may try cutting the headstock separately with the scarf joint angle, then gluing it on to the scar jointed neck. then have the machine plane it flat and do the truss rod/contour.


----------



## MikeNeal (Nov 17, 2018)

in regards to tool paths

i put all my 6 string stuff into 1 file






then for each head stock i do a bore, and a contour tool path, i just deselect the one edge so it doesnt do the full circle






then do a pocket for the truss rod slot, and another contour with the one edge deselected for the neck


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Nov 17, 2018)

Oh I forgot you do your neck shaping by hand. Respect. I hate carving it by hand. Half the reason I got my Mahone was to get repeatable neck profiles.

And that setup stuff makes sense. I guess measuring the zero point wouldnt be all that hard. I'll have to give it a try sometime.


----------



## MikeNeal (Nov 18, 2018)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> Oh I forgot you do your neck shaping by hand. Respect. I hate carving it by hand. Half the reason I got my Mahone was to get repeatable neck profiles.
> 
> And that setup stuff makes sense. I guess measuring the zero point wouldnt be all that hard. I'll have to give it a try sometime.



I haven't figured out how to properly loft my neck profile and then generate g code from it. But when i do, I will use the 3 dowel method to zero and flip the blank, like I do with the body.


----------



## MikeNeal (Dec 2, 2018)

Update!

Finished carving the areas on the body that the cnc cant cut properly, glued on the fretboard to the neck, added a macasser ebony veneer to the bottom of the neck to get the right height, and drilled the holes for the neck bolt ferrules.


----------



## MikeNeal (Dec 2, 2018)

there was a picture missing from the last batch.


----------



## KR250 (Dec 2, 2018)

Looks awesome! I did the same thing on my current neck pocket... make it a feature! Loving the clean CNC lines.


----------



## MikeNeal (Dec 8, 2018)

installed the frets, and side dots today


















As you can see, i had some troubles getting them all straight again. Does anyone have any pictures of some jigs to drill these straight?

The main reason i went cnc was to do blind fret slots, I'm really happy to see them come to fruition






Also, filled all the small checks and visible seams in the snakewood with superglue and wood dust.


----------



## Randy (Dec 8, 2018)

MikeNeal said:


>



Impressive volume and distance.


----------



## MikeNeal (Dec 8, 2018)

Randy said:


> Impressive volume and distance.



well i do love the snakewood..


----------



## KR250 (Dec 8, 2018)

It's looking great! Love the wood selection.



MikeNeal said:


> As you can see, i had some troubles getting them all straight again. Does anyone have any pictures of some jigs to drill these straight?



I made a really simple jig for my drill press, 1x4" pine L shape that I clamp to the table (not clamped in the picture). I then clamp the fret board to the "L". As long as I don't mess with the clamps during drilling, it works great! I messed with the clamps today 

I always test on a scrap piece of 1x2 pine or something. I also drill the fret board before gluing or radiusing. Not sure if that's the best method, but makes this part really easy.


----------



## MikeNeal (Dec 8, 2018)

good jig, i may have to steal that


----------



## MikeNeal (Dec 16, 2018)

did the initial carve on the neck today. 

I usually get it pretty close first shot, it'll take some time handling it to figure out if i need to make any changes


















up next - fretwork


----------



## MikeNeal (Dec 17, 2018)

small update.

I would like to try having the cnc machine carve the neck profile, so i put in the work to design the carve in fusion 360






gotta say designing the headstock to neck profile contour on an angled headstock is a bit of a pain in the ass.


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Dec 17, 2018)

I almost always have trouble with the neck to headstock transition. For whatever reason loft just sometimes doesn't do what I want.


----------



## MikeNeal (Dec 17, 2018)

Mine came out near perfect. I had to make a bunch of profiles. Then loft them all together


----------



## LiveOVErdrive (Dec 17, 2018)

MikeNeal said:


> Mine came out near perfect. I had to make a bunch of profiles. Then loft them all together


Almost like a topographical map? That's a good idea. I'll have to try it. I've always done a single loft or patch. Most of the time I like the results I get at the heel. The headstock is trickier because it flares out. 

I have in the past made some guide rails and swept the neck profile toward the headstock, expanding on the way. Gives a good result but doesn't let you specify the contour at the headstock specifically.


