Project S906 #4

S906 #4


Flame maple/Bloodwood neck attached to a super thin Kaya/Figured Maple topped body with hipshot parts and custom pickups.

Aiming for an all world fast prog shreader 6 strings light enough to enjoy.

Neck : Flame maple/Bloodwood
Fretboard : Bloodwood
Scale : 25.5
Frets : 24
Trussrod : ALLPARTS

Body : Khaya/Figured Maple (33mm)
Tuners : Hipshot
Pickups : Diablo HBs
Bridge : Hipshot
Electronics : TBD


Flame maple and bloodwood neck blank in progress. I am still working with the garage door closed so the lighting is bad but here is a look anyway.



In the clamps and the fretboard, scarf insert, and cavity covers (trussrod/electronics)

 

Now for the crazy scarf detail tutorial.
Time to prepare the blank. Before trying to square it up I knock the dried glue off with a sharp chisel. Then we take the squared blank to the radial arm saw and cut the scarf.

 

Next on to the bandsaw to cut the headstock free from the blank. Use a fence so we get a precise cut as there is no room for error here. We need as close to an 1" thick as we can get so the scarf is in the right place.

 

Next I thickness sand the detail pieces. The detail pieces have to be thin. When you angle them they become very wide and that is not the look we are after. I would say about 1/3 the size of you laminates usually works pretty well. Make sure the grain is running the length of the piece (this is no place for shoddy woodworking). I thickness the whole piece then cut it into squares that cover the entire scarf plus at least .5" on each side. The idea here is if it slips it is still covered. The squares should be the same width as the neck blank and square. This makes it easier to line them up.

 

Now to get the detail line in the middle. I cut it from quality maple veneer with a razor knife. Keep the grain oriented properly and make sure it doesn't split.



After a test fit I lightly sand the veneer to freshen the surface (woodworking 101) as you do not want to glue wood that has been sitting for a long time. Titebond works best on freshly prepared surfaces.

 

Glue then clamp it up and leave it for a day.

 

Out of the clamps and here it is. Doesn't look like much yet.

 

Cut the excess off and true up the face. Then profile the back of the headstock and the heal.

 

Three necks worth of scraps


Enough for today...

 

NWD -- new wood day! Not sure if any of these are the tops for this guitar (undecided) but they are nice.

2 pictures of the same top



Khaya and Limba.


Another maple burl top.

 

Trussrod installation. Draw the centerline. Lay the trussrod out with the allen nut about .5 in past the break for the headstock. This should leave face of the nut right at the opening in the headstock. I don't like them too far back as it makes it impossible to ever work on them. Next mark the end of the trussrod and use a square to transfer the line all the way around the neck.

 

Set the first pass at half the depth of the rod. If you get greedy you will end up with laminated firewood. I make a quick test to make sure it is on center using a scrap. After comparing the scrap to the neck I make a quick pass to make sure all is copasetic. Then we run it in 2 passes taking final depth on the second pass. Using a fence on the router table and keeping the blanks square are really important. It makes this task relatively simple.

 

For some reason I forgot pictures from fitting the trussrod... see one of my other builds for that. I also forgot to mark the neck profile lines while I still had a center line. That is what happens when you rush. I end up using my centering ruler and the center line that is left near the heal. Basically I always center off the laminates. This ensures that they are always center of the neck and protects against them being offcenter in the blank.



After attaching the template it is bandsaw, sander, router table again.

 

And done.



This is a 32mm Khaya body blank. It is a little over my normal blanks and I am not sure I will need it for this build. I have a 25.6 mm blank already to go. It really depends on how much thickness I can retain in the top. The tops looked pretty straight so I am hopeful I can just do a normal build.