# 2 new builds!



## scherzo1928 (Mar 22, 2012)

Alright, now that I'm healthy again, I'm back into building guitars. I'll be making 2 "sister" builds. Same shape, but completely different in every other way.

First off... the wood. You already know this ones:





Bastogne walnut top, and birdseye maple board.

Next (and I just got this delivered today) Is a shitload of granadillo (Platymiscium yucatanum)!




The 2 long pieces will be used for 2 necks. 1 for this build as a 5 piece, and the other for a future build... maybe as a 1 piece neck. The other 2 pieces are a bookmatched top for one of the 2 builds.

more granadillo pics!





Check that figure out!





For those of you who don't know. Granadillo is a retardedly hard and dense wood. It's also incredibly stable, and has the most beautiful taptone I've heard in my life. I've been hunting these kind of boards for almoast a year now, and I think it's really going to pay off.

Anywho... I've only done work on the walnut axe so far, and I'm already far into the build, so here come a ton of pics of that build... As always, everything was cut by hand, so I show a lot of pics of boards being cut to largen my epeen.

Queue the br00talz!





Start off by cutting a huge board to make neck laminates!





Cut off the headstock part for a scarf joint.










Since I don't want to waste ANY wood, I cut the headstock in half... like so:










And then sliced the other part into 6 strips for the laminates.




I'll be able to make 2 necks out of that board alone.

I took 3 of them, and put them together with some flamed maple leftovers...





Glueueued them together!





Planed it down.





Then, I cut the walnut top, because I needed offcuts for the headstock.





Glued offcuts onto the headstock piece thing.





ERECTED the superjig!





Machined and mated both surfaces at 15°





And glued them together.





As you can see, I used 2 nails and some tape to keep the parts from creeping under preassure.
And it came out like this:





To be Continued...


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## scherzo1928 (Mar 22, 2012)

I then cut the general shape out of some 2" 1 piece mahogany.





Glued the top.





came out alright... joint could have been a tad better I guess.





Made mah template... which is not yet done btw.





Traced the contour on the body...





Aaaand, I've started getting closer to the line with some sanding drums... That's where I'm at right now.

Tomorrow I'll route the shape with a template and a 2" bit... and I f I don't lose fingers in the process, I'll reupdate tomorrow.

I also just realized I didn't post specs for the builds... I'll do that after school today.


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## ASoC (Mar 22, 2012)

Theres a new scherzo build? Theres two? AWWWWW YEAHHH 

I can't wait to see how these turn out, I'm in for the updates


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## TimSE (Mar 22, 2012)

EXCELLENT NEWS! Well chuffed for you man  going to keep an eye on this thread!


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## Fiction (Mar 22, 2012)




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## technomancer (Mar 22, 2012)

Some nice walnut there


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## JamesM (Mar 22, 2012)

Miss you buddy.


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## HighPotency (Mar 23, 2012)

These sound awesome! I've lurked in your threads before but I don't know if I've ever commented.

What's the angle for your headstock? I used an 8.5 degree angle for mine and I realized that the top of the joint (the part that touches the fretboard) will be ~4.5" long... I think that it will end somewhere between the 3rd and 4th frets which seems like I made the angle too small.


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## scherzo1928 (Mar 23, 2012)

HighPotency said:


> These sound awesome! I've lurked in your threads before but I don't know if I've ever commented.
> 
> What's the angle for your headstock? I used an 8.5 degree angle for mine and I realized that the top of the joint (the part that touches the fretboard) will be ~4.5" long... I think that it will end somewhere between the 3rd and 4th frets which seems like I made the angle too small.


 
Yeah, that could happen with small angles. I used 15° though, and so far it looks alright.


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## adrock (Mar 23, 2012)

good to see more projects from ya buddy


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## guitarbuilder93 (Mar 23, 2012)

Here we go again!  You and those aluminum jigs do some awesome work 

Sibling builds for you too? A toast, good sir!


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## Munch (Mar 23, 2012)

That looks awesome! And the superjig looks sweet (and super). What does it do?


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## BDMCCR (Mar 23, 2012)

finally!! looking forward to the sisters dude!!


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## Goatchrist (Mar 23, 2012)

I'm excited! Bodyshape looks awesome!


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## sk3ks1s (Mar 23, 2012)

Glad to hear you're back to building again.
I look forward to regularly posted updates.


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## vansinn (Mar 23, 2012)

Oh no, not now! I'm supposed to be outdoors skating and hurting myself on the concrete, not hanging over yet another of your cool builds.. 
Sexy woods 

Good to hear you're well again; you've been missed


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## scherzo1928 (Mar 24, 2012)

Glad to report I still have 10 fingers... as always this part stressed the fuck out of me.










3 Weeks after day one it finally has some sort of guitar shape! yaay!!




Munch said:


> That looks awesome! And the superjig looks sweet (and super). What does it do?


 
The superjig, amongst other things is super. period.  Well, I use aluminum profiles for pretty much everything, to compensate my lack of tools, and lack of ability with those tools anyways. I use it to plane surfaces, to plane them at an angle, like this:





Or to drill where my drillpress can't reach...









sk3ks1s said:


> Glad to hear you're back to building again.
> I look forward to regularly posted updates.


 
. When will we see another project from you?



vansinn said:


> Oh no, not now! I'm supposed to be outdoors skating and hurting myself on the concrete, not hanging over yet another of your cool builds..
> Sexy woods
> 
> Good to hear you're well again; you've been missed


 
Not going to lie. It was rough, but I'm doing pretty well now. And being able to build some axes makes me feel even better.


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## Rojne (Mar 24, 2012)

awh man.. dawg.. it's to much.. 2 builds.. come on..


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## Empryrean (Mar 24, 2012)

Christ! Scherzo, slow down buddy 




but really, don't


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## scherzo1928 (Mar 27, 2012)

Cut ze fingerboard. 22 frets, and 648mm scale.





also cut the koa binding strips, and resawed to the propper depth with a depthstop... and checked the deepness with that nifty little stewmac thinger.





Time to clue the binding! 





Used regular woodworking glue. Kept it in place with a shitload of masking tape.





Decided to play it safe, so I also clamped it. Didn't use too much preassure thuogh. and the weights on top are there just to prevent the profiles from turning.





Deviced a new truss rod routing system. Continuing my tradition, I decided to go for total overkill.





Oh, if you can, GO BUY ONE OF THESE GAUGES. so damn practical it's not even funny.





Results!





I then trimmed all the binding, and made a recess for the nut.





Then glued the fingerboard to the neck!





What a mess.




(and yeah, the piece of paper might or might not have the beginings of my next build... a nice little ukulele for a pretty little friend of mine)

AAAAnyhow, today was routertable day, so I managed to do all of this!





That's the same headstock design I used on my redwood baritone, but I added a little meat to it. Just made it thicker, to have more material around the tuners, since I placed them closer to the edge on the other one.













Oh yeah.


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## JamesM (Mar 28, 2012)

See avatar for how this makes me feel.


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## tommychains (Mar 28, 2012)

love it man! I've thought about making a triplet set of my design. all the same though.


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## Thrashmanzac (Mar 28, 2012)

god i love your builds man. these are looking amazing already!


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## scherzo1928 (Mar 28, 2012)

The Armada said:


> See avatar for how this makes me feel.


 




Thrashmanzac said:


> god i love your builds man. these are looking amazing already!


 
Thanks mate.


Alrighty. Allergies hit me like a truck, so I decided to take a day off, and catch up a bit with school work. However, I got a bit bored, and took a couple of pics.





Didn't mention it in this thread, but I weighted and meassured the granadillo boards I got, and it turns out they have a retardedly high density of over 1200kg/cubic meter. Holy scrotum batman!

Some more pron.


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## JamesM (Mar 28, 2012)

That wood is going to pop. Like, BOOM.


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## scherzo1928 (Mar 30, 2012)

Riiiight. I think I'll be changing the specs of the 2nd build a bit. It was going to have a 5 piece neck + scarf joint, just because I was unsure about how stable the wood would be... Stable as a rock.

Bit of a flashback. When I started making the other neck (mahogany/flamed maple) I let the wood rest for the day to see how it would move after every cut or machining, and kept a record of how every piece moved (or didn't). Kept them in different rooms with cold temperatures, and then on heated rooms, to make sure that if it was going to move, it moved now. The movement it did show was small to be honest, but I'm still glad I went through all that trouble.

Now, a couple of days ago I cut one of the granadillo boards (only the scarf joint cut) and planed both parts on both sides. I let it rest a day, and it didn't move a bit. Let it outside while it was rainiing for a bit, nothing. Close to a heater... nothing. If anything, I've learned that the boards are smoother than the aluminum profiles I'm using to see if they are still straight.

Soooo, since they move less than a plank of torlon, and they have the most incredibly beautiful tap tone of all time... This shall now be a 1 piece neck + scarf joint. Though I might try and do some sort of accent on the joint.


