One of the most special electrics for me is (like many other people) John Lennon's Rickenbacker 325 in 1958. To be honest I'm not a big fan of Ric's thickly-painted fingerboard, bridge that falls every time I change strings and confusing control system. However, from builder's perspective, the construction is unique and very interesting. Some luthiers already built 325 style guitars and they all look awesome ! Basically I did the same but mine is left-handed with some different specs. I think John's 325 is 20-3/4" scale but it's too short for me. Also I personally like 3-ply neck and double pickguard that are very Rickenbacker to me. So spec-wise, my version is somewhere between John's guitar, 325C64 & 350V63. Body : Semi-hollow, maple top & back, 2" (50mm) thick Neck : Maple/walnut 3-ply - I think Ric uses ovangkol. I used walnut simply because I could get it easily. Scale : 22" (560mm) Headstock : 6-degree angled - I don't know the exact angle of Ric. I measured my 350V63. Fingerboard : Bubinga, 21 frets, R12" (305mm) - Ric website says 'rosewood' but I presume it's bubinga from the color. Tuners : Gotoh Kluson style Pickups : Ric style single coil, ceramic magnet, non-brand Bridge : Adjustable Ric style, non-brand Vibrato : Bigsby B5L And here's my plan. I had no idea about the original 325 neck joint so I checked some photos from Rickenbacker website & my 350V63 to determine the dimensions. 1st step is making templates as always. - body outline and control/pickup cutouts - neck pocket & side chambers - for chamber under Bigsby - for neck, fingerboard & truss rod slot - for headstock, truss rod cover and pickguards Starting with neck ... Neck blank, quarter sawn maple & walnut 3-ply Cutting truss rod slot I used a typical double action truss rod. Making fret slots. I made 22" scale by cutting Gibson (24-3/4") scale fingerboard at 2nd fret. Cutting fingerboard outline with a template on back Making dot inlays Completed bubinga fingerboard Determining neck depth Rough-cut of headstock angle Cutting outline of the neck Ears glued to the headstock Cutting headstock shape Fingerboard glued Shaving neck back Making fingerboard radius Neck woodworking completed
Nice. There have been two previous on this site, might be some helpful info in those threads. http://www.luthiertalk.com/threads/rickenbacker-325-inspired-build.518/ http://www.luthiertalk.com/threads/john-lennon-hamburg-capri-325-build.878/
Next is body making. ric325_0200[/IMG] Rough cut of soft maple body blank Cutting body outline using template on back Making slope for Bigsby A lot of holes by drill press for safety before routing Clean cut by router using template on back Pencil mark on side wall is to see how the neck touches. Attaching neck Control cut-out Backboard is 6mm thick and 2mm bigger than actual body. I used two wood pins for exact positioning. Backboard glued and outline edge trimmed. Making body corner R Output jack hole Fretting Filling fret slots with epoxy adhesive mixed with bubinga saw dust Body woodworking completed
Next is Tru-oil finish ... I applied Tru-oil in the same manner as I did to finish my semi hollow Telecaster. First I thoroughly applied Tru-oil with a small rag to let it soak into the wood. After 10 minutes or so, I wiped off excess oil and dried for more than 24 hours. From the second coat, I applied Tru-oil very thin at a time. Once the oil runs, it will be a lot of work to make the surface clean without sanding-through. Tru-oil and wet sanding on bubinga fingerboard Making nut while drying Tru-oil In total I applied Tru-oil 20 times, wet sanding with #600 and #1000 every 2-3 coats. At last, 1000 grid wet sanding and then hand-polishing with fine & extra-fine polishing compound. Not perfect mirror-finish but I think this is good enough. Assembly ... I made the pickguards from white cast acrylic. It was slightly too transparent so I painted the back side white. I made control system simpler. - Neck pickup vol - Neck pickup tone - Bridge pickup vol - Bridge pickup tone - 3-position switch (neck/neck+bridge/bridge) - Mid pickup volume (5th knob) And all done ... I worked only weekend and this project took 8 months. Thanks for checking this thread !
Sorry for not responding you sooner. I uploaded the drawings in the "Plans, Designs & Software" section. I hope you can open the DWG data with your CAD software.
