# Second build...



## scherzo1928

So umm, I don't really want to get ahead of myself, But (IMO), my first build is coming out quite nice, and is ALMOAST finished. Well, in a few weeks it will be ready.


Just placed my order for all the hardware. While I started adding stuff to my cart(on the guitar center website), I got an email from guitar center with a $50 discount!!

Specs:

6 SIX 6 strings
neckthrough, 5 pc laminate. (maybe 3 not too sure yet) something involving maple, mahogany and tzalam.
Scale: 27.5"
Fretboard: Macassar Ebony
Body: Mahogany
Bridge: Hipshot .125
Tuners: Hipshot grip things
Nut: graphtech tusq (white)
Bridge P.U. : Crunchlab
Neck P.U. : Liquifire Both in black/creme zebra
Controls: 1 Volume (P-P), 1 Toggle switch (NO TONE)

edit: all hardware is gold. 



I know that you are thinking "But why make another neck-through, there's no point... particularly if it doesnt have a top.". This is where you are wrong...






Very wrong......












I also bought some wood...









Some redwood...






Salvaged...








Sinker Redwood...











That's all for now.


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## sk3ks1s

That looks like a Van Gogh painting.
Where did you get redwood??? It looks like it predates trees themselves.


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## CooleyJr

Holy shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have wood for your wood...... Hurry up and do something with it!


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## ev1ltwin

....fuck, dude


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## Enselmis

*Speechless*


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## ralphy1976

actually, that piece of wood is so nice i would not cut it or use it for a guitar, but i would hang it on a wall to marvel at it everyday, and i am dead serious too!!!!


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## Snout

Holy crap.

any idea's where I could get wood like that in the UK? 
*lust*

+1 for hanging it on the wall.


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## dudeskin

and the good news is that he is making it for me, we been working on it for a while. mainly his specs as i left it to him to make another awesome axe.
and best part is the price.



































I WISH!!!


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## scherzo1928

ralphy1976 said:


> actually, that piece of wood is so nice i would not cut it or use it for a guitar, but i would hang it on a wall to marvel at it everyday, and i am dead serious too!!!!


 
I indeed thought of buying 2, and hanging one on a wall. I was also perfectly serious. Unfortunately it's hard enough to explain one set of wood to customs.

Really can't wait to get it.


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## Goatchrist

You just wanted to make us jealous!!! Succesfully!


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## BlackMastodon

Mercy!


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## CD1221

unbelievably cool slab of treestuff there!


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## Ruins

nice plan! looking forward to see how you'll make it happen.


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## vansinn

Kind of makes it easy making up one's mind about where to go: _..I've been to Hollywood, I've been to Redwood.._..
Beatyful species. So, another build story leaving supper cold till after checking the next episode of.. 
I should never have signed up in here. I'm hungry..


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## technomancer

Very nice, not sure how I missed this thread earlier


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## scherzo1928

technomancer said:


> Very nice, not sure how I missed this thread earlier


hope this helped your GAS


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## JamesM

Bump for sinker redwood...


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## adrock

holy fuck. how did I miss this. I hate you.


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## BigPhi84

This reminds me of the Meshuggah "Nothing" album cover.


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## Rojne

Send me them woods!!!!


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## scherzo1928

The Armada said:


> Bump for sinker redwood...


I might be getting some news on it today!



BigPhi84 said:


> This reminds me of the Meshuggah "Nothing" album cover.


haha, I see it now.



Rojne said:


> Send me them woods!!!!


Never!


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## Rojne

I actually get my hands on bubinga and other pretty nice woods in this damned country..






But nothing as nice as that redwood!


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## scherzo1928

Rojne said:


> I actually get my hands on bubinga and other pretty nice woods in this damned country..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But nothing as nice as that redwood!


Oregon wild wood will ship anywhere it seems. (except Mexico ffs). So you could order one of those nice ebony or walnut tops they have...


like this? maybe?


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## Kavnar

That wood is fucking magnificent!


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## scherzo1928

Wooot!! I got mah boards today
All the hardware and stuff will have to wait till who knows when tho.


PICS!





It's surprisingly light. Disturbingly light actually.






already see some flame!!!











The figure is ridiculous...





Only problem is a hairline fracture that starts on both holes, and go to the edge of the board:





I've already used a bit of epoxy to take care of that tho.


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## adrock

want


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## Customisbetter

I literally yelled at my monitor when i saw the first pic. Holy shit.


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## JamesM

Fucking SICK.


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## scherzo1928

I feel like humping it, but I fear in soviet russia sinker redwood hump you.

And I'm surprised at how unbelievably light this thing is. Particularly after working with some cocobolo, rosewood and ebony. Those 2 boards together weight about half of the ebony board I'll use.


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## CD1221

that looks un-farking-believable... 

play that thing on stage and people will be undressing themselves at your feet.



so.... what are you doing with it? body shape?


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## Prydogga

The grain looks like their is a watermark of a mountain over it! It looks so good!


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## airpanos

I am here to witness an upcoming luthier.
Rock on.


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## scherzo1928

CD1221 said:


> play that thing on stage and people will be undressing themselves at your feet.
> 
> so.... what are you doing with it? body shape?


 
That's what I'm going for.

Well, I keep wishing schecter brought back the 00 shape. Fortunately I still have time to decide on almoast everything. I might even make it a bolt-on... who knows.



Prydogga said:


> The grain looks like their is a watermark of a mountain over it! It looks so good!


I had not seen that. I had also not thought of the meshuggah cover. It seems to look like a ton of things. It has an unbelievably evil face on the top, but apparently where I see that evil face my mom sees Jesus .



airpanos said:


> I am here to witness an upcoming luthier.
> Rock on.


 
Pfft. You arent doing too bad yourself. Particularly doing everything we think wont work, and making it work.


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## scherzo1928

Many Many many things arrived today!!


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## JamesM

Sickkkk.


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## cerfew

This is a guy who has a lot of money... lol.


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## JamesM

Tags.


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## darren

Wow... gorgeous piece of wood!


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## scherzo1928

darren said:


> Wow... gorgeous piece of wood!


I wont lie, it was a logistics nightmare getting it. You guys can buy pretty much any wood you want and get it in 3 days.


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## Rusti

Yeah im happy to see you're goin on with another build 
did you already choose the shape?


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## scherzo1928

Rusti said:


> Yeah im happy to see you're goin on with another build
> did you already choose the shape?


 
Not at all, but I thought I'd try the shape I'm going with on the nylon project, just to get an idea of what can be done...






















What do you gusy think?

Or how about we turn this thread into "what guitar body shapes would look great with that sinker redwood top?"


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## BlackMastodon

scherzo1928 said:


> Not at all, but I thought I'd try the shape I'm going with on the nylon project, just to get an idea of what can be done...
> 
> What do you gusy think?
> 
> Or how about we turn this thread into "what guitar body shapes would look great with that sinker redwood top?"


B.C. Rich Warlock


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## Enselmis

I think the guitar should just be a giant rectangle. Then you wouldn't have to trim away any of that glorious wood. Sure it'd be heavy, but totally worth it.


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## CooleyJr

PRS shape?

EDIT: More PRS-ish than that shape shown in those pics.


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## Murdstone

Do a singlecut with the top horn (even though it won't be a horn) touching around frets 15-17. Bottom horn angled outward like a Schecter Riot. 

That could be interesting.


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## Chickenhawk

Customisbetter said:


> I literally yelled at my monitor when i saw the first pic. Holy shit.



I swear we were separated at birth, Ed. I yelled at my laptop. My girlfriend actually woke up and came out to the living room. "Honey, are you ok? You're not having a flashback, right?" Whilst holding a poolstick...


Badass chunk of wood you got there.


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## UnderTheSign

BlackMastodon said:


> B.C. Rich Warlock


Actually... Flat top, with binding, like the old Warlcok II's! Those looked killer and classy at the same time.


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## SirMyghin

scherzo1928 said:


> Not at all, but I thought I'd try the shape I'm going with on the nylon project, just to get an idea of what can be done...



The wood in this orientation prevents it looking like female genetalia


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## scherzo1928

SirMyghin said:


> The wood in this orientation prevents it looking like female genetalia


 


I think I like that orientation a bit better though. It loses a tiny bit of that ridiculous flame, but it gets rid of those voids.

Oh, and I think this time I will go with pickup rings. Well, I guess I need to decide on the body shape... 

And as always, I'm still not sure about going neckthrough. There might be enough flamed maple left over for a nice looking neck, which would end up being a bolt-on or maybe set...  more stuff to decide


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## BlackMastodon

Iceman/Fireman shape?


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## leandroab

RG 

I'm a sucker for the RG and RGA shapes 

It's metal, but still classy.


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## noizfx

Man that really is one of the best figures I've seen...!


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## theo

FIREMAN!!!


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## scherzo1928

super quick (and terrible) photoshop.


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## theo

YEAH! that would look fantastically classy with cold hardware and cream pickups


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## BlackMastodon

I think that would look damn fine! Don't see many customs shaped like that. Deew eeeeeet! Also, the top and bottom horn make it look like mandibles to some kinda of awesome alien. The wood even has little knots that look like eyes. METAL!


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## Elysian

That top looks exactly, and I mean fucking exactly, like a bookmatched redwood top I've got in the shop, have had it since sometime last year or maybe late 09... Customer supplied though, no idea at all where he got it from.


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## scherzo1928

Elysian said:


> That top looks exactly, and I mean fucking exactly, like a bookmatched redwood top I've got in the shop, have had it since sometime last year or maybe late 09... Customer supplied though, no idea at all where he got it from.


 
NICE!!

There was another piece that looked pretty similar left, just looked for it but it's gone.

My guess would be that those pieces were all together before being cut. Like these ones:
















Btw, what shape are you making it?


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## Elysian

No idea yet, it's become part of my personal inventory


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## theo

the world needs more fireman customs!


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## kslespaul

i think a fireman design would look great. 
just dont put any sort of pick guard on it, let that beautiful figure be seen


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## theo

^ This, covering that wood would be a crime!


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## adrock

the fireman looks really good, definitely no pickguard


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## scherzo1928

I guess I'll give the fireman some thought. and yah, I would never use a pickguard on that.

Any other thoughts on shapes?


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## CooleyJr

How about shaping it almost like the Conklin Sidewinder?


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## scherzo1928

OOOH YESSS!! me likey

The flamed maple I ordered for the nylon project should be here tomorrow. I'll see if there is enough left to make a sammich between the mahogany and redwood, and then carve the crap out of it.

Time to make templates!!! hah, and I thought I would be studying for the 2 test I have tomorrow...


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## ryantheyetti

when i saw the first pic of that wood i gasped and almost feel out of my chair (im being totally serious) thank god it rocks back a little or i would be on the ground right now.