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## ElRay (Mar 30, 2012)

Phenomenal once again. Added the member built tag. Don't for get to post here: Guitars built by members of SS.org stickied thread when they're complete.

Ray


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## MannyMoonjava (Apr 1, 2012)

oh my, this is so awesome!


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## scherzo1928 (Apr 5, 2012)

Mkay, took me a while to find the pics for the update, because I screwed my folders up. Some stuff isn't in order, some pics are missing... so I'll try and narrate everything like in the olden days.

First off, Me dad bought this!





It's become clear that having a plunge router is very very useful when making cavities... even more for doing chambering, and since he always wants to help with these builds, he got this thing. To anyone looking for a router, We were going to get a Bosch router, but truth be told, our craftsman has been an absolute workhorse, so we just got another craftsman.

Got the granadillo top planed with the good old router jig.











Jointed




I actually got a pretty bad cut with this wood. Stupid hard + well machined surfaces = really sharp. Could cut a loaf of bread with this top.

Aaaaanyways, got it glued!




Since I was not happy with the joint on the walnut top, I took extra precautions with this one. Nothing left to chance here.

While that dried I got a tooooon of work done. First of all is the granadillo neck. Decided on 1 piece + scarf joint... Got to cut it first though.





Cutting that angle took longer than I expected. I've cut through maple, walnut, mahogany, cocobolo, ebony, laminates and whatnot, but nothing prepared me for this.

Took a break, and accidentaly dropped one of the 2 boards I'd just cut... Landed with the angle downwards, and to my surprise it didn't break. Shocked by this I tried to break the edge myself with my hand, like this:




NOTHING. It's a friggin rock... I'll be buying more.

Went back to cutting. Initial idea was to have an accent at the scarf joint. I thought of adding 3 thin strips of maple/granadillo/maple, so I got some offcuts.




This rendered my mitre saw useless btw. practically dull by the time I finished.

Another strength test for the piece I just cut.




1 1/4 turns of the clamp, but the table made a "crack" before the board bent at all... stunned 

Right, so this is what I wanted to do.





Just needed to machine the faces that were getting glued together, so I ERECTED the super rig.





You might be thinking "well yeah, it looks awesome, but there must be some vibrations or variations that mess it up." Quick answer is Nope.





Passing the router leaves an impeccable surface. Too good actually, since I had to roughen it a bit with 80 grit sandpaper before glue-up. Oh, there is a tiiiiny chip on the edge of the board, but I left it there since it was getting removed after thicknessing the neck.

Glueeed.




This part was fun. Like the previous time, I used a couple of nails to prevent creeping.

Surprise! Went with a single strip of flamed maple for the accent. Love doing a lot of unnecesary work.





Looks good to me.















Afterwards, I took this giant ass piece of mahogany...





And with the help of the trusted 1 donkeypower coping saw as well as some lemonade cut these 2 things.




Oooooh yeah! Time for some well earned cake!





continued in the next post!


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## Thrashmanzac (Apr 5, 2012)

that cake looks good man!
not yo mention your build is coming along nicely!


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## scherzo1928 (Apr 5, 2012)

So yeah, meet my new favorite tool.





The japanese fret slot cleaning saw. Extremely useful tool. It also looks insignificant, but it's pretty damn sharp. I'm sure that a little slip, and it would cut straight to the bone in a single pass.

Gratuitous pic of me pretending to use it.





After cleaning the slots and checking the depth with the depth gauge, I radiused the fingerboard to 16"





Afterwards it was fret cutting time! Had to yell Fuaaaaa a couple of times.





The fret tang nipper is another super awesome tool. Completely worth the money.





I then used the dremel to cut the frets to propper length.





Had a veeeeery close call...





The part that broke off hit my goggles and shattered on the wall behind me...

But yeah, hammered the frets in





And this is where I'm at right now.





Ooooh, I also ordered what was left to order.
Decided on a P-rails bridge pickup for the walnut axe (no neck pickup). Also ordered a birdseye maple fingerboard for the granadillo axe, the 2 hipshot bridges, 1 set of hipshot locking tuners, hardware for the little ukulele, and some assorted parts.


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## Necromagnon (Apr 5, 2012)

Very nice routing rig!
I'm actually thinking about one, and you've give me a lot of inspiration. 

About the build, nothing more to say than *&@#!*/"?!#&!:!"


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## Rusti (Apr 5, 2012)

Good job mate


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## BlackMastodon (Apr 5, 2012)

De goggles! Dey do something!! *use your Reignier Wolfcastle voice*


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## theo (Apr 5, 2012)

Damn I love me some extruded aluminium!















Oh yeah, that wood looks ridiculous, can't wait to see/hear how this goes


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## Onyx8String (Apr 5, 2012)

What was weird is when i was scrolling down down through the pics. Saw the phone with "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe" and I was listening to it at the same time...Weird.... Awesome looking build!


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## vansinn (Apr 5, 2012)

As usual, super works and picstory.

Which fretwire is this? Looks like German hard alloy wire to me..

That granadillo looks rather nice. I'm amazed by it's strength. Never heard of it before, so naturally I'm looking forward to hear the results.
How did you come across it, and which tonal characteristics do you expect?
(hint: could be I'm starting to spec an erg build, hehe)


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## scherzo1928 (Apr 5, 2012)

Onyx8String said:


> What was weird is when i was scrolling down down through the pics. Saw the phone with "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe" and I was listening to it at the same time...Weird.... Awesome looking build!


 
I always play some gojira when cutting big ass boards. Listening to backbone WILL help you cut them damn boards!



vansinn said:


> As usual, super works and picstory.
> 
> Which fretwire is this? Looks like German hard alloy wire to me..
> 
> ...


 
Aye, it's the EVO fretwire thing. Used it on my baritone, and I'm loving it... A LOT. Feels supersmooth, looks sexy as hell, it doesn't wear out easily, BUT it doesn't add that harshness SS frets tend to add. I'll be using it on both builds.

The granadillo... I had played a bunch of classical guitars made with it, since it's a favorite for the high end luthiers of Paracho, but never gave too much thought to it. Then the guy that sold me the cocobolo for my 1st guitar sent me a little granadillo bridge blank out of the blue. One knock on wood later I was emailing him to find me pieces big enough for a neck.

Describing it's taptone is difficult. First off, it's loud, super loud, like make your ears hurt kind of loud. It's very bright, but not harsh at all, extremely musical... like hitting a marimba.

edit: If you drop a piece, it sounds like metal when it hits the ground.


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## asher (Apr 5, 2012)

Lookin sweet, dude. That flame slice is gonna be tasty when it's all done.


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## iRaiseTheDead (Apr 5, 2012)

My only complaint... 22 frets.
Looks great man!


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## scherzo1928 (Apr 5, 2012)

iRaiseTheDead said:


> My only complaint... 22 frets.
> Looks great man!


 
Well, I only want 22.

Maybe one day I'll make one with 36


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## BlackMastodon (Apr 5, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> I always play some gojira when cutting big ass boards. Listening to backbone WILL help you cut them damn boards!


Favourite song from that album.  very interested to hear this granadillo now.


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## scherzo1928 (Apr 5, 2012)

BlackMastodon said:


> Favourite song from that album.  very interested to hear this granadillo now.


 
Hehe, I listened to Clone from their first album while cutting that board


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## snegdk (Apr 5, 2012)

Great thread, great work and cool pics!


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## technomancer (Apr 5, 2012)

Looking good. You HAVE to post clips of that granadillo guitar when it's done


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## Grand Moff Tim (Apr 6, 2012)

Weird. I had never heard of Granadillo before today, and now I've come across it in two different places: This thread, and it's the fingerboard material on the 2012 Gibson LP Studios. I'm ultra curious to see how this will turn out for you.


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## sage (Apr 17, 2012)

need... more... freakin'... updates...


please?


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## Levi79 (Apr 17, 2012)

Very nice! Excellent choice on woods too!


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## bigswifty (Apr 17, 2012)

This is incredible 
Is that gold fretwire? My god..


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## vansinn (Apr 17, 2012)

^ no, it isn't gold. EVO fretwire contains substantially more copper than the usual fretwires, hence the golden color.


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## IkarusOnFire (Apr 18, 2012)

Glad to see someone using the gold evo frets  I'm having them on my upcomming project, and neat to know someone else digs it. Very nice build(s) mate! And props for trying out alternative wood for the neck (granadillo) - can't wait to hear the guitar


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## HaMMerHeD (Apr 18, 2012)

Nice stuff scherzo. I love that superjig. I need to get some of that extruded aluminum awesomeness.

I'm using evo fretwire on a build for my gf. She plays classical guitar and wants to go electric, but doesn't want narrow spacing. So I'm building her an electric classical. Wide spacing, flat fretboard, nylon strings, undersaddle transducer. Should be cool.


