Guitarist Builds Guitar

Finished

2010-07-24T11:10:00.002-04:00

Hope #1

Just wanted to post some photos of the finished guitar. I will try to post more on finishing the guitar later. But I am building 2 more and I am spending most of my free time, which isnt much with a 5 year old and a full time job, working on them. But here it is..........
The picture are a larger size so it might take a few mins to load depending on th espeed of you computer.

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Scraping the radius on the binding

2010-05-07T11:50:00.000-04:00

I basically just used the scrapers to form the radius. i will go over it with 320 grit sand paper to finish it off.

Wet sanding the head stock and applying the decal

2010-05-07T11:31:00.001-04:00

I am using wet sand paper from 800 grit to 1200 grit. I am using extra fine cloth sanding material for final sanding. The suface has to be as smooth as possible for the decal to look right after applying and clear coating.

This is after the finest polishing cloth.

Soak the decal for 20 secs.

Then apply and use your finger to force out any bubbles.

Now all that left is applying several coats of clear lacquer wet sand again and buff out. The edges of the decal will disappear after the lacquer coats. The way I do the head stock is I apply 4-5 coats of full strength lacquer, after it dries I will use 600 grit wet sand paper on a small piece of steel and send only where the decal is. When I think I am getting close to the decal I stop and then apply 4-5 more coats and repeat the wet sand process to the decal. Eventually the edges of the decal will disappear when the lacquer on the head stock reaches the thickness of the lacquer on the decal.

Painting the head stock

2010-05-07T11:21:00.000-04:00

Here is what I will be using. A paint-able mask for the inlay and ColorTone gloss black lacquer.

Here I am applying the liquid mask.

After spaying 4 coats.

Giving the mahogany a tint of red.

2010-04-02T19:49:00.003-04:00

Here is after shooting 3 coats of the Red Mahogany translucent dye mixed with 75% lacquer 25% lacquer reducer. I mixed 3 drops of the dye to 8 ounces of the lacquer mix.

I am now removing the masking.

Now I have to radius the outside corner of the binding and finish with 8+ coats of clear lacquer wet sand and buff it out to a mirror finish.

After looking at this picture I should have wiped the sunburst down before taking the picture. very dusty.

Filling the mahogany

2010-04-02T19:39:00.002-04:00

Here I have finish sanded to 320 grit. Masked it off and wiped it down with denatured Alcohol.

I am using Lawrence-McFadden mahogany wood filler.

I thin it out with Mineral spirits. This stuff is almost like clay. I personally don't see how you can use this with out thinning it. I thin it to a consistency of creamy peanut butter.

I apply it quickly as this stuff dries very fast. I use a plastic scraper and go across the grain to remove the excess. I then wipe across the grain with a rag to remove the rest.

I do this two times then wait 1 week for it to fully dry and then I seal it with a full strength coat of vinyl sealer. I then remove the masking and scuff sand the vinyl sealer coat with 320 grit sand paper. Re-mask and then wipe it down with mineral spirits.
Now for the transparent red lacquer to give this the look I am after.

Burst take 3

2010-03-13T13:48:00.002-05:00

I said in the previous post I am using a Preval sprayer. You can get these at any good wood working store. I got mine at Woodcraft for about $5 each. Just thought you might want to see what these look like if you have never heard of them.

Here we are are after the body SEALED, stained and the first coat of the Reddish Brown as been applied.

After the second coat.

This is after a 50/50 mix of Lacquer and Lacquer reducer was applied.

Another angle.

I am going to stop here for the day and figure out if I want to stop here or apply the dark brown to give it the tobacco burst look. I am really starting to like it the way it is. Plus I have to admit I am a little scared I will mess it up if I keep going. Stay tuned.

Learning how to spray a sunburst

2010-03-08T10:43:00.009-05:00

First I sealed the wood with 2 wash coats of a 50/50 mix of vinyl sealer and lacquer thinner. I am using a Preval sprayer to do the spraying of the top.

Then I wiped on a honey amber stain I made using honey amber translucent dyes. I mixed 2 teaspoons of dye with 50% denatured alcohol 8 oz.. and 50% lacquer thinner 8 oz.. The picture is after I sealed it with a full strength coat of vinyl sealer.

This is after spraying the the first coat of a reddish-brown lacquer mix. I used 50% lacquer mixed with 50% stain I made which is 2 teaspoons dye to 50% denatured Alcohol 8 oz. and 50% lacquer thinner 8 oz..

This is after I scraped the binding. There were a couple of darker spots that I had to sand to thin out the coat to make it look right. But after the next coat of this is applied it should look fine. I think the dark spots were cause by me spraying the thinned out Lacquer/stain mix while the guitar was hanging. The dark spot I think are where the stain mix ran and settled right where the curve of the arch top starts. I will do the rest of the spraying of the top with it lying horizontal.

This kind of thing will make you cry. The strap on the camera hit the finish..ouch. The next step is to sand the top back to bare wood and try again.

It only took about 20 minute to sand this back to wood because I sealed the top before staining and spraying.

Here we are during the second attempt after the reddish-brown is sprayed. Much better looking this time working with the guitar horizontal. I didn't realize this until later but I forgot to seal the wood this time before I started. This will come back to bite me.

