Official Luthiers Forum!

Ok thanks for the info guys, rout and fit pickguard, sand then roundover

Yeah It's just about starting to look like a guitar quite chuffed with my efforts so far actually, I'm learning as I go here but really enjoying the build. I just hope it plays well after all this lol.

I was very intrepid over cutting my fret slots. Its a delicate job and i didnt want to mess it up so i ordered a jig. This arrived today from an english company called gmchandcraftedguitars.com . At only £68 gbp (around 100 dollars) I thought it might be of lesser quality, but far from it. Decently made jig with adjustable cut depth and guided fret saw. The steel sawblade guide and the alloy outer saw body guide are changeable to different scale lengths at £33 each. They also do a nice looking fret press at a very good price. Just thought id mention it incase anyone is interested.

That's a nifty jig.

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Nice work . very clean

Thanks james. My problem at the minute is free time but the scratchplate inlay is now done. Sourced a piece of flamed black walnut which was 1/4" thick for the job. After sanding the inlay is just under 5mm into the body. Happy with the fit apart from the line to the lower horn from the neck. Very small and consistant gap but still annoying. Hopefully once its lacquered it wont show too much.

It's looking really good, Brian!

Thank you nick. This is the first woodwork ive done since school, and that was a long long time ago lol. Working with metal all day ive really enjoyed the easy shaping and sanding compared to say alloy or steel, im finding it quite therapeutic actually. Ive spent twice as much on tools as I have on the actual guitar so far tho .

Roundovers front and back done. 6mm front 10mm rear radius. Just to drill the jack hole and finish the neck join bit then I can start the finishing process on the body.

Got the neck made and fretboard on. Well not made but started, Need to shave it down a mil or two in depth, thickness the headstock and fix the slightly misaligned tuner hole, it's only a little out but i want it perfect . Shape the back And radius the fretboard and fret it. Mmm thinking about it I've still got loads to do lol.

Questions for you all again. I am going to use the nut insert and bolt method for the neck joint. I can get stainless steel, zinc steel or brass inserts but I'm not sure what to go for?? Also does anyone tighten these with a torque wrench? And if so what kind of Nm or ft/lbs is tight enough?

Here's some pics of the progress.

About to order the inserts. Are stainless steel ones ok guys?

Stainless should do just fine Brian.

Nice to see someone else making a proper access hole for the StewMac spoke wheel truss rod nut.

Steve

Thanks for the reassurance steve, box of 50 is on its way

Yeah the access hole for the rod needs to be surprisingly long to allow a turn to the next position without fouling the fretboard with the spoke or whatever. Ive seen some attempts that would require a bent spoke to enable rod operation. I thought having full access would be better. Been thinking about making some sort of cover for this, but the ones I have found pics of look terrible tbh. I have various alloys and a robotics grade carbon fiber in the correct thickness so i might just make a few different ones to see what looks best, I'll ask you guys opinion ofcourse . Definitly needs something, everyone who has seen it who doesn't know about guitars has asked "whats that hole for?" Lol.

The stew mac rod works out very expensive for me by the time I pay postage and import duties. I really like this type adjustment but each time im going to get violated by the tax man and mr dhl. Does anyone know of a place I can find these or similar spoke type rod in the UK or EU?

Took the neck and headstock down to thickness tonight. Hs looks smaller in real life than it did in my drawing but I think it suits the small body anyway.

What's the best way to do the radius from headstock to fretboard? I need around a 1-1.5" radius in there to make it look good but I don't know how to do it. Started attacking it with a file but there must be a better way. Any suggestions guys?

Brian,
I use a dremel with a sanding sleeve to get it in rough shape.
Then I use sandpaper taped around a piece of PVC tube.
It can be a pain blending the radius.
Dan

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Thanks Dan, good idea, Will find some suitable tube tomorrow and give it a try.

Yeah, the paper does not last long on a hard tube. I use the 3M stikit roll for fast replacement.
Most of my sanding blocks are hardwood with a piece of felt glued on.
Your build looks really good. Your woodworking skills are more advanced than mine.