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## scherzo1928 (Apr 19, 2012)

technomancer said:


> Looking good. You HAVE to post clips of that granadillo guitar when it's done


 
Yeah man, I'm dying to finish it and play it. It will mainly be a clean and lead guitar btw. Got to haul my ass through finals first though (don't need banning this time btw)




Grand Moff Tim said:


> Weird. I had never heard of Granadillo before today, and now I've come across it in two different places: This thread, and it's the fingerboard material on the 2012 Gibson LP Studios. I'm ultra curious to see how this will turn out for you.


 
Yeah, I just found out as well. The guy that sold it to me told me that getting the boards in the dimensions I wanted was tough, because someone was whoring it up... now we know who.




sage said:


> need... more... freakin'... updates...
> 
> 
> please?


 
GAH, got finals atm. I'll just say that I've ordered everything that needed to be ordered, I've worked on the chambering, and done a lt of fretwork. The ukulele is looking good as well. 

I'll update as soon as I get some freetime.




Levi79 said:


> Very nice! Excellent choice on woods too!


 
The mahogany/maple/koa neck looks quite awesome in person... and it sounds really sweet as well. Quite pleased with it.




dbrozz said:


> This is incredible
> Is that gold fretwire? My god..


 


vansinn said:


> ^ no, it isn't gold. EVO fretwire contains substantially more copper than the usual fretwires, hence the golden color.


 
There's the answer.



IkarusOnFire said:


> Glad to see someone using the gold evo frets  I'm having them on my upcomming project, and neat to know someone else digs it. Very nice build(s) mate! And props for trying out alternative wood for the neck (granadillo) - can't wait to hear the guitar


 
As I said, I tried the evo frets, and I was sold instantly. I reaaaaally like their sound and feel.



HaMMerHeD said:


> Nice stuff scherzo. I love that superjig. I need to get some of that extruded aluminum awesomeness.
> 
> I'm using evo fretwire on a build for my gf. She plays classical guitar and wants to go electric, but doesn't want narrow spacing. So I'm building her an electric classical. Wide spacing, flat fretboard, nylon strings, undersaddle transducer. Should be cool.


 
Well, I used the superpowerfull jig (drilling) last week, and that was a lot of fun.

As for the build you mention... My kind of thing... 100% got any pics?


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## HaMMerHeD (Apr 19, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> As for the build you mention... My kind of thing... 100% got any pics?



Just the design. I haven't begun acquiring materials yet.


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## ACG (Apr 19, 2012)

Oooooh yeah! Time for some well earned cake!






continued in the next post![/QUOTE]


CAKE LOOKS AWESOME. NOMNOMNOM.


Guitar looks awesome as well.  Cool stuff man.


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## theo (Apr 20, 2012)

ACG said:


> CAKE LOOKS AWESOME. NOMNOMNOM.



Don't you know not to type with your Cakez lock turned on?


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## ACG (Apr 20, 2012)

Haha I couldn't help it! I had a piece of cake resting on the keyboard!!! = Cakez Lock


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## scherzo1928 (Apr 20, 2012)

Carrot cake btw.


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## Konfyouzd (Apr 20, 2012)

That mahogany/maple neck blank LITERALLY looks edible.


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## asher (Apr 20, 2012)

CAKE LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR TASTY


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## scherzo1928 (Apr 26, 2012)

Vacations!

So yeah, exams went well. And I can now spend some quality time making sawdust.

Haven't really done anything for the last 2 weeks, so this post is just to update the builds with what I didn't have time to post before... And it's all in random bits of progress

Random bit a: Frets for the walnut axe. Still far from done, but I keep trying to find time to work on them.






I had planned to only do a bevel... but one thing led to another, and I rounded the edges.





Here you can see some frets at various stages of roundage





I'll still "repress" them after I'm done with the rounding.

Random bit b: Possible back carve for the same axe.





The carve on the lower part is for comfort when playing in classical position... which is how I play.

Random bit c: ERECTED the SUPER AWESOME!





Drilled out a metric fuckton in order to chamber the granadillo axe... but you don't get to see it all =P





Which after some routing turned into this:




Also, this axe got it's top glued yesterday, but I don't have pics... I'll see if I can route the shape tomorrow.

Ah, also did this:





And drilled the crap out of it!





And this may end up being the top for the ukulele.






Random bit d: MUFFINS!





Hmm, Muffins should have been the random bit e...

Nah, random bit e: UKU NECK!

It's worked so far, so I made another mahogany/flamed maple 5 piece neck.





Scarf joint glueage going on in here.





And uh, I'm out of pics!

That's it! And I can't wait to get back into building some axes!!!!onweaes


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## theo (Apr 26, 2012)

those fret ends are great!!


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## asher (Apr 26, 2012)

MUFFINS!

screw this guitar crap.


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## scherzo1928 (Apr 27, 2012)

Ok, so I managed to route out the shape today!





Ahem. As you can see, this time I didn't route the shape on the router table... the guitar is waaay too thick even for the big ass bit. Instead, I did it in steps using the router jig, and EVEN THEN, I had to stack 2 40mm profiles to get the router high enough.

Also, what glue line? 

Done!










Few notes:

I'm really happy with the glue line. There was very little squeeze out on the outside, and I'm expecting even less on the inside. Applied glue with a brush, and apparently that worked great.

And uh... It resonates like a fothermucker!

edit: Strudel!


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## BlackMastodon (Apr 27, 2012)

You get some damn good desserts for yourself there don't you?  Looks very nice so far, as always.


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## asher (Apr 27, 2012)

How freaking thick is that body actually?

That is a very very classy glue line though.


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## Levi79 (Apr 28, 2012)

Nice work man.
Who makes you all these delicious looking treats?  I wish someone made me desserts while I worked on guitars.


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## CD1221 (Apr 28, 2012)

Looking great as usual scherzo, keep those pics coming!


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## Metal_Webb (Apr 28, 2012)

asher said:


> How freaking thick is that body actually?



Probably as thick as scherzo's is going to be if he keeps eating all these desserts when he's building 

Build's looking spot on mate, can't wait to hear the results!


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## vansinn (Apr 28, 2012)

Metal_Webb said:


> Probably as thick as scherzo's is going to be if he keeps eating all these desserts when he's building



Oh no, Scherzo is a _driven_ man, he's got the mojo, he's burning it all up handsawing extremely hard woods. 
And when he gets bored, he just starts building a tiny Ukulele - for the fun of it..
Nothing will bite on him


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## astm (Apr 28, 2012)

yet another awesome build(s) by you scherzo! good job man!


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## scherzo1928 (Apr 28, 2012)

BlackMastodon said:


> You get some damn good deserts for yourself there don't you?  Looks very nice so far, as always.


 
Thanks man, and yeah, there is always sweet lying around in the kitchen. 



asher said:


> How freaking thick is that body actually?
> 
> That is a very very classy glue line though.


 
56.4mm, or about 2.25in. And it's going to stay that way, since it's hollowed out.

As for the glue line. That's the reason I opted for routing out the shape AFTER getting the top glued to the body (looks cleaner). I figured the safest way to route the shape was before chambering the body, since chambering first and the routing the shape could be potentially bad... IF I had tearout when routing the shape, it could easily extend to the chambers. However, I chambered it first, glued the top, and THEN routed the shape, hoping I'd have a steady hand.



Levi79 said:


> Nice work man.
> Who makes you all these delicious looking treats?  I wish someone made me desserts while I worked on guitars.


 
I do a lot of stuff by hand, so it's pretty awesome to charge back up with some coatepec coffee even ziltoid would declare supreme, and some homemade deserts.



CD1221 said:


> Looking great as usual scherzo, keep those pics coming!


 
I'm planning on it... UPS might slow me down a bit in the next weeks, but I'll keep on making sawdust somehow.



Metal_Webb said:


> Probably as thick as scherzo's is going to be if he keeps eating all these desserts when he's building
> 
> Build's looking spot on mate, can't wait to hear the results!


 
 Well, I'm about 6' 2", and weight around 167 pounds. Nobody seems to explain how the hell I can eat so damn much and remain skinny... Though as I'm about to quote Vansinn, I don't stop during the entire day, be it handsawing, routing, sanding, studying effing, or whatnot. And I chug atleast 3500 calories a day.



vansinn said:


> Oh no, Scherzo is a _driven_ man, he's got the mojo, he's burning it all up handsawing extremely hard woods.
> And when he gets bored, he just starts building a tiny Ukulele - for the fun of it..
> Nothing will bite on him


 
Honeybadgers might... But other than that, 

Also, here's a pic of the sisters together for the first time!


----------



## aaron_rose (Apr 28, 2012)

I love favorite shirts, they only get better with age!


----------



## iRaiseTheDead (Apr 28, 2012)

Looking sick dude


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## scherzo1928 (Apr 28, 2012)

aaron_rose said:


> I love favorite shirts, they only get better with age!