----------



## MikeNeal (Dec 18, 2018)

got the heel design basically nailed down






time to test cut some necks


----------



## MikeNeal (Dec 30, 2018)

Started to prep some wood for my next build.

bookmatched a bocote top






and cut up some palemoon ebony for fretboards






working out a jig to drill the output jack hole nice and straight, so i can finish sand the snakewood guitar


----------



## MikeNeal (Feb 2, 2019)

Finish sanded, oiled, and put on the tuners for the snakewood build










next shop day i should have the body all finished, and strings on it. Then all that will be left is wiring.


----------



## KR250 (Feb 2, 2019)

Very clean! Is this one for you?


----------



## MikeNeal (Feb 2, 2019)

Yeah this one and the next one are for me. Then I plan on doing one for my dad and one for a buddy. 

Who knows after that


----------



## Defyantly (Feb 3, 2019)

I love the transitions and contours on that! Looks super clean! Also that bocote tope is gonna be stunning with finish on it! Good work!


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## MikeNeal (Feb 3, 2019)

Defyantly said:


> I love the transitions and contours on that! Looks super clean! Also that bocote tope is gonna be stunning with finish on it! Good work!



thanks!

cant wait to get going a little faster on these. some other projects have come up recently that we've been working on as well


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## Millul (Feb 3, 2019)

Which kind of finish will you go for? Oil?


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## MikeNeal (Feb 3, 2019)

Millul said:


> Which kind of finish will you go for? Oil?



Oil and wax


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## MikeNeal (Mar 23, 2019)

Got the body finish sanded, and oiled and waxed










turned out pretty good!


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## MikeNeal (May 14, 2019)

finally had some time to get back at it. got the snakewood beast partially assembled. this body shape is a winner i think. and the fretwork is finally good enough that i can be happy with it.


















all thats left on this one is the control cavity cover, and wiring it up.


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## dmlinger (May 14, 2019)

Where do you source your exotics like snakewood and pale moon ebony? That's the good wood


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## MikeNeal (May 14, 2019)

dmlinger said:


> Where do you source your exotics like snakewood and pale moon ebony? That's the good wood



i got both of those pieces from a local store called Exotic Woods in Burlington, Ontario


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## KR250 (May 14, 2019)

Classy! I like it. Nice combo of woods that really highlight that Snakewood.


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## MikeNeal (Nov 24, 2019)

Been a long time, but I'm getting back into the shop.

started working on my next build

specs will be:

6 string
ash/bocote body
Bocote top
Gaboon Ebony neck - bocote headstock
Palemoon Ebony fretboard.

prepped the body today






it started life as one big ash blank, but after some careful planing and cutting, we have a stylish 5 piece body, with some "tone strips"


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## KR250 (Nov 24, 2019)

It's well documented that racing strips on a guitar make you play faster, lol. Nice to see your builds again, looking cool.


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## MikeNeal (Dec 7, 2019)

got back into the shop today

first i glued some wings onto the ebony neck so i would have some where to secure the neck to the cnc










then i milled the headstock






glued up the top






planed the body flat






milled the scarfjoint on the neck and glued on the headstock










so far so good.


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## MoonJelly (Dec 8, 2019)

You are where I see myself in a few years. Kudos


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## MikeNeal (Dec 15, 2019)

small update

machined the fretboard






i decided to leave my really figured PME fretboard for another build, and use a less figured piece for this build, since the top is so busy.


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## KR250 (Dec 16, 2019)

Nice wood choice(s)!


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## MikeNeal (Dec 28, 2019)

got the neck machined today














up next is milling the body, then all the hard stuff is done.


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## KR250 (Dec 30, 2019)

The neck looks amazing, but damn that counter top is giving it a run for the money! Very cool to see the CNC transitions with the pieces being glued up.


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## MikeNeal (Jun 27, 2020)

finally back at it. fired up the CNC machine for the first time in months and banged out another prototype

went for a superstrat. think i've finally got a design i'm fairly happy with.






fresh off the machine










got some strings on it to make sure it sits right










it's hard to tell in the picture, but the top is radius'd and carved.

next step is to cut a real body.


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## Spicypickles (Jun 27, 2020)

That looks great! A loving mother, with wide ass open arms, accepting all manner of solos and melodies with those cutaways


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## Spicypickles (Jun 27, 2020)

Doble posto


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## Omzig (Jun 29, 2020)

Yep defo has that wide arm come stick your head in my boobies vibe,very nice


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## LiveOVErdrive (Jun 29, 2020)

That milling-the-scarf-joint thing is genius. Gonna borrow that trick for my current build I think.