Another angle

After the brown was sprayed. Which was a mixture of 3 teaspoons brown dye to 50% denatured Alcohol 8 oz. and 50% lacquer thinner 8 oz. mixed 50/50 with lacquer. I notice some brown dots in the amber. I tried to sand them out with out going through the amber but as you can see I got some sand though. The dot were caused by me spraying from the inside of the body out. I have learned that I need to only spray from the outside in to prevent this. So guess what I get to sand this back to wood again.

Here you can see the sand through. man I was almost there.

Now remember me saying I forgot to seal the wood this time before I started.

I had to go to an 120 grit and really remove some wood to get all the stain out. I took 2 hours to get this back to raw wood. I won't forget again. Stay tuned for attempt #3

I am hoping 3rd time is a charm.

Making the Nut

2010-02-27T19:30:00.002-05:00

In order to make the nut I need to put on the bridge, tail piece and tuning keys.

I first soldered a ground wire on one of the anchors for the tail and then applied a little tight bond and hammered it in the hole closest to the controls. I then glued in the other anchor for the tail piece. I then hammered in the anchors for the bridge with out glue as I will remove these after the making of the nut for final sanding and the finish.

Marking the rough out line of the nut. I will take this and remove most the stock on my belt sander and then use files to refine the shape.

Installing the tuning keys.

This is the rough version. I first used a Stew/Mac string spacing rule to mark the nut. Then a .010 saw to start the slots. I then used various sizes depending on with string slot I was working to finish the grooves.

Made by placing the nut in position and stringing. Using an action gauge I cut the nut slots using different size nut files until the string has a clearance of .025 of an inch over the first fret.

These are the different files I used along with the string set up gauge from Stew/Mac and just a feeler gauge.

With the nut complete and action set. I have .060 of and inch at the 22nd fret for the high -E- and .070 of and inch for the Low -E-.

One last look before I remove everything and get this ready for the finish.

The finished nut after removing all the hard ware from the guitar. I have decided to glue the nut in after finishing the guitar.

Finishing the frets

2010-02-27T19:09:00.000-05:00

This is what I will work with. Stick belt sander and sanding pads.

One side has a single groove.

The other a double.

The crowning file was 300 grit. So I will use 300 grit paper to start. Then 400 and then 600 grit.

I use the single groove side for sanding the tops.

I use the double groove side for sanding the sides.

I do this for every fret through every grit.

As well as the fret ends.

I then use the sanding pads staring at 1500 grit and finishing with 12000 grit.

As well as the sides.

Installing the frets

2010-02-12T11:23:00.003-05:00

I am using Stainless Steel Jumbo fret wire. I thought about springing for the fret press 12" radius caul. But decided to use the tools I already had. A fretting hammer. Maybe the next build I will make that purchase. One thing I did buy was a good diamond fret crowning file. I have been using a standard metal fret crowing file and the diamond file saves you a lot of time as there are not as much sanding needed after using the diamond file.
The first thing I did was cut 22 pieces to length. I then had to remove the tang from the end where they over lap the binding.

Here you can see the process. Using the tang nippers I remove the tang. I then file the little bit remaining flush.

After hammering in a few. The hammering of frets takes practice. This is only the 2nd total fret job I have done. But it's really not that hard. I first make sure the wire is a little over bent. The wire I am using is approx 10" radius. The fret board 12". I start by placing the two end of the tang in the fret slot. I then using 1 firm strike I seat one end. I then seat the other end using 1 firm solid strike. I then hammer the center out. That allows the end of the tangs to slide side ways ever so slightly and seat them well. I am using a small bag off sand that I wrapped well with duck tape to support the neck during the hammering.

14 down 8 to go

22 frets installed and trimmed.

I am now using a 6" fret leveling file to bevel the ends.

After that I using 220 and then 320 grit adhesive sand paper on a steel bar to start with the smoothing.

I then use a steel straight edge and adjust the truss rod to get the frets as level as possible.

I then mark the top of the frets with a sharpie. I forgot to take a picture of this. But what I did was use the 3/8" aluminum plate that was used for drilling the tail piece and bridge anchor holes. I put 320 grit self adhesive sand paper on the plate and ran it back and forth across the top of the frets until a little marker was removed from the top of all the frets.

Then using the fret crowning file I will file the top tops of the frets where the flat spots are until crowned.

While I am crowning the frets I use a rocker gauge and check as I proceed up the fret board.

Now the frets are level and the final filing, sanding and buffing of the frets remain. That will be my next post along with the making of the nut.

Jig for drilling the holes for the bridge and tail piece

2010-02-12T10:43:00.001-05:00

Here you see the Jig I made for this. I then marked where the two holes for the bridge go. I used two faces tape to hold the body to the base. I then clamped the aluminum template to the base lining up the center line on the template to the center line on the body. I then drill out the holes. After drill the last hole and remove the template. I noticed my first serious malfunction. Evidently the body of the guitar shifted in the jig after the 3rd hole. So the 4th hole is off. Talk about being bummed. The very last serious hole I had to drill in the body.

So what I did was buy a 1/2 plug cutter. Cut out 4 plugs from scrape maple left over from the top. Glues the 4 plugs together. No the hole I need to plug is 10.8 mm. The plug I made is 12.7mm. As you can see i put the plug into the drill. Ran it at slow speed with 120 grit sand paper I made it 10.8. I then glued in the plug sanded smooth and re-drilled.