 
Funny thing about that sweater is, is that it's been through all... You know how some brands sell "worn down" items? well, that sweater has been through all the shit they pretend to have been through. It's got a good 10,000 miles on it (yes, literally) It's had blood and/or puke on it. I had it on when I got news of an uncle dying, I had it on when a friend's son was born, It's been worn by people I didn't know before offering them the sweater (at a stop light), and they found me to give it back to me (same stop light I shit you not), and it's still with me to this day... It's a true trooper.

I think I'll hang it on a wall one day with it's entire story written beneath it.


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## scherzo1928 (May 3, 2012)

Alright SSO, help me decide. Binding on the walnut topped axe, yay or nay? The grannadillo axe will be getting binding btw.





Also, I was preparing myself to do a lot of fretwork, and thought the teal-ish color of the towel looked pretty sweet with the neck... just added something to the build list.





MORE Cake!






OH, turns out Tom's dogs aren't the only ones that like ERGs.


----------



## aaron_rose (May 3, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> Alright SSO, help me decide. Binding on the walnut topped axe, yay or nay? The grannadillo axe will be getting binding btw.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



love the staggered top wood string ferrules! If the binding was darker then yes! as far as the binding goes I like it.


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## unclejemima218 (May 3, 2012)

I vote yes on the binding. and yes I now understand that if it turns out looking like crap (though with scherzo building this may be impossible) I assume full responsibility and shall relinquish my SS.org powers.


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## sage (May 3, 2012)

1 vote for no binding.


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## Levi79 (May 3, 2012)

definitely bind it.


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## Konfyouzd (May 3, 2012)

I vote for binding. Also... Scherzo for president. Your builds are always awesome to watch!


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## BlackMastodon (May 3, 2012)

I am generally not a fan of light coloured binding, but this may actually turn out quite nice. I say go for it!


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## Konfyouzd (May 3, 2012)

BlackMastodon said:


> I am generally not a fan of light coloured binding, but this may actually turn out quite nice. I say go for it!



What kind of binding do you normally like? 

I know naturally the opposite of light is dark, but humor me.


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## scherzo1928 (May 3, 2012)

I'm having a really hard time deciding on the binding. On one hand, I think it would look really nice. On the other, this is meant to be a simple axe, and I feel like the binding might be too much.


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## vansinn (May 3, 2012)

I believe those woods, having a stark light/dark contrast, will look better when separated by bindings.
However, if white, I think they should be a tidbit narrower; if wide, maybe more to the off-white/aged looks.


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## flo (May 3, 2012)

I'm not a fan of bindings, but I believe this guitar would benefit from one... my first choice would have been a 1 or 2 mm veneer between the woods. thin binding?


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## scherzo1928 (May 3, 2012)

vansinn said:


> if white, I think they should be a tidbit narrower


 


flo said:


> I'm not a fan of bindings, but I believe this guitar would benefit from one... my first choice would have been a 1 or 2 mm veneer between the woods. thin binding?


 
Yeah, I'm thinking of getting the binding more or less at the height shown in the pic, and then beveling the top, and removing just a little bit of the binding as well.

Would almoast look like there is a flamed maple board sandwiched between the mahogany and walnut.

The option is not doing binding at all, and carving the top.


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## flo (May 3, 2012)

carving owns binding...


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## BlackMastodon (May 3, 2012)

Konfyouzd said:


> What kind of binding do you normally like?
> 
> I know naturally the opposite of light is dark, but humor me.


Any dark wood really, or even black plastic. I like the look of maple or ash (natural) with black binding, or ebony or something along those lines. I do also like natural binding though. It's just something about white binding on a dark guitar that bothers me, not sure why.


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## theo (May 3, 2012)

I vote yes for binding


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## scherzo1928 (May 3, 2012)

Alrighty, I asked for advice, and I'll stick to the vast majority of your opinions. BINDING IT IS!



BlackMastodon said:


> It's just something about white binding on a dark guitar that bothers me, not sure why.


 
It's actually flamed maple, gonna look sweet with the finish on.


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## BlackMastodon (May 3, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> Alrighty, I asked for advice, and I'll stick to the vast majority of your opinions. BINDING IT IS!
> 
> 
> 
> It's actually flamed maple, gonna look sweet with the finish on.


Must've been why I leaned towards the binding.


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## Necromagnon (May 4, 2012)

Dude, I hate you...

Also, I vote +1 for maple binding.


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## vansinn (May 4, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> Yeah, I'm thinking of getting the binding more or less at the height shown in the pic, and then beveling the top, and removing just a little bit of the binding as well.
> 
> Would almoast look like there is a flamed maple board sandwiched between the mahogany and walnut.
> 
> The option is not doing binding at all, and carving the top.



Do arch the whole top, just a little to make it not fully flat, and _then_ apply bindings just below the top.


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## sytraxiplague (May 4, 2012)

This is looking awesome dude! Can't wait to see the final product. And yes for binding.. Maybe an idiot for asking this, but I didn't see anything about it .... 6s or 7s??


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## scherzo1928 (May 4, 2012)

sytraxiplague said:


> This is looking awesome dude! Can't wait to see the final product. And yes for binding.. Maybe an idiot for asking this, but I didn't see anything about it .... 6s or 7s??


 
Both are 6s, and the uku is a 4 stringer 

edit: and thanks a bunch =P


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## JaeSwift (May 4, 2012)

I'm a sucker for the contrast between maple and darker woods so definitely +1 on the binding.

Also, labradors+guitars are awesome. I bet Tom is smiling now that he saw that pic haha.


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## Speculum Speculorum (May 5, 2012)

Perhaps all these pastry shots are giving me an unrealistic view of your apetites for home-made treats, but if that isn't the case... How are you not 500 pounds?

Also, your guitars are pretty freaking gorgeous!!!


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## Munch (May 6, 2012)

Wow, I hadn't been on this site in a while, and these are so awesome! A few things:

1. Thanks for the super jig description, I might have to look into that sort of thing some time.
2. Awesome rounded fret ends! They look really nice! I started doing that a little while ago and I think it's a really nice touch.
3. On the fret tang nippers, do they leave much tang left on the bottom of the crown? If so, do you just file off the remainder? I've almost gotten them so many times but I always had doubts.
4. That's crazy about the dremel bit almost getting your eye! One time I was cutting template stock on a table saw and the cut off piece got launched all the way across the shop and severely adjusted the portable heater. I've been more safety conscious since then...

Awesome builds! I am excited to see more.


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## scherzo1928 (May 6, 2012)

JaeSwift said:


> I'm a sucker for the contrast between maple and darker woods so definitely +1 on the binding.
> 
> Also, labradors+guitars are awesome. I bet Tom is smiling now that he saw that pic haha.


 
Yeah, I think the binding will be a nice touch.

And I hope Tom saw it 



Speculum Speculorum said:


> Perhaps all these pastry shots are giving me an unrealistic view of your apetites for home-made treats, but if that isn't the case... How are you not 500 pounds?
> 
> Also, your guitars are pretty freaking gorgeous!!!


 
I eat at least half of everything around here... There's actually 2 new strudels upstairs (well, one and a half left)



Munch said:


> 3. On the fret tang nippers, do they leave much tang left on the bottom of the crown? If so, do you just file off the remainder? I've almost gotten them so many times but I always had doubts.
> 
> Awesome builds! I am excited to see more.


 
Thanks man! Yeah, the fret tang nippers are pretty awesome, and they work fine for both silver-nickel and the evo fretwire... Not too sure about SS. And yep, you do have to file a tiiiny little bit off after "nipping"


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## Munch (May 6, 2012)

Cool, thanks!


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## Munch (May 6, 2012)

Also, I have been wondering about this tool for some time now: Fret Tang Removal Tool - Information and Pricing at LMI

It's really expensive but it would stabilize the file. I remember there were times that I would be filing off the tang and occasionally would accidentally file some of the bottom of the crown off. I don't know if different size fret wire would work with this tool though.


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## scherzo1928 (May 6, 2012)

Here's a little something something while I wait for all the hardware to arrive next week... Oh, and I also ordered some more binding, should be here soon.


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## Fiction (May 7, 2012)

It's so cute!


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## Rojne (May 8, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> MORE Cake!



 not helping!


----------



## anthonyferguson (May 8, 2012)

A frickin role model dude! I wish I had more time on my builds. Life gets in the way some times.


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## scherzo1928 (May 9, 2012)

anthonyferguson said:


> A frickin role model dude! I wish I had more time on my builds. Life gets in the way some times.


 
Aye. I'm guessing these 2 (alright 3) builds will be the last for a good while... who knows. Meanwhile I'm trying to cram as much work in as I can.

Ok, here come some updates from all 3 builds. First off, I've been working a lot on the little fucker. Got no pics, but I already cut the fingerboard, slotted it with a 350mm scale, cut the taper...




I guess I lied, I did have pics. Oh and FLAMESES


Today I worked on designing a headstock, and made an MDF template that came out looking like this:





I started routing it out on the router table, and everything was going just fine.










