# Australian First Build Guitar



## aus (Dec 31, 2011)

I felt like having a guitar with better fret access/higher frets. I think something like a Randy Rhoads shape would be suited to having such an extreme cutaway so here is a design but I didn't much like the shape so I changed it a bit.

The heel of the neck will be about 6cm closer to the bridge to allow greater fret access to the high frets however this presents a challenge with maintaining the stability of the neck with the neck pickup so I'll have to figure that one out.







*Neck*

650mm scale (25.59")
Wilkinson Ez-loc Tuners6 string
Locking nut (for tuning stability)
32 fret (maybe more if I feel like it)
Infinite radius fretboard (radiusing is too much trouble)
Scalloped fretboard (as many as I can be bothered to scallop)
Jumbo frets
Extra Thin Flat Neck Contour
Non tilted headstock.

*Body*

HSH Dragonfire Screamer pickups
vol/tone/position switch
Wilkinson Strat Tremolo
Stap buttons

*Wood*
I'll be trying to keep costs realistic so I'll head down to a place called "Hudson Building Supplies", they offer a joinery service so I might be able to get the guitar blank made from some 90x45 planks glued together (might even be able to get them to put a truss rod rout in the neck).

Neck Wood 90x45x1260mm
Wing Wood 90x45x2250mm
Fretboard need to be very hard since it will be thin in some places.

I'll see if they have maple for the neck through and some nice pine for the wings.






*I am about to buy.*
...From Dragon fire Guitars
Wilkinson Tuners
Pickups/electronics
Locking nut
Wilkinson
Stap buttons
-----AU$117.151

...From Australian Luthiers Supplies
Jumbo nickel alloy 6x12 inch
Two way Gotoh Truss rod 
-----AU$46.28

Glue $?
*
Tools*

0.023" fret slotting saw
Chisel (carving, routing) *What size should I get?*
Rasp (carving) *What roughness should I get?*
Spoke Shave (carving neck/body)
Fret file *Anyone recommend one?*
Metal Ruler (0.5mm increment)
Hand Saw (in place of band saw) *What size should I get?*
Wire Cutters 
Clamps 
Drill (buffing, drilling)
Drill Press *Only if I can use of one for free*

I'll try to borrow the orange stuff.

I'll worry about finishing supplies later. Hopefully the tools will not cost too much.

Let me know what you think, I'll get started once I have bought the wood and tools.


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## Berserker (Jan 1, 2012)

IMO you need to buy/borrow/steal a router, I can't imagine tackling a guitar without one. Also, maybe a jigsaw to cut out the body shape... I can't see your pictures but I guess if it's a V type body you may get away with a hand saw.

Reallistically, you need a selection of chisels, rasps etc. and a whole shit load of clamps.

Good luck whatever you decide to do!


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## Solodini (Jan 1, 2012)

Do you play classical guitars? Do you like their infinite radius fingerboards? If not, I'd say it's probably worth the extra few dollars to buy a radiusing block from your Luther supply company. What's your thought process behind not tilting the headstock? You'll be carving a lot of wood from the neck if you're wanting it to be thin so are you sure your neck to headstock join will be strong enough that way? 

Your pics aren't working for me either, btw.


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## aus (Jan 1, 2012)

Berserker said:


> IMO you need to buy/borrow/steal a router, I can't imagine tackling a guitar without one. Also, maybe a jigsaw to cut out the body shape... I can't see your pictures but I guess if it's a V type body you may get away with a hand saw.
> 
> Reallistically, you need a selection of chisels, rasps etc. and a whole shit load of clamps.
> 
> Good luck whatever you decide to do!



It is good exercise and I don't like using other people's stuff or buying stuff I can do without even if it makes life harder. Thanks for your input.



Solodini said:


> Do you play classical guitars? Do you like their infinite radius fingerboards? If not, I'd say it's probably worth the extra few dollars to buy a radiusing block from your Luther supply company. What's your thought process behind not tilting the headstock? You'll be carving a lot of wood from the neck if you're wanting it to be thin so are you sure your neck to headstock join will be strong enough that way?
> 
> Your pics aren't working for me either, btw.



Thanks for the reply.

Hopefully the pictures are working now, they work for me.

I have only played cheap acoustics with low tension/high action nylon strings so I don't think that would count as a classical guitar but at $42 for a radius block it seems like a lot of money to me.

I am hoping the neck will be strong enough at the thickness of the esp guitar I have and I hope that a fender style headstock construction will be strong enough. My impression is that they are strong enough, although I did not make it clear I was going to use a fender style headstock construction.


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## Solodini (Jan 1, 2012)

There must be a cheaper radius block out there. I thought they were around 20.


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## Berserker (Jan 1, 2012)

aus said:


> It is good exercise and I don't like using other people's stuff or buying stuff I can do without even if it makes life harder. Thanks for your input.


 

Fair enough man, each to his own but you're gonna have fun chiselling the pickup and control cavities!

I can see the pics now and cutting that body shape with a hand saw will be tricky... maybe a coping saw would be the best bet.

Either way, I look forward to seeing your progress.


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## aus (Jan 2, 2012)

I Went down to the building supplies store but it was closed due to it being a public holiday so I went to Bunnings and picked up a 60cm 0.5mm increment metal rule, a 19mm chisel, a 30cm hack saw and a pair of 600mm bar clamps. I didn't know how rough the rasp should be so I'll buy that some other time and the spoke shaves were about $60 which is too much so I will have to borrow or do without.

$79.30 Tools.

$5.10 Travel.






No wood today since the building supply shop was closed, bunnings had Tasmanian Oak and pine. Would Tasmanian Oak be suitable for the neck piece? I have read that Oak changes with the humidity levels.


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## Floody_85 (Jan 2, 2012)

aus said:


> No wood today since the building supply shop was closed, bunnings had Tasmanian Oak and pine. Would Tasmanian Oak be suitable for the neck piece? I have read that Oak changes with the humidity levels.



Tassie oak is fine for a neck. Not the best but definately works. My first neck was tassie oak cos I didnt wanna ruin anything expensive.

Also, not sure if the Hudsons ur talking about is the same as here in Sydney, but if it is, I dont think they really carry anything suitable for tonewood. Mostly just pine and tassie oak. I might be wrong though. Good luck with it


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## Connor (Jan 2, 2012)

a) you'll need more clamps than that
b) you'll need a better saw than that
c) you'll need more chisels than that
Get the roughest rasp you can get (half curve), then get a file and then a bunch of 40, 80, 120, 240, 400 grit sandpaper.
Pretty sure bunnings have spokeshaves for around $20 last time I checked.
Also, how are you going to route the trussrod cavity? I've done it completely by hand with a 6mm chisel, took a long ass time.
Hit up lmii.com for your woods. Postage will be more but its better quality. (got my order from them quicker than Australian Luthier Supplies, I'm in Sydneys inner-west)
Also, with your neck, what will be the width at the nut and at the 24th fret?
I'd also suggest a longer scale for that many frets, especially if you plan on them actually being usable.
Hit up my thread "New 6 String Build" might answer a few more questions for you.