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## scherzo1928

Mkay, so I've seen a couple of people asking aboutneck dimensions, neck tapers and that sort of thing. I'm no expert at this, but since I was doing it today for this build, I figured I'd show you the way I do it.

Figure out the string spacing of your bridge, and your nut. the standard for nuts seems to be exactly 7mm. If you cant find the info online or with the manufacturer, just grab a caliper and measure.





Also draw a center line.

Mark the positions of your nut and bridge according to the scale you are using. If you are unsure of where to locate the bridge for propper intonation, use the stewmac fret calculator:
STEWMAC.COM : How do I calculate a fret scale? Free information

Or since the saddles can be adjusted, locate the saddle for the highest string right at the scale length... or a TINY bit forward even. But I'd rather just follow the stew mac calculator.

Anyway. Mark the string spacing at the nut, and at the bridge. Then connect the dots with a straight line. (like they are the strings)





Here I checked the lines passed right under the saddles, and the "string-through" holes on the mounting plate.




They look off here, but it's just perspective. They are perfect.

Then, to find out just how long the actual fretboard will be, I meassured the distance from the nut to the 24th fret (since it will have 24 frets). Did it in 2 ways just to be sure. Aligned my fretboard with the nut, and also meassured with a ruler.





Glad to see they lined up perfectly.





Ok, I then marked another line 5mm away from that last fret. This will be the end of the fingerboard. You can add as much or as little as you want... Just make sure there is enough space for that last fret.

Ok, since the outer strings arent actually on the edge of the fingerboard, I marked 4mm to the sides of the edge of the fingerboard. I also marked the edge of the nut (by placing it in it's place, and just tracing the edge). If you are unsure of how much you should add, grab a caliper, and meassure this distance(AT THE SAME FRET) in a guitar you are comfortable playing.

And once again connected the dots.





That's it.





Now you have a full scale drawing of your fingerboard which you can use to make the neck.

Now that I have this, I'll start making plans for the neck of this guitar, which will be a set neck. I have a ton of flamed maple left from that other build I'm doing, So it's likely to involve a ton of it. It's also going to be laminated... Just need to think of a number of pieces, and widths I like.

Hope this helps anyone.

Also, any ideas for the laminate are welcome.


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## scherzo1928

scherzo1928 said:


> Also, any ideas for the laminate are welcome.


 
Well, turns out I came up with an idea.

Number of pieces is yet to be determined, I think it will be the regular "5" Piece, + a scarfed headstock.















Now, you might ask "Hey scherzo, what do you mean "5" pieces".

















Sorry for all the "trying to create suspense", but I think this Idea deserves it.














You start off with something like this:




It's like a regular 5 piece laminate, but the 3 maple pieces are actually sandwiches.






Once you shape it, it looks like this:




















SO UUUH, yeah, I think I'm going with that.


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## ryantheyetti

maybe im alone and just kinda slow but im not really sure what you are talking about here


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## scherzo1928

ryantheyetti said:


> maybe im alone and just kinda slow but im not really sure what you are talking about here


 
In the first picture, look at the 2 outside strips, and the middle one. They are actually a 3 piece each, but in the other dimension.

Also, glad someone else posted here, was staring to feel


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## ryantheyetti

ok, i think i get it? but no im really confused what the purpose of this is ( not saying its not a cool idea just dont get it)

also that picture cracked me up


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## scherzo1928

ryantheyetti said:


> ok, i think i get it? but no im really confused what the purpose of this is ( not saying its not a cool idea just dont get it)
> 
> also that picture cracked me up


 
I was looking for ways to better use the flamed maple I have left. Most of the others really just seems like a waste of wood.

I want to use as much as I can, and when making a laminate, that involves using it as the "odd" pieces (since there are more odd pieces than evens).

Unfortunately, the flamed maple boards I have are not thick enough to accomodate the neck taper on each side comfortably. The ONLY way to have maple at the sides since it's not thick enough, is to turn it around, but it's also obviously not thick enough for a neck... So laminate it in that direction as well.

I'm making a couple other sketches to figure out how the neck could look like with other configurations. I'll let you guys know.


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## theo

forever alone


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## ryantheyetti

ok i think i understand now, i was confused because i thought there was a reason relating to the actual guitar itself for that way of doing the neck were as its just using the materials you have. Now am i gettin it?


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## scherzo1928

ryantheyetti said:


> ok i think i understand now, i was confused because i thought there was a reason relating to the actual guitar itself for that way of doing the neck were as its just using the materials you have. Now am i gettin it?


 
Yea, Besides it looks insane.

But now that I think of it, I could probably align the grain to naturaly fight the tension of the strings... ok, got a bit more thinking to do.


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## jay133

scherzo1928, i don't think that using "11" piece neck is a good idea. Of course it looks great, but it will be very hard, and it will choke all harmonics that start in the neck and than go to the body. I think every pro luthier will say less pieces in neck = less stable = more sound))


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## scherzo1928

jay133 said:


> scherzo1928, i don't think that using "11" piece neck is a good idea. Of course it looks great, but it will be very hard, and it will choke all harmonics that start in the neck and than go to the body. I think every pro luthier will say less pieces in neck = less stable = more sound))


 
I had not considered this. And I think you make a very good point. I'll give this a bit more thought, but I think that's actually a VERY good point.


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## CooleyJr

Bamboo necks are like.. 25 piece depending on how many strings it has.. and it's pretty resonant.


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## Durero

jay133 said:


> "11" piece neck ... will choke all harmonics that start in the neck and than go to the body. I think every pro luthier will say less pieces in neck = less stable = more sound))



This makes no sense to me at all but I'm happy to be corrected if there is any scientific evidence for this - do you have any?

A neck which is less stiff should have less sustain because the energy of vibrating strings is wasted in moving the neck rather than moving the soundboard (if it's an acoustic guitar) or just continuing to vibrate over the pickups (if it's an electric.)


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## jay133

I just quoted words of one really great and smart russian luthier. Your last guitar looked really great and i wish you success with this project, fireman with beautiful top wins)


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## Durero

CooleyJr said:


> Bamboo necks are like.. 25 piece depending on how many strings it has.. and it's pretty resonant.



 

I have a headless Kubicki Factor bass which has a neck with over 30-piece lamination for increased stiffness.


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## Durero

jay133 said:


> I just quoted words of one really great and smart russian luthier. Your last guitar looked really great and i wish you success with this project, fireman with beautiful top wins)



Ah ok. I will have to have to respectfully disagree with that opinion until further evidence is brought forward. 

Edit: disregard all this as I misunderstood the orientation of the laminations we're talking about.


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## scherzo1928

The part of his comment im considering is that I have woods laminated in 2 directions. And in that way, I can see there being some clashes.

There's still only one way to find out for sure though...

edit: for the record, I dont think I'm going with the fireman shape. I was just entertaining the idea someone had.


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## Durero

^ Oh now I see  
so much for my reading/observation skills.

I was assuming that all the laminations are "vertically" oriented for maximum stiffness against the direction of string tension. 

I would think that your "horizontal" laminations would indeed be less strong & stiff than vertical ones. I've never seen that done before.

@Jay133 this is probably what you meant all along and I completely agree with you now that I realize what we're actually talking about - my apologies


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## ryantheyetti

i was gonna ask if there had been any body shape updates? i kinda hate that body shape though so i hope there is


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## jay133

Again i will quote to the words of russian luthier, but in my interpretation, maybe I understand something wrong. He had worked for some word famous brands, so i have no doubts in his opinion, but anyway his name will tell you nothing). Here is an idea that seems very logical to me: when you play near the first frets, longer part of the string is on the neck so if you want more harmonics in you sound (not necessary you need this) neck should not be too stiff because, just try to imagine it each piece of wood produces its own harmonics and then it meets another piece of wood, that produces this harmonics weaker, now imagine how this for example 5 different pieces interact with each other, and according to physics there must be losses in there interaction. 3 pieces  2 loss zones, 5 pieces  4 loss zones and so on. Some guitars made very well and has very good wood so they still sounds good even with 5 piece necks, but if they had less pieces  the harmonics would be richer and guitar would be louder by itself. Ive played guitar of this luthier ones, and it was the loudest and brightest guitar Ive ever played. But we should not forget another side of this coin  its getting harder to manage with this sound, and not everyone likes it. Anyway its just my interpretation of this question, so you can not listen to me at all


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## helferlain

scherzo1928 said:


> T...
> There's still only one way to find out for sure though...



patiently waiting fort it...


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## CD1221

scherzo1928 said:


> There's still only one way to find out for sure though...




Damn right there is.  Build two of the buggers - one with the lam neck, one without. Make them from the same timbers, same hardware, same pickups, same fretwire, same pots, same output jack, same wire, same coating, same....


you get the idea.


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## sk3ks1s

Dude. Do that redwood proud. Do NOT make a Fireman.
That is all.


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## Durero

jay133 said:


> Again i will quote to the words of russian luthier, but in my interpretation, maybe I understand something wrong. He had worked for some word famous brands, so i have no doubts in his opinion, but anyway his name will tell you nothing). Here is an idea that seems very logical to me: when you play near the first frets, longer part of the string is on the neck so if you want more harmonics in you sound (not necessary you need this) neck should not be too stiff because, just try to imagine it each piece of wood produces its own harmonics and then it meets another piece of wood, that produces this harmonics weaker, now imagine how this for example 5 different pieces interact with each other, and according to physics there must be losses in there interaction. 3 pieces  2 loss zones, 5 pieces  4 loss zones and so on. Some guitars made very well and has very good wood so they still sounds good even with 5 piece necks, but if they had less pieces  the harmonics would be richer and guitar would be louder by itself. Ive played guitar of this luthier ones, and it was the loudest and brightest guitar Ive ever played. But we should not forget another side of this coin  its getting harder to manage with this sound, and not everyone likes it. Anyway its just my interpretation of this question, so you can not listen to me at all



I don't buy any of this.

For each piece of wood to produce it's own harmonics it would have to be detached from the other pieces. Glue joints are usually stronger than the wood itself and there are no "loss zones" between pieces.


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## Swyse

The less laminations thing sounds like trying to sell you less work, and justifying it. IMO

If I have to do less, and can convince you it is better, you bet I'm going to tell you it is the best thing I have seen this side of the Mississippi. I don't think anyone will notice a difference in sound. If they say they do, they probably didn't do well in science class or are again trying to sell you something. *Insert two pennies here


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## jay133

I agree, my last post were like speculation. Anyway total result of characteristics of the neck will be average but not the sum. We gluing them, not mixing. It still 5 pieces, but in one system.
According to physics.
Acoustic impedance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The characteristic impedance of a medium, such as air, rock or water is a material property:
Z0=&#961;·c
where
Z0 is the characteristic acoustic impedance ([M·L&#8211;2·T&#8722;1]; N·s/m3 or Pa·s/m)
&#961; is the density of the medium ([M·L&#8722;3]; kg/m3), and
c is the longitudinal wave speed or sound speed ([L·T&#8722;1]; m/s)
But density and stiffness are not necessary depending on each other so i need to find last link)
Maybe someone will help me to confirm or disprove? This question is really interesting to me)


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## helferlain

jay133 said:


> I agree, my last post were like speculation.
> ...
> Maybe someone will help me to confirm or disprove? This question is really interesting to me)



This one was again very speculative. Could you please start your own thread? This has nothing to do with scherzo's build. Any explanation to your questions and thoughts would be offtopic here. And don't trust wikipedia to much...