Here you see the damage. I don't think its going to be that noticeable after staining and the tail piece in installed.

Next step frets

The missing post. Drilling holes for the controls

2010-01-29T09:37:00.003-05:00

I forgot to post this step. The drilling of the holes for the electronic controls. I first cut out paper patterns and placed them in the cavities. I then drilled 1/16" holes from the cavity side.

Now I can take this to my drill press and drill the proper size holes.

Here I have drilled the 1/2" hole for the 3 way switch.

After the 3/8" holes for the pots.

Here I made a slight change to the Les Paul prints. I am not use the standard square plastic jack cover. I will be using a Custom Nickle oval cover plate. On the Les Paul they center the square cover plate in between the binding and the back edge. So the cover plate does not over lap the binding. The oval cover plate I am using is narrower and I can center the hole the entire edge and the oval cover plate will miss the binding. I used a 7/8" forstner bit and hand drill to drill this hole. All the holes I drilled were done using Forstner bits.

Gluing the neck on

2010-01-13T18:48:00.000-05:00

Here I have gotten everything I think I need to glue this sucker on. Glue, wet and dry paper towels, Q-tips, clamps and radius block with steel bar.

Glue is applied to both surfaces.

After inserting the neck I placed the 12" radius block on top of the fret board. I then placed the steel plate on top of that. I have the body on the 3/4" template board to protect the back. Then I tighten it down with 2 C clamps. After tightening I used the wet and dry paper towels, Q-tips to wipe off all excess glue.

Will let this set over night. Then I will take the clamps off.

Inlay

2010-01-13T18:39:00.000-05:00

You can see I have already started cutting this out. I marked the inlay with a sharpie, next time I will draw it out on masking tape and then apply the tape and cut. The sharpie bled a lot on the pearl. You can see I drilled holes at the inside corners. Then I used a fine blade with a jewelers saw to cut. Next time I attempt this I will also purchase magnifying eye ware.

The cutting went pretty good considering I could hardly see what I was doing.

I then used the tools you see here to refine the shape. Dremel with diamond grinding bit. Assorted files.

Not bad.

Here is where I really needed the magnifying glasses. I traced the H and highlighted it with chalk like I did when I did the inlays in the finger board. But this I had to free hand. You can see its not that good of a job. But for what this will be when I am done you won't be able to tell.

Here I have glued the inlay in using med viscosity black super glue.

I am going to be painting the head stock black so using the black glue when I scrape the paint off the inlay after painting if I happen to scape a little to much it will still be black there.

Taped off to file and sand.

Next step gluing it to the body.

Update

2010-01-07T08:47:00.004-05:00

The issue with the neck transition turns out is not a problem. Jack looked at it told me it should be fine. The dims. I mentioned where for a 59 Les Paul and those necks are much thicker than the necks you now see on electric guitars. I was soooo glad to hear that. I have been doing some fine tuning of the neck carve. Jack pointed out a couple places that needed a little more work. I think I am almost there.
I have also decided to put an Inlay in the head stock so I am trying to decide if I should do that before gluing the neck on or go ahead and glue the neck on and then do the inlay. I am waiting on a jewelers saw and a 1/16" router bit. I have decided to name the guitar after my wife Hope. So I am going to put an H at the top of the head stock. I am also waiting on some water slide decals that look like the Hope custom# (in silver), that will go on the head stock in between the turn keys.

H

Hope

Custom #______

Carving the neck

2009-12-31T21:30:00.005-05:00

I had to figure out how to hold the neck while carving so I took a clamp and screwed it to the work bench.

Here you also see some of the tools I will be using. A draw knife, spoke shave and rasp. I will also be using the wood scrapers and sand paper.

I used the draw knife to knock off the corners. I could have gotten by with out the draw knife. I could have used the spoke shave to do this as well. You have to be careful with the draw knife as it will take off as much as or more than you want. If you click on this picture you can see where if you are not careful you can gouge the wood. I decided to stop with the draw knife here.

Here I have started to shape the neck with the spoke shave.

Starting to really take shape.

I use the rasp to rough out the heel.

Then use a scraper and sand paper to smooth it out.

This is where I discovered I made a little mistake. When I rough cut the taper on the back on the neck with the router I brought it down to the nut and I should have stopped at the first fret. This has caused me to have to carve the transition from the neck to the head stock a little differently than I wanted. I am going to take this to my luthier friend Jack and see if he thinks this will effect the strength and the transition point on the neck. What I have figured out is that part of the neck is now .100 or 1/10th of an inch thinner at that point. I figure the worst case scenario is that I end up putting some graphite fiber rods into the head stock from the face side to reinforce the neck. I am going to paint he face of the head stock black so the plugs I would use for the holes would not show. Will let you know how it turns out.

Turn key holes

2009-12-31T09:09:00.001-05:00

Using the template I used to cut out the shape I marked for the 6 holes. Then using my drill press I drill the 10mm holes.

Done

Now time to start carving the neck. I have decided to carve the neck before gluing it to the body.

That will be my next post.

Rounding the back corners.

2009-12-25T16:42:00.003-05:00

First to set the 3/16th" round over bit using scrap.

Then run the body through the set up.

This is what the 3/16th" round over bit has been done to the back.