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## Solodini (Jan 2, 2012)

And you could easily make some clamps with some long bolts and some mdf.


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## demonx (Jan 2, 2012)

That heel was my my solution to upper fret access when I built a rhoads for myself. Full access without changing the appearance from the front.

Just reading your post I reckon you are not ready to build a guitar and really need to do some research. Join the projectguitar.com forum, read through and study people's build threads.

A comment saying you can't be bothered radiusing a board ( which only takes about ten minutes) tells me you really can't be bothered building a guitar. When it takes several months to carve and sand a guitar yet you can't be bothered to spend ten fifteen minutes sanding a radius?

You want how many frets in a 25.5" scale??? Thats adding nearly 10cm length to your fingerboard... You do realise to do this the fretboard will end out finishing not far from your bridge pickup if you want the bridge in a normal spot - either that or the bridge pickup will be not far from your cutaway and the bridge towards the front of the guitar when you move the neck forwards so the fretboard ends at the cutaway. Do some research on scale length/bridge placement etc you'll start to understand what I mean.

You really cannot make a guitar with that saw. In fact there's not really any part if building a guitar where you'll use that saw. Not going to happen. 

A heads up that the gotoh truss rod you've sighted is a big chunky piece of shit and if you use it I hope you like fat chunky necks, otherwise you'll carve into the truss rod slot.

Also I'd imagine paying a joiner to route a truss slot would probably cost more than buying a router and doing it yourself. I would not trust a joiner or cabinet maker to route one anyway. They wouldn't display the care that is needed.

Ok - so heres some advice... I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to invoke a reality check. I've been where you are, wanting to build a guitar, dreams of building this awesome axe but fuck all tools and no money to buy them. Guess what... It doesnt work. Simple. Did that stop me trying? No. Was I successful? No. Did I try again cause I'm a stubborn dick head? Yes. Was it a fuck up? Yes. So... years later, I am building guitars, but theres been tens of thousands of dollars spent setting up a workshop in the mean time. At the end of the day, if you don't have the tools for the job, you cannot do the job. You need to spend more time researching bare minimum tools (which will cost you more than buying a hand made guitar) - research the complete process beginning to end. Have EVERY step planned out along the way in your head so when you go to put it into proctice you've done it a million times in your head already. get onto the project guitar forum and start your education.

Cheers


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## Solodini (Jan 2, 2012)

What he had said may sound harsh but it sounds well intentioned and wise, as well. It might be better to do something simpler on a guitar where you can't spend much money on it. If you were forking out for top notch woods then I'd say to build your dream guitar to the best of your abilities but the time you'll invest in cheap wood may as well be spent learning about the structural requirements and limitations of an instrument.


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## aus (Jan 2, 2012)

Floody_85 said:


> Tassie oak is fine for a neck. Not the best but definately works. My first neck was tassie oak cos I didnt wanna ruin anything expensive.
> 
> Also, not sure if the Hudsons ur talking about is the same as here in Sydney, but if it is, I dont think they really carry anything suitable for tonewood. Mostly just pine and tassie oak. I might be wrong though. Good luck with it



I'll pick up some Tasmanian Oak then. I might have gone with a oak neck and pine body but it might be easier to just do a neck through guitar.



Connor said:


> a) you'll need more clamps than that
> b) you'll need a better saw than that
> c) you'll need more chisels than that
> Get the roughest rasp you can get (half curve), then get a file and then a bunch of 40, 80, 120, 240, 400 grit sandpaper.
> ...



I'll return the hack saw and get a better one, I am not sure what kind of saw but I'll be cutting oak so I'll ask them what they recommend. I'm in Newcastle btw.

I'll get the roughest bastard rasp they have, a 6mm chisel, borrowing a spokeshave.

I have just bought a two way truss rod, the fretting kit, fret wire and a fret saw from lmii.com

I won't be making it a longer scale because it will not feel right, my agile 828 does not feel right compared to my standard 25.5 scale guitar.

[youtube]QLfqyyFHZYw[/youtube]

Neck width will be a standard 43mm at the nut and 56mm at 24th fret.



Solodini said:


> And you could easily make some clamps with some long bolts and some mdf.



Good idea.



demonx said:


> That heel was my my solution to upper fret access when I built a rhoads for myself. Full access without changing the appearance from the front.



looks good.



demonx said:


> Just reading your post I reckon you are not ready to build a guitar and really need to do some research. Join the projectguitar.com forum, read through and study people's build threads.



I'll have a look at that forum, thanks for the link.



demonx said:


> A comment saying you can't be bothered radiusing a board ( which only takes about ten minutes) tells me you really can't be bothered building a guitar. When it takes several months to carve and sand a guitar yet you can't be bothered to spend ten fifteen minutes sanding a radius?



I don't think a fretboard radius necessary.



demonx said:


> You want how many frets in a 25.5" scale??? Thats adding nearly 10cm length to your fingerboard... You do realise to do this the fretboard will end out finishing not far from your bridge pickup if you want the bridge in a normal spot - either that or the bridge pickup will be not far from your cutaway and the bridge towards the front of the guitar when you move the neck forwards so the fretboard ends at the cutaway. Do some research on scale length/bridge placement etc you'll start to understand what I mean.



The fretboard (32 fret) will end at 10.2cm away from the bridge, the single coil middle pickup will be about 9cm away from the bridge which is about normal placing.

Once I am happy with the neck heel and the cutaway I will place the neck pickup which will be slid in from the cutaway. One of the challenges will be how wide the pick up is and how that will affect the access to the higher frets. Since Pickups are 1cm wider than the strings and the screw attachment is a little more I'll have to shave what I can. (edit: I'll just go with two humbuckers).



demonx said:


> You really cannot make a guitar with that saw. In fact there's not really any part if building a guitar where you'll use that saw. Not going to happen.



I'll replace it for one suitable for oak.



demonx said:


> A heads up that the gotoh truss rod you've sighted is a big chunky piece of shit and if you use it I hope you like fat chunky necks, otherwise you'll carve into the truss rod slot.



I bought one from lmii.com which requires a 9.5mm deep rout and the neck will be 15mm thick with a 5mm thick fretboard.



demonx said:


> Also I'd imagine paying a joiner to route a truss slot would probably cost more than buying a router and doing it yourself. I would not trust a joiner or cabinet maker to route one anyway. They wouldn't display the care that is needed.