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## jay133

Ok, sorry, i will not bother you any more. Btw it's not wiki, it's physics, just use any other source if you want. They can wright good things about scientology, but they don't lie about physics))


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## scherzo1928

Mkay, so these are the mahogany blanks for the body. One of them has a knot and a weird ass mark, but I checked that it ended up outside of the guitar... Which is the entire point of making these full scale drawings.






Marked them, and cut them a bit just so I didnt have to route so much. You can imagine I used a hand saw.





Ok, used a caliper to find the lowest spots, to find out how deep I had to route in order to get that face perfectly level.





Routed away.





Did this on only 1 side of each board. Then I turned them upsaide down, meassured again, and routed them both to the exact same depth.





Now the 2 boards have the same thickness, but most importantly, 2 faces are parallel. This will help me get the sides square with the router table, a guide and the huge ass router bit.

After that, I'll be able to glue both boards together.

Laterz


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## scherzo1928

Alrighty, I finally got some courage to work on these boards!





Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago, a guest broke one of the 2 boards...




It was already cracked, but I had taken care of that with epoxy. But he grabbed it very apeishly, and snapped it.

Oh well, I'll manage. Besides, a rock was swiftly administered.

ANYWAY! Change of plans. I'm NOT comfortable routing these boards in order to join them. I've decided I'll glue each side of the top to it's wing, and then do the jointing.

By the way, I'm probably not going to bother with this bit right here.





Since I'll later remove that part anyway for the neck pocket, and neck pickup.

Ok, started out cutting the boards, only to get them to a more decent size. Since they are quite fragile, I placed a thin piece of wood underneath. This way I can avoid breaking it, and it also wont splinter badly on the bottom.











Ok, this part is awesome.





Don't know what it is about the wood, but it darted towards the clamp. Not even the metal part... Come to think of it, maybe it was the other wood underneath? meh

Look at the birdseyes!





At this point, I realized that I was about to waste one of the best parts of the boards... That one in between the MSPaint lines.





So before glueueueueing, I cut that part off as well. Again I placed wood under the redwood, and I used the (unfinished) template to help keep the wood stable while cutting.




etc






And since I had already cut the top, I also had to cut the mahogany blank, so I could properly glue the top to the back...






Note how I kept straight parts, which will be parallel to the face that's yet to be jointed. This should help me get a propper contact point for the clamps when I glue the 2 sides.

1 donkey-power coping saw time!










Me cutting wood. Derp.





And, as you might imagine, after cutting all ze redwood, the wood under the redwood, yesterday's maple, and this 2" block of mahogany, my arm felt like it would explode.





Well, ended up with this:





After a huge dinner, ze boards were cleaned, and glueded.










Done for the day. Still have to do pretty much the same for the other side tomorrow.


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## Durero

Scherzo you make awesome posts! 



scherzo1928 said:


> Ok, this part is awesome.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Don't know what it is about the wood, but it darted towards the clamp. Not even the metal part... Come to think of it, maybe it was the other wood underneath? meh



Maybe static electricity?


----------



## sk3ks1s

... that is all.


----------



## scherzo1928

Durero said:


> Scherzo you make awesome posts!
> 
> 
> 
> Maybe static electricity?


 
My favorite parts of the post were "Derp." and most importantly "glueded". 

Well yeah, but I've cut cocobolo, mahogany, walnut, ebony and rosewood with that method, and it had never happened before. Maybe they all get that charge when I cut the boards, but the redwood is the only one light enough to actually move enought owards the clamp. But it was REALLY going out of it's way to get to the clamps.



sk3ks1s said:


> ... that is all.


----------



## Ruins

looks great so far! and the Arnold Schwarzenegger arm is da WIN!


----------



## scherzo1928

Oh boy oh boy oh boy! I've finally found someone who sells decent looking wood in Mexico! AND, he has some of the best looking ziricote I've ever seen. Seems like there will be a 4th build in the near future, and I'll finally choose the woods I want, instead of trying to conjure something up with what I can find.



Ruins said:


> looks great so far! and the Arnold Schwarzenegger arm is da WIN!


 
And today I cut the other side of the guitar. At least the worst part is over, and now I can focus on crafting a guitar.

Oh wait, I still have to cut the body of the other other guitar...


----------



## AngelVivaldi




----------



## Rusti




----------



## scherzo1928

Yeah, as you can see I'm one furious fapper.


----------



## scherzo1928

same thing for the other side (the one with the broken top)










In order to glue it, I placed some tape on the gap (on top) to prevent the glue from seeping. I started applying preassure downwards with a clamp in each corner, then I placed the big ass blue clamp to apply preassure between the 2 redwood fragments. Then applied the rest of the clamps.






You can kind of see what I mean in this pic.


----------



## CD1221

looking solid. did you swap sawing arms for balance?


----------



## scherzo1928

CD1221 said:


> looking solid. did you swap sawing arms for balance?


 
Nah, plan is to end up like the guy in "lady in the water"...






Back on the build, I think I've finally decided on all the specs.
It shall be a set neck, the neck will be 5 piece flamey maple and mahogany... with a tenon way into the pickup cavity.

Mkay, got both sides out of the clamps, ended up looking well.




You can see the buttload of extra glue on the right one.

Before I started passing the router on anything, I wanted to make some tests on scrap, to make sure all the woods machine well... But first I needed some straight guides so...

Say hello to my little extruded aluminum!




Small ones are the old ones.

Just taped them to a piece of MDF




And passed it through the router. It came out SO well, it cut my hand when runing it through the edge of the MDF guide. got a pic of that but it looks very lame.

Anywho, I had also glued some scrap redwood on some scrap mahogany...





I was pretty pleased after passing it through the router table.





Machined pretty nicely taking small passes.





Also tested some flamed maple:





Which turned out better than I expected, particularly going against the grain.





And finally a DAR forza 4





All came out good.

Time for the big ones. Marked a line where I wanted to join both "wings" Taped down my new guide on that line...





Passed through the router table...





And enjoyed the results.















All for now, have fun.


----------



## Erick Kroenen

scherzo where did u get ur skills?? i envy u!!


----------



## scherzo1928

dirgesong said:


> scherzo where did u get ur skills?? i envy u!!


 
Nah, I think my posts are a bit misleading. For example, I didnt actually route a DAR forza 4 amp.


----------



## ev1ltwin

scherzo1928 said:


> Nah, I think my posts are a bit misleading. For example, I didnt actually route a DAR fora 4 amp.



winning the internet one post at a time


----------



## idunno

sweet moves.


----------



## noizfx

and that should be a DAR FBM instead


----------



## scherzo1928

woo, update.

Glued the body a couple of days ago. I was paranoid about this part, so I got very anal about the procedure.

First I cut a piece of MDF to have a flat surface where I could glue the 2 sides. 




And I added some aluminum profiles as a base, so the MDF was high enough that I could use it to clamp... more on that in a bit.

Then I made a test to see how many clamps I could fit, and where each one should go.





Laid everything down in it's place, so I didnt have to figure out which clamp was next while the glue was drying.




I also put a layer of waxed paper on top of the MDF... no pic of that. 

And then I glued it.




I applied downwards preassure with the extra clamps to keep it perfectly straight. I had no problems aligning the top to keep it bookmatched this way.

Took it out of the clamps today, and it looks nice.





I also started to work on the shape of the guitar. Since I was not completely convinced about using the same shape on the 2 builds...

Only changed it a little bit really, and it still needs some refining (particularly the bottom), since this was just a rough sketch, but I'm liking it.





It's like a PRS had an orgy with a parker fly and a 007





Let me know what you think of the new shape!


----------



## Erick Kroenen

Sorry i dont feel it... change there's a lot of good shapes out there.....

i made this one from a LGM leviathan + a razar design.. = my design.... jejeje i hope al least you dont hate this


----------



## ibanezRG1527

completely forgot about the leviathan!!!! that would be an awesome shape


----------



## iRaiseTheDead

damn. is all I can say.


----------



## rasguitars

I see similar pieces of redwood but it's always way too pricey.That's an exceptional piece I must say.Should look amazing!


----------



## BlackMastodon

As much as I love dirgsong's shape, and I would LOVE to have one of those, I like Scherzo's redesign. Can't say I'm a big fan of the squared of horns though. Maybe if they were angled like a Parker Fly I would be more into it, but it's your build, just glad to see it coming together.


----------



## Erick Kroenen

scherzo has the final decision hahaha!


----------



## Murdstone

Do something interesting with the input jack, don't just slap it on the side and call it a day. 

Also if you're leaving that body shape, put some sharp contours into it to make it look different than everything else shaped almost that way.


----------



## LetsMosey

Murdstone said:


> Do something interesting with the input jack, don't just slap it on the side and call it a day.
> 
> Also if you're leaving that body shape, put some sharp contours into it to make it look different than everything else shaped almost that way.



+1. I've always loved the input jacks on the Ibanez Jems and S-series, but that's just my preference.


----------



## adrock

scherzo1928 said:


>




WU-TANG FOREVER?!?!?!?!


----------



## scherzo1928

It's that wonderful time of the year.














Broke 2 saws... had to finish with a dull one.






Gave the edges a light sanding.










I've got a lot of shit going on now that I'm back in school, but I'll try to keep sanding it down to almoast it's final size over the next few days. Then on the weekend, I'll finish up the template, and pass it through the router table... I only plan to take off like .5mm though.

Oh, and I've started with the neck.





Sorry if I wasnt very entertaining with this post, im really really tired.


----------



## JamesM

I owe you my first born.


----------



## scherzo1928

Time for an update.

First of all:






OH YEAH!!

Ok, I've been sanding the body, trying to get close to the final shape before passing it through the router table. I'm using the robosander things for the drill press, and I must say I'm in love with it.





Pretty close, BUT it will have to wait a bit.





NOW, you might remember the neck looked something like this:





I thought something along the lines of... "Fuck it"...

I then grabbed some clamps and a handsaw...





And sawed the center maple strip down the middle.




This piece was only 9mm thick to begin with, and the saw takes off about 3mm, so you can imagine I had very little room for fuck ups.

I know I resumed it to only 2 or 3 pics, but this took me a LONG time.