TEAR OUT!





HOLY SHIT I CAN'T BEGIN TO EXPLAIN HOW MUCH I HATE ROUTING ON THE ROUTER TABLE. woops, left the capslock on. Just so you get an idea of why I hate it, google "router accident" and look at the pics. Anyways after that I went back inside and had some cake.






Cajeta cake is always boss. 

As they say, you don't get courage and then do what you dread to do... You first do what you dread to do, and it's then that you attain courage. So after the cake I manned up and went back to the router table. Came out alright.





I am now courageous. 

I had to route the original shape out, then cut the template in half and "offset" it length wise about 5mm (< 1/4") to avoid the part that got it's ass handed to itself.

OK, I finally received all the shizniet I ordered for the axes. Here be it.





Tuners, bridges, P-rail, pots, knobs, jacks, ferrules and e very pretty birdseye maple board. I also got another package full of binding strips.





Here are the 2 birdseye boards





I like the look of the new one a tiny bit better. But I feel the other had a much nicer tap tone to it.

I think it's going to look very well with the granadillo top.





what the hell, another pic of the board.





Ok, this is where I call for your help... again. Any thoughts on what binding to use for the fingerboard? Remember it's a light board on a dark neck and darksh top. Oh and the body will get flamed maple binding.

First off, it's the flamed maple binding... pic came out waay too bright, but I guess you can imagine it.





Plain ebony binding





Ebony with wh/bl/wh laminate at the bottom





Rosewood with laminated bottom





"Oh, I almoast forgot #1". I also routed the channel for the binding on both axes.





"Oh, I almoast forgot #2" planned marked and slotted the birdseye board to 648mm (around 25.5"). And I DID do it listening to Windowpane. (inside story)











And, just to finish on a sweet note, I'm currently enjoying a concha de chocolate with some warm milk.





Thanks for reading!


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## theo (May 9, 2012)

jesus christ... I wish I hadn't just searched router accident. I was expecting to see tearout etc.. not mutilated fingers


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## scherzo1928 (May 9, 2012)

yeah man, a router doesn't do a nice clean cut like a table saw would. It fucks you up good.


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## Munch (May 10, 2012)

Holy crap those poor fingers...Routers freak me out. the first time I ever did an electronics cavity the bit started sliding out of the collet (I had it sticking too far out I think) and nearly went through the front of the body. I wonder what it would have done to my hands...Also, one time (also a learning moment) I had the plunge router down as much as it would go and it unscrewed the bushing I was using, which proceeded to rocket around the pickup cavity as it repeatedly got hit by the still spinning bit. Thankfully it didn't mess anything up.

Looking good! I think my vote would be for the rosewood with laminate binding. Or the Ebony with laminate, but I like that contrast a lot.

Also, I don't know the inside story, but Windowpane is one of my favorite songs ever. Good choice!


----------



## BlackMastodon (May 10, 2012)

Most power tools that cut are very unforgiving to fingers unless its a bandsaw or jig saw. I saw first hand how a table saw treated my dad's hand, luckily his fingers are fine albeit scarred pretty good from it.

But the work is looking good dude! I like the plain ebony binding on the finger board but at the same time I think matching the binding with the body binding might be a good idea, even if it will be maple on maple.

Also that is one of my favourite songs to listen to and play.


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## Empryrean (May 10, 2012)

Conchas are very much one of my favorite snacks, good taste Scherzie


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## spilla (May 10, 2012)

That tearout was nasty, nice save though man. The headstock turned out really well. 
Love the birdseye on the new fb but that fretted neck looks great and the rounded fret ends are a really nice touch. Not sure about binding, thats a hard one. In the pic where you are showing the birdseye that fretted neck screams f/maple binding... but when you have it next to the guitar a darker binding would look cool and i do like the look of that rosewood. Then again after you have added the maple binding to the gtar id probably go with f/maple again but im finding it hard to visualize. Wasnt that helpful...
Anyway, stella job as always!


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## Rusti (May 10, 2012)

Awesome job Scherzo!


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## vansinn (May 10, 2012)

@Scherzo: Stop making me overly sweet-tooth hungry!
Next to luthierie, you could run a biz taking pics of cousines to food magazines; your cake pics are damn inviting, especially that Cajeta cake 

WRT bindings, the ebony + w/b/w is pure win!

@Munch: Nice fret tang tool link. A Bit on the expensive side, maybe..


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## Murdstone (May 10, 2012)

I wish I found dessert like that when I was in Mexico, all I found was cheap beer and taco stands.


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## Necromagnon (May 10, 2012)

Com'on dude... Start your freaking cooking thread!


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## broj15 (May 10, 2012)

I'm not sure which i like more. These progress pics of your awesome builds or all the pictures of delicious baked goods


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## scherzo1928 (May 10, 2012)

Hmmm, I'll see if I can do flamed maple binding, but with a much thinner ebony strip between the board and the fm binding. If not I might go with the ebony + w/b/w trim.

Or maybe I'll stick to just flamed maple  Can't decide, they all look very pretty in person.


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## BlackMastodon (May 10, 2012)

I think if you could get like a very thin ebony veneer between the maple fretboard and flamed maple binding that would be absolutely incredible, and if you pull it off I may have to send you my first born child.


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## Munch (May 10, 2012)

Ooh, I second the thin ebony veneer.


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## scherzo1928 (May 14, 2012)

On the last episode of 2 new builds! I was unsure of what binding to use for the fingerboard. So i did a quick "mockup", and threw everything together to get a better idea of how the guitar would look as a whole.






So, with the black hardware, and the black/creme zebra pickups I opted for the ebony with w/b/w binding.

Slotted the fingerboard!




This was just the first pass, I then finished them up using the depthstop, and cut the neck taper into it.

Got the binding on... Pic came out way more dramatic than I intended.





Routed the trussrod thingo.





Errmm, glued the fingerboard, but my camera went on a vacation... you know, where dady went. But next up, I cut the neck taper into the granadillo neck... Since I didn't want the router to have to remove all that crap, I cut it out by hand. Queueeueuue dramatic cutting music.









x2

And, after a good session at the router table I was left with this.





Another unnecesarily dramatic pic










I think the colors work veeeeery very well together.





All for now! Today I start school again, And, I think I might be landing a very nice job prettey soon, so wish me luck.

Also, I always get a lot of hatemail about all the sweets and deserts, so there will be none in this update.


----------



## vansinn (May 14, 2012)

Oh no no no.. we're just so envious on those deserts  I know I am. 
Nice work, and best of luck with the job.


----------



## shadscbr (May 14, 2012)

Hey Scherzo, the builds really look great...I always look forward to new episodes 

Best of luck with school and landing that sweet job!!

fwiw- I enjoy it when you mix the culinary with the luthiery  

Shad


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## theo (May 14, 2012)

Man, I wish we lived on the same continent, I would pay you to teach me building techniques like this


----------



## aaron_rose (May 14, 2012)

You continue to blow my mind brother! NIce work!!!


----------



## Empryrean (May 14, 2012)

Scherzo is that the armadillo you're using for the neck!? :O

it looks gorgeous!


----------



## spilla (May 14, 2012)

Damn, love how the ebony makes the darker shades of the granadillo stand out and those pinstripes work really well especially with that laminated scarf. Looks great!


----------



## SilenceIsACrime (May 14, 2012)

DAT HEADSTOCK.

Actually, wait....

DAT EVERYTHING.


----------



## ECGuitars (May 14, 2012)

TEAR OUT!





HOLY SHIT I CAN'T BEGIN TO EXPLAIN HOW MUCH I HATE ROUTING ON THE ROUTER TABLE. woops, left the capslock on. Just so you get an idea of why I hate it, google "router accident" and look at the pics. Anyways after that I went back inside and had some cake.




Hey scherzo, to prevent something like this from happening again, what I'd suggest is to route from the edge to the center from both sides. End grain like that is really tricky and will almost always tear out if you route straight across i like this-----> or this<---- with out a support piece on the edge. However if you work in towards the center from each edge like this---><--- then that should prevent it.


----------



## Levi79 (May 14, 2012)

Very beautiful work dude! You've influenced me to grab more wood bindings on my next stewmac order. How many pieces does it take to bind a fretboard roughly?


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## scherzo1928 (May 15, 2012)

vansinn said:


> Oh no no no.. we're just so envious on those deserts  I know I am.
> Nice work, and best of luck with the job.


 
I'll make sure to include lots of food next time then.



shadscbr said:


> Hey Scherzo, the builds really look great...I always look forward to new episodes
> 
> Best of luck with school and landing that sweet job!!
> 
> ...


 
Thanks man. 



theo said:


> Man, I wish we lived on the same continent, I would pay you to teach me building techniques like this


 
What are you talking about? Pretty much everything is on my build threads... and there are only 3.



aaron_rose said:


> You continue to blow my mind brother! NIce work!!!