Yeah it would probably be best to do it myself, I have a couple hundred hours I can put into this before I go back to uni so time is cheap but money is finite.



demonx said:


> Ok - so heres some advice... I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to invoke a reality check. I've been where you are, wanting to build a guitar, dreams of building this awesome axe but fuck all tools and no money to buy them. Guess what... It doesnt work. Simple. Did that stop me trying? No. Was I successful? No. Did I try again cause I'm a stubborn dick head? Yes. Was it a fuck up? Yes. So... years later, I am building guitars, but theres been tens of thousands of dollars spent setting up a workshop in the mean time. At the end of the day, if you don't have the tools for the job, you cannot do the job. You need to spend more time researching bare minimum tools (which will cost you more than buying a hand made guitar) - research the complete process beginning to end. Have EVERY step planned out along the way in your head so when you go to put it into proctice you've done it a million times in your head already. get onto the project guitar forum and start your education.
> 
> Cheers



Yeah the tool expense is creeping up, spending money is very difficult for me. I would not want someone else to build the guitar though since doing stuff myself is more rewarding.

I'll scrap the neck pickup I think the fretboard will be too thin to get the pickup to the right hight. I'll just have two humbuckers side by side.



Solodini said:


> What he had said may sound harsh but it sounds well intentioned and wise, as well. It might be better to do something simpler on a guitar where you can't spend much money on it. If you were forking out for top notch woods then I'd say to build your dream guitar to the best of your abilities but the time you'll invest in cheap wood may as well be spent learning about the structural requirements and limitations of an instrument.



I do not yet care about expensive wood, it seems like a marketing ploy to me and I would not feel right spending so much money. My maple neck basswood guitar sounds fine. I am going to pain the guitar a solid colour anyway as the wood is not interesting colour to me.

Thanks for your input it has given me a lot of think about.


Total cost of guitar build is now at $500.


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## demonx (Jan 3, 2012)

About those quick grip clamps:
They are good for tacking things quick, but you really cannot get a lot of "hold" out of them as they wont hold real tight. When laminating timber you want it to be pretty firm but not impossibly tight. I use quick grip clamps for some things, but not laminating and definitely not when you're chisseling or routing as they cannot be trusted to hold. 

Reguarding the saw.

You need something that can cut straight and curved. Cut deep (think how long the lines in a guitar are and how deep the saw can cut) - the hacksaw can only cut as deep as the frame as then the frame gets in the way. Also get try find a saw that doesnt have a frame or a lip on the rear of it. 

If you dont have thicknessers or planers or jointers, then you're definitely going to need a really good, sharp hand plane. I reccoment a Stanley Baileys, they are about a hundred bucks at the hardware shop, but you can normally pick them up off ebay. I got my good one at a garage sale. It's a Baileys 6.5 - It gets use a lot and I have all that machinery, but you still need the hand plane.

You'll need lots of sandpaper. Buy it from a auto supplies place as the bunnings sandpaper is shit and its actually more expensive. Dont waste your money on all the fancy sanding blocks at the paint shop, buy one of the small cork ones from Bunnings for a few bucks. I have a collection of pro sanding blocks worth a couple hundred bucks and I always go back to the cheapo cork one.

Going to need a long (30cm) drill bit for your electronics cavity holes. A hole/center punch. A 10mm brad point for the tuner holes. 

Make sure you use yellow wood glue, not the white PVA. You can get titebond from "australian luthier supplies" when you place an order from there for something else.

This is the size chisel I use when carving the neck:





This is the size rasp and bastard file I use when carving a neck:





another pic here:





This is all the tools I use to fret with, nothing fancy until you go to level and crown, then theres money spent on those tools:


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## demonx (Jan 3, 2012)

When it comes to the fretwork, I use the following:

homemade leveling block with 320 grit sandpaper (using a aluminium block leveled on a linisher)





Diamond crowning file:





Fret Rocker:





Bevelling file:





Fret edge file:





Heres a guide I wrote on another forum:
BC Rich Players Forum for BC Rich Enthusiasts &bull; Login


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## Berserker (Jan 3, 2012)

Lots of good advice in this thread... slow down, save up some cash and follow the advice above.


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## aus (Jan 3, 2012)

I bought some more tools. $61 this time. I bought a rougher saw, a "bastard cut" rasp, 6mm chisel and some wood glue (oops it is pva). I also bought the wood which came to $52 and I should be able to pick that up after they machine it (should be ready on Thursday they said).

They said the Oak can only be dressed to 42mm so that is how thick the guitar will be.

A friend is going to let me borrow his drill as well which I will be able to get in a week or so when he brings it from home.








demonx said:


> About those quick grip clamps:
> They are good for tacking things quick, but you really cannot get a lot of "hold" out of them as they wont hold real tight. When laminating timber you want it to be pretty firm but not impossibly tight. I use quick grip clamps for some things, but not laminating and definitely not when you're chisseling or routing as they cannot be trusted to hold.
> 
> Reguarding the saw.
> ...



Good thinking about the saw.



demonx said:


> If you dont have thicknessers or planers or jointers, then you're definitely going to need a really good, sharp hand plane. I reccoment a Stanley Baileys, they are about a hundred bucks at the hardware shop, but you can normally pick them up off ebay. I got my good one at a garage sale. It's a Baileys 6.5 - It gets use a lot and I have all that machinery, but you still need the hand plane.



I'll have to make do with a spoke shave.



demonx said:


> You'll need lots of sandpaper. Buy it from a auto supplies place as the bunnings sandpaper is shit and its actually more expensive. Dont waste your money on all the fancy sanding blocks at the paint shop, buy one of the small cork ones from Bunnings for a few bucks. I have a collection of pro sanding blocks worth a couple hundred bucks and I always go back to the cheapo cork one.



Good idea.



demonx said:


> Going to need a long (30cm) drill bit for your electronics cavity holes. A hole/center punch. A 10mm brad point for the tuner holes.



30cm sounds expensive, I'll design the electronics routing so it makes use of what I have on hand. I'll use a spare screw or a nail for a center punch. I don't know if my friend has a 10mm drill piece so if he does not I'll draw the 10mm circle on the wood and then carve it out with a smaller drill bit.



demonx said:


> Make sure you use yellow wood glue, not the white PVA. You can get titebond from "australian luthier supplies" when you place an order from there for something else.



Oops, I did a little bit of reading on PVA glue and how it "creeps" under heavy loads and is harder to pull apart for repair. I think this might be a problem if the truss rod can exert sufficient force causing the fretboard to pop off the neck. That would not be good. Everthing else should be fine since it is supported by the oak.



demonx said:


> This is the size chisel I use when carving the neck:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Looks like the chisel is 25mm. The rasp I have is a bit rougher so I hope that is ok. I bought the fretting kit from lmii.com so that should be alright.



demonx said:


> When it comes to the fretwork, I use the following:
> 
> homemade leveling block with 320 grit sandpaper (using a aluminium block leveled on a linisher)
> 
> ...



Good stuff, looks like that will be good to know for when I am doing the fretting.

Total cost so far: $539
Still need more clamps, sandpaper, wood finishing stuff and an 11 gauge string.

Hopefully I can get this $300 guitar build for under $700 lol.


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## JaeSwift (Jan 3, 2012)

You won't be able to plain accurately with a spokeshave.