At least I'm getting some massive monster mammoth forearms.

Anywho, I also cut a new mahogany strip.





Lveveleleld all the pieces










Passed them all through the router table, using one of the mahogany strips as a template.





and ended up with something like this:






Then came glue up. My dad helped me out with this since there are 7 pieces, and I wanted it to be fast.
Each applied and spread the glue on one strip at a time, and it worked out great.




In case you care, we did something like:
Glue 6 to 7. Glue 1 to 2. glue 5 to 6. Glue 3 to 2. gLue middle to 5. GLue them all together... Very interesting, but not as much as my Bubba Gump Shrimp shirt... or my alien hands.

AAAAAND, glued them.





need moar clamps.

Dont think I'll be able to get much work done during the week, but I'll try to start working on a headstock design. 

all for now.


----------



## theo

Ibanez headstock


----------



## Durero

scherzo1928 said:


> Ok, I've been sanding the body, trying to get close to the final shape before passing it through the router table. I'm using the robosander things for the drill press, and I must say I'm in love with it.



Hey! What on earth is a tool that's not made from aluminum extrusion doing in this thread?!?!

Who are you and what did you do with our aluminum-extrusion-ninja Scherzo? 




(Obviously I'm still in awe of your McGiver skills with aluminum)


----------



## scherzo1928

Durero said:


> Hey! What on earth is a tool that's not made from aluminum extrusion doing in this thread?!?!
> 
> Who are you and what did you do with our aluminum-extrusion-ninja Scherzo?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (Obviously I'm still in awe of your McGiver skills with aluminum)


 
maybe you didnt notce, but I used aluminum even to saw the maple down the middle.





6 pieces of it in fact.

And then Used another 2 to glue them all together.





Trust me, my lust for extruded aluminum remains intact.


----------



## CD1221

I don't think there are enough laminations in that neck.........




solid work mate. especially halving that maple piece.


----------



## jayarpeggios

scherzo1928 said:


>



scherzo you are insane hand sawing those!.. AND planing with a router?! That 7 piece neck is amazing tho! I was going to do my next guitar (7 string prototype) as a 5 piece but this really really makes me want to do more laminates! Anyways can't wait to see this finished


----------



## GuitaristOfHell

Looking good so far.


----------



## adrock

whoo!


----------



## scherzo1928

CD1221 said:


> I don't think there are enough laminations in that neck.........
> 
> 
> 
> 
> solid work mate. especially halving that maple piece.


 
ty, I waanted something a bit different for this axe. 7 pieces seems like a good compromise to the 11 I had thought of.



jayarpeggios said:


> scherzo you are insane hand sawing those!.. AND planing with a router?! That 7 piece neck is amazing tho! I was going to do my next guitar (7 string prototype) as a 5 piece but this really really makes me want to do more laminates! Anyways can't wait to see this finished


 
a) I just dont have the tools, so yeah, everything uses the same 1 donkey-power engine. Though lately I feel like I'm developing close to 1.4 or 1.5ish donkey-powers.

b) you can pretty much do ANYTHING with a router. If you dont believe me, you probably didnt see my first (and only) build.

c) I think 5 is perfect. The problem is, I want to use my flamed maple on everything, BUT it's not thick enough, so more laminations need to happen.

d)same


----------



## SirMyghin

Looking good dude, I see you went for the not kooch figure pattern.


----------



## BlackMastodon

SirMyghin said:


> Looking good dude, I see you went for the not kooch figure pattern.



Looking great man. Mad props for using a hand saw for everything, ever since I started my build I've gained a new found love for my jigsaw.


----------



## IamSatai

Amazing work, can't wait to see the end product. Your build has really re-inspired me to start one of my own, though I will need to scrape together quite a but of funds as I have no tools whatsoever.


----------



## Erick Kroenen

Chingonnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## scherzo1928

Had a very busy week, but I managed to get some work done.

Took the neck off the clamps.





Had to clean it up a lot, and then passed it through the routing rig. many dusts were made...





Ended up with this:










While I was at it, removed some wood (2-2.5mm) from the back of the fingerboard.





And while I was pretty happy with the result (very few tool marks), the dust storm was epic!





But yeah, time to work on the body.





Started by leveling it, and removing that nasty glue thing. But first I made some tests on scrap.

Took this:





A very light routing and sanding later left me with this:





Good enough. Time for the real one.





And after a bit of sanding...










Mkay, with the body all leveled, I routed the shit out of it.




















And I think that's it.


----------



## CD1221

Awesome paving! Love the blue tiles. Can you get that lump of tree refuse out of the way and give some clearer shots?







kidding..... 


this is coming along nicely.


----------



## Erick Kroenen

dude really cool axe you are gonna get!!!!!


----------



## adrock

I can't wait to see that top with a finish, that figuring is awesome. 

what kind of router bit are you using for your "planing" jig?


----------



## scherzo1928

adrock said:


> I can't wait to see that top with a finish, that figuring is awesome.
> 
> what kind of router bit are you using for your "planing" jig?


 
I know! after I planed it, I wiped it down with a bit of acetone and holy fuck, the color is pretty damn hot.

About the bit, I'll post a pic later, but it's a straight bit.


----------



## scherzo1928

Mkay, this is the bit:






Already got a new one waiting it's turn.

AND, while I'm at it...


It was time to "plane" down the headstock top.

You know what that means...










Extra caution meassures.





Results:





Also routed the sides of the headstock, in order to glue "ears".




 Looks dumb, but it got the job done well enough... No pics of that though.

aaand that's it for the week.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Goddamnit I want that router jig.


----------



## Dead Undead

Swyse said:


> The less laminations thing sounds like trying to sell you less work, and justifying it. IMO
> 
> If I have to do less, and can convince you it is better, you bet I'm going to tell you it is the best thing I have seen this side of the Mississippi. I don't think anyone will notice a difference in sound. If they say they do, they probably didn't do well in science class or are again trying to sell you something. *Insert two pennies here



In Soviet Russia, least = best.

I love the way this build is going. You, sir, have SKILLZ. This makes me really want to start my own build.
SS.org is bad about that. Every time I come on here I get major GAS or a desire to build a guitar/amp/pedal/etc.
That redwood top is unbelievable!


----------



## scherzo1928

Dead Undead said:


> SS.org is bad about that. Every time I come on here I get major GAS or a desire to build a guitar/amp/pedal/etc.


 
Trust me, this part will NOT change. I actually find it gets worse.


----------



## JamesM

Looks goooood.


----------



## Pete27

"It's like a PRS had an orgy with a parker fly and a 007"
lulz


----------



## adrock

scherzo1928 said:


> Trust me, this part will NOT change. *I actually find it gets worse.*


so true 

and how do you like using the straight bit? i have a brand new 1 1/4" bowl and tray cutting bit, like this, that i'll be using. anxious to see how it does when planing.


----------



## scherzo1928

adrock said:


> so true
> 
> and how do you like using the straight bit? i have a brand new 1 1/4" bowl and tray cutting bit, like this, that i'll be using. anxious to see how it does when planing.



OH SHIET. I need a bit like that one for the chambering on my other axe... Thanks for that link.

My guess is it will work perfectly for planing, you could use a cheaper one for planing, and save that one for stuff like chambering, but it will probably get the work done quite well.

My only advice is to route with the grain, it leaves WAY less tool marks. So either build a rig big enough to fit your guitar in the direction you want to route, or learn to route sideways... which is what I did on the ebony board, which came out fantastic. I think I-ll be routing like that from now on.


----------



## scherzo1928

Special post.

Since I get some questions about the aluminum rigs every now and then. I figured I would make a post about it.

I buy my aluminum from this guys:
Parker - IPS/ALUMINUM EXTRUSION

I found a parker store somewhat near me, took a drive, and bought a bunch of stuff... Just google parker store or something. Or just search for extruded aluminum, there are a ton of brands with a ton of designs and different shapes.

Again, you can do pretty much anything with the profiles. This are the pieces I used on the "super jig" sometimes known as "super rig" or wtf man:




Yes, my camera's case is pink.

These angles keep everything in place very afectively. No vibrations or anything.





But I also use these plates and bolts when I need to use the space that would have been used by the angles.

















And that's it. With a little ingenuity the rig went from this:





To this:





To this:





To the super awesome wtf dude?





Some extra notes. 

While you can do pretty much anything with them, it takes a bit of time to set up for each application. In this sense, nothing beats having the proper tool for the job. For instance I would really like a thickness sander to use instead of the jig in some cases.

Having said that, it's always fun to come up with new things to do with the profiles.

There. Hope this helps anyone.


----------



## BlackMastodon

Just found out I have one of these stores pretty close to my house.


----------



## adrock

yeah, i gotta thank mr. scherzo over here. i wouldn't have found this AMAZING company without him. seriously, the people in the stores are incredibly friendly, and the product is great from what i've seen. i'm about to make an order as soon as i get some funds.

and thanks for the "planing" tips, i'll definitely keep them in mind


----------



## scherzo1928

adrock said:


> yeah, i gotta thank mr. scherzo over here. i wouldn't have found this AMAZING company without him. seriously, the people in the stores are incredibly friendly, and the product is great from what i've seen. i'm about to make an order as soon as i get some funds.
> 
> and thanks for the "planing" tips, i'll definitely keep them in mind


 
They really are awesome and super friendly. Last time I went in, they gave me a double profile piece for free, since it was scrap to them.


----------



## Erick Kroenen

scherzo ... every time i check ur progress u r getting better and better..

congratss!!!


----------



## Randomist

The robotics and control engineering lab at uni I've spent the last year of my life in uses that stuff a lot. Anything from shelves to 3m testing rigs. Really quite useful, and the fittings that you can get for it make it pretty versatile.

The build looks great, not so much a fan of the flat horns, but thats entirely subjective, nice work.


----------



## Jontain

Wow those jigs look really useful man, thanks for teh helpful tips!


----------



## scherzo1928

adrock said:


> I can't wait to see that top with a finish, that figuring is awesome.
> 
> what kind of router bit are you using for your "planing" jig?


 
naptha


----------



## adrock




----------



## CD1221

That is mighty fine. Awesome treestuffs you have there.












oh, btw: you suck! I am just getting into playing mine and this thread is making me want to start another build...


----------



## scherzo1928

Wooo, update, woohooo

Between this build and school I've been extreeeemely busy, but both things are looking good. So, this post will be to catch the thread back up with the actual build.

First, it was time to try and get creative with a pen, and draw a headstock...





I suck at it

Maybe something like this:





I mainly wanted all strings to keep straight after the nut, and not have them bent at odd angles.

AND, this are the redwood Offcuts I had left.





Next up, Figure out a way to use those offcuts.





I didnt want those knot... hole... things to end up in the headstock, and there was barely any wood left for the headstock to fit... So, time to make some cuts.