 




Empryrean said:


> Scherzo is that the armadillo you're using for the neck!? :O
> 
> it looks gorgeous!


 
Granadillo, not armadillo  

But yeah, that's the granadillo neck, and I've got another blank left. Can't wait to play this thang!



spilla said:


> Damn, love how the ebony makes the darker shades of the granadillo stand out and those pinstripes work really well especially with that laminated scarf. Looks great!


 
Thanks man. It was a tough call, but I think it was the right choice. 



SilenceIsACrime said:


> DAT HEADSTOCK.
> 
> Actually, wait....
> 
> DAT EVERYTHING.


 
Glad you liked the headstock. It always takes me ages to come up with a design for ANYTHING, but for some reason I got that one done in about 1 hour. Must have been very inspired that day.

But yeah, it's tough to make something new that isn't completely alien.



ECGuitars said:


> Hey scherzo, to prevent something like this from happening again, what I'd suggest is to route from the edge to the center from both sides. End grain like that is really tricky and will almost always tear out if you route straight across i like this-----> or this<---- with out a support piece on the edge. However if you work in towards the center from each edge like this---><--- then that should prevent it.


 
Yeah, routing like that was a bad idea. And I actually routed the shape f the granadillo headstock on my router rig, to have a bit more control, and it worked like a charm (well, I also didn't really have to go against endgrain.)

Thanks for the tip! 



Levi79 said:


> Very beautiful work dude! You've influenced me to grab more wood bindings on my next stewmac order. How many pieces does it take to bind a fretboard roughly?


 
Thanks! Little piece of advice, if you get flamed maple, make sure to ask for binding strips that don't have burn marks. Or if you get rosewood or cocobolo, ask for strips with similar grain and color.

edit: you need 2 pieces for a fingerboard, 1 for each side.


----------



## BlackMastodon (May 15, 2012)

Me gusta that neck, everything about it really. Good luck with school and your job, brother! I started school last week again for the summer semester and am not too impressed about having to do a full semester load during the summer.


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## Munch (May 15, 2012)

Another note on tearout, I forget which way a router bit spins (I think it's clockwise as you look down on the top of a right-side-up router, so counter for a table mounted one), but that changes the optimal direction for router movement. I'm sure someone has some wisdom on it online.


----------



## Levi79 (May 16, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> Thanks! Little piece of advice, if you get flamed maple, make sure to ask for binding strips that don't have burn marks. Or if you get rosewood or cocobolo, ask for strips with similar grain and color.
> 
> edit: you need 2 pieces for a fingerboard, 1 for each side.


I'll be sure to do so! Thanks for the tips man!


----------



## scherzo1928 (May 21, 2012)

Well, school started last week, and it started pretty hardcore, so I've barely had time to work on these things. However, Today I found some spare time, and managed this.





Should have gone with a superstrat shape  all the little curves and tails are quite hard to get right.


----------



## Munch (May 21, 2012)

Looks like you're doing a damn good job though!


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## asher (May 21, 2012)

How are you bending those, out of curiosity? I've tried a bunch of wood bending stuff for a materials class. Shit's a bitch


----------



## scherzo1928 (May 21, 2012)

asher said:


> I've tried a bunch of wood bending stuff for a materials class.


 
In the words of my poorly translated book: "Elastic modulus decreases when temperature increases."

In other words, I'm using a hair iron thing  I just slightly wet it with hot water, and use that thang.


----------



## asher (May 21, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> In the words of my poorly translated book: "Elastic modulus decreases when temperature increases."
> 
> In other words, I'm using a hair iron thing  I just slightly wet it with hot water, and use that thang.



Works!


----------



## vansinn (May 22, 2012)

^ for smaller pieces, a few seconds in a microware owen can work too 
Works for both woods and some plastics.
Time and power needed is a Bit of trial and error.


----------



## Necromagnon (May 22, 2012)

A friend sunk it in boiling water for a short time.
The best is still to use a bending iron, but it's quite expensive. A good way to make a cheap bending iron is to use an iron tube of diameter smaller than smallest curve you want, and heat it with a paint burner (don't know if it's the correct translation). It works very great, and you can use it also to make acoustic guitars.


----------



## scherzo1928 (May 22, 2012)

Thanks for the tips guys!


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## scherzo1928 (May 26, 2012)

Something's cooking...






And it smells like maple!





That's actually a test strip, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Also, I tried doing ebony binding for the granadillo axe, but I just can't bend it enough for those horn/tail things. I still think flamed maple will look sweet though.


----------



## BlackMastodon (May 26, 2012)

I imagine ebony would be a huge pain in the ass to bend that much, but the flamed maple will definitely look good. :agree:


----------



## ACG (May 27, 2012)

I'm digging those horns, very cool!


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## scherzo1928 (May 27, 2012)

Can't say I've got any updates, but I did make this:





Fothermucking flamed maple tea! Threw all the little pieces I've broken trying to bend the strips, and served a couple of cups... It was surprisingly good. I might actually do it more often with some offcuts I've got 



ACG said:


> I'm digging those horns, very cool!


 
Thanks a bunch man. The shape is an adaptation of my nylon 7 stringer:





Only took some fat off that fat ass of hers, offset it 15° and added those little horn things.


----------



## vansinn (May 27, 2012)

Nice progress. Cool idea with the curl iron.
Are you going to leave the headstock end of the fretboard perpendicular, or trim it to match the fanning?

Mmnn.. flamed maple in tomato soup.. looks delicious


----------



## Necromagnon (May 28, 2012)

Everybody says that ebony is clearly much easier to bend than flamed (and al figured woods). Evenmore, ebony is said to be of the easiest wood to bend...
And i've never succeed bending one even on small curvature... 

Now this said, nice tea!
I think that it's all the products used to treat wood that taste good: it acts like LSD.


----------



## vansinn (May 28, 2012)

^ clearly you must be talking primarily about Norvegian wood..


----------



## Munch (May 28, 2012)

I am excited to try out bending wood, thanks for the tips guys!


----------



## Erick Kroenen (May 31, 2012)

Where did you get the wood? coz im going back to mexico next month and i want to make a body for a guitar..


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## scherzo1928 (Jun 1, 2012)

dirgesong said:


> Where did you get the wood? coz im going back to mexico next month and i want to make a body for a guitar..


 
What wood? The mahogany and flamed maple is from a lumberyard closeish to my school. I got the granadillo from Yucatan. birdseye maple boards and the walnut I got from the U.S.


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## scherzo1928 (Jun 1, 2012)

After getting my fingers glued 2 times, managed to do this:





Might glue another strip later today, and then I need to bend the last strips.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Jun 1, 2012)

Lookin' very good! Such clean work.


----------



## canuck brian (Jun 1, 2012)

I feel really stupid not having checked out your stuff before dude! I'm loving it! The jig you've got for your drill press is inspiring much envy from me.

I saw that picture with the brutal tearout - just do way more passes taking off way less material. I only get tearout like that when I've tried to remove too much at one time. Once I started doing 2 or 3 mm at a time on the more sensitive parts, its' never happened again. Once you've got all the multiple passes done, put a longer bit in big enough to do the cut in one pass to clean up any edges. I've probably wrecked 3 or 4 headstocks and countless bodies taking off too much material.

I love what you're doing with the binding on these builds. 

For the evo fretwire - how is it treating your fret tang nipper? I've used the one I've had for years on all my builds and only when i exposed it to stainless steel did it really show severe wear. The evo wire has interested me in recent days so i'm just really curious to know how it's treating your tools.


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## scherzo1928 (Jun 1, 2012)

canuck brian said:


> I feel really stupid not having checked out your stuff before dude! I'm loving it! The jig you've got for your drill press is inspiring much envy from me.


 
I rely a lot on my aluminum profiles. They are a great way to hide how much I suck with hand tools, because with those profiles and a router I dont need to plane by hand (which I suck at), mate surfaces (which I suck at), make small recesses with a chissel (which I suck at, I actually got a very nasty cut with one today.)... I just think of how I could put those profiles to work, and get done with it.



canuck brian said:


> I saw that picture with the brutal tearout - just do way more passes taking off way less material. I only get tearout like that when I've tried to remove too much at one time. Once I started doing 2 or 3 mm at a time on the more sensitive parts, its' never happened again. Once you've got all the multiple passes done, put a longer bit in big enough to do the cut in one pass to clean up any edges. I've probably wrecked 3 or 4 headstocks and countless bodies taking off too much material.


 
Yeah, I always do a looot of passes, but this was a slightly different case, because the neck is too small, and I wasn't comfortable with my grip, so one thing led to another and BAM.



canuck brian said:


> I love what you're doing with the binding on these builds.


 
Great that you like it, because it's causing me some headaches  I hope the work involved will pay up.



canuck brian said:


> For the evo fretwire - how is it treating your fret tang nipper? I've used the one I've had for years on all my builds and only when i exposed it to stainless steel did it really show severe wear. The evo wire has interested me in recent days so i'm just really curious to know how it's treating your tools.