EDIT (to clarify): Spokeshaves were invented to round off the spokes for wheels. they cannot accurately plain a piece of wood because they are meant for carving at an angle. You can succesfully use it to make the back of the neck flat but then your rounding off the shoulders usually. Forget using it on a larger piece of wood as it only works on it's edges. 

For making a body, you can make due with the following tools:

Dremel w/ routing attachment (highly recommend the stewmac one over the Dremel one, but then I used the Dremel one first time I made a body and I did not have a problem with it)
Copy-router bit
MDF plates to make templates out of (I usually buy a slab 2m x 4m in 8mm thickness, then have them saw it in half so they are two slabs of 2mx2m. Sawing is free over here if it's nothing fancy)
Spokeshave for any body carving
Sharp file/bastard file for inner horn carving
Atleast 4 clamps to clamp the body down
An incredible amount of sanding paper, from 80-400 grit (and smoother depending on the finish type)
Drill press. You basically need one if you want to accurately drill holes for the electronic pots. It also helps a ton to just drill press pre-routed cavities, then tidy up with a router. Saves a loooot of time.


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## demonx (Jan 3, 2012)

Agree with the comments above. As soon as you attempt to use the spoke shave, you'll realise you've made a mistake. I own 3 different spoke shaves, I'd never attempt to use them in the manner you intend. They are not designed for it and it wont happen.


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## Connor (Jan 3, 2012)

demonx is on the ball. 
The new saw should be sweet though. I spent probably around $400 for my tools originally. Thats 6 clamps, 2 saws, fretting tools, a hand plane, 5 chisels, about 40 sheets of sandpaper, 2 rasps, 2 files and a hand crank drill.


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## JaeSwift (Jan 3, 2012)

It's worth it to point out that I had a lot of people helping me with my build. I basically built the guitar with my neighbour as he had;

Drill press
Dremel
Top router
Clamps
Workbench
Hand-sander
All necassary measuring equipment

Then another guy who lives near me sawed out the body from the blank for me with a huge saw. It came out much more accurate than I could have ever sawn it out and required very little sanding compared to doing it by hand with an automated saw.

My point is that there are usually a lot of people in your surrounding that you know (or even only vaguely know) that can help you out in all sorts of ways. Asking around is really important if you don't want to buy all the tools yourself, but then also realize and accept the fact that you do not have the expertise to use all of them to the fullest. I had no woodworking experience before I started building my body but I only managed to get through it properly because my neighbour has lots of experience with a very wide array of tools. If you do not have someone like that in your surrounding, expect to have to buy multiple pieces of wood as you will be messing up a few times.


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## aus (Jan 5, 2012)

I am very pleased with this wood, I would have been happy with knots but it looks that much better without. They also gave me a bit extra wood by mistake which was probably because they have certain lengths they want to sell so they do not have scraps.







It fits just the way I want it to. I hope it will be balanced like this.




...





I was not sure if these planks would look like the guitar I had envisioned but drawing out the plain puts it all into perspective. I altered the design a little to have a reverse headstock and a bit better lower horn. The yellow pen is at the 32nd fret and the pencil is at the bridge. 





I will chuck some glue on the big pieces tomorrow morning and glue the little bit on the next day.


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## Solodini (Jan 5, 2012)

It's probably just perspective messing with me but the body looks HUGE!


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## demonx (Jan 5, 2012)

Make sure you glue and clamp that before you try cutting or you'll have a he'll of a time clamping the shaped wood, unless you cut clamp spots into the body and cut them out later.

Might want to consider the truss rod slot route before the body as well. Makes for easier access when there's no body in the way.


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## aus (Jan 5, 2012)

Solodini said:


> It's probably just perspective messing with me but the body looks HUGE!



It is about the size of a Randy Rhoads guitar except the top wing is about a couple cm wider and longer and the cutaway is about 7cm further from the bridge.



demonx said:


> Make sure you glue and clamp that before you try cutting or you'll have a he'll of a time clamping the shaped wood, unless you cut clamp spots into the body and cut them out later.
> 
> Might want to consider the truss rod slot route before the body as well. Makes for easier access when there's no body in the way.



I jagged my finger trying to open the glue bottle with the saw (lol) so I'll wait a couple days so my finger is not bleeding all over the wood.

Spreading with plastic card works great.






I hope it does not stick too firmly to the table. I also cut a bit of the center piece before gluing, the saw cut through it very easily.


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## aus (Jan 7, 2012)

Fun day today. Chiseling the truss rod cavity took 1 hour and 20 minutes. It was very easy and quite fun. From what others had said I thought it was going to be a pain. 





I will need to get the truss rod before I can finish it off.





I did a bunch of rough cuts, with the saw. A very easy job, took a few hours.





I bumped my finger which needed first aid again.





I did some bastard rasping.





...and the last thing I did was glue the end of the fin on the guitar.





I think the guitar will be body heavy since it is pretty balanced now. This was easier and more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Next step will be to do more cutting and rasping.


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## aus (Jan 8, 2012)

I know why they call it a bastard rasp, it is pretty hard work. My shoulder feels slightly strained the next day so I will give it a rest today.


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## aus (Jan 12, 2012)

I was pleased that my fretting stuff arrived and got stuck into rasping and chiseling out the neck.

Fret wire not shown, I bought 8 foot so it should not run out.





Truss rod cavity needed to be a little deeper. Now I can shape back of the neck.





Looks a bit like Australia. It is coming along nicely.





Now I need to sort out a fret board blank. Considering I had extra wood I would get less wood next time and afford a fretboard blank. If I could level wood I would make a fret board from the wood I will saw from the neck.


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## Connor (Jan 12, 2012)

Australian tonewoods sell fretboard blanks from $10- $25. Super cheap and they're awesome quality.


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## Fiction (Jan 12, 2012)

This is coming along fast, what wood did you grab for the body and neck?


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## aus (Jan 12, 2012)

Connor said:


> Australian tonewoods sell fretboard blanks from $10- $25. Super cheap and they're awesome quality.



I have sent them an email regarding a 555mm piece of Jarrah. 



Fiction said:


> This is coming along fast, what wood did you grab for the body and neck?



Luxurious mountain ash imported from Tasmania for the neck and premium knot-less Radiata pine for the wings. Or in other words pine and Tasmanian oak. 

Today I bought the electronics and hardware for the guitar and I will have more money in a fortnight for the fretboard, sand paper and other finishing stuff like paint.


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## aus (Jan 27, 2012)

I have been waiting on a few things so progress has been slow.

Recently started chiseling the wood from the neck.






... I made sure not to take wood from the headstock so that it stays level on the bench.






I sawed and chiseled some of the wood from the headstock.






Last fortnight I was very short on money but managed to fit this stuff into my budget. Now that it has arrived I can carve out the electronics and tremolo cavities. Upon watching a video I should be able to remove the components with a screw driver and wrench although the knobs are a bit tricky.






I now have a drill but need to buy drill bits and I am still waiting on the spoke shave. I also need a fretboard and sand paper. Australian Tonewoods have not replied to my email regarding the custom Jarrah fretboard which is a hassle.

