# My First Build - Full of NOOB (and pics)



## endo (Sep 22, 2011)

Hey guys. So, short and simple: I've been browsing the luthiery forums for almost a month and have been slowly gathering materials to start my build. This is what I've got so far:

7 String
27.5" Scale
24 Frets
Macassar Ebony fingerboard
Neckthru
Spalted Maple for the top

That's about it for right now. I've got an idea on what hardware I'll be using i.e. Hipshot hardtail for a bridge. I'm at a loss for what wood(s) I want to use for the rest of the body, or even the neck. I'm going to go with a 5 piece laminate for the neck, I know that...I've also got a couple mock up drawings (not to scale) of what I'm going for as far as a body and head piece. I'll be doing a picture story in this thread when I eventually get to the wood working part.

Pictures:

Spalted Maple Top 1






Spalted Maple Top 2





Guitar Body Idea 1





Guitar Headstock





Anyways, I was wondering what input you guys had, thoughts or ideas (as far as wood choice goes). I've already got the spalted top, so that position is filled!

Thanks and I am very open to constructive criticism. Also, the drawing of the guitar body is not to scale, but the headstock is approximately to scale. I tried, but I fail sometimes.


----------



## HaMMerHeD (Sep 22, 2011)

I like that body shape a lot.

For a body wood, I'd go with an Ash blank to go with that spalted maple. I'd also put an ebony or some other black veneer between the two, for an accent.

For the neck, maple is always a good choice. It can be easily laminated with purpleheart, walnut, mahogany, or rosewood. It depends on what kind of color scheme you want with this. I'd go with walnut or rosewood, if it were my build.


----------



## endo (Sep 22, 2011)

Thanks! I updated the specs and added that it'll have 24 frets and a macassar ebony fingerboard.


----------



## SirMyghin (Sep 22, 2011)

Have you ever built before? If not you might want to consider not using the fancy wood straight off. You are going to make mistakes.


----------



## endo (Sep 22, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Have you ever built before? If not you might want to consider not using the fancy wood straight off. You are going to make mistakes.



I have not built a guitar before, though I am semi-experienced in wood working. I am aware there will be mistakes, but I also don`t want to build anything less than awesome and have a junk wood guitar body laying around the shop that`s not being used. That being said, my plan is to do a mock up out of junk wood for each piece, until I gain some confidence and then reproduce my (hopefully) good results on the preferable wood. That way I can make my mistakes and get `em out of my system and go right into the good stuff.


----------



## Mysticlamp (Sep 22, 2011)

nothing but respect for ya dude, i browsed this forum for a while and all i've had the balls to do yet is strip a guitar and refinish it


----------



## skeels (Sep 22, 2011)

endo said:


> I have not built a guitar before, though I am semi-experienced in wood working. I am aware there will be mistakes, but I also don`t want to build anything less than awesome and have a junk wood guitar body laying around the shop that`s not being used. That being said, my plan is to do a mock up out of junk wood for each piece, until I gain some confidence and then reproduce my (hopefully) good results on the preferable wood. That way I can make my mistakes and get `em out of my system and go right into the good stuff.


 
Sounds like a good plan! Can't wait to see the results- and I also like your body shape- very original.


----------



## HaMMerHeD (Sep 22, 2011)

endo said:


> I have not built a guitar before, though I am semi-experienced in wood working. I am aware there will be mistakes, but I also don`t want to build anything less than awesome and have a junk wood guitar body laying around the shop that`s not being used. That being said, my plan is to do a mock up out of junk wood for each piece, until I gain some confidence and then reproduce my (hopefully) good results on the preferable wood. That way I can make my mistakes and get `em out of my system and go right into the good stuff.



I found that home depot Poplar does a reasonable job of approximating the machinability of maple. Maple is harder, of course, but poplar carves in similar ways, albeit a bit more easily.

I bought a bunch of poplar 1x3s to practice neck carving, and some wider pine planks for body practicing.


----------



## scherzo1928 (Sep 23, 2011)

Love the body shape!

About the build, all I can say is think of every process you will have to go through to get your guitar. Then think if any of those parts can be simplified. Particularly in regards to joining the top to the laminate and the fingerboard on to the top.


----------



## Ironbird (Sep 23, 2011)

Nice wood choices, man. I would've chosen spalted maple myself.