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Thank you so much for the compliment dan but I am a complete noob at this and woodworking in general, im pretty sure your a luthier and I'm a dumb begginer lol. A month ago I was looking at a lump of ash and a bit maple scratching my head with nothing but a router with a handfull of bits and some hand tools from nineteen dickity two. I quickly found out that the end result is only as good as your templates and jigs are. Thankfully my occupation has given me plenty practice at that kind of stuff and I work with tolerances in the 1-4 thou region which isn't necessary for guitar making. My neck fit and stuff are all very good because of my general fabrication knowledge, however my finishing skills are not so good and ive never done a single fret in my life so there is still time for me to make a total cockup yet, so reserve your judgement of my skills till this one is finished haha

Oh yeah and i have sourced various pieces of pipe in lots of diameters for use as sanding blocks. Great tip dan cheers.

Talking about finishing, im thinking about trying this tru oil that I see around the forum but only for the body. Thinking maybe going with satin laquer for the neck. Does the body need a few coats of sanding sealer before the oil or would I just apply it straight to the wood?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFT9kdJFkaI heres a good tutorial

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Who cares about tone if you can look hardcore?

I just got some truoil to try on a current build.
Unlike the video, most guys advise building up thin coats rather than slop it on.
Many guys fill and seal with shellac and do a fine sanding before the oil.
I would like to try a satin sheen and leave the grain exposed, but I'll have to do some testing.

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well the unigue thing about tru oil is that it penetrates deep in the wood... so if you do thin coats then you have to do many...

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Who cares about tone if you can look hardcore?

Yeah, but hopefully it is faster than lacquer.

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Yeah watching the various tutorials on YouTube it doesn't seem like there will be much difference in time from start to finish but it does look easy to get a good finish. Everyone seems to advise a thick slop on the first coat tbh. Still not sure so I've ordered some and I will test it against some different lacquers. I can get acrylic 2k lacquer through my work but i dont want it to be super shiny if you know what I mean. I suppose its a personal taste thing in the end.

Used the 12" radius block for the fretboard and I ended up using an old hardwood file handle for the curve to the headstock, it has around a 35mm diameter and worked well. You can see the remainder of the hardwood dowel i had to glue in to fix the misaligned tuner hole in the pic below. Will be covered by the tuner washer anyway so no big deal. I'm really happy with how it's turned out so far and thanks for all your advice guys. I'm way more than half done i think now. Still got to do dots, side markers, frets then shape neck, lacquer/oil and wiring


Next on my to do list is to make a fret wire pre bender tool or whatever it's called. I've seen various homemade gizmos on forums and such that work fine and are really basic/easy to make for me at work. Ive already spent too much on tools so this i will make myself from things i have lying around, I'll pop up a pic when it's done but i need some info as usual guys

Does anyone know the maximum amount of pre curve on a fret needed on any fret job? Or even a radius for bending frets to suit a 12" board. The tutorials I've seen all bend the fret to a smaller rad curve then knock it in. 9", 10", 11" radius??

I've finished all my builds with Tru-Oil except my last one which was nitro.

The best thing about tru oil IMO is for the feel on the neck. As a player I'm not aware of anything better feeling.

The reason I went to nitro was to give spraying a try...to learn something new. I like the body having the extra protection and shine and found that my metal/chrome decal on the head looked better being sprayed.

I prefer a very thin nitro sprayed body and face of neck head with a Tru-oil neck.

Tru-oil also has a filler/sealer and a wax. (never a played a neck faster and better feeling than a Tru-oil and Tru-oil waxed neck.)

Application? Different strokes for.....find out what works for ya.


Tru-Oil may also require more attention by the owner. I can understand why it wouldn't be a preferred finish for some.

Brian, your axe looks really great!
Dan

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Nice build. Like the inlayed pickguard.

I like your router table. What kind of bit is that?

I used Tru Oil on my last two builds. Stopped by my fav gun shop and they have a display with all the Birchwood Casey products. Bought some wax to go with it and to encourage them to keep selling it.