On a side note my mum made this box, she used to be pretty handy with woodworking, crafts, gardening and the like. This box she made has a very nice redish stain that would look really good on the guitar.






I am thinking of cutting in half and thicknessing 42cm of left over Tasmanian oak to be used as the fretboard and electronics/tremolo covers. I could saw it and then sand paper it to desired thickness and place the machined side up so as long as I have each end the right thickness it will have uniform height.

What thickness will be suitable for the covers and the fretboard?
Is the thickness relative to the height of the nut/bridge?
What grade sand paper would be good for removing the last 2-3mm of wood (a rough one)?

Also to mount the pickups I should be able to carve out the pickup shape and mount the pickups directly to the body. It will take some tinkering but should be alright.

How thick should the top of the electronics cavity be (I don't want to break through)?

I am about to buy sandpaper and want to get a reflective finish on the guitar.

Any recommendations on what grit sand paper I need and where I can get it inexpensively (I have $35 to spend online)?
 
How much sand paper do I need to buy?


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## Metal_Webb (Jan 27, 2012)

I don't recommend using tassie oak for a fretboard. From what I've found, it works well and sands to a brilliant finish, however it tends to be a bit on the soft side. Long term usage of roundwounds would most likely wear groves into the board where you fret heavily. Keep pushing/saving for the jarrah, a seasoned lump of that stuff is nigh on indestructable.

As for how much sandpaper? As much as you can get in as many grits as possible. If you want to make a statement, sand your fretboard up to 1200 grit wet/dry paper, makes it look like a piece of glass irrespective of what timber you're using.


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## aus (Jan 27, 2012)

Metal_Webb said:


> I don't recommend using tassie oak for a fretboard. From what I've found, it works well and sands to a brilliant finish, however it tends to be a bit on the soft side. Long term usage of roundwounds would most likely wear groves into the board where you fret heavily. Keep pushing/saving for the jarrah, a seasoned lump of that stuff is nigh on indestructable.
> 
> As for how much sandpaper? As much as you can get in as many grits as possible. If you want to make a statement, sand your fretboard up to 1200 grit wet/dry paper, makes it look like a piece of glass irrespective of what timber you're using.



Do you mean grooves in the board between the frets? Would scalloping the frets solve that problem as that is what I intend to do?


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## Metal_Webb (Jan 28, 2012)

aus said:


> Do you mean grooves in the board between the frets? Would scalloping the frets solve that problem as that is what I intend to do?




Nah, i meant more like the winding on the lower strings marking the fretboard when you fret waaaaay too hard. If you're going scalloped route, that no longer is an issue. As you'd be aware, tassie oak carves well so scalloping would be a breeze and if you wanted to stain it to match it takes stain up easily. It also has a lovely grain pattern.


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## aus (Jan 28, 2012)

I used 637mm for the tremolo posts since that is what is says on stewmac for a floyd rose bridge on a 650mm scale length. I then marked out what needs to be chiseled. When I can get the posts in I will be able to figure out how deep I need to chisel.






I used a guitar with a strat tremolo for a guide for the rear tremolo cavity with some adjustments for the size of the sustain block.







The pickups will be placed very closely together.






As you can probably make out I was using the pickup covers instead of the pickups themselves which means it will be an even tighter squeeze.






Does it matter if the pickups are close to one another like this?


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## Jam0864 (Jan 28, 2012)

The closer they are the more similar they'll sound, meaning there's less point in having a switch.


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## crazygtr (Jan 28, 2012)

Man I must say, you have balls of steel. I'll be following this build and if you pull this off, you will be one of my heroes. Good luck!


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## aus (Jan 28, 2012)

I want to get some input on buying sand paper, I'll order in the next 6 hours.

I don't know how much I need or what grits although I watched this video and I think 1200 grit will be sufficiently smooth for my liking.


2300mm x 2800mm sand paper

2x40 (I need to level the rough side of that fret board I am making)
2x120
2x180
2x240
2x320
2x400
2x600
2x800
2x1200

Subtotal: $16.74
Shipping: $7.95*
Total: $24.69*

I found this website so I'll buy from them.
The Sandpaper Man


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## demonx (Jan 28, 2012)

You're wasting your money buying all that sandpaper. Even I don't use all those different grades and I've been building/painting for years. The grades that you will use you'll need a fuck load more than two sheets, I can tell you now.

Take my previous advice and get on the project guitar forum and learn how to do things properly. You wouldnt be making a lot of the mistakes that you are if you had.

I started watching the video you posted - I have no idea who made it and nor do I care, but judging from all the peel in and sandthroughs in their job, they shouldn't be trying to teach others when they don't know how to paint themselves.


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## Metal_Webb (Jan 29, 2012)

Firstly, are you sure your sheets are 2300x2800mm? That's 2.3x2.8m and that's officially a beast of a sheet of paper  (Also bloody cheap at that price lol) You can probably get away with cutting out the 180 grit and get a couple of extra sheets of the 120, 240 and 320 for the timber sanding. Sanding up tassie oak and radiata to 320 will make it super smooth and getting the top coat a lot more consistent much easier.

Just gonna give you a heads up and go really easy when doing the first couple of sands on the clear coat. Don't start any lower than 400 grit. As old mate in the video showed, it's really easy to sand through with that grade, so just lightly skim over the surface and go super easy on the corners. When you get up to around the 800 - 1000 grit you can start to get into it a bit more.

Also it's your first build. If you make mistakes, fuck it. As long as you learn what to not do next time just take it in your stride and work around it.


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## JaeSwift (Jan 29, 2012)

demonx said:


> You're wasting your money buying all that sandpaper. Even I don't use all those different grades and I've been building/painting for years. The grades that you will use you'll need a fuck load more than two sheets, I can tell you now.
> 
> Take my previous advice and get on the project guitar forum and learn how to do things properly. You wouldnt be making a lot of the mistakes that you are if you had.
> 
> I started watching the video you posted - I have no idea who made it and nor do I care, but judging from all the peel in and sandthroughs in their job, they shouldn't be trying to teach others when they don't know how to paint themselves.



I think a slight decrease of harshness would help some here, but you are right to an extent. As far as the DIY guitar videos are concerned, while I didn't take everything literally in that series of videos, it did help me greatly when it came to planning out how to build a body myself step by step. I just made sure that things like painting, which is incredibly easy to mess up and takes a lot of practice to get right, was left to the professionals whilst I honed my oiling skills.

The spraycan laquer is nowhere near as good as the formula's car repairmen or guitar builders use. I find it very easy to get the orange peel with and you need a crapton of coats for sufficient coverage. On my 8 string, 2 coats of my guys laquer formula (he works at a car garage) was more than enough for good protection. That is more efficient than many other places/people can do and it's not something that could have been done without this guys help. As a result, the guitar looks MUCH better than I could have ever made it look and it resonates more because it isn't covered by 8 coats of laquer as it isn't needed.