The headstock will have a thin layer of maple beneath the redwood, this will also help me joint the redwood properly.





Glued the redwood to the maple... No pics of that, but it came out like this:



.

In the meantime, I had also bought some bits and stuff.





Had to try that huge ass router bit, so I used it to join the headstock plates.





Cuts like butter.





I then passed it through the leveling jig...





Fothermocking tearout!!
So I had to plane them some more, and then pass them through the router table again. But in the end it came out well.





And with a bit of naphta it looks like this:





Or this with a flash:










I AM EXCITE





Next up, took care of the fingerboard. Started by cutting off some of the extra wood.










Then passed it through the router table, and Boy oh boy was I glad to have a fresh router bit for it.










Continued in the next post... way too many pics...


----------



## scherzo1928

Came out like ziz:





Next up, route the truss rod thingo.





Meassured like 10 times.





Passed it through the table like ziz:





Oh, Drw a line on where you want to stop, and also a line on the table which tells you where the bit is... when they line up, STOP.





Dont forget the scherzodesign aluminum handles so that if something goes wrong, you can still count to 10 with your fingers.





woo





Test.





Still made one last pass to take off about .01mm... no pics of that though.

Next up, cut, route and glue ears for the headstock.















And that's it. I'll try and find some free time during the next days to level the headstock front and back, and glue the headplate.

Hope someone finds this useful or somefink.


----------



## CD1221

I am disappointed by the quantity of aluminium extrusion in those pics.


the timerstuffs are looking sweet though


----------



## Thrashmanzac

hurry up and finish your guitar!


----------



## Floody_85

Looking sweet man.


----------



## scherzo1928

Time for another update. I couldnt get as much work done during the week as I wanted, but oh well. Also, this will not be a post for the aluminum haters.

Ears came out great.





Passed it through the super rig and flattened both faces.










Then got the headstock caps to a proper thickness.





Used some nails to glue the cap to the headstock. Just to keep it exactly aligned, and in place... Particularly since there was so little room for error with the redwood.





ALso placed some tape on the truss rod chanel, to avoid getting glue in there.





CLAMPS!




Actually, I still added at least 4 more clamps after this pic.

Came out like ziz:





Now, and I really liked this part, This time the fingerboard wont be "resting" over part of the headstock cap. Mainly because I dont feel like the redwood is hard enough to place right under the nut. This time the fingerboard will start right where the cap ends... So I need to make take care of that.

Rescued the control cavity plate template I used on the last build, and used it's straight face to cut the headstock plate.





And passed the router using a bit with the ball bearing on top... Worked like a charm!




Ah, forgot to mention. Since It was important to keep the top of the neck (where the fingerboard will be glued) Just as level as it was, I made sure a .001 gauge fit between the bit and the wood. Also worked like a charm.

Then I cut the shape of the headstock.










And used as much double tape as I could to the template...




No wonder this is the 3rd roll so far... just in this build.






And that means it's router table time!




Simply using it gets me nervous enough... But holding stuff at an angle just makes me want to get over with and drink a gigantic beer.

First pass...





And after a little while:










AAAAND that's it for today. I was hoping I could cut the neck taper today, but it was not to be. I either cut it tomorrow, next saturday, or in another week, since it looks like I'm going to be completely swamped.

OOH, almoast forgot. I bought a set of ghost saddles and a preamp for this axe! and a stereo cable to mess around with when this build is done!

Later and thanks for reading.


----------



## Ruins

turning out really sweet! 
i learned from you a trick or two what templates and fixture from the milling machine concerns. 
this aluminum profiles are just awesome idea simple and flexible in every way.


----------



## Zei

That headstock... mmm...

You need to finish this, I swear. It looks magnificent.


----------



## CD1221

Did I read that right, you thicknessed the headstock plates using the router jig? most impressive.

Awesome stuff here mate, as always.


----------



## scherzo1928

Ruins said:


> turning out really sweet!
> i learned from you a trick or two what templates and fixture from the milling machine concerns.
> this aluminum profiles are just awesome idea simple and flexible in every way.


 
Thanks man, means a lot. How is the paint on the carved guitar coming along?



Zei said:


> That headstock... mmm...
> 
> You need to finish this, I swear. It looks magnificent.


 
Glad you like the headstock. I feel it's a bit on the small side of things, but it works well with the angle of the strings.



CD1221 said:


> Did I read that right, you thicknessed the headstock plates using the router jig? most impressive.
> 
> Awesome stuff here mate, as always.


 
Yep. Both plates ended up at 3mm together. And the redwood will still be sanded down quite a bit now that it's glued to the headstock.

Tiny update... but a very imprtant one. I ended up finding some free time today... ok it's late it was yesterday... and routed the neck taper thingo.

Started out like this:




Used the fingerboard as a guide for the ball bearing on the router bit.

Made many treestuffs dust...





Done










That was a pretty friggin long ass day, but well worth it.


----------



## Dead Undead

Shveet! Really looking forward to this being finished. That headstock is nice.


----------



## anthonyferguson

Scherzo I wish I shared your confidence with a router. Unfortunately I shit brix whenever I pick the fucker up. 
Really impressed dude, keep us updated!!


----------



## scherzo1928

anthonyferguson said:


> Scherzo I wish I shared your confidence with a router. Unfortunately I shit brix whenever I pick the fucker up.
> Really impressed dude, keep us updated!!


 
I still go through that every time I use the router table. I find myself sweaty and trembling (my hands are always shaky anyways) but just tell myself to keep going. It actually shows in the wood when you make a pass with the router with confidence, and another with doubt... You even get tear off if you arent sure of what you are doing...



Dead Undead said:


> Shveet! Really looking forward to this being finished. That headstock is nice.


 
Then you ight like this little post!

Mkay, I need everyone's help to answer the eternal question...

Pickup rings, or no pickup rings?











Fire away!


----------



## JamesM

Brb... Cleaning up my keyboard...


No rings.


----------



## SD83

The Armada said:


> No rings.


----------



## RubenBernges

Not typical for me at all, but in conjunction with the gold hardware I'd go with pickup rings, especially since your humbuckers are zebra.


----------



## sage

looks classy with no rings


----------



## JamesM

Oh, and, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


----------



## scherzo1928

The Armada said:


> Oh, and, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


 
Hehe, thanks. Kinda sucks to have school till 10 pm, but oh well. 

Got your pickups yet? what axe are they going into?


----------



## JamesM

I have the Air Norton, but not the Holy Diver yet. Ordered through Axe Palace, wait will have been the estimated two weeks Thursday. Going into the 550! If I decide to keep my Loomis, BKPs will be ordered for that as well soon.


----------



## theo

I'm going with rear loaded no rings here.looking fantastic so far! happy birthday too!


----------



## vices like vipers

theo said:


> I'm going with rear loaded no rings here.looking fantastic so far! happy birthday too!


 
^^^ This!


----------



## BlackMastodon

I'm not too partial to cream coloured rings, but I think it will look good no matter what. You already did no rings but they always look good so I guess I like no rings a bit more. Happy birthday dude!
Edit: Or did you do no rings...Shit I don't remember, the wooden rings idea is a good one!


----------



## Floody_85

Id go with rings but make some wooden ones. They look classy as fuck! Theyre piss easy to make too


----------



## CD1221

I normally dislike rings, but on that guitar, I think they look really bloody good.

so, count me in for being contrary.


----------



## adrock

i agree with a few others, in that i normally like direct mounted on every guitar, but this wood/hardware combo looks really good with rings.

i'm on the fence about it...


----------



## sk3ks1s

Just had idea.
This is only if you can get some more rosewood similar to your fretboard.
Plane of the tops of the rings a couple mm or so. So that there's no bevel or rounded edges. Then do a sort of rosewood veneer on the tops of the rings. It'd be super easy to do. Just glue it on top of the rings and run it along a bearing bit. Then just round the edges afterward. It would give it kind of a layered look... 
I figured I'd lay that idea on you. It's definitely something you can handle.


----------



## scherzo1928

Ok, I realized I didnt put the ghost saddles on for those pics.











I had been favoring the rings option, but I like it better without rings now that I took the saddles into consideration.

Problem is, I'm sure that if they ever make ghost saddles in their string saver format... like this:




I'll change them right away...

To sum up:


----------



## JamesM

No rings.


----------



## theo

If you were to get/make some lovely darker wooden rings, I would say go that, but if you did that, you'd need some wooden knobs too, gotta match


----------



## SilenceIsACrime

scherzo1928 said:


> I had been favoring the rings option, but I like it better without rings now that I took the saddles into consideration.


 
My sentiments exactly.


----------



## ibanezRG1527

definately no rings


----------



## adrock

scherzo1928 said:


> I had been favoring the rings option, but I like it better without rings now that I took the saddles into consideration.
> 
> Problem is, I'm sure that if they ever make ghost saddles in their string saver format... like this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'll change them right away...
> 
> To sum up:


i was telling james this yesterday, but that is one of the few downfalls of custom guitars. too many options can be a BITCH sometimes. especially when your indecisive. like me. it sucks


----------



## scherzo1928

adrock said:


> i was telling james this yesterday, but that is one of the few downfalls of custom guitars. too many options can be a BITCH sometimes. especially when your indecisive. like me. it sucks


 
so true...

I think It shall be pickup-ring-less


----------



## JamesM

Woo!


----------



## scherzo1928

Yeh, it just seems to work better. But trust me, I'll be asking again the next time I'm at this stage of building a guitar.

Also, Neck is almoast ready to be set. I've started working on a template to route the neck pocket, but I have exams next week... siiiiigh


----------



## adrock

and look at it this way. route it for direct mount, and if you really feel yourself craving those rings at some point, you can always add them on. it's not so easy to fill those holes once they're there though.


----------



## CD1221

so. no update makes CD a sad panda.





WHERE ARE THE PICS !?!?!?!??!???


----------



## vansinn

Definately rings - but make them yourself (like from brass) and have them gold plated to match the other hardware.
I think partly visible pickup routings will spoil the asthetics of this lovely instrument


----------



## scherzo1928

CD1221 said:


> so. no update makes CD a sad panda.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> WHERE ARE THE PICS !?!?!?!??!???


 
Got my last exam today. Expect pics after that.


----------



## Swyse

This most certainly needs a pickguard. 

On a serious note, I definitely for no rings.

Although, it would be chill if you figured out a way to have magnetic rings or something without interfering with pups, strings, or the look of the top. That way you could change them out for other colors quick and easily or just go no rings if you wanted. Whether you go rings or not, I bet it will turn out epic.


----------



## shadscbr

Loooking great Scherzo!! I always enjoy your updates...inspirational and GAS inducing at the same time 

Shad


----------



## scherzo1928

shadscbr said:


> Loooking great Scherzo!! I always enjoy your updates...inspirational and GAS inducing at the same time
> 
> Shad


 
I've seen your guitars, and I really doubt that ANYTHING I can build could EVER give you GAS.