Side Dots

2009-12-25T16:37:00.000-05:00

This was one of the easier tasks

Here I have my measuring devise, thumb drill and black plastic rod.

Find the position for the hole and drill.

Now it just a matter of applying a little glue to the end of the rod, insert into the hole and trim with cutters.

After it drys I will sand and scrape them flush.

Working on the neck

2009-12-25T16:27:00.003-05:00

The first thing I did was cut the excess mahogany of the sides with a band saw. Staying about 1/16" away from the bindings.

Next I had to create the taper on the back of the neck. From about .850" at the nut and 1.010" at the12th fret.

I used some scrape binding material as shims at the nut end until the bottom the router bit lined up at .850" mark at the nut and 1.010: at the 12th fret The I moved the neck back and forth under the bit .

And so

Done.

Now I have to even up the sides to the bindings.

I did this by first putting a piece of masking tape down the binding. This will insure the I will still be just a bit wider than the fret board with binding. Then set up my router with a flush cut bit aliened the bearing to the binding and ran the neck through.

Then the other side.

Now I need to make a template for the head stock. I am using 1/4" furniture grade plywood.

After transposing the design to the plywood I trimmed it with a band saw then used the drum sander to finalize the shape. I will now attach this template to the head stock using two faced tape.

Using the same set up I had for sides of the neck I will run this around the template.

Here we go.

Next I will be putting the side dots in.

Inlays

2009-12-21T09:08:00.009-05:00

I was going to do something more elaborate with the inlays, but seeing that I have never done inlays I decided to use the Les Paul Custom inlays on this first guitar. I am not going to put a inlay at the 1st fret. Just to be different. Who knows you may end up seeing it used for a decorative inlay in the headstock.

First I have to screw the 5/16" aluminum plates to each side of the fret board.

As you see here

Then I position the inlay on the fret board and scribe a mark around it.

I then use chalk to highlight the mark. Then I used a straight edge and my miniature router with 1/8" down cut spiral bit to route out for the inlay. To make this a little easier. I figured out the distance from the edge of the router base to the edge of the bit. I then used my micrometer to position the straight edge. Then it was just a matter of holding the straight edge with one hand and turning on the and positing the router bit inside the scored area. Which was probably the hardest part. Especially on the last couple inlays which where very narrow. After using the router I have to square up the corners. I used an X-Acto knife for this which worked great. The first inlay took a while and I actually had to do it twice as the depth of the initial route was not deep enough.

1 down 8 to go.

I repeat the process.

2 down 7 to go.

All 9 inlays ready for epoxy.

I taped off the fret slots. Using 2 part epoxy then I glued the inlay in place.

I then mixed some saw dust I saved from the fret board when I sanded the fret board to size with the epoxy and filled the small gaps around the inlay.

1 down 8 to go.

Now I will wait until the epoxy cures and start filing and sanding the inlays.

Using a file I remove most of the excess inlay and epoxy. Cleaning the file often with a wire brush.

During the process.

Almost done with the filing.

I started with a 120 grit sandpaper on the radius block and then used 220 grit. I will go over it one more time with 320 grit prior to fretting. After using my 12" radius block I noticed one spot where I needed a little mote filler. Which was a very easy fix. Taped back over the close fret slot and added a little filler. Wait till dry and re-sand.

Almost there.

After cleaning with denatured alcohol.

Inlays are now complete on the fret board. Now its time to start carving the neck. Stay tuned!

Final piece of Binding

2009-12-03T22:42:00.002-05:00

Here I have removed the tape and now I am scraping the binding flush with the top and the sides.

I use a couple different shapes.

I have the second piece scraped down enough to now put on the 3rd and final piece.

Prepared

Done

After 24 hours I removed the tape and more scraping begins.

Here I have about 75% of the scraping done I have some more sanding to do to the carved top and will finish the binding then.

Here I have done more scraping and sanding of the carved top. I am almost satisfied with the carved top.

Almost.

Here you can see a close up of one of the joints in the binding.

All I have left with the binding in the slight radius on the corner. Will do that after I have install the neck.

Binding the body

2009-11-25T14:44:00.002-05:00

OK here is the Jig I made for routing the binding channel on the carved top. A piece of 3/8" aluminum that I made to attach to my router. Then it is clamped to a wood support to suspend the router over the work piece.

Then using the router bit and bearing set I got from Stew/Mac it was a relatively easy process to make the channel.

Another look.

After completing the job.

I forgot to take any pictures during the gluing of the first piece of binding. I used a heat gun to soften the .090 in. binding and molding it to the tight radius I have. This picture is after I did the initial scraping to prepare for the next piece of binding. There is still a little more to be done but I will take care of this after the entire binding in done and the finishing touches are put on the carved top.

Here I am pre-bending the binding to fit the other tight radius using a heat gun.

Here I ready to go after the next piece of binding.

After gluing and taping.

Here is the first attempt at bending the piece for the horn at the cutaway.

If you click on the picture to enlarge you can see that the cream has turned slightly white from bend with the binding not being warm enough. My second attempt was much better. Should be posting it being put on by the end of the week. I have to let the 2nd piece dry today. Tomorrow I can scrape it down to get the 3rd and final piece glued on.

Gluing the fret board on the neck

2009-11-08T14:36:00.000-05:00

I have scraped, filed and sanded the bindings on the fret board and I am now ready to glue it to the neck.