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## MikeNeal (Jun 29, 2020)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> That milling-the-scarf-joint thing is genius. Gonna borrow that trick for my current build I think.


yeah then its just a couple of dowels to hold the two together while you glue it.

i used a cnc tool path to flatten the neck afterwards too


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## LiveOVErdrive (Jun 29, 2020)

MikeNeal said:


> yeah then its just a couple of dowels to hold the two together while you glue it.
> 
> i used a cnc tool path to flatten the neck afterwards too


Where and how do you place the dowels?


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## MikeNeal (Jun 29, 2020)

LiveOVErdrive said:


> Where and how do you place the dowels?



i just clamp the two pieces together and drill 2 1/16 holes in the excess wood, then i use 1/16" drill bits as the dowels.

then after 15-20 minutes of clamped glue time i just spin the drill bits out with a drill.


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## Samark (Jun 29, 2020)

Very nice. Is that a Searls body/headstock?


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## MikeNeal (Jun 29, 2020)

Samark said:


> Very nice. Is that a Searls body/headstock?



nope

body is RG rear with more aggressive horns and the headstock is a very modified Ibanez headstock


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## MikeNeal (Jul 4, 2020)

i was pretty happy with the prototype pine body, so i refined my toolpaths a bit and decided to cut a real one.











here it is after cutting off the tabs


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## dmlinger (Jul 5, 2020)

Feeling some Rusti vibes with this build. Good stuff


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## MikeNeal (Jul 11, 2020)

Decided to see if i could build a neck from scratch in one day

heres the results of that

gluing up the fretboard





maching the headstock









cutting the headstock angle in the neck blank





gluing headstock onto neck





machined the fretboard while the neck dries









then i machined the top of the neck





then i tried something new and roughed in the neck profile with the cnc machine









glued on fretboard





this is as far as i was able to get


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## Omzig (Jul 13, 2020)

Hey mike does your milling software have and option for triangle bridges? if so give it a try as i found it almost elminates the slight groove the up/down movement you get from flat bridges option

Super work btw.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 13, 2020)

are you talking about the small groove in the carving the cnc machine did?

it's because i went with a .035" step over just to speed up the process.

on the fretboard i went with a .01" step over for the radius, and it comes out smooth - similar to 120 grit sandpaper


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## MikeNeal (Jul 19, 2020)

got some time to work on the neck this weekend

first step was to fix a toolpath issue

as you can see if the following picture, for some reason this area of the headstock was carved in the wrong spot.









i decided i wanted to try and fix this, instead of throwing the neck in the bin.

first step was to mix up some epoxy and fill up the area





then after it dried i finished carving the neck, and sanded it down









then i finished carving the areas of the body the cnc cant reach


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## MikeNeal (Oct 24, 2021)

well, Ive had enough of a break from guitar building. decided to get back at it today

finally cut out this body














so far so good.


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## Taylor (Oct 24, 2021)

Really like the bocote lams in that body


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## MikeNeal (Oct 30, 2021)

Got the neck and body married together. 

next week is the neck carve


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## KR250 (Oct 30, 2021)

Nice to see you back at it, though car season isn't totally over yet  (boost weather!). 

How do you plan to finish it?


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## MikeNeal (Oct 30, 2021)

KR250 said:


> Nice to see you back at it, though car season isn't totally over yet  (boost weather!).
> 
> How do you plan to finish it?



just an oil finish most likely. Maybe odies oil this time?


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## MikeNeal (Nov 6, 2021)

got the neck carved, and finished the body carve


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## MikeNeal (Nov 13, 2021)

got the 2 bodies that i've been working on done. 

played around with some wood dyes on the maple top


























after a coat of oil





oiled this body too






the two


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## MikeNeal (Nov 20, 2021)

did the fretwork and finished the neck on the superstrat










this was my first time pressing in frets, vs hammering them in. makes a big difference in the amount of leveling you have to do

specs are:

Mahogany body, with flamed maple top
Flamed Purpleheart/wenge/maple neck with a maple headstock
Canarywood Fretboard


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## dmlinger (Nov 22, 2021)

Hey Mike, got a question and hoping you could shed some light based on your experience...