----------



## shadscbr

Thanks, but don't sell yourself short man, with your fixturing skills and ability to work through all the various problems that seem to arise, I think you could build anything that inspires you 

Shad


----------



## scherzo1928

Mkay, so it's time to start setting the neck into the body. 






Since the pickup covers the tenon completely, I only wanted to starighten it's sides to get a good joint... But when I routed the bottom (going against the 7 layers) there was a bit of tearout.  So I had to route the edges at an angle, which makes it look like I'm copying Vik. 




.

Anywho, the pickup will fit perfectly over it, somezing like ziz:





Next up, make a template to set the neck. First draw a center line as always, and align everything.










At this point, I thought I'd improve the access to the upper frets...





So I did some touch ups on the template.





Re aligned the template with the body.





And routed the shizniet out of it.





Now I also need to redo the back carves.. good thing they were only drawn...

But yeah,




Much better.

RIGHT, set neck template incomming.




Before anyone says there is a lack of aluminum in this update, all these MDF bits were starightened with aluminum and ze router.

Used a big ass bit first...





Then the bruno one...





Filed the edges of the neck...





And it fits pretty well.





When I route the neck pocket, I'll use some tape on the inside of the template just to make sure I get a ridiculosly tight fit btw.

And, that's it for now. Hope I didnt forget anything.


----------



## Thrashmanzac

looking super clean and awesome man


----------



## Dead Undead

Coming along well! That's the part that always scared me about building a guitar - routing the neck pocket.


----------



## scherzo1928

Dead Undead said:


> Coming along well! That's the part that always scared me about building a guitar - routing


 
Fixed


----------



## scherzo1928

What's this???





My router and drill bits finally arrived!









From left to right, a fostner bits set, european door router bit, bowl bit (I'll use this one for chambering on the other build(btw, thanks Adam)), straight template bit, and what could be translated to english as the super powerfull.

Now that everything has arrived, I'm hoping to route the neckpocket this weekend.


----------



## adrock

you're welcome buddy! that bit is pretty much made for chambering guitars in my opinion.

what's this "Super Powerful" bit you speak of? does it have special powers?? it's coated in that crazy plastic protective stuff, so it's hard to tell what it is...


----------



## scherzo1928

adrock said:


> you're welcome buddy! that bit is pretty much made for chambering guitars in my opinion.
> 
> what's this "Super Powerful" bit you speak of? does it have special powers?? it's coated in that crazy plastic protective stuff, so it's hard to tell what it is...


 
Yeah man, when you sent me that link I knew I'd buy one for chambering.

The superpowerful is just another 2" bit with 2 ball bearings like the one I've been using. I just wanted a backup. I'll let you know what I think of this brand.


----------



## adrock

please do man. i've been on a Whiteside kick for a while, as they make great bits. but it's always good to have other alternatives.

what's the bit all the way to the right then?


----------



## scherzo1928

Pattern/Flush trim router bit. Again, as a backup.


----------



## adrock

ahh, gotcha


----------



## vansinn

Arw, Scherzo, you always have these super cool details, love 'em. Sexy bits there.
So.. when school is done, are you going for Pro lutherie? I mean, you have most all tools needed and most certainly the skills


----------



## Rusti

So you're goin on with 2 buildings at the same time?


----------



## Skin Coffin

scherzo1928 said:


>



*Focus*, anyone?


----------



## demigod

Yes focus so hard  I love cynic....


----------



## Skin Coffin

demigod said:


> Yes focus so hard  I love cynic....



Me too, I was fascinated the moment I saw that piece of wood. I mean, it's awesome. Focus came to my mind like instantly


----------



## Elysian

How powerful is your router? You're going to need something at or above 3hp for that giant template bit to not just rip the shit out of some wood. I wouldn't even touch that thing if you've got less than 3hp in your router.

Edit: ahh you've already been using it, sorry, haven't kept up with the thread.


----------



## adrock

never mind... gonna keep my mouth shut...


----------



## Elysian

adrock said:


> never mind... gonna keep my mouth shut...



If it was something along the lines of "he's already been using it" then yeah, I missed that, kinda skimmed. If it's a different experience than the experience I've had then by all means, I'd like to hear it.


----------



## scherzo1928

Yeah, I've already been using it, and to pretty good resutls I might add. I do some testig on every bit, on every kind of wood, and I've had 0 problems with the huge ass bit. My router is has 2 HPs me thinks, and has variable speeds. When I use that bit in particular I'll go down to 1 or 2 tops (speeds go up to 6.something). Above that it does tend to shred anything.


----------



## Elysian

scherzo1928 said:


> Yeah, I've already been using it, and to pretty good resutls I might add. I do some testig on every bit, on every kind of wood, and I've had 0 problems with the huge ass bit. My router is has 2 HPs me thinks, and has variable speeds. When I use that bit in particular I'll go down to 1 or 2 tops (speeds go up to 6.something). Above that it does tend to shred anything.



2hp would be just about enough for that bit, so my post was out of line  I use a 1.5hp Porter Cable for most of the work I do, I'd never plug that bit into it  I've got a 3hp Bosch I need to build a router table for, then I'll use stuff like that.

Build still looks great


----------



## scherzo1928

Finally found some time to update th threads.

Before routing the neck pocket I did some testing with the template... Applied a bit of tape to get a tighter fit:






Another roll of double stick tape gone....





Routed, and ended up with this:





about 3/8" deep, but tight enough to hold.





Then marked ze pocket:





Awesome!










Used a saw to take off that bit near the edge... I didnt want to risk getting some horrible splinters and screwing up the neck pocket.





Then a chissel:





And this is where I'm at now. I'm just waiting for the weekend to finish this part.





woooo


----------



## Dead Undead

Write a book, damn it. You're a genius.


----------



## rebell82

As always: Insanely good work!


----------



## vansinn

Dead Undead said:


> Write a book, damn it. You're a genius.



Couldn't agree more 
Don't forget the lazer-outfitted-shark-neck-alignment method - simply priceless..


----------



## JamesM

Always worth so many lulz.


----------



## theo

WOOO! ALUMINIUM!

but seriously... woo


----------



## scherzo1928

Bird!





Time to mark where ze pickups go!










And to route the shizniet out of them!










I could hang this pic on a wall... so weird.





Ended up looking like this:





Alrighty, for some reason, at this point I decided to drill the tuner holes.
behold the mighty tuner hole maker!





BTW, I made a boo boo. I was sanding down the headstock a bit, and it turns out redwood sands very... VERY easy. Sanded down a bit more than I wanted to on a corner... But yeah, Recesses recessed:




You can see the boo boo on the botom. Plan was to have a tiny strip of maple showing all around the headstock. Plan stands, but I might have to remove a TIIINY bit of wood all along that side of the headstock, and "carve" it. Hope that's enough... If not a bit of sawdust and glue could help?

Anyways, holes holed as well.




And an access to the truss rod as well. I'll file the edges of that access thing, and make a cover for it from these fingerboard leftovers.

Then, I thought I would route that other pickup thing, so I called the shark again.










Unfortunately I then realized what time it was, and remembered I had a shitload of stuff to do for school tomorrow, so that's it for now. 








OH, I almoast forgot.






I got some...







Quilted Redwood....


----------



## SirMyghin

Sweet New Finch Day. At least it looks like a Finch of some variety.


----------



## anthonyferguson

Hawt DIGGETY dayum. Is all I have to say.


----------



## flo

I sometimes get the impression you're not intending to actually make a guitar. You build mockups and routing things and a crazy aluminium table, and then eventually you need something to test these things on. And then you realize while doing your workout with a handsaw on some fancy woods "hey, this wouldn't be too bad as a guitar..."


----------



## JamesM

Flo is completely right.


----------



## Khaine88

Fucking CHrist, Dat Redwood <3 /Drool, also loving the bird hahaha


----------



## CD1221

awesome work as always. the guitar is looking good too....


----------



## unclejemima218

what's this?? .......pr0nz??


----------



## 3amsleep

scherzo, your red wood is so hard, nicely cut, sanded and polished that it makes me question my sexuality 

Need MOAR PICS!


----------



## scherzo1928

3amsleep said:


> scherzo, your red wood is so hard, nicely cut, sanded and polished that it makes me question my sexuality
> 
> Need MOAR PICS!


 
Yes, I can have that effect.

Anyways, not really an update, more like a poll thing maybe? I'll start making a template for the control cavity and it's cover. So far I'm thinking of having this layout:






Yes, that 1% something eraser is meant to represent the battery (Oh, I just ordered some battery boxes), and the stereo jack is taking the mini swith's place in the pic. 

I like that the controls are placed right between completely out of the way, and right in the path of your hand. So they shouldnt get in the way of my hand while playing, but still be right there.

SOOOOOO, These are the 3 options I have for making the control plate thing.




Left to right, flamed maple from the same piece as the neck. Macassar ebony from the same piece of ze board. Cocobolo from hell itself. 

If I end up using the maple or ebony, I would have to change the control arrangement somehow, because they arent as wide as I'd want them to be. The cocobolo piece on the other hand is big enough for this layout and whatever I might fancy... BUT and it's a big but, I don't really feel like routing and sanding that stuff again. 

What do you gusy think would work best?


Oh, The super mega rig is being "erected" (thank you Adam) to drill all what is left to be drilled... Mainly the bridge screws and string through holes, but also the pickup cavity and something else I'm probably forgetting about.







So, maple, ebony, or cocoebola?


----------



## Swyse

I would say use the cocobolo, because of your control configuration, or you could cut the ebony and maple into strips and do a multi piece cavity cover? What are all those controls going to do? Your first post said it wouldn't even have a tone pot


----------



## 3amsleep

Thay layout seems pretty good, I hate when i want to strum wide and that fKIgN pot strikes me in the knucle.

About your question, there's a simple answer fot that: If you have a bunch of woods to choose from, and one is cocolobo, all other woods cease to exist. Go cocoevil all the way


----------



## scherzo1928

Swyse said:


> I would say use the cocobolo, because of your control configuration, or you could cut the ebony and maple into strips and do a multi piece cavity cover? What are all those controls going to do? Your first post said it wouldn't even have a tone pot


 
Ah yes. I really wanted this to be super bare bones... Then I bought a piezo sistem 

So, looking at the pic with the controls, the top knob is the magnetic pickups volume (push pull for coil splits), the bottom one is the piezo volume, big switch is the magnetic pickups switch, and the jack is in place of the mini switch which will switch between mag/mag-piezo/piezo.

edit: 


3amsleep said:


> Thay layout seems pretty good, I hate when i want to strum wide and that fKIgN pot strikes me in the knucle.
> 
> About your question, there's a simple answer fot that: If you have a bunch of woods to choose from, and one is cocolobo, all other woods cease to exist. Go cocoevil all the way


 
I'm afraid this might be the best option. I'll buy some benadryl on my way home.