Go to your local car garage and ask them if they're willing to spray your body in whatever color with whatever laquer. Chances are they will as there's always hobbyists there that like a challenge. You will get a much better result and it may cost you $20 (AUS), which is nothing compared to the time and materials it will cost you to re-do a bad paint-job.

As far as sandpaper grits go, 600 and upwards are typically not used unless you're planning on painting the axe yourself. If that is the case you should be ok with the grits you posted, provided that you keep in mind to scuff sand (apply very light pressure and sand) your laquered body. Even when using 1200 on an oil finished body I tend to be extra careful and apply only light pressure to even everything out. Buffing is done in the last stage, not between every coat.

One more thing, if you do plan on painting yourself, make sure the sandpaper is wet/dry and not dry from 400 upwards.


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## aus (Jan 29, 2012)

demonx said:


> You're wasting your money buying all that sandpaper. Even I don't use all those different grades and I've been building/painting for years. The grades that you will use you'll need a fuck load more than two sheets, I can tell you now.
> 
> Take my previous advice and get on the project guitar forum and learn how to do things properly. You wouldnt be making a lot of the mistakes that you are if you had.
> 
> I started watching the video you posted - I have no idea who made it and nor do I care, but judging from all the peel in and sandthroughs in their job, they shouldn't be trying to teach others when they don't know how to paint themselves.



But I wanna build guitar nao. 

What grit sand paper do you recommend.

It was difficult to find videos on Sandpaper, specifically what results different grits of sandpaper produce.



Metal_Webb said:


> Firstly, are you sure your sheets are 2300x2800mm? That's 2.3x2.8m and that's officially a beast of a sheet of paper  (Also bloody cheap at that price lol) You can probably get away with cutting out the 180 grit and get a couple of extra sheets of the 120, 240 and 320 for the timber sanding. Sanding up tassie oak and radiata to 320 will make it super smooth and getting the top coat a lot more consistent much easier.
> 
> Just gonna give you a heads up and go really easy when doing the first couple of sands on the clear coat. Don't start any lower than 400 grit. As old mate in the video showed, it's really easy to sand through with that grade, so just lightly skim over the surface and go super easy on the corners. When you get up to around the 800 - 1000 grit you can start to get into it a bit more.
> 
> Also it's your first build. If you make mistakes, fuck it. As long as you learn what to not do next time just take it in your stride and work around it.



Ooops typo, it is 230mm x 280mm not 230mm x 2800mm. It would be difficult to get metres of sand paper in the mail although I would be great value.

I have the following ready to order.
2x 60 grit
5x 120 grit
5x 240 grit
4x 320 grit
2x 400 grit
2x 600 grit
2x 800 grit
2x 1200 grit

I had enough for another two pieces so I got five of 120 and 240, it if is better spend somewhere else let me know, I'll place an order tomorrow morning so it gets here quick.

EDIT:



JaeSwift said:


> I think a slight decrease of harshness would help some here, but you are right to an extent. As far as the DIY guitar videos are concerned, while I didn't take everything literally in that series of videos, it did help me greatly when it came to planning out how to build a body myself step by step. I just made sure that things like painting, which is incredibly easy to mess up and takes a lot of practice to get right, was left to the professionals whilst I honed my oiling skills.
> 
> The spraycan laquer is nowhere near as good as the formula's car repairmen or guitar builders use. I find it very easy to get the orange peel with and you need a crapton of coats for sufficient coverage. On my 8 string, 2 coats of my guys laquer formula (he works at a car garage) was more than enough for good protection. That is more efficient than many other places/people can do and it's not something that could have been done without this guys help. As a result, the guitar looks MUCH better than I could have ever made it look and it resonates more because it isn't covered by 8 coats of laquer as it isn't needed.
> 
> ...



I'll have a look around for a place that can spray the guitar. One thing I definitely don't want to mess up is the finish. I originally wanted it painted white like the one below. Although I do like the colour I mentioned before.







Update in next post.


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## aus (Jan 29, 2012)

A few hours of productivity today.

Some Chiseling down to truss rod rout depth (~1cm).





Some Rasping near the nut and some more sawing/chiseling to get down to 1.5cm deep.





Now that looks messy.





Neck rasping to 2cm or 2.5cm thickness (I can't remember). Using saw line as depth guide.





Took a long time to rasp this.






Nut saw line.





More hard work.





Trying to get the same pattern on the front and back by using saw lines.





Vertical rasping is much easier than horizontal.






Sawing and rasping the pickup side of headstock as well as the pit next the the nut.





Looking good.





I was so pleased with today's work, more tomorrow.


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## demonx (Jan 29, 2012)

I use 40 grit during the carving process
I use 120 grit when getting it ready to paint
I use 320 grit just before I paint

These are the only grits needed during the build. 

During the paint process:
I use 600 grit to sand the primer
I use 1000, 2000 & 3000 on the clear.

That's it. I have rolls there of other grits ( I buy bulk rolls @ $70ea) but I only need these grits for the build.


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## demonx (Jan 29, 2012)

When you get to the wet sanding of clear, 2 sheets if 1000 is ample for a neckthru, 1 sheet of 2000 is plenty and the 3000 comes as a pad, not paper.

As far as the building grits, you will need plenty of each as it clogs up. You can try cleaning the clogged up dust from the sandpaper, but if there's chunks left it leaves scratches in your wood making more work. The primer will clog up big time in the 600, you'll use plenty sheets of that also.

I sanded primer on a guitar yesterday, I probably tore off a dozen strips, so that's probably equal to 6 sheets. 

A tip: if you're using the sheets, fold it in half and tear it, then repeat so you've quarter each sheet. Your sandpaper won't get wasted as much. The amount of sheets I'm estimating above for you is assuming you do everything right the first time and assuming each sheet is torn into four.


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## demonx (Jan 29, 2012)

This link is to my current build thread. I started this V about two weeks after you started yours, so they are in similar stages. The build covers a few topics you havnt got to yet, for eg: getting the front/back flat, the hole from the cavity to the pickups, carving the neck, bevels etc. Also touches on painting.

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=46118&st=0


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## Purelojik (Jan 30, 2012)

damn this build is impressive. ever try microplane rasps? i just bought some and am using them for my build and they are awesome.


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## Racius (Jan 30, 2012)

Yes, it looks interesting and impressive 
But I am not sure about chiseling all that work. I think it is very dangerous, if you do an only mistake, it can waste all your endeavor. 
I strongly recommend using only rasp for shaping, local luthier Milan Ciz advised me it ( cizguitars.com).
Hardwoods like maple can crack instantly.

But it looks really interesing and I am watching this thread.


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## aus (Jan 31, 2012)

Cool, thanks for the support.

I ordered the sandpaper yesterday and finally have a spoke shave. 

Regarding chiseling, when there is a lot of material to remove I find it easier to saw and chisel it off in chunks as the rasp is quite exhausting. I suppose you could say I was doing rough cuts with the rasp.