As for the body, and if it's not too late, perhaps you can consider incorporating some of the lines that Ron Jarzombek uses for these guitar he made?


----------



## scherzo1928 (Sep 23, 2011)

Ironbird said:


> As for the body, and if it's not too late, perhaps you can consider incorporating some of the lines that Ron Jarzombek uses for these guitar he made?


 
Personally, I'm liking endo's design a LOT better than that axe.


----------



## Swyse (Sep 23, 2011)

scherzo1928 said:


> Personally, I'm liking endo's design a LOT better than that axe.



+1 endo's design is in fact the business.


----------



## musikizlife (Sep 23, 2011)

Body shape kinda reminds me of these:
Sue

but in its own unique way! Points for being original!

Wood choices seem sweet as well, i wish you luck!


----------



## Stealthdjentstic (Sep 23, 2011)

Looks good man, psyched to see this get going.


----------



## endo (Sep 23, 2011)

*HaMMerHeD*,* Mysticlamp*, *skeels*, *scherzo1928*, *Swyze*, *Stealthtastic*: Thank you all for your input! Ya'll have no idea how stoked I am that you like my design!

*HaMMerHeD*: Thanks for the advice! Home Depot will be the start of my day this Saturday.

*Ironbird*: Thanks for the possible inspiration, but I'm trying to stick to something that I came up with on my own for my first build, kinda from the heart, ya know? Especially since I'll be using it. Which leads me to...

*muzikizlife*: Damn you for showing me a guitar that is similar to something I thought I created! Ha ha! I am so damn peculiar and OCD that I thought for a nanosecond about completely redesigning it! Thankfully, everyone (including you) says it's pretty original, so I got over it. 

Again, thanks everyone for your input, I'll definitely be referencing what everyone has to say in the future. I can't wait to get started!

-endo


----------



## Pikka Bird (Sep 23, 2011)

I like your designs a lot, but I think the strings will fan out in a rather odd fashion on that headstock. Maybe you should skew it a little to the treble side.


----------



## BlackMastodon (Sep 23, 2011)

This should be awesome man! I love that design too, maybe consider ziricote fretboard?


----------



## ShadowFactoryX (Sep 23, 2011)

I think the body shape is killer, I designed one similar about two years ago.
Never got around to getting it done though.


----------



## endo (Sep 23, 2011)

Pikka Bird said:


> I like your designs a lot, but I think the strings will fan out in a rather odd fashion on that headstock. Maybe you should skew it a little to the treble side.



I checked the headstock with a ruler, ha ha, I figured out what you meant...so my response is: the only permanent part of the headstock is drawn in pen. I am going to adjust the placement of the pegholes so the strings are a straight shot to the nut, I just wanted to see what it looked like .... with holes ...

As far as the ziricote goes, I'm pretty set on having some ebony on this guitar. It's my favorite wood for fingerboards.

Yay for guitar making!


----------



## aWoodenShip (Sep 23, 2011)

SPALTED MAPLE. PHACK. (this is my subscription)


----------



## BlackMastodon (Sep 23, 2011)

Almost forgot: make lots of templates!!


----------



## SirMyghin (Sep 23, 2011)

endo said:


> I have not built a guitar before, though I am semi-experienced in wood working. I am aware there will be mistakes, but I also don`t want to build anything less than awesome and have a junk wood guitar body laying around the shop that`s not being used. That being said, my plan is to do a mock up out of junk wood for each piece, until I gain some confidence and then reproduce my (hopefully) good results on the preferable wood. That way I can make my mistakes and get `em out of my system and go right into the good stuff.



Their are plenty of awesome guitars out there without exotic woods, however if you screw up on spalt at least you removed some spalt maple from the world. Damn I hate that stuff  Something with mistakes will also not be awesome by default. You build out of 'junk wood' for the practice to not make those mistakes.

Good luck. The real expertise in woodworking is in HOW QUICKLY you can do it. Master's are much faster than people learning, so if you take your time you should be able to turn good results, but it will be slowly going.