----------



## CD1221

vote 1 ebony


----------



## scherzo1928

Not sure why I'm updating today instead of tomorrow with tomorrow's update... Ah well, I'll use this to say Happy birthday Colin... "Happy birthday Colin"

Alrighty, since this past week I only found bits of free time, I tried to get little bits of work done. Started with the control cavity stuff. This is a setup I'm quite happy with.





Heh, this is a little white flag I made for one of my classes on friday since the teacher went Berserk on a conference on wednesday.




Many lols were had. And yeah, double tape was used.

Mkay, coping saw time!





Many pictures not taken later, and I've got this.




Just needs a liiittle touch up here and there, but pretty much ready.

Ah yes, now I remember why I felt an urge to update.

Marked exactly where the bridge goes. The laser was not necessary, I just wanted to be sure for the 100th time that it was placed correctly...




Still, it looks awesome!

At this point, I started to think... Well, way to waste a bunch of hipshot saddles... This came to mind.




GAS




Back to the build. Put your I love aluminum shirts on.






























Yeah, HOLY SHIT is about right.

Drilled a bunch of holes.




















When I set the super holy awesome rig up, I was not able to drill all the way to the other side for the string through part thing. At this point I did a reverse mount setup thing, and re drilled those holes.




It's a cool setup. Pros are I can drill deeper into stuff. Cons are it's hard to adjust sideways, and you can only operate it with 1 lever  Still, got the job done... No pics of that.

OKAY, plan for tomorrow: drill the ferrule recesses, Route the bridge pickup, try and get the fretboard glued on. Then during the week if possible, or until next week finish the control cavity templates and route them out.

Scherzo out.


----------



## schecter4life

i vot for the ebony as well, but then again i hate painted things but love em dark xD


----------



## scherzo1928

Woohoo, Update yeah!!

Drilled little recesses for the controls. Mainly because I dont want them hanging on to just a fe mm of pure redwood. I'd rather they grab some mahogany as well.





Next up, Learned my lesson from the past build.




Yep, wrote the size of the bits I needed to use on each one... since each one needed a different bit.

Drilled...





I've just realized I had no pics of how that turned out, so I just took one with terrible lightning.




Awesome!

On the other side, I lined up my little template with the holes I drilled from the top.





Marked stuff up, and routed!




I've got to say, I've got no idea of how I managed without a nice set of fostner bits. HOLY TITS, I'm loving them at least 1/10th as much as I love double stick tape... But then again I looooouve that tape.

Again, just took a pic of this.




You can sort of see the ferrule things as well.

Next up, time to make ANOTHER recess, this time for the nut. Also time to give this katana bits a try.





Dust









Veredict: Holy cow, this things is the sharpest bit I've used so far. Routed ebony like it was butter... Hot butter. Besides, they got all sorts of cool features, like a scale on the shank so you know if you can bring it out a bit more and still be safe.

But yeah, I said I'd try and get the fingerboard glued, and god damn it I did it!




Lets see, there was some prep wok for this. I used a bit of silicone on the bottom of the truss rod channel to keep it from rattling. Used some tape to make sure that glue didnt get into the channel. Sanded (more like lightly scratched) and cleaned both surfaces before glueage. Drilled a couple of holes at a couple of frets to pass a nail through and keep the board from moving while glued.

PICS
This pic is my new definition of metal.




Building a 27.5" scale sixer in PJs. Also note the penguins and miss Diaz on the newspaper. But yeah, as RAD would say... "Every clamp in the shop:" :






And that's it for now. I'm extremely pleased with all the progress done this weekend. If I can, I'll do some work on the bridge pickup route and control cavity route tomorrow. But what I really want to get done is the fingerboard... which will have to wait till tuesday  since the glue needs to set, dry, or whatever glue does.

Happy monday!


----------



## 3amsleep

scherzo1928 said:


>



I CANT BELIEVE THIS!....GRAN VENTA DE EUFORIA!, I've been waiting for that sale all my life.

Also great work.









LOL, just joking, excellent work man!, keep it up =)


----------



## scherzo1928

Been working nonstop because the next few weeks will be gay as fuck. I'll have my finals in a week, and my dad will have a surgery right afterwards, so I've tried to get as much done as I can.

Anyways, here's this week's update in no particular order at all, since I just try to do whatever I fee likel I can finish in any bit of free time I have.

On the last update the fingerboard had just been glued, took me a while to clean up the glue excess, but it came out looking like this:and then it was time to radius that biatch.





16" radius!





Checking with a straight edge.





Woot!




It was only sanded to 600 grit by the time I took this pic, and it felt smooth as glass... impressive really.

I then filed all the slots to help seat the frets better.





Cut the frets!




Holy crap they are hard. I had to bring out the FUAAAAAAAA for a bunch of them.

Ok, this is a trick I saw on a vid posted by mr. dotdotdotscmid some time ago. Used yellow glue to install the frets.




Just a little on each fret, and had some damp paper towels ready to clean off any extra glue.






Cut the fret ends...





I'm quite happy with how the fretting came out. It's miles better than on the first axe.

But yeah, I started shaping the neck... First I marked where the heel is going to be.





Filed to a decent thickness.





Awesome!





And it's looking something like this:





This was really just MEANT to get some material off the neck, to make the actual neck shaping process easier once it's glued to the body. However, I got carried away, and I've pretty much got most of the work done.

About the carve, I'll be trying something out. It's substantially thinner than my first one, but with a catch. On the bass side, it's pretty flat, all the way to the center, and then it curves fast towards the treble side. It makes it feel much faster, but I can keep the chunky feel on the lower registers... Feels really comfortable to my odd shapped hand anyways.

Alrighty. Control cavity.










I'll do the small recess for the cover tomorrow. I've already planed down some cocobolo for it.

Also routed the bridge pickup cavity thing. Forgot to take a nice pic of it, so I just took one right now.





Connected both pickup cavities.





And then to the controls cavity.










And uh, I installed the side dots for the neck, but I once again just realized I forgot to take pics, and you all know what white dots look like.

I'll make the control cover tomorrow, and route it's recess, and uh... see what else I can do.

Laters.


----------



## 3amsleep

NIIIIICEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

im going 16" on my fretboard too, high 5 FUAAAA!


----------



## IamSatai

Looking great as always, an inspiration for anyone thinking of building an instrument, including me. Your work seems so well done, did you have any woodworking experience before starting to build your first guitar?


----------



## scherzo1928

3amsleep said:


> NIIIIICEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
> 
> im going 16" on my fretboard too, high 5 FUAAAA!


 
The original idea was to have a 20" radius, but I'm growing fond of the 16" radius on my 7.

 FUAAAAAAAAAAA



IamSatai said:


> Looking great as always, an inspiration for anyone thinking of building an instrument, including me. Your work seems so well done, did you have any woodworking experience before starting to build your first guitar?


 
Lol, none at all. My woodworking background goes as far back as using toothpicks on some week old chicken stuck on my molars.

One day I got tired because in here you can only buy cheap RGs or epiphones, I saw TimSE and Mako's builds, and figured I'd give it a try as well.


----------



## technomancer

Nice work


----------



## TwitTheShred

did you have any woodwork skills before you started makeing your first guitar? i really wan't to start but have no idea where to. also i seriously can not wait for the next set of pics.


----------



## Ruins

i really enjoy to see how you approach problems and solve them. 
for example the support for the long drill, too bad didn't come with this idea when i was building mine ahh never mind for my next one i am much smarter now!


----------



## sk3ks1s

Dunno if you've mentioned yet, but are you doing any type of carve on the top?


----------



## SD83

Ruins said:


> i really enjoy to see how you approach problems and solve them.


And it's fun to read. I'm normally just too lazy too write any pointless comments since I rarely have any questions...


----------



## scherzo1928

TwitTheShred said:


> did you have any woodwork skills before you started makeing your first guitar? i really wan't to start but have no idea where to. also i seriously can not wait for the next set of pics.


 
Here you go:


scherzo1928 said:


> Lol, none at all. My woodworking background goes as far back as using toothpicks on some week old chicken stuck on my molars.


 



Ruins said:


> i really enjoy to see how you approach problems and solve them.
> for example the support for the long drill, too bad didn't come with this idea when i was building mine ahh never mind for my next one i am much smarter now!


 
Hehe, the drill support is one of my favorites.



sk3ks1s said:


> Dunno if you've mentioned yet, but are you doing any type of carve on the top?


 
Im doing a bit of a bevel for the "arm rest". Still debating between using a router bit for it, or carving by hand.



SD83 said:


> And it's fun to read. I'm normally just too lazy too write any pointless comments since I rarely have any questions...


 
It takes a bit of time to document it all, and write and post the updates, but I like sharing my experience with these builds, since it was threads like these that got me started in the first place.


----------



## vansinn

Are you using hard alloy German fret wire? The looks/color suggests so..
Seems like you rounded the edge of the fretgrooves; if so, I don't understand why.
Why the use of yellow glue instead of titebond?
And I've looked at that green glue several times still without a clue as what it is.. gorilla glue, snake glue og lizard glue? 

Cool works as always. That fretboard! Love the pic of that cute curly wooden chip on the neck.


----------



## BlackSomber

yo, this pic is from yout first build, and i seem to have the same issue u did with wood being horribly warped... (one corner sits on table, while the other stands in the air) ..i tried planing it with a planer, but it still doesnt get flat...AT ALL >_<... so i wanna try your routing method to plane it... could u tell me what the stuff in the picture above is? 0_0
thanks...


----------



## scherzo1928

vansinn said:


> Are you using hard alloy German fret wire? The looks/color suggests so..
> Seems like you rounded the edge of the fretgrooves; if so, I don't understand why.
> Why the use of yellow glue instead of titebond?
> And I've looked at that green glue several times still without a clue as what it is.. gorilla glue, snake glue og lizard glue?
> 
> Cool works as always. That fretboard! Love the pic of that cute curly wooden chip on the neck.


 
a) evo fretwire
b) helps seat the frets better.
c) it's pretty much titebond, just not the same brand since titebond isnt sold in Mexico. Used it because it's VERY easy to clean off the fingerboard unlike CA glue.
d) It's the "yellow" glue on top of blue painter's tape.





BlackSomber said:


> yo, this pic is from yout first build, and i seem to have the same issue u did with wood being horribly warped... (one corner sits on table, while the other stands in the air) ..i tried planing it with a planer, but it still doesnt get flat...AT ALL >_<... so i wanna try your routing method to plane it... could u tell me what the stuff in the picture above is? 0_0
> thanks...


 
Just some gauges. You can probably find them at any home depot.

They come pretty handy for a LOT of things.


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## scherzo1928

Alright, time for the weekly update.