 
Well, I've only used the nipper for 2 22 fret necks, and it's still cutting the frets like butter. I'm actually surprised by how easy it cuts them. I really recomend you to try the evo wire btw.


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## scherzo1928 (Jun 7, 2012)

I've been hella busy, and progress has been hella slow. Here's what I've managed since the last update.





I had to put my knowledge of materials to good use, and I finally managed to come up with a way to make those tiiiny curves without the wood even splintering. Let's just say it involves heat treatments and residual stresses, or however it may be called in english.






The dark parts that look like gaps are actually glue that squeezed out. Still, there are little parts around the horns where I'll have to use a bit of wood dust with glue to fill it up. It's all because of how the wood bends. Try doing a "C" shape with one of your fingers, and watch how the inside wrinkles the more you curve it... well I need to fill in between those wrinkles. I filed them a bit prior to gluing, but they still need filling.


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## JayFraser (Jun 7, 2012)

Dude, everything you touch turns to gold. I've read all of your build threads, and they're all mindblowingly awesome. This one especially.


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## JamesM (Jun 7, 2012)

Awh yeah!


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## Necromagnon (Jun 8, 2012)

Great work!
How thick are those maple bindings? Anyway, you've just gone through this very well!! My last try was so horrible... I'm jalous!


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## peagull (Jun 8, 2012)

That is looking super sexy.

No cakes though?


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## scherzo1928 (Jun 9, 2012)

Aaaaalrighty, first things first. If you don't have a set of scrapers, then go buy one.... They are now one of my favorite tools. Used them to do some clean up work on the binding, and to get it fluch with the body. No pics of that though.

Then, I took a european door thing pattern bit, and beveled the edge of the guitar with it. I think it looks really well. The angle is low enough to make the top much more comfortable as well, and the very edge (on the maple binding itself) is rounded.
Pics!





I did it on my leveling jig, because this way the router is a lot more stable, particularly near the horns, and won't tumble over.

I think it came out alright.










I still need to work on filling up a couple of parts where I really bent the binding a lot, but it came out better than I was expecting for such an ambitious first attempt at binding... with figured wood... without the right tools... So yeah, I'm rather happy with how it came out.


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## TankJon666 (Jun 9, 2012)

Really, really, really nice work! Good to see something original too 

Although thats a bit hypocritical of me to talk about originality seeing as I'm building what is essentially an RG 

Your router rig thingy has got me thinking about doing a similiar setup.


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## spilla (Jun 9, 2012)

Coming together nicley!

How did you manage to follow the shape of the guitar when your beveled the edges? Did the router bit have a bearing?


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## scherzo1928 (Jun 9, 2012)

JayFraser said:


> Dude, everything you touch turns to gold. I've read all of your build threads, and they're all mindblowingly awesome. This one especially.


 
Awesome. I always have a great time building and updating the threads on the go, not knowing how they will turn out.



JamesM said:


> Awh yeah!


 
Again, happy bday



Necromagnon said:


> Great work!
> How thick are those maple bindings? Anyway, you've just gone through this very well!! My last try was so horrible... I'm jalous!


 
2mm thick. It didn't come out absolutely perfect, but I think I did the best I could with my tools, and the extreme curves involved. Thanks fr the tips btw!



peagull said:


> That is looking super sexy.
> 
> No cakes though?


 


Well, I just finished the last muffin from the last batch of blueberry muffins. 



TankJon666 said:


> Really, really, really nice work! Good to see something original too
> 
> Although thats a bit hypocritical of me to talk about originality seeing as I'm building what is essentially an RG
> 
> Your router rig thingy has got me thinking about doing a similiar setup.


 
Haha, well... my first build was a singlecut.

About the router jig... DOO EET!



spilla said:


> Coming together nicley!
> 
> How did you manage to follow the shape of the guitar when your beveled the edges? Did the router bit have a bearing?


 
Yup,


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## JaeSwift (Jun 9, 2012)

Holy shit that's a flat angle  Mine is much more steep. Should make a really comfy contour!


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## BlackMastodon (Jun 9, 2012)

Awesome bevels man! Really like how the binding is now rounded over. Every time I see fancy router bits like that I always wonder how they would work for beveling guitar edges.
And I definitely have to contact my local Parker supplier again and order my own jig. Of course I would have to draw out the plans for the jig and figure out how much material I need again but one of these days I will get to it.
Anyway, keep up the awesome work!


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## scherzo1928 (Jun 9, 2012)

JaeSwift said:


> Holy shit that's a flat angle  Mine is much more steep. Should make a really comfy contour!


 
Yeah man, I did "comfort tests" with this bit, as well as a 45° chamfer bit. I really like how the 45° bevel looks, but with the body of the guitar being so damn thick, I went for the most comfortable instead, particularly because I'm already compromising some comfort on this guitar on several aspects.



BlackMastodon said:


> Awesome bevels man! Really like how the binding is now rounded over. Every time I see fancy router bits like that I always wonder how they would work for beveling guitar edges.
> And I definitely have to contact my local Parker supplier again and order my own jig. Of course I would have to draw out the plans for the jig and figure out how much material I need again but one of these days I will get to it.
> Anyway, keep up the awesome work!


 
I'm guilty of this as well. For this particular bit, I like the idea of cutting a preliminary body shape, "beveling" with this bit at full depth, and then routing a second body shape, to get different patterns going... I'll give it a try one day I promise.


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## Necromagnon (Jun 14, 2012)




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## JaeSwift (Jun 14, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> Yeah man, I did "comfort tests" with this bit, as well as a 45° chamfer bit. I really like how the 45° bevel looks, but with the body of the guitar being so damn thick, I went for the most comfortable instead, particularly because I'm already compromising some comfort on this guitar on several aspects.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm guilty of this as well. For this particular bit, I like the idea of cutting a preliminary body shape, "beveling" with this bit at full depth, and then routing a second body shape, to get different patterns going... I'll give it a try one day I promise.



I used a 45° chamfer bit on the back of my guitar (did the entire back rather than just a belly contour) and the forearm contour is largely made with it as well. I think due to the thinnes of the body and the angle I use to hold my hand on the Hipshot bridge it worked out really nice and comfy.

Definitely did not expect that chamfer bits and other angled bits could give as much comfort as a proper forearm or belly contour.

I'm gonna try to get some of that there fancy neck wood as well; ever since I've started with Myrtlewood I've become obsessed with better alternatives to maple (myrtlewood being much more stable).


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## scherzo1928 (Jun 15, 2012)

Small update...






AAAWWW YEEAH





Doing all of the binding took me about 1 month . Just bending each of the long strips took me around 6-7 hours. The bad news is that finding time to build is becoming increasingly difficult. The good one, is I'm pretty pretty close to landing that sweet ass job.

Oooh, I'm also thinking of adding a neck pickup to the walnut axe... Probably another P-rail... still need to decide on that.



JaeSwift said:


> I'm gonna try to get some of that there fancy neck wood as well; ever since I've started with Myrtlewood I've become obsessed with better alternatives to maple (myrtlewood being much more stable).


 
Go for it, but it might not be an easy task, since it's a bit difficult to source atm.


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## TankJon666 (Jun 15, 2012)

That is looking soooooo good! The time spent with the binding was totally worth it! Out of interest. How do you get on with using the scrapers? Are they worth investing in a set?


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## Levi79 (Jun 15, 2012)

Looks great dude! I'd throw a neck pickup in there personally. Do you have experience with those P-Rails? I really want to try them out, but I don't want to buy new ones cause I don't know if I'll like them.


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## Necromagnon (Jun 15, 2012)

Necromagnon said:


>


Bis repetita.


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## scherzo1928 (Jun 30, 2012)

Levi79 said:


> Looks great dude! I'd throw a neck pickup in there personally. Do you have experience with those P-Rails? I really want to try them out, but I don't want to buy new ones cause I don't know if I'll like them.


 
Nope, never played them before. I like what I've heard from videos and clips though.


Aaaanywho. After about 2 weeks of working my ass off I'm back on the builds.
Not much to update, I've fretted the granadillo neck:





Aaand I started to round the edges.





Aaaaaand, I sanded both tops to remove the planning marks.





Yah, that's how fucking stupid dense granadillo is.
edit: that's only sanded to 220 grit btw

I'm hoping to get some more build time this week.


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## BIG ND SWEATY (Jun 30, 2012)

that is literally one of the best looking necks iv ever seen


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## Necromagnon (Jul 1, 2012)

I generally hate maple fretboard, but with this black binding and gold frets... 

I can't work on my builds until early august... I can't stand!


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## scherzo1928 (Jul 1, 2012)

BIG ND SWEATY said:


> that is literally one of the best looking necks iv ever seen


 
It does look good, haha. It's also going to feel übersmooth once it's finished. And I expect it to sound even better.



Necromagnon said:


> I generally hate maple fretboard, but with this black binding and gold frets...
> 
> I can't work on my builds until early august... I can't stand!