First I clamped the fret board onto the neck with the neck attached to the guitar.

I then took a straight edge and extended the edge of the fret board down the body.

I then measured from the center of the body out to each line to check the alignment.

I also checked it right down the center line.

When I was happy with the alignment I then removed the neck from the body with the fret board still clamped to the neck. I then used my drill press and drilled a hole with a 1/32nd" bit at the 1st fret and the 12th fret.

You can see here I have turn the bits upside down and will use them as pins for locating the fret board to the neck when gluing.

Now I have removed the fret board and have cleaned it and the neck with denatured alcohol. You can also see I put a strip of masking tape to cover the truss rod so as to keep any glue from getting in.

Now I have applied Tight-Bond glue to both surfaces.

Now I have positioned the fret board on the neck & locating it with the 2 drill bits.

Now to clamp.

I wiped excess glue off with ta wet rag after the first 4 clamps.

Then I clamped it even more.

After 24 hrs I now have 1 more step complete

Here is a picture after removing the clamps, sanding with a 12" radius block and cleaning with alcohol

Gluing the bindings on the fret board

2009-11-04T15:46:00.007-05:00

I have been messing around with scrap wood, binding material & glues. I just have not been happy with the results I have been getting. The glue tends to film over and won't glue up well. I found help on this from Juha Ruokangas in Finland. This dude does some awesome work. (Ruokangas.com) I noticed he was using a squeeze bottle to apply the glue. What I had been finding out is that the glue you use for gluing the binding dries so fast you can only do 3-4 inches at a time. He informed me the plastic bottles made of Polypropylene is suitable for acetone glues. After finding the right bottle and filling it with IPS Weld On #16 glue I was able to apply the glue very quickly to the entire length of the fret board at once.

Here I have glued and taped the bindings on the fret board.

Tomorrow I can scrape,file and sand the bindings flush with the fret board.

Carving the top and routing out the pick-up cavities

2009-10-30T09:56:00.001-04:00

I have screwed my body contour template to the body and I am ready to rout the first step.

After the first step of the contour is completed. I made three passes to achieve the desired depth.

After I cut the template down and reattaching you now see the second step. This was done making two passes.

Here I have completed the 3rd step.

After the 4th step.

My first major mistake! This is what happens when just for a moment you lose focus. The 5th step I let the route rock and you see the damage. I will hopefully be able to cover this up in the carve. The routing for the carve is complete. I was going to rout the cavities for the pick-ups now but I want to see the if the screw up can be fixed in the carve. So I am going to carve this section first.

I think it will be OK. I will have to do a little more carving at that level all the way around to make it uniform but I don't think I will have to remove the maple top.

Using 2 faced tape I have attached the template for the pick-ups. I will drill out most of the stock.

Now I am ready to rout.

I repeated the process for the second cavity.

Now carve and more carving with the thumb plane. Which will give you a good blister on it. Of course after getting the blister I started wearing a glove.

Getting closer.

Are we done yet?

90 % done with the carve. But my thumb can't take anymore today.

I still have a little more carving to do with the thumb plane. Then I will use some scrapers to start to smooth then sand. That will be the next post. Finishing the top.

The jig and using it

2009-10-30T09:21:00.000-04:00

Here is the body placed inside the new jig I made. I will be using this to bevel the face at the neck joint to 4.5 degrees.

I use the angle gauge to transfer the exact angle to the jig.

Here I use the pre-set angle on the gauge the set the angle on the jig.

Now you can see how this is going to work.

Now I have to move the top guide down on the jig to complete.

After beveling the face of the body I now have the transpose the angle to the bottom the neck pocket (mortise). I do this by carefully using the router on the bevel created. Here I have made the first pass and you can see I still need to be a little deeper.

As you can see here I am very close now. One more slight adjustment and we are done.

Routing out the mortise in the body

2009-10-22T19:03:00.004-04:00

I have attached the template with 2 screws

I am using a 1 3/8" forstner bit to remove most of the stock to a depth of 1 7/16"

Next I will use a router to remove the rest.

After the first pass

I now have removed the template. You can see that the 2 screws were set where the pick-ups cavities will be. Now for another pass.

I still have more to do with this mortise. I still have to router the bottom at a 4.5 degree angle. That will be later. Now the moment of truth. Time to check the fit of the neck. To see if the center line in the neck lines up with the center line of the body.

I have pulled a guitar string down the center of the neck and it lines up perfectly with the center line of the body. Whew!

The next step is building a jig for beveling the face of the body at 4.5 degrees and starting to form the arch top.

Template for routing the mortise

2009-10-21T21:43:00.002-04:00

As you can see I changed my mind on how to create a template for this mortise. This template was made using my router mounted in my table saw. I used the fence to insure that the sides are perfectly straight.

The fitting of the neck in the template looks very good.

Here I am positioning it on the body. I will secure it with screws located where the neck and bridge pick-ups will be. Next post will show the routing of the mortise.

Getting ready to do some more work on the body

2009-10-10T20:07:00.002-04:00

Here I have marked parallel lines off the center line down the entire body just a hair narrower then the width of the tenon. I can always sand the tenon a little to make a tight fit. I have done lots of thinking on how to route this mortise. I think I am going to screw to pieces of MDF with a perfect straight edges down along the lines I marked. Placing the screws where I will be routing out the pick-ups. This is the most critical step I am getting ready to attempt. Lots of blogs I have seen on building a guitar with a set neck (by people who are not luthiers) end at this step. Stay tuned and see what happens.