I've been designing a tilt-back headstock and modeled it with a volute. On second thought, I'd much rather do it with a proper scarf and saw how you cut yours on the CNC.

After you do the parallel passes for your scarf joint, are you sanding the surface, or are you doing very close overlapping passes? After you glue the joint, are you using index holes/pins to zero your machine to the newly glued blank?

I've always done traditional Fender straight headstocks and wrapping my head around machining a tilt back is racking my brain. The volute option has the machine time insanely high and it wastes a lot of wood, so I wanted to ask.


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## MikeNeal (Nov 22, 2021)

dmlinger said:


> Hey Mike, got a question and hoping you could shed some light based on your experience...
> 
> I've been designing a tilt-back headstock and modeled it with a volute. On second thought, I'd much rather do it with a proper scarf and saw how you cut yours on the CNC.
> 
> ...



i run a .01" stepover. all it needs is a light scuff before glue.

i then use the machine to flatten the neck blank, and then i cut some index holes. that way i can flip the blank after doing the truss rod slot, if i want to carve the neck profile.


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## dmlinger (Nov 23, 2021)

MikeNeal said:


> i run a .01" stepover. all it needs is a light scuff before glue.
> 
> i then use the machine to flatten the neck blank, and then i cut some index holes. that way i can flip the blank after doing the truss rod slot, if i want to carve the neck profile.



Thanks! I can wrap my head around that process!


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## MikeNeal (Nov 28, 2021)

got the fretwork and finish done on this one










specs are:

Ash body w/ Bocote racing stripes
Bocote top
Ebony neck
Palemoon Ebony fretboard
Bocote headstock

some group shots










just waiting on pickups and some hardware to show up, and gotta do the control cavity covers next week


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## MikeNeal (Dec 11, 2021)

did a prototype for a 7 string today. so far everything looks really good










book matched this olivewood for a build for my good buddy. this wood was a shelf in his old apartment.






going to be building two 7 and two 6 strings over the next few months to really perfect this shape


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## MikeNeal (Dec 19, 2021)

update time

finished teh protoype for 7 string






everything fits really nicely - so i'm happy.

just started prepping woods and gluing tops together

spalted maple w/ purpleheart body





olivewood top w/walnut body





Really thick black limba top. this build will have a wenge body, and african blackwood fretboard


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## MikeNeal (Jan 3, 2022)

Big holiday vacation update

Started gluing tops and bodies for these next 4 guitars - they are going to be rebuilds of the guitars i built for my dad and my friends

wenge body w/limba top










olive wood top w/ walnut body






claro walnut top that will have a mahogany body






spalted flamed maple top w/ purpleheart body










then i gave the cnc machine a workout and cut the olivewood and limba guitar bodys


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## dmlinger (Jan 4, 2022)

You've been busy!! How is the weight on that wenge body?

Please take pictures when you get around to building the necks! I'm still working on churning out a scarf jointed headstock neck soon and your builds always inspire me to go out into the garage to work.


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## MikeNeal (Jan 4, 2022)

dmlinger said:


> You've been busy!! How is the weight on that wenge body?
> 
> Please take pictures when you get around to building the necks! I'm still working on churning out a scarf jointed headstock neck soon and your builds always inspire me to go out into the garage to work.



the body is just a smidge heavier then the walnut one. I intentionally did a really thick limba top to cut down the weight of the wenge 

going to start some necks this weekend most likely. So I’ll post up some pics for sure


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## dmlinger (Jan 4, 2022)

Love the bodies - you've got a great design. I hope you take this as a compliment...the upper horn is reminiscent of a Dunable Yeti, which is a great shape IMO.


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## MikeNeal (Jan 9, 2022)

cut the spalted maple/purpleheart body today


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## MikeNeal (Feb 12, 2022)

tiny update

built the neck blank for the purpleheart guitar






pau ferro/ flamed purpleheart. maple veneer


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## MikeNeal (Apr 5, 2022)

photodump. got to put a full 8 hours in today

started putting some necks together


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## Lemonbaby (Apr 8, 2022)

Really nice work! Dig the body and headstock shape.


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## dmlinger (Apr 8, 2022)

When you mill the profile, do you carve a "t" into the spoil board and line the nut/center line up with that and use those coordinates as your origin? And when you flip it for the truss rod channel, do you have a fixture you use to raise the neck off the bed so the scarf joint isn't in the way, or do you and the headstock over the edge of your bed? 