----------



## endo (Sep 24, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Their are plenty of awesome guitars out there without exotic woods, however if you screw up on spalt at least you removed some spalt maple from the world. Damn I hate that stuff  Something with mistakes will also not be awesome by default. You build out of 'junk wood' for the practice to not make those mistakes.
> 
> Good luck. The real expertise in woodworking is in HOW QUICKLY you can do it. Master's are much faster than people learning, so if you take your time you should be able to turn good results, but it will be slowly going.




Thanks for the words! If I may ask, what is it you dislike about spalted maple tops? I think they look rather "evili-ish" and should go well with the design!

I am working on drawing a full size body stencil and will be taking a picture of it over the wood to see what I shall see, then I'll post it and ya'll can see what yee shall see!

-endo


----------



## flo (Sep 24, 2011)

That's a nice looking body! Kind of like the evil sister of a PRS custom 

One thing you should check is the that the tip of the upper horn is (roughly) at the 12th fret to avoid balance issues. 

Best of luck with your build, I looooove when people make their own designs!


----------



## endo (Sep 24, 2011)

Spent all day yesterday drawing the body to scale....then I cut it out and put my top under it!

This one is the top natural:







This is the top with a small amount of water rubbed in to see it darkened:






If you look close, the upper horn is a bit above the 12th fret. My next step is to cut out a template of the body shape out of cheap wood to use as a stencil when I get ready to actually cut. Looks pretty good to me! There will be small adjustments on the wood template.

-endo


----------



## flo (Sep 24, 2011)

^Wow, that looks fantastic!!


----------



## ivancic1al (Sep 24, 2011)

Looking great man! Can't wait to see more updates!


----------



## Pikka Bird (Sep 24, 2011)

Even better with the new cutaway.


----------



## silent_k (Sep 24, 2011)

endo said:


> My next step is to cut out a template of the body shape out of cheap wood to use as a stencil when I get ready to actually cut. Looks pretty good to me! There will be small adjustments on the wood template.



If you haven't bought the wood for your template yet, consider using MDF. You can get 2x4 panels of it at HD in 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4" thicknesses. I like how easily machined and workable it is, and it will take things like filler if you make a mistake in one place but don't want to trash the rest of it (although wear a dust mask -- it gets powdery). It's cheap, too, so messing it up isn't a big financial hit. just a thought -- looking forward to the progress on this!


----------



## skeels (Sep 24, 2011)

^Sweeeet! Love that spalt!


----------



## endo (Sep 24, 2011)

Question: Is it just me, or does the body look like it needs to be stretched out? (as far as proportion goes)

This guitar can turn out beautiful and I still wouldn't be happy if there was one thing wrong with it.


----------



## Fiction (Sep 24, 2011)

That top is awesome man, love the shape.

And if you do make one error, why be upset? Its your first build and errors are bound to happen.. Just be proud you made it yourself.


----------



## BlackMastodon (Sep 25, 2011)

I personally like the snub nose look, I say you don't stretch it.


----------



## endo (Sep 25, 2011)

BlackMastodon said:


> I personally like the snub nose look, I say you don't stretch it.



You're right, It's just odd to me because I have strictly been playing LP's the last 10 years, so I'm used to that size. I actually held up my LP to the design and it (the design) is not much bigger than the LP which I should be happy with.

One small error would anger me because I am (unfortunately) a perfectionist, which kind of kills creativity sometimes, but it's all good. I have the support of people I don't know and that is definitely a morale booster.

As far as cheap wood, I already made the dive for some plain white wood lumber...my home depot didn't have a very good selection of pine. At all. I am not a huge fan of MDF just because I like nice sharp lines and I'd like to keep the template and MDF gets rounded and chipped and shitty after a while, at least in my experience! Especially if you drop it, that sucks. Sorry for the essay.

Thanks guys!


----------



## endo (Sep 25, 2011)

What do you guys think of this shape compared to the other?


----------



## Pikka Bird (Sep 25, 2011)

I like it somewhat, but it's a but stubby now, or too wide or something. I also don't particualrly like the stinger at the ass.


----------



## Winspear (Sep 25, 2011)

I don't like that design nearly as much.

I agree with liking the stubbyness of the original - though I think this newer design would need to be more normally shaped/proportioned to look good. 

It's your design though man if you prefer it then it's the best option


----------



## endo (Sep 25, 2011)

Damn my stubby eyes. Thanks, I was just messin around with this program I just got anyways, the original will be the original. The first and hopefully not the last.

thanks guys!