Making another template

2009-10-10T19:53:00.000-04:00

I just got my Dimarzio's in. Now I need a template to route out the body for them.

The prints I have for the 59 Les Paul actually have to different size template patterns for the neck and bridge.

After checking my pick-ups with patterns I traced I will be using the smaller of the two for both pick-ups.

First I drill eight - 3/8th " holes.

Then two --1 3/8" holes

Then I used my oscillating sanded to finish

Double check the template with the pick-ups

Installing the truss rod

2009-10-10T19:37:00.000-04:00

Here I put tape on each side of the truss rod channel to prevent any silicone from getign in contact with the wood. I put just a little silicone in the channel.

Here I have inserted the truss rod and now I have glued the plug in over the nut.

Here I have sanded the plug flush.

More work on the neck

2009-09-23T20:14:00.003-04:00

Here is the neck now after using a band-saw to cut the 18 degree angle of the headstock and the shape of the underside of the neck.

Now I will use a 1/2" piece of steel with 150 grit self adhesive sand paper to sand out the bandsaw blade marks and to bring in down to size.

Now I am almost there.

Since I am using a 2 way truss rod there is no filler strip and I want to use a truss rod cover that does not butt up against the nut I needed to make a small plug. This was done very carefully on a table saw.

Here I am dry fitting the plug. Next I will silicone in the truss rod and glue in the plug. Then I can sand the plug down flush. The head stock will be painted black so you won't be able to tell there's a plug when I am done.

Starting the fret board

2009-09-21T15:09:00.003-04:00

First I have to cut the board to size. To do that I first marked a center line on the board.

Here you see my marked board. What I did is put tape down the sides. Then I used my drawing, old fret board that came off a Les Paul I determined the width at the nut and the 22 fret. I divided it by 2 and using my micrometer I marked out the board from the center line out. I then use a straight edge and x-acto knife to cut the tape on the mark.

I determined that I need to cut this at the 23 fret for length. Done with my table saw and miter fence.

I will be using my oscillating belt sander to grind down to size. You can see that I have also cleaned the sander so I can collect the dust and save it for filling any small gaps I may have when doing my inlay work.

Here I am finishing up.

Resting where it will soon be glued. I have to get the bindings on next.

Finishing the routing for the truss rod

2009-09-21T14:51:00.002-04:00

What I have left to do is create the recess you see under the truss rod cover. Here I am centering a 1/2" bullnose bit. Using my fence. I used the same process for centering the bit that I used to before. Centering it by eye then running the piece in about 1/2 " and checking to see if it is centered. Once centered I ran the piece in until I hit my mark.

Here you see what it looks like after routing. I now have to use a wood chisel to square it up.

Here you see it during the carving.

Now during dry fit. A littile touching up and its done.

Truss rod routing is complete.

Next step

2009-09-16T10:38:00.006-04:00

I am going to be working on the fret board next. What I am getting from Stew/Mac is a rosewood finger board, Les Paul custom pearl inlays, cream bindings and a vintage bone nut. I have to get get the fret board cut to size and glue the binding on first. Then I am going to install the double action truss rod. As you can see I am only using the Les Paul prints as a guide. No reason to put in the Les Paul style truss rod when you can use the new double action. I actually bought one with a hex nut and I am sending it back for one that uses a allen key. As the double action adjusting rod sets lower in the neck I wont have to go even deeper so the Nut driver will fit around it. The one with the allen nut won't have to have as much carving done on the neck for it be accessible. I will probably have to do a little more shaping on the head stock before I glue the fret board on. After its glued on I will level the fret board with a radius block and do the inlay work. Then I will install the frets.

On a different note I have changed my mind on the pick-ups. I just ordered a DiMarzio LiquiFire DP227 for the neck and a DiMarzio Crunch Lab DP228 for the bridge. These just came out in 2009 and are what John Petrucci is now using.

Straight from DeMarzio's web page referencing the Crunch Lab DP228:
"One thing has stayed consistent throughout John Petrucci’s long and successful career: the DiMarzio® pickups in his guitars. John has been pushing the envelope of progressive metal since the late eighties, and the new DiMarzio® Crunch Lab™ Bridge Model ensued from our most recent collaboration with John. He used it throughout Dream Theater’s tenth studio album, "Black Clouds & Silver Linings.
John swears this is the best live and studio sound he has ever had, and the name says it all - "crunch" is what it’s all about with a big, tight sound that’s neither muddy nor thin".

Tech Talk: The Crunch Lab™ is noteworthy (bad pun alert!) for what it doesn’t do - it’s not a screamer, and it’s not about thundering lows. Its physical appearance is identical to the D Sonic™, but the internal design is a lot different. It’s louder, and the highs have more depth. The lows and mids are more open, and this is crucial for playing chords with body and presence through a gained-out amp. The voicing of the pickup is also different enough to the point that John prefers the Crunch Lab™ to be installed in almost all of his guitars (including the JP Bari) with the solid bar toward the neck, regardless of the guitar’s tuning.