I didn't even know microplane rasps existed. I have only done a little bit of wood work with my mum, building an aviary and rabbit enclosure when I was a kid.


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## aus (Jan 31, 2012)

The other day I watched this video on sanding and what I took from it that was most useful was sanding with the grain. My Rasping has improved now that I have learned this and it seems that I can rasp against the grain to remove material faster.



Playing with spoke shave, it is quite tricky.





I think I took about 1cm by chiseling, Tassy Oak splits very easily down the grain.





Rasping starts.





Almost there.









Might have gone slightly thinner than 20mm.





It's taking shape.





Heel rasping.





Took ages to make slight changes but was not hard work.





Now that looks good.





Cleaned the headstock up a bit.





A bit more rasping on the body.





I really like where this is going.





I'll round out all the chipped edges.





Is there a quick way to post these pictures from imageshack? They have a option for posting bb code to forums but this does not show up on this forum so I have to do a lot of clicking.


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## aus (Feb 2, 2012)

The sand Paper arrived today at the post office since I missed it yesturday, very speedy delivery.

This took three hours of chiseling, I imagine it would take five minutes with a fancy machine.

Since the wood I got was only 42mm think (tassy oak is dressed quite thin) I am not sure how I will get a wooden tremolo cover since it might be too thin/weak.





Just under 3cm deep I will need to drill and fit the parts to get the right fit.





Back to the tremolo cavity from the top.





I see the light.





Cleaned it up a bit with a rasp.





Still a bit more to do but I am making progress. I could have made the tremolo cavity smaller to fit the springs more tightly but this will do.





I was a bit concerned that when I chisel the pickup cavities I will cut right through to the bottom but I think the wood will hold up since it is pretty strong.


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## Randomist (Feb 2, 2012)

If the pickups are going to be that close together, I think you'd be better off forgetting the single coils and moving the humbucker back a little. Being a little further from the bridge will warm up its tone, and you can always coil tap it to get single coil sounds.

Also, if that body is 42mm... is the floyd block going to fit?


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## jarnozz (Feb 2, 2012)

i just love it how you do everything with a chisel


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## iRaiseTheDead (Feb 2, 2012)

I'm also surprised by how effective the chisel is! It is looking really good dude!


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## crazygtr (Feb 16, 2012)

Any updates?


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## aus (Feb 19, 2012)

crazygtr said:


> Any updates?



Now there is.

Body routing mostly done. Not sure how deep I need the pickup cavities so I'll dig deeper later if needed. Also drilling was a bit tricky since I was not using 1cm drill bits (could not afford them), made do with 6mm and smaller drill bits. Took a chip out from between the pickup cavities and didn't glue it back will probably fill it with something. Also the drill went postal just top right of the humbucker and took some wood with it, I'll fill that too. Also didn't beed to drill the two holes to hold the switch since it is rear mounted. More putty for that.





Will need to to more drilling to fit the tuners. Back of the headstock leveling today, down to 15mm thickness.





I left a bit on to keep the guitar level with the bench while I am still working on it.





Guide lines for the rasping. Keeping 2cm in the middle to be careful of the truss rod.





Rasping took a while, 1cm thickness at the edges.





Been thinking of adding a contour to the back of the body.





While I was looking as this I thought I might continue the contour all the way along the top fin.





I like this.





Yesterday I ordered the Jarrah fingerboard blank from Australian Tonewoods hopefully it arrives this coming week.

Since the fretboard is flat and the locking nut has a radius I can either make a flat nut or use a zero fret. Does any one know about using a zero fret? Do I need to make it higher than the rest?

I will need to pack up my guitar building on the 27th since it is taking up space and I will be busy at uni.


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## Thrashmanzac (Feb 19, 2012)

looking good man, its starting to take shape


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## JaeSwift (Feb 19, 2012)

Regarding the pickup cavities; You can find the correct height by placing a long straight ruler over the fretboard, then subtract the distance from that ruler to the body from the pickup's height itself and you have the depth of your pickup routes.


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## megano28 (Feb 19, 2012)

looks good man, I'm in agreement with the credit you're getting for doing it all with a chisel. Props man


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## crazygtr (Feb 19, 2012)

About the zero fret, just use the same fret wire and when leveling don't touch. Later on you can adjust accordingly.


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## aus (Feb 20, 2012)

Thrashmanzac said:


> looking good man, its starting to take shape



Thanks.



JaeSwift said:


> Regarding the pickup cavities; You can find the correct height by placing a long straight ruler over the fretboard, then subtract the distance from that ruler to the body from the pickup's height itself and you have the depth of your pickup routes.



Cool.



megano28 said:


> looks good man, I'm in agreement with the credit you're getting for doing it all with a chisel. Props man







crazygtr said:


> About the zero fret, just use the same fret wire and when leveling don't touch. Later on you can adjust accordingly.



Sounds like a plan.


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## aus (Feb 28, 2012)

Measuring out and cutting the fretboard takes hours.

The board is actually long enough for 36 frets.






Ruler as a guide.





Practising on an off cut.





Since the fret wire is curved it has a slight radius to it.





Unfortunately I was not accurate enough so I will turn the fretboard over and try again on the other side. My inaccuracy was due to dotting along the top of the fret board one dot at a time then one dot on the bottom of the fret board. This constant moving of the rule resulted in errors. Next time I will use masking tape to prevent the rule from moving while I make all the top dots and then moving onto all the bottom dots.


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## Floody_85 (Feb 29, 2012)

Credit for all the handwork dude. As for marking the frets, just use a fret calculator on the net man. You enter your fret board widths at nut and end, scale length and amount of frets and then u can print a full size sheet that has all the frets marked. Then you glue or tape that to your fingerboard and cut on the lines. Saves you marking all by hand which is hard to be exact


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## aus (May 17, 2012)

I have some time to work on Guitar now. 



Floody_85 said:


> Credit for all the handwork dude. As for marking the frets, just use a fret calculator on the net man. You enter your fret board widths at nut and end, scale length and amount of frets and then u can print a full size sheet that has all the frets marked. Then you glue or tape that to your fingerboard and cut on the lines. Saves you marking all by hand which is hard to be exact



It was a bit tricky to get a life sized template so instead I taped my ruler to the fret board and marked a line of dots. After that I used an L-Square to get straight frets. It tuned out very well and only took about 2 hours. Also I cut it to shape for gluing.





Lots of glue being careful not to get any in the truss rod. I couldn't be bothered to put a strip of paper to cover it so hopefully cutting that corner won't be a problem.




While getting the L-Square from Big W I bought a better clamp. This fretboard is 35 fret but I'll cut it back to 32-33 so I can get the pick up into the cavity.





Extra pressure provided by weights. I'll have to move the locking nut because I am using a zero fret.





Next I need to smooth the rough edges and finish the pick up cavities.

Does anyone know of a good cheap material to cover the electronics and tremolo cavities with? I was going to use wood but I'll settle for some black plastic if I can get some.