----------



## endo (Oct 29, 2011)

So, lil update, not too much on the "porn" side though. I cut out a template of the guitar body I had originally made and came to found that it was incredibly SMALL. Like ridiculous. It would have been like a strandberg with a hardtail bridge.

Anyways, I did a bit of redesigning and used my Les Paul as a guide for sizing properly. Here is a picture of what I have. The head stock is going to be a 2+5!

There are a couple lines on the body that might make ya scratch your head. The weird "90*" angle is a potential input layout and the 2 curves on the bass side is just an arm bevel. Let me know what you guys think of this.


----------



## Electric Wizard (Oct 29, 2011)

Looks kind of like a PRS-Parker hybrid. Quite subdued in comparison to the original design. I like it, though personally I don't know if a pointy headstock goes with it.


----------



## Thrashmanzac (Oct 29, 2011)

the new design you just posted is head and shoulders above the other designs you have posted imho, i love it


----------



## silent_k (Oct 29, 2011)

Electric Wizard said:


> Looks kind of like a PRS-Parker hybrid. Quite subdued in comparison to the original design. I like it, though personally I don't know if a pointy headstock goes with it.



+1 on the headstock, but I also agree with the previous poster that this body shape looks the best -- really nice! A headstock shape that follows/compliments the horns would look better (again, a la Parker).


----------



## Winspear (Oct 29, 2011)

That's awesome. Good proportions  I kinda agree on the headstock, think maybe cutting off the point like this would look better with the horns;
http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/7228/unledvtnv.png


----------



## BlackMastodon (Oct 29, 2011)

What these 3 said ^. This looks loads better, really looking forward to seeing this.


----------



## Pikka Bird (Oct 29, 2011)

EtherealEntity said:


> That's awesome. Good proportions  I kinda agree on the headstock, think maybe cutting off the point like this would look better with the horns;
> http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/7228/unledvtnv.png



Inspired by this, I tried making a suggestion that uses the angle at the bottom (which I love, BTW).

Here

I actually think the headstock is really awesome looking, but it'd fit better as a whole if the horns on the body weren't stubbed.


----------



## endo (Oct 30, 2011)

Hey, thanks to the few that responded! The head stock was the only thing that I wasn't 100% on, just because I was trying to come up with something I hadn't seen, or at least not copy one that had already been done. I have, since posting the picture, changed up the head stock a bit and it looks better. But you guys don't get to see it because ! Ha ha!

I did spend some time in the shop today cutting out some templates from plywood and MDF, but I only brought the plywood part home to show you guys the cut out. I have a mock up finger board taped to the body just because I can.












Things are going pretty smooth, other than a hiccup I had. I cut the FIRST template (yes, the pictures are of number two) and got it taped to the MDF. Things were going smooth as I had about 3 inches left on the router table, and it was starting to kick the body, so I had to move to a different position. Little did I know that a section of the table was not square with the rest of it. When I went to cut into the MDF...the plywood went above the bearing and BAM, I was gifted with a half circle divot in the lower horn.

I loved having to do the same thing twice.

Anyways, as soon as I can find some decent priced rock maple for the neck and order a finger board, this build is going to start moving along quite nicely! Thanks again!

-Endo


----------



## BlackMastodon (Oct 30, 2011)

endo said:


> I have, since posting the picture, changed up the head stock a bit and it looks better. But you guys don't get to see it because ! Ha ha!
> 
> -Endo


 
Tease .


----------



## Purelojik (Dec 1, 2011)

endo said:


> Spent all day yesterday drawing the body to scale....then I cut it out and put my top under it!
> 
> This is the top with a small amount of water rubbed in to see it darkened:
> 
> ...



i was told by some at another forum when i was starting to build, to use something like naptha or mineral spirits to show the figure. water will raise the grain and can be a pain at times. the other stuff dries pretty quickly.


----------



## Necromagnon (Dec 1, 2011)

Purelojik said:


> i was told by some at another forum when i was starting to build, to use something like naptha or mineral spirits to show the figure. water will raise the grain and can be a pain at times. the other stuff dries pretty quickly.


You can use alcool, like 95° or other thing for cleaning. It dries very fast and does not alter wood (it's used for some finishing, I don't know the english word for it).