Referencing the LiquiFire DP227:
One thing has stayed consistent throughout John Petrucci’s long and successful career: the DiMarzio® pickups in his guitars. John has been pushing the envelope of progressive metal since the late eighties, and the DiMarzio® LiquiFire™ Neck Model resulted from our most recent collaboration with John. He used it throughout Dream Theater’s tenth studio album, "Black Clouds & Silver Linings".
John swears this is the best live and studio sound he has ever had. He wanted a neck pickup with a flowing, singing solo tone when used with a heavily overdriven amp and a clear chord sound with a clean amp setting.

Tech Talk: Since the mid 1990s, John’s neck pickup sound has been based on either the standard Air Norton™ or the custom version in his Ernie Ball® guitars. The LiquiFire™ has several significant differences. Its treble response is warmer and smoother while bass response is tighter and brighter. The total sound has a more focused voice which works equally well for highly overdriven solos and complex, clean chords.

Once those come in (from Sweetwater.com) I can think about routing out the cavities for them in the body.

Finishing the tenon

2009-09-15T22:40:00.009-04:00

I need to remove the rest of the material from the tenon to the 4 degree lines marked. This is where I wish I had a Radial Arm Saw. It would make this part much easier. But I will use my table saw next to complete the 3 long edges and end of the tenon. The 4th edge is where the fret board will set. I start by setting the blade height where I have already used my router to establish the width of the tenon. Then I set the fence at 4 degrees and cleaned up what was left after using the router. This part is done at 4 degrees for the angle of the set neck. Then I use my Compound miter saw for cut to length also at 4 degrees. Then I rounded the corners with my belt sander. Then I used a sharp wood chisel to clean up the inside corners and its done. Now I am waiting on some supplies I ordered from Stew/Mac. Fret board is next.

Starting to form the tenon

2009-09-14T17:29:00.002-04:00

I remove the bit I used for the truss rod slot and replaced it with a 5/8th" bit. I am going to slowly cut away to form the 2 outside edges of the tenon. Cutting about 1/4" at a time. Now about 75% of the material has been removed for the side cuts on the tenon. I am wishing I had a radial arm saw about now.

Routing for the truss rod

2009-09-14T17:07:00.013-04:00

Here I have mounted my router in the table of table saw. I am using a 7/32nds bit as per the truss rod instructions. Using the fence I set it up as close to center as I could by eye. I then ran the piece in about 1/4" then checked using my digital micrometer. After 2 small adjustment to the fence you can now see I am with in 1/10th of a millimeter from center. Close enough for me. The depth of the slot needs to be 7/16th of an inch. I ran to piece through 4 times. Cutting to a depth of 3/16th" the first pass then to 3/8" and the I check the depth with the truss rod. The top of the brass block on the truss rod needs to be flush with the top of the mahogany.

Starting the neck

2009-09-14T16:44:00.007-04:00

First I drew out the side profile of the neck onto the blank. In doing so I noticed I could get two necks from this blank if I had it cut before starting. I took the neck blank to Jack and had him split it. By doing so now I will be able to make two necks from this blank. Here you see a side view of the tenon and a top view of where the nut will go. And of course the center line.

The body with maple top

2009-09-14T16:28:00.003-04:00

After removing the clamps I used my band saw to rough cut the maple leaving 1/8" or so then using my flush cut bit with bearing mounted on the bottom I routed it down to the Mahogany.
Here is the body after I routed it down to size. I used tracing paper to copy the pick-up cavities then used carbon paper to get them onto the body. You can also see the MDF I will be using to create the templates for the pick-up cavities. After consulting Jack he has advised me not to route the cavities for the pick-ups until after I have the pick-ups in hand. Just to make sure of the size I need them to be. I am now in the process of purchasing 2 Dimarzio's. So it's time to start on the neck.

Gluing on the maple top

2009-09-04T19:43:00.002-04:00

Here I used a blue shop towel to protect the face of the maple. Then I covered the mahogany with glue and flipped it over and placed it on top of the maple top. I have center lines marked on the ends on the mahogany that have to be lined up with the joint of the book matched maple set that was glued up earlier. I started with the center beam and clamps slowly tightening and watching my marks. With all that glue it want to slide around a lot. The first clamp was hard to get on, but working each clamp slowly I was able to get it tightened and centered. Then I stared adding clamps, clamps and more clamps. I will rough cut this with my band saw and use the router to shape this down to the mahogany.

Routing the rest of the body

2009-09-04T19:33:00.003-04:00

Here you can see I have changed bits to one with the bearing mounted on the bottom end of the bit.
I have turned the piece over and screwed the template back on the top which is now facing down. The piece of MDF you see on the top is just to protect the back of the wood. This will stay on during fabrication.
Now its just a matter of making several passes until the bearing is touching the mahogany all the way around. I now have the body is ready for the maple top to be glued to it.

Routing the body from the top side first

2009-09-04T19:13:00.001-04:00

Here you see the template after it has been screwed onto the mahogany. The screws are in what will be the neck pocket and one of the pick-up cutouts so the screws are fine. I have secured it to my work bench and now you can see the beginning of the first pass. Halfway through the second pass. After I completed the 2nd pass I removed the template and I can now use the shape on the mahogany as the pattern.

Halfway through the 3rd pass and completion of 3rd pass. Now I will complete this from the other side.