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## Metal_Webb (May 19, 2012)

aus said:


> Does anyone know of a good cheap material to cover the electronics and tremolo cavities with? I was going to use wood but I'll settle for some black plastic if I can get some.



Good to see you're back into this mate!

I'm 90% sure there's a plastic shop at either Lambton or Cardiff. They should have something there that you can work with.


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## Advv (May 20, 2012)

Not 100% into the shape but the build is looking very nice! Good work.


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## aus (May 22, 2012)

Yesterday I chiselled out the pick up cavity so it s just one big hole and I'll use a pick guard to cover it up.

I didn't have a sanding block so I used the wrapping the sand paper came in and started with the head stock.





I also cleaned up the front of the head stock, the locking nut will have to be diagonal since the fretboard is to high.








And the sides too.





I also sanded the back of the neck. The neck thickness is 25-26mm, it could be 5mm thinner if I had bought a 5mm fret board blank rather than 10mm. Live and learn.





I also felt like doing a little cutting and more sanding. I put a hole in through to the truss rod to determine the thickness.





Bonus picture.





Next to do will be more sanding and I'll need to get that pick guard sorted.


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## aus (May 22, 2012)

A few hours after all the 5 hours of sanding I did yesterday I noticed that my shoulder is inflamed. This is going to be a real pain if it does not go away within a few days, I am taking some Ibuprofen. Has anyone else hurt their shoulder from sanding is it likely to go away of is it going to hang around for a few weeks like elbow tendinitis?


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## theo (May 22, 2012)

grab yourself a power sander


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## Levi79 (May 22, 2012)

Mad props to you doing this without big tools dude! Guitar building is a pretty daunting task as it is, I can't even imagine what it would be like without big tools. Makes me greatful for what I have! Will keep my eye on this!


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## TankJon666 (May 23, 2012)

aus said:


> A few hours after all the 5 hours of sanding I did yesterday I noticed that my shoulder is inflamed. This is going to be a real pain if it does not go away within a few days, I am taking some Ibuprofen. Has anyone else hurt their shoulder from sanding is it likely to go away of is it going to hang around for a few weeks like elbow tendinitis?



Keep taking the ibuprofen, put an icepack/frozen peas/bag of ice or somiliar on your shoulder for twenty to thirty minutes every couple of hours and take 2-3 days off sanding. I would borrow/buy a power sander if your doing that much sanding ..much quicker and won't f-up your shoulder.


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## iRaiseTheDead (May 23, 2012)

This is pretty sweet so far man!


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## flo (May 23, 2012)

Cool to see someone getting started with guitar-building 

If I were you, I'd sand/plane down the fretboard until it has got the right thickness. I know it's a lot of work, and you should maybe borrow a hand planer (electric one maybe) for this, but (and I learned this the hard way) it's meaningless to make a half-good job when building a guitar. You maybe finish a few days earlier, and then you end up with a guitar that is not fun to play. Do yourself the favour! Make every single step in the process as perfect as you possibly can. 


Hope your shoulder will recover soon, keep up the work! 

Oh and looking at your fretslots, make sure they're deep enough before pressing the frets in (better to cut a little too deep than ending up with frets that stick out)


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## JaeSwift (May 26, 2012)

You generally dont want to go higher than 8mm on fretboards, since that part has to be straight it's gonna make for a pretty uncomfortable neck profile if you leave it like that.

Regarding sanding, I REALLY would not sand as much as you are doing by hand now. I bought a Black & Decker Mouse sander (perfect for body and contour sanding, even inner horns are a breeze) for 35 euro's with a whole bunch of sand paper and attachments. It's highly worth it. When the guitar is as rough as yours it will take you hours upon hours to get the final scratches out and too much sanding in a row will cause problems with your shoulder or other body parts, as you are experiencing now.

One other tip I can possibly give you; sand from your elbow and not your shoulder; use your elbow to ''push'' your forearm forward in long strokes.


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## aaron_rose (May 26, 2012)

JaeSwift said:


> You generally dont want to go higher than 8mm on fretboards, since that part has to be straight it's gonna make for a pretty uncomfortable neck profile if you leave it like that.
> 
> Regarding sanding, I REALLY would not sand as much as you are doing by hand now. I bought a Black & Decker Mouse sander (perfect for body and contour sanding, even inner horns are a breeze) for 35 euro's with a whole bunch of sand paper and attachments. It's highly worth it. When the guitar is as rough as yours it will take you hours upon hours to get the final scratches out and too much sanding in a row will cause problems with your shoulder or other body parts, as you are experiencing now.
> 
> One other tip I can possibly give you; sand from your elbow and not your shoulder; use your elbow to ''push'' your forearm forward in long strokes.



Untrue, you can add shaping to the fret wood mine has it many others have it. Thicker fretwood is a choice and possibly tonal properties exist from its density grain wood etc, then again possibly not, but adding a little bevel or shaping to the side profile of the fret wood in no way hinders a neck, if you don't shape a thick fret wood then it will feel pretty monster in your hand but some people may like that, others may not. My opinion.


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## aus (Jun 10, 2012)

Last curve to cut. I cut more from this so that it sits better on my lap.





Lots of rasping/sanding.




Stubborn scratch marks.


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## aus (Jun 10, 2012)

Decided to sand the front, before.





After.





Tidying up tremolo indentation.


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## aus (Jul 7, 2012)

I made this whole a bit big to cover so I need to fill it in and cut a new hole. I'll try to make it a little neater next time. I'll also fill in the pickup cavity and do it again so I can mount the pickup with a bracket.

So what can I use to fill this hole?


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## Metal_Webb (Jul 7, 2012)

Shitttt dude, how'd that happen?

Your best bet to fix it is to tidy it up and extend your pickguard over it. Anything else is going to probably not be tidy enough without the right tools.

If you wanted to fill it, your best bet would be an automotive body filler. However you're going to have to paint the guitar if you go down that route and don't want to cover it up.


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## crazygtr (Jul 7, 2012)

Square it and glue new wood.


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## Thrashmanzac (Jul 7, 2012)

aus said:


> So what can I use to fill this hole?



this is what happens when you do your routing with a shotgun.


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## aus (Aug 28, 2012)

I felt like fretting today, with a few hits of a hammer the curved frets held flat against the flat fretboard. I can see a couple errors in my fret cutting but that is alright. I bought a tri square for future fretting.






Dodgy fret cutting meant this fret was too wide to hold a fret so I glued it in.





Fret had to be weighted down while the glue dries so it stays flat.


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## littlemurph7976 (Aug 28, 2012)

You must have balls the size of coconuts man, I can't decide of you're my hero or a chisel wielding maniac. Either way, I cannot fault your dedication. So keep this build going, I hope you end up with something you're really proud of at the end of it.


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## mniel8195 (Aug 28, 2012)

this is why we have cnc


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## aus (Aug 28, 2012)

mniel8195 said:


> this is why we have cnc



Magic.

Wish I had that kind of money.


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## Navid (Oct 21, 2012)

So, what happened next?


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