Hi all, I recently got totally obsessed with the idea of building a guitar. I've always been pretty good with my hands, but have never really put my skills to the test. And what I have learned through this build, is just how few skills I had! Anyway I'm slowly getting there, I'm a librarian by trade and have two kids under 4, so it is slow going. I am building a 7 string electric bolt on. Initially I decided to build a bolt on, because I thought that a set neck would require greater precision, and if my neck was out a bit, I could always shim it. But hopefully it won't come to that! It's seven string because I've never owned one, and they've always had a mysterious allure. One thing I've learned so far is I wish I kept a journal during the build. I'm worried I'm gonna repeat the same mistakes I made first time round on the next build! Oh well, next time maybe. Anyway enough preamble, here's a pic of the body.
Also when making the truss rod channel I didn't count on the router going a bit squiffy as it exited the nut end. This was because there was less neck for the fence to run against. Not a big deal as it will have a truss rod cover, but it'll annoy me knowing it is there. Might use epoxy and sanding dust? The fix will have to be strong though to withstand an Allen key scraping around there.
Mistakes like this happen, and aren't a big deal, and you learn for next time Looks like a nice clean build so far. What are the woods you're using?
Hi there, yeah I'm surprised actually how well it's going, I've only got one neck in the bin so far (dodgy scarf joint cut at 10degrees not 80, if that makes sense, so it couldn't be clamped )In the end I went for an 12 degree neck angle, kind of a guess really, but it seemed similar to my other guitars. The body is some local ash, the guy I got it from told me it fell about 10 years ago, and was a 150 year old tree. The neck is maple with a sapele stripe. Rosewood board as you might have guessed! Thanks for asking!
Cool cool! What do you mean by scarf joint cut at 10 degrees not 80? Scarf joints on guitars are usually in the 10-15 degree ballpark.
I'm really bad at explaining this as I can't remember my Pythagoras. So here's a diagram. It was a rookie mistake. My bandsaw has a fence that can be used for angled cuts between 10-45 degrees. But setting it to 12 degrees resulted in cut (1) in the diagram. So I made a new fence out of mdf, and used this to get cut no (2). I hope that makes sense, I'm not really very good at explaining this! Flip it's upside down
One thing I'll add is that since starting this, I've felt noticeably less stressed out. I am a naturally very stressed person, not because my life is stressful, but because it's way I am. Building guitars is full of little wins, with each little win making it look more and more like a finished article. Very satisfying and theraputic actually. Except of course when something doesn't work and I want to tear my hair out, but se la vie!
Right, I think I see what you mean; it looks like you made the cut perpendicular to the centre line, rather than down the length of the neck, making it more like a 78 degree cut than a 12 degree cut. That is hard to explain in words And yeah, I agree it's very therapeutic. Except sometimes when things go really wrong. Then it is a little less therapeutic.
IMG_0087[1] by EvilAsh posted Aug 12, 2016 at 11:05 AM Got the inlays in, really easy, I was dreading his bit. IMG_0093[1] by EvilAsh posted Aug 12, 2016 at 11:05 AM Radiussing. This was pretty hard actually. Sanding rosewood is exhausting, I can't imagine what sanding ebony is like! Anyway, even though I made a jig I found that I was applying pressure more on the side closest to me. So it was squint. I noticed thankfully before it was too late. Definitely will make a radiussing jig for my router for next time!
IMG_0080[1] by EvilAsh posted Aug 12, 2016 at 11:05 AM Neck pocket template, quite a snug fit IMG_0106[1] by EvilAsh posted Aug 12, 2016 at 11:08 AM IMG_0107[1] by EvilAsh posted Aug 12, 2016 at 11:08 AM IMG_0108[1] by EvilAsh posted Aug 12, 2016 at 11:08 AM You can see some tear-out here. Maybe my router bit is a bit dull? Oh well, I'll have to fill that. IMG_0116[1] by EvilAsh posted Aug 12, 2016 at 11:08 AM Shaping the neck was way more fun than I expected! IMG_0148[1] by EvilAsh posted Aug 12, 2016 at 11:08 AM IMG_0149[1] by EvilAsh posted Aug 12, 2016 at 11:08 AM IMG_0170[1] by EvilAsh posted Aug 12, 2016 at 11:08 AM