Update

2009-09-03T11:04:00.000-04:00

I had to take my body somewhere to have the rough shape cut out as my little band-saw was not up to the task. Which has turned out to be a blessing. I had driven by a shop called Mint Hill Cabinet for years on my way to and from work. So I decided to stop in there and see what he would charge me to cut the rough shape. Low and behold when I walked in there was a dude working on a guitar. Turns out half this shop is the cabinet shop and the other half a guy named Jack uses to build and repair guitars. To make a long story shorter he cut out the rough shape for me for a fare price. After cutting the blank, he asked me what my plans were and after that he had some very good reasons how and why I need to change my plans a little. Seeing as he has been doing this for decades I am listening to his advise. So, my plans now are to go ahead and route the shape of the body, glue the maple top on. While I am doing that I am going to start on my neck. I had planed on carving the top first and making the mortes, beveling the 4 degree angle on the body. Then starting on the neck.
After talking to Jack he told me after gluing the maple top on, not to carve the top yet. I need to route out for the pick-ups only. Doing this before carving gives me a flat surface to do this on.
Then start on the neck and complete the Tenon then I can transpose the exact angle of my tenon to the body. My head is over loaded with his advise. I will be talking to him often I am sure. So now I have to get started should have a few more pictures soon.

Cover plates fitting to tight

2009-08-30T18:18:00.001-04:00

After taking the cover plates off my Les Paul and checking the recess I discovered that the fit is to tight . When I get around to applying the multiple coats of lacquer I have a feeling that the cover plates may not fit at all. I decided I need about 1/64th of an inch clearance all the way around to account for the lacquer. I took my templates and used my drum sander to enlarge them and then carefully clamped them in place and rerouted the recesses. Now the cover plates have about 1/32nd of an inch all the way around and I am now ready to cut out the rough shape on a band saw.

Routing the counter sinks for the back cover plates

2009-08-29T17:41:00.002-04:00

Here you see me positioning the template for the counter sink for the main cavity. Then I was just a matter of setting my depth of cut using my 1/2" flush cutting bit for templates to the proper depth. Two passes around and then repositioning the template for the 3-way switch and we are done.

Routing cavities and channel in the body

2009-08-29T17:26:00.003-04:00

Using a 1/2" flush cut bit for templates. These are the bits with the bearing mounted on the top. I will make 4 passes cutting about 1/4 of an inch per pass. I made 1 pass down the 1/2" wide channel. Then I set the depth of cut to 1/2" and made one more pass. The picture on right shows after 2 passes in cavity and 2 passes down the channel. After I made 2 more passes from this side just in the cavity I changed my router bit to a 1/2" flush cut, bearing mounted on bottom. It was just a matter of turning the wood over and finishing the job.

Drilling the body

2009-08-29T17:13:00.001-04:00

Here I have completed drilling out the majority of the stock. Now for the positioning of the template for routing. I was going to use 2 faced tape for this but since I have not cut the shape of the body yet I was able to attach the template using a screw and a clamp. I will be using the tape later but if you can get around it I always recommend not using it. If you use to much its a pain to take apart and positioning the template is much harder.

Joining the book matched maple

2009-08-28T09:28:00.000-04:00

Seeing as these pieces were tapered it was easy to use nails and just light clamping in a couple places to get this done. After applying glue I joined the pieces and wedged them in between the nails I positioned by tapping gently on the tail end.

Another Template

2009-08-28T09:14:00.002-04:00

After transposing the cut out wrong, but remembering to double check everything before cutting I was able correct this before hand. I used forstner bits and jig-saw to start then use the drum attachment on my sander to complete the cut out. Even though I have drawn this out on the body blank, after drill the holes to remove most of the stock I will use double sided tape to hold the template on the blank and use a 1/2" flush trim bit with top mounted bearing to complete the cut.

Templates

2009-08-28T08:57:00.002-04:00

Here you see the modified shape I will be using. I am using 3/4" MDF board for most of my templates. After cutting with a jig-saw I will use my oscillating belt/drum sander to clean it up. This template will be use to router the body shape on the mahogany blank. But before I can do that I need to make a template for routing out the cavities and channel.

Materials

2009-08-28T08:41:00.001-04:00

Here is what I have to work with, 4" x 3.5" x 33" Honduran mahogany for neck, 1-7/8" x 14.5" x 22" mahogany for the body and a book matched curly/flamed maple top for carving, along side my latest refurbished Les Paul. I bought this on Ebay stripped it down, removed the fret board, replaced with ebony and stainless steel frets, abalone dots, Graph-Tech nut and saddle pieces. Painted alpine white with white pearl dust. Active split coil EMG 81TW in the bridge and EMG89 in the neck position.

Welcome to my build

2009-08-27T10:37:00.001-04:00

I have acquired my wood for this build form Northridge Hardwoods out of Washington state. I am in the process of creating my templates for this build. This is primarily going to be done using 59 Les Paul prints with just a slight change to the shape of the body and head stock. It will have a carved flamed maple top with a set neck at 4.5 degrees. Mahogany Body and Neck. Rosewood finger board with inlays and Stainless Steel frets. I am think about putting Dimarzio PAF 36th Anniversary pick ups. The DP223 for the bridge and DP103 for the neck in cream/black. These are low out put that are supposed to be as close as you can get to the original 59 sounding Humbuckers. As soon as I get started hopefully this weekend I will start posting photo's.