Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi, my name is Sean and I live somewhere in New Mexico. I have been building, repairing or modifing guitars off and on for 30 years with some failures and success. And like most my best experience has been from playing guitars rather than building them. I wouldn't call my self an expert and I am always learning. I finally decided maybe I should join this forum since I seem to be hunting around here allot for info. And I probably do lots of things the "wrong" way but it has been what has worked for me.

Here is what I have been up to lately, a set neck conversion from a bolt on blank for a neck through style build. Like I said, the "wrong" way. But I do love a good challenge!


This is for a friend, a strange dream guitar. Jackson style neck and hardware, reverse headstock, maple fret board, 1 EMG 81, odly located volume pot, and based on Steve Vai's Despagni flame guitar from the 80's. All fitting is done on a bridgeport to very tight tollerance, but hey, I'm a machinest. I see allot of folks all over the web seem to agree that this type of neck cant be done, I have been beating the heck out of one for a few years with no problems. The spine is a mix of maple and alder, the body wings will be maple done in 2 layers with a carbon fiber sandwich in between so the flame points arent succeptable to breakage.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

Very well done!
As an old tool and die maker, I see you are thinking beyond the norm to make the "impossible", possible.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Thank you! I have tried to use routers before, but I just seem to make a mess with them. I finally gave up and chucked up a router bit into one of my older unused mill's, I doubt I will ever use a router again.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

Just an update. I built the body wings and rough cut the shape in. A couple of maple boards with a layer of carbon fiber in between (technology from the skate board guys). This makes it a 10 piece body, I suppose it will be 11 pieces when I stick a spalted top on. Talk about reach, Now I wish I had incorporated a 32 fret neck.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

And this is the guitar that I am basing my build from. The guy I am building it for always wanted to find a way for Joe Despagni to build him one, never could make it happen. He had been hitting me a up for a few years to build him an axe (at the time a flying V), so I finally told him I would make him anything he wanted, it would cost, and it would take me a long long looooong time, and hear we are. I personally don't think the origional is all that amazing, from what I could tell it was cut from a strat blank and had a 22 fret bolt on kramer neck. I guess I could have slapped something like this out on a good weekend but where is the fun in that.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

Cool project. Sure don't envy you with the sanding though.
Looking forward to seeing it completed.

Looking sweet Sean!
Keep the pictures coming.
Dan

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Thanks, and for sanding I was REAL lucky in the wife department, she grew up working in her parents furniture business. I brought it home the other day and she said the she will sand it and finish shaping the flame tips so I "don't screw it up with my impatience". For some reason I didn't even feel like arguing with her.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

You are lucky!
I guess there are folks that don't mind any part of a build but sanding I could pass on.
Of course if my wife would do it for me I'd surely find something and open my big mouth...so I'll keep on...less problems I think.

Heck, I'm just kind of lucky, but REAL lucky!
She also airbrushes, hangs out and drinks beer in the garage, and she polishes aluminum for my other hobby, not to mention just flat makes a bike look good by sitting on it.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

Nice work looking good. I remember that Steve Vai flame guitar. Mike

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Another day, another dollar.

Well, my wife and I have been sanding for DAYS. Its starting to smooth out but I see a nice scroll saw in my future.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

Been cuttin..

This mill is an old POS whos metal cutting days are long gone, all of the collets are wore out, so I just use a drill chuck with router bits. Wood is tough to machine for me but I am getting better at it, to slow and you burn, to fast and you tear it apart. The last couple of pics are where I shaped the neck using sophisticated neck carving equipment, an angle grinder and a flapper wheel. I matched the neck to an old Charvel profile, I took more than .375" off the back. Now that I have ripped a guitar out of it, its time to make it pretty (the fun part).

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

Oh yeah, baby!
Looking good!

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Sean the use of carbon fiber sure got my attention and curiousity.
If you don't mind telling more about how you assembled the body I'd enjoy it.

I think I'd really like a guitar with a carbon fiber on the body top and head too.
The stuff has a great look but I know nothing about it or working with it.

And man! What a great partner to have. My wife doesn't really care to hang with me in the shop but she
tries to stay within yelling distance...she knows how I am.

The spine is just alder and maple glued up with tightbond 3. For the wings I just made a carbon fiber sandwich and epoxy. I just used loctite stuff you get at the hardware store, I have never messed with carbon fiber and wood before so I am sort of new at this. My problem with it when I did my "beat the crap out of it with a 12 pound sledge" testing on the scraps was that when it did finally break it was the glue joint that finally gave on either half of the CF, so I am probably going to drill and countersink some screws into it before I glue on the maple top. As far as side strength and a slow pull rather than impact, it is pretty amazing stuff. I have layed it down before in other applications and painted it with resin, sanded, and cleared it with urethane, the stuff does look cool but I don't know if I am ready to used it where you can see it on a guitar.

My main reason for using it was that I believe a guitar should always have the potential to be used as a weapon when needed, and it needs to be stronger than a set of teeth, some knowledge gained from playing in dumps and dives in the old days. I was worried about the thin flames breaking off the first time it rolled off an amp, something else that seems to happen to every guitar at least a few times in it life.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

Thank you.
It's cool...I'll have to investigate more because it sure interests me.

LOL...I've played the dives too!
I spent over thirty years in NM so may have played the same ones.
I was a biker too and still. We ride a Softail in southern lowlands rather than the mountains now. I still miss
the west.
Studied many years in Albuq. with Bob Brown....and if you've been around there you probably heard of him.

Right on. I still live in Southern NM, grew up in Alamogordo. Albq. was sort of the northern fence when we played out. Found out about teeth proofing a guitar when we played in Ruidoso, had a fight bust out on the dance floor and a 300 pound Apache came flying toward the stage, I couldn't help but think that everything of any value I owned was on the stage with me, so I just held my fender up like a shield and ended up with four teeth marks in the bottom of the body, and never missed a beat in the song. Funny thing about those days (more than 20 years ago) the fights would happen so often that we wouldn't stop playing, usually just go into an extended bridge, sit back, and watch the fight. My favorite place to play was the Golden Spur outside Tularosa, they had a fence around the stage.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

Never gigged southern NM...that I remember lol.

Can relate to the memories but the only ones that bother me are when
I recall equipment being stolen. All part of it I guess.

Looking forward to seeing the guitar finished, it's looking great so far.

Thanks.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

glued on a 1/4" alder back, I wasn't going to but I felt it would be nose heavy and it needed some girth. Here is my fancy gluing jig. This also gave me a chance to drill and countersink a dozen screws soaked in wood glue inside the body and into the neck, I still have trust issues with the epoxy glue joint on the body wings.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

Here is my hand carved back. Angle grinder with a flapper, dremel sanding, chisel, razer, pocket knife, and allot of weird sanding. Just plopped down on the living room floor, drank beer, and watched movies all day. I guess I could have just ripped it out with a router but I really wanted a hand carved look because it makes it look more "flamey".

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

the carving is ultra-sweet!
awesome!

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In case anyone was wondering about the strength of the carbon fiber laminate, I'm sold.

13000 pounds, and I even bounced the bucket. The scrap was 1 1/2" by 1" at the narrow and about 10" between the blocks it sat on.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)

Still been at it. Some headstock binding.

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Whatever you do DON'T confuse me as an EXPERT, or MASTER, just a self learned trial and error guy. I had to build a dozen guitar before I found out what a "Luthier" even was (????)