Got a bunch of parts tools and that kind of stuff.




Loove the way the golden switch looks.

Test fit:





Cavity cover recess, and the cocobolo piece for the cover.




More on that later.

I then did the volute. Started out like this:





Halway through:





And it's looking like this:




which is pretty much done.

Next up, a bit of carving.















Ugh, no pics of the finished carve, but it's looking might fine!

Then came the arm rest carve thing.





Ended up something like this:





Next up, leveled the frets, they were pretty level already, and recrowned.




















Routed out that extra bit off the neck.





And glued that fothermucker!





And, made the control cover out of cocobolo.







That's all for now. I doubt I'll do any significant progress this week since I'll be starting finals, but I'll squeeze in bits of work here and there.


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## Alimination

oh man... that's coming out amazing man..


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## Floody_85

Good work man.
Really good looking build


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## Swyse

When you put "its looking like this" on the second volute picture, I realized its the halfway picture from above. So being the curious guy I am, I located this. Hope you don't mind.





Loving the build, maybe even more than your first one. The gold is going to set that top off.


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## Ruins

scherzo1928 said:


> .



FUCKING HELL this is sexy!!!


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## scherzo1928

Swyse said:


> When you put "its looking like this" on the second volute picture, I realized its the halfway picture from above. So being the curious guy I am, I located this. Hope you don't mind.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Loving the build, maybe even more than your first one. The gold is going to set that top off.


 
Yeah man, thanks a bunch. Just realized as well. It's indeed looking something like that  Just need to do some sharpening on the edges.


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## Dead Undead

To steal from another thread...






Looking great, man! The frets are beautiful.
EDIT:
The control cover looks nice too. Evil wood is evil though.


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## JamesM

Looks sick!


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## JeffHenneman

That is lookin pretty sharp. Kkeep them pics coming


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## CD1221

stripey fretboard is stripey!

insane looking board. great progress mate!


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## flo

CD1221 said:


> stripey fretboard is stripey!
> 
> insane looking board. great progress mate!



What he said


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## JeffHenneman

Yeah, I really like that fretboard as well. I was really into ebony boards, but looking at all these threads have changed the way I look at guitars.


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## SilenceIsACrime

Goddamn that fretboard is pure sex.


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## Illure

I feel the need to congratulate you, as this is the most sexually attracted I've ever been to an inanimate object.


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## scherzo1928

Right uh, update! Beware, it contains many random bits of progress.

Left the neck getting glued on the last update. Came out awesome!





Next up, some work on the heel.





I wanted to blend the neck to the heel a little differently from what I always see... And I had an idea. I used this router bit, with a rounded tip to get it done





Not going to lie, I could hear my heart pounding furiously while I routed this part. One little fuckup, and the work of the last 3 months would have gone to waste. Came out like ziz!





I then sanded that down, and carved the heel.





After a bit more sanding:





After MORE sanding:





And it still needs some more to get that glue line cleaned up.

Oh, I also started carving the lower horn.





Doesn't seem like much, but it's more than enough to reach all frets on every string with any finger.

My dog got a bath!




Got to love her!

Uuummm, Routed the little box for the battery thing.










Started making finishing tests.




See if you can guess which one is what.





This is a bit of a special recipe, hehe. Nah, it's just sealer with a bit of nitro and a lot of thinner. Right side is just the sealer, left side also has a bit of red tint.

And the shellac samples, which look like ass.




The wood absorbs it all, and it looks horrible.

Ok, moving on.What about them piezos?















Still made them a tiny bit wider with another bit, but I can't find pics.

And uh, in order to make a channel under the bridge to pass the ghost wires, I bought a dremel and a dremel base. First impresions: I'm in love. How the hell did I survive without one, etc.





Fortunately I did some practice runs.





WOOT





And I think that's about it.

On another note, this week is sucking ass. Still got 2 exams left, and my dad is having surgery on saturday. I'll obviously be taking care of him, and afterwards, I'll see if I can finish this awesome pice of treestuff.

Thanks for reading!


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## BlackMastodon

Awesome work, really coming together nice. Good luck with your exams and good luck with your dad's surgery man.


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## flo

scherzo1928 said:


> Thanks for reading!



Oh, you're so welcome mate 

First off good luck to your dad, and secondly I wish you luck for your finals!

Your work is superb as always


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## shadscbr

It's really coming along nicely 

The dog pics are always great, she looks like a sweetie 

Best of luck with your Dad and those finals.


Shad


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## Tranquilliser

Hope things with your dad go well 
Good luck with your exams too.
By the end of it all, you'll have come out with a stellar guitar, if these pics tell us anything


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## Stealthdjentstic

Good luck to your Dad!


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## 3amsleep

great work man!, your updates are always a pleasure to read!.

Good luck to your Dad!


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## Wretched

Just spent an hour going through this thread. So much WIN!


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## CD1221

The guitar is coming along very nicely, excellent work. Cool dog, too. Look after your Dad!


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## HexaneLake

POHHHHHHHHHHYEAAAAAAAAAA


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## scherzo1928

Right, so I've been staying at the hospital with me dad. Cirgury went great, but he's been in a lot of pain since it was pretty invasive.

About an hour ago he fainted while i was helping him move. Thankfully we were right beside his bed and I was holding on to him, so I managed to carry him to his bed and call the nurse. Doctors came in, and apparently this was caused by one of his medicines.

He's allright now, resting, and since I don't want to call my mom yet because such an early call from the hospital would scare anyone... I thought I'd come over to my extraofficial blog and vent.


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## Thrashmanzac

scherzo1928 said:


> Right, so I've been staying at the hospital with me dad. Cirgury went great, but he's been in a lot of pain since it was pretty invasive.
> 
> About an hour ago he fainted while i was helping him move. Thankfully we were right beside his bed and I was holding on to him, so I managed to carry him to his bed and call the nurse. Doctors came in, and apparently this was caused by one of his medicines.
> 
> He's allright now, resting, and since I don't want to call my mom yet because such an early call from the hospital would scare anyone... I thought I'd come over to my extraofficial blog and vent.



im sure your dad will be fine man, especially with a caring and awesome son like you


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## sk3ks1s

Dude. Just make a jig, and build him a new 'whatever is broken'.
Seriously though. Good thoughts for your pops.
And I think you know how I feel about your work...


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## flo

I wish your daddy a quick recovery. I hope that everything will be fine soon


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## Ruins

oh man... sorry to hear about your dad... i wish him all the best and i hope he will get well soon.


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## CD1221

Take care of the big guy. Here's to a speedy and full recovery.


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## scherzo1928

Thanks a lot everyone. Came back home thursday after 5 very long nights at the hospital. My dad is doind fucking GOOD... like nothing even happened.

And finally, BACK TO THE BUILD.

Quick test fit:











And, time for a bit of sealer.












That's just thee first coat of sealer. Cant wait for the rest.


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## BlackMastodon

Glad to hear your dad is doing well , but on the topic of your guitar: that top is looking fucking KILLER with that sealer, can't wait to see it finished!


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## Metal_Webb

Glad to hear your dad's in good shape mate.

And that finish...


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## CD1221

My god, what did you seal it with? That is sensational.



Great news on your dad's recovery.


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## Ruins

your dad is doing well , the guitar finish.... 
one post FULL OF WIN , scherzo


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## scherzo1928

first coat of the secret recipe... which is some strange varnish they had at the "paint" store (not sure of what it is, they gave it to me in a can without a label) about 30% thinner and 1 drop of red. Loved the way this one came out in the tests I did.

No flash





Flahsed





Oh, and it's french polished. I'll do some wetsanding tomorrow and apply a second coat.


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## Kurkkuviipale




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## theo

HOLY SH*T! THAT LOOKS A-MAZINGGGG!


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## shadscbr

Glad your Dad is doing well 

The top looks great, that special sauce is win 

Shad


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## Swyse

You've definitely made the right choice on the finish. The guitar defines epic.


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## BlackMastodon

Man that finish makes that top look outstanding. I know I said it yesterday but I will say it again . I didn't expect that much figure in that top wood!


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## flo

I've been staring at the last two pics for a couple of minutes now, and there is something about them that i find absolutely fascinating: it doesn't look new at all to me, but like cut from a really old piece of antique furniture that has been oiled and polished! I really love it


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## scherzo1928

flo said:


> I've been staring at the last two pics for a couple of minutes now, and there is something about them that i find absolutely fascinating: it doesn't look new at all to me, but like cut from a really old piece of antique furniture that has been oiled and polished! I really love it


 
That's pretty much the impression I got as well. It looks old, almoast tired, but trying to make one last good impression.


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## flo

scherzo1928 said:


> That's pretty much the impression I got as well. It looks old, almoast tired, but trying to make one last good impression.




Very curious to hear what your grandpa's guitar is gonna sound like!


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## technomancer

Sweet, finish is looking good


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## vansinn

Good to hear about your dad's progress 
Cool to have such relations. My dad never shows anything, and won't accept any care..

The build is really sexying up! What an amazing change with the filler.
Whacha gonna do when you run out of an unknown formula like this? Go find out - and tell us too


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## IamSatai

Oh wow, that top... it actually looks like it has a magical light glowing from it. That is spectacularly awesome.


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## Alimination

so whats going on with this? Keep us updated on this project man. My favorite topic in this forum so far. =)


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## scherzo1928

Alimination said:


> so whats going on with this? Keep us updated on this project man. My favorite topic in this forum so far. =)


 
Hehe, I was planning on assembling it today or tomorrow.


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## MisterE

Nice build man!!!
I love the finish.
And we do have the same battery box ;-)
I hope all is well with your dad.


----------



## HaMMerHeD

scherzo1928 said:


> Hehe, I was planning on assembling it today or tomorrow.



Well...it's today. 1:18pm, three days after "today", actually. What's the hold-up?


----------



## scherzo1928

HaMMerHeD said:


> Well...it's today. 1:18pm, to be precise. What's the hold-up?


 
so... many...cables...

However, I can honestly say it's looking better than I imagined when I started this build.

And, I've been working non stop on the other axe as well.


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## ibanezRG1527

glad to hear that your dads alright 

now finish this bitch!!!!!!


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## Murdstone

scherzo1928 said:


>


Is that a cup of finish with a bendy straw in it?
Scherzo drinks finish for breakfast. Jigs on the side.


----------



## scherzo1928

yeah, that's a cup of extra friggin virgin olive oil. I use it to help the muñeca (yeah, I said it!) from sticking in one place.

It helps get the finish extra smooth, but it has a huge downside... The finish takes forever to dry, and even longer to cure properly... Hence the long ass wait since the last update.

Still worth it though.


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## scherzo1928

It's aliiiiiiivveeee!!!


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## scherzo1928

NGD!

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/standard-guitars/173817-i-finally-get-another-ngd.html#post2696037


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