 
Yeah, I was never really a maple fingerboard kinda guy. Still not sure about what made me change my mind and get 3 maple fingerboards  Only thing I'd change on this particular neck are the frets, but I don't know of anyone making good black frets... and I love the evo wire...

Oh, and it suck that you can't stand. I know what that's like because of that stupid leg injury that keeps coming back to haunt me now and then.


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## TankJon666 (Jul 1, 2012)

Looking particularly awesome!!

The black binding against the maple is fantastic.


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## aaron_rose (Jul 1, 2012)

i agree the black and maple is a win combo, love the contrast and taste.


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## Levi79 (Jul 1, 2012)

God damn man, dat fretboard. I love black/ebony binding on a maple board. I think I just like as much contrast as possible on a guitar.  I plan to do that on my current build but with plastic so it's not as cool


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## GuitaristOfHell (Jul 1, 2012)

Gotta see this finished!


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## scherzo1928 (Jul 1, 2012)

Levi79 said:


> God damn man, dat fretboard. I love black/ebony binding on a maple board. I think I just like as much contrast as possible on a guitar.  I plan to do that on my current build but with plastic so it's not as cool


 
Niiiice. Are you binding the whole guitar, or just the fingerboard? I'd say that if it's just the board, go for ebony binding, as it feels really smooth.


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## peagull (Jul 1, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


>




 wow, just wow



Who needs gratuitous cake pics with neck shots like that. It looks good enough to eat


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Jul 1, 2012)

Looking fucking hot dude!


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## Levi79 (Jul 2, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> Niiiice. Are you binding the whole guitar, or just the fingerboard? I'd say that if it's just the board, go for ebony binding, as it feels really smooth.


Thats exactly why I'm not using wood binding on the fretboard. I'm using cream plastic binding on the body and headstock to contrast the Walnut and Rosewood and match my cream/black Duncans.


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## Necromagnon (Jul 2, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> Oh, and it suck that you can't stand. I know what that's like because of that stupid leg injury that keeps coming back to haunt me now and then.



I just can't stand the fact I can't work on my builds.


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## spilla (Jul 2, 2012)

Looks great man!


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## BlackMastodon (Jul 2, 2012)

Necromagnon said:


> I just can't stand the fact I can't work on my builds.


I hear you man. 
Great looking neck scherzo!


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## Sirppi (Jul 2, 2012)

This. Is. Awesome.


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## scherzo1928 (Jul 3, 2012)

"Shine down upon the severed shine until the two become one"




















x2


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## Thrashmanzac (Jul 3, 2012)

^ like a glove!


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## scherzo1928 (Jul 3, 2012)

Bahaha you made my day


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## Necromagnon (Jul 3, 2012)

I was searching for a stupid thing to say or a stupid emoticon to post, but I think I can't beat Thrashmanzac.


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## Thrashmanzac (Jul 3, 2012)

seriously though, that shit is tight:


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## sibanez29 (Jul 3, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> "Shine down upon the severed shine until the two become one"


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## peagull (Jul 3, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


>



All I have to say is


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## spilla (Jul 6, 2012)

Looks great man, really starting to take shape now... cant wait for the next few updates!


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## Erick Kroenen (Aug 7, 2012)

Hey dude, i'm in Mexico .. any updates.. i would like to know where did u get your wood and frets?.. i wanna start a project..


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## Pikka Bird (Aug 8, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> "Shine down upon the severed shine until the two become one"


Spice Girls, right? 

I'm loving your work. I'm especially fond of the beveled top with the binding.


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## scherzo1928 (Aug 9, 2012)

dirgesong said:


> Hey dude, i'm in Mexico .. any updates.. i would like to know where did u get your wood and frets?.. i wanna start a project..


 
I've been stupidly busy the past 3 or 4 weeks. I expect I'll be getting some build time next week though.

I buy almoast everything from the US. I bought the granadillo from someone in Yucatan (I'm PMing you his email) but it takes him a couple of weeks to get that kind of boards, plus another week to ship.

My advice, as strange as it may seem is this: Buy Mexican wood outside of Mexico. All the good boards of cocobolo, ziricote, bocote, camatillo, ironwood, granadillo, plao escrito, mahogany... are exported, and it's almoast impossible to buy anything decent in here.



Pikka Bird said:


> Spice Girls, right?
> 
> I'm loving your work. I'm especially fond of the beveled top with the binding.


 
Thnks a bunch mate. I'm just dying to finish these axes!!!


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## scherzo1928 (Aug 21, 2012)

Thought I'd update all I've managed to do with a single pic.






Roted the pickup cavities for the granadillo axe.
Made a new template for the rectangular tabbed Seymour Duncans... routed them cavities.
Drilled recesses for the tuners on both necks.
Drilled teh tuner things on both necks.
Hmm, I also installed side dots on the necks.

I'll be glueieineing both necks to their bodies later today!


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## scherzo1928 (Aug 22, 2012)

Building stuff always feels so damn fine!





It's a damn shame I'm having so much fun at work and can barely find time to build!


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## BlackMastodon (Aug 22, 2012)

Still finding more time than I am to build. 
But my last final is this Friday so next week I will have tons of time.  Those are coming together really well by the way. Love the look of recessed tuner washer....things....


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## scherzo1928 (Aug 28, 2012)

I've started carving both necks!





Only got picks of the granadillo neck though =S

So uh, ass-e-metric profile, flat back, heavy shoulder on the bass side, nice soft curve on the treble. Still lots of work left on the heel and headstock areas.

Also, carving necks is such a great thing to do!


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## b7string (Aug 29, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> It's a damn shame I'm having so much fun at work and can barely find time to build!



I don't know what you do for a living, but sign me up!  (Unless that was sarcasm )...

Anyway, these look phenomenal! Your tenacity and perseverance with guitar building is truly inspiring


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## BlackMastodon (Aug 29, 2012)

How's the granadillo for carving on the necks? Looks great so far!


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## scherzo1928 (Aug 29, 2012)

b7string said:


> I don't know what you do for a living, but sign me up!  (Unless that was sarcasm )...


 
Haha, no sarcasm, I'm really enjoying it a lot.



BlackMastodon said:


> How's the granadillo for carving on the necks? Looks great so far!


 
friggin tough, but I guess it could be better. It takes a lot of effort to get any work done on it. HOWEVER, it's not splintery or any of that kind of stuff. It does machine surprisingly well, you just need to apply a lot more force and keep sharpening your blades.

Also, it smells WONDERFUL.


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## Levi79 (Aug 29, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> Haha, no sarcasm, I'm really enjoying it a lot.


That's great man, not alot of people can say that. What do you do for a living?


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## scherzo1928 (Aug 30, 2012)

Levi79 said:


> That's great man, not alot of people can say that. What do you do for a living?


 
Doing engineering stuff at Ford.


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## scherzo1928 (Sep 8, 2012)

Can't even explain how much I wish I could play this axe already... Oh well, it' very close.


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## Fiction (Sep 9, 2012)

Dayum that back looks smooooooooooove.

I just want to... Touch It!


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## rythmic_pulses (Sep 11, 2012)

Your builds are always an inspiring story Scherzo, love watching them take form, I have to agree with Fic and say: Smoove....


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## Erick Kroenen (Sep 22, 2012)

hey dude one of this days i would like to meet you and see your axes, i'm staying in Mexico for undetermined time for now, and really love your work


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## axxessdenied (Sep 23, 2012)

Wow, looks stunning so far!!


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## jarnozz (Sep 23, 2012)

It looks so great and smooth!


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## scherzo1928 (Oct 7, 2012)

I'll go straight to the money shots.











Made some danish oil (Mexican oil (yes it's as nasty as it sounds)) and oiled her up.


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## JamesM (Oct 7, 2012)

No words!


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## AndrewG716 (Oct 7, 2012)

Oh Hot Damn!


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## BlackMastodon (Oct 8, 2012)

The binding and that top really stand out with the oil applied. I love it!


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## scherzo1928 (Oct 13, 2012)

Looking like this after a week.






Also, got the first coat of oil on the other one.





This one is getting plain boiled linseed oil... no alchemy or anything.


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## HighPotency (Oct 13, 2012)

Sex.


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## BlackMastodon (Oct 13, 2012)

Ver' nais.


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## vansinn (Oct 14, 2012)

Yum yum - and pics don't even pay justice to the finish


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## sage (Oct 14, 2012)

Wow. Just wow. As for the game on in the background, it may take 3 Cuban players to defect prior to a game for Canada to win, but hey, we'll take it!


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## bigswifty (Oct 15, 2012)

HOLY


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## scherzo1928 (Oct 29, 2012)

Yep





NGD is on the way


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## skisgaar (Oct 29, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> Yep
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## BlackMastodon (Oct 29, 2012)

scherzo1928 said:


> Yep








Mmmmhm.

Patiently awaiting the NGDs


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