The wood is fucking awesome, and the shape very nice! Keep on luthing, man!

And don't forget to stabilize your maple top to kill the fungus (I've seen the one on the bubinga top of my 8 string grow during the building process... )


----------



## endo (Dec 1, 2011)

Necromagnon said:


> You can use alcool, like 95° or other thing for cleaning. It dries very fast and does not alter wood (it's used for some finishing, I don't know the english word for it).
> 
> The wood is fucking awesome, and the shape very nice! Keep on luthing, man!
> 
> And don't forget to stabilize your maple top to kill the fungus (I've seen the one on the bubinga top of my 8 string grow during the building process... )



I'm going to assume that it's been stabilized, but just to be on the safe side, what do I need to do to perform this stabilization? Thanks for the comments! As soon as I find my camera, I'm going to get to work...although, all I'll get done this weekend is gluing the top onto the sapele....maybe cut the body out.


----------



## Necromagnon (Dec 1, 2011)

I don't know the english word, but I guess it's "wood stabilizer" or something like "fungicide". Normally, you can find it in every store that sell supply for DIY, near oil, teck oil, and every wood care products.

And I would not trust retailers. It's not sure the treat there wood, but maybe. But you should put some fungicide just to be sure. It would be such a pity to make a freaking beautiful guitar and get your top wood eaten by fungus under your varnish. :/

And I really like the body shape... Damn!


----------



## endo (Dec 1, 2011)

Thanks! I'll have to take care of that this weekend! I didn't buy the wood from a shop around town here, I ordered it from a place that sells wood specifically for guitar building. I am going to send them an e-mail and ask, just to be safe! But I really appreciate that info, or I'd have a guitar with a top going to shit!


----------



## endo (Apr 5, 2012)

Hey guys, long time. Sorry for the delay in action, but I've been having to save up money...I'm a fuckin janitor, ya know?  lol.

Anyways, I've decided to not use the spalted maple for this build. I'm just starting out and I don't want to screw things up. But the real reason is because I couldn't find a planer for thicknessing the body 

Anyways, I'm receiving more things tomorrow and the 12th, so keep an eye open! 

Onto the pictures:

Guitar body (sorry for cell pic)






Most of the hardware






Pickups (BKP Aftermath 7's)






Oh so sexy...






The neck in the picture above is 26" rock maple...I've decided that I'm not going to use that piece...I will post a picture of what I AM going to use when I receive it...until then, it's a superize!

-Endo


----------



## bob123 (Apr 5, 2012)

Dude for a first time build, you have some SOLID design aspects. They are unique AND they look good! usually its one or the other


----------



## Purelojik (Apr 5, 2012)

new body shape is win dude! i say go for the spalt dude!!!!! go big or go home!


----------



## endo (Apr 8, 2012)

Purelojik said:


> new body shape is win dude! i say go for the spalt dude!!!!! go big or go home!



Thanks man! I'd love to use the spalt, but with the type of wood I'm getting for the neck, there would just be too much going on. I want it to be awesome and jaw dropping, not busy and mind wrenching. The body will probably end up getting painted, but I'm unsure as to what color I should go with. I'm sure everyone will have their input once they see the wood for the neck!



bob123 said:


> Dude for a first time build, you have some SOLID design aspects. They are unique AND they look good! usually its one or the other



Thank you for the kind words man. I hope it turns out awesome and I don't end up making a fool of myself!


----------



## Astcyr17 (Apr 8, 2012)

That body looks sexy. I like it's shape a lot. Looking forward to seeing the progression and I really like the choice of hardware too.


----------



## endo (Apr 12, 2012)

So...I finally have the wood for the neck...and I have to say that it's AWESOME! So here it is, the final piece...some chocolaty WENGE.


----------



## 7 strings of wonder (Apr 12, 2012)

The wenge looks beautiful man, much better than the maple. I am sad to see that you're not using the spalt but I'm sure it'll turn out awesome


----------



## Levi79 (Apr 12, 2012)

I really like that body shape dude! Stoked to see this come together.


----------



## endo (Sep 16, 2013)

I know I haven't posted in a while and this project has obviously been put on hold...but I came across this today and found it...well, I don't exactly have a proper word:

Morgoth Series - Chitarre di Liuteria GNG


----------