That's how I've been able to think through my scarf joint two-sided operation, but still looking for advice...


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## MikeNeal (Apr 10, 2022)

dmlinger said:


> When you mill the profile, do you carve a "t" into the spoil board and line the nut/center line up with that and use those coordinates as your origin? And when you flip it for the truss rod channel, do you have a fixture you use to raise the neck off the bed so the scarf joint isn't in the way, or do you and the headstock over the edge of your bed?
> 
> That's how I've been able to think through my scarf joint two-sided operation, but still looking for advice...


I have a big spacer that I made to lift the neck off the spoil board. I cut the trussrod slot, and the outside contour of the neck. after that's done I drill 1/4" alignment holes that correspond with the waste board and use dowels to line up the neck if I'm going to carve the profile.


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## dmlinger (Apr 11, 2022)

MikeNeal said:


> I have a big spacer that I made to lift the neck off the spoil board. I cut the trussrod slot, and the outside contour of the neck. after that's done I drill 1/4" alignment holes that correspond with the waste board and use dowels to line up the neck if I'm going to carve the profile.


Thanks for the reply! That's actually the same method I've got planned out.


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## youngthrasher9 (Apr 11, 2022)

I don’t know you but I feel like your life motto is “when life gives you lemons, sell them and buy clamps instead” I respect that.


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## MikeNeal (Apr 11, 2022)

youngthrasher9 said:


> I don’t know you but I feel like your life motto is “when life gives you lemons, sell them and buy clamps instead” I respect that.


can never have enough clamps


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## MikeNeal (Apr 23, 2022)

new update

built the one neck














Turning out really nice.


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## JimF (Apr 26, 2022)

Stunning! Do you ever sell the necks/bodies?


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## MikeNeal (Apr 26, 2022)

JimF said:


> Stunning! Do you ever sell the necks/bodies?



Nope, will sell whole guitars one day though


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## JimF (Apr 27, 2022)

Good man! Your work looks super clean and I love your headstock design.


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## MikeNeal (Jul 10, 2022)

got a rare trip to the shop during car season today.

Finished the body contours, and rough carved the katalox neck


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## dmlinger (Jul 17, 2022)

Had to come back to this thread to check these out. Love the work, as always!


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## MikeNeal (Jul 18, 2022)

dmlinger said:


> Had to come back to this thread to check these out. Love the work, as always!


thanks so much!


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## MikeNeal (Oct 30, 2022)

so with car season winding down, guitar season is picking back up

got side dots, and the frets in, and the bulk sanding, and made sure the neck and everything was straight.















next up is fretwork, finish sanding


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## MikeNeal (Nov 5, 2022)

did finish sanding, fretwork, and applied the finish oil. Then I got the tuners installed, and strung up the guitar. plays very well


















I'm not a huge fan of how the top got worn through while sanding. Need to use thicker tops for this body style


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## BlackMastodon (Nov 10, 2022)

I actually like how the top blends into the body wood for the forearm contour, it's really unique and looks natural! At first glance I thought it was like sapwood vs. heartwood from the top. I think it turned out great!


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## JimF (Nov 10, 2022)

To be honest that's exactly what I thought it was!


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## Neon_Knight_ (Nov 13, 2022)

BlackMastodon said:


> I actually like how the top blends into the body wood for the forearm contour, it's really unique and looks natural! At first glance I thought it was like sapwood vs. heartwood from the top. I think it turned out great!


The blend on the contour is certainly nicer than the abrupt line that some Ibanez RGs have (including some J. Customs).


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## BlackMastodon (Nov 14, 2022)

100% agree. I find those "blends" to be a little on the tacky side in the best case scenarios, and a huge blemish against a guitar's overall appearance in the worst. Yours works exceptionally well, I think in part because you can see the body wood near the neck on the inners carves of the horns.


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## MikeNeal (Nov 20, 2022)

Thanks guys. I’m really happy with this body style, hopefully I can get these two wired up soon, and the neck done on the third one by Christmas.


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## MikeNeal (Dec 6, 2022)

Got the neck cut, fretboard glued, and the neck fit to the body on the first 7


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## Neon_Knight_ (Dec 6, 2022)

What type of wood is the neck...purple heart and...?


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## MikeNeal (Dec 6, 2022)

Neon_Knight_ said:


> What type of wood is the neck...purple heart and...?


pau ferro


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