Guitar Build (needs reparing already LOL)

[LuptonM]

I don't have a bradawl (I've been marking points with a tip of a small bradpoint bit instead). I think I might wait and get a bradawl to install the dots properly.

I've been thinking about getting the heel to fit tight against the body and I've decided a shoulder plane would be best for this even though the angle will be about 93 degrees instead of the usual 90, but the difference over such a small distance is quite small indeed (say if the heel is 1cm higher than the tenon than the gap in the side (where the heel meets the body) there will be a half mm gap. I'll need to get one though- kinda expensive!!!!

Hey Setch you've obviously made a few guitars so how do u fit the heel to the body?

 

[Setch]

Generally I make the neck the same depth as the mortice that way there is no need to trim the heel.

You can use the tip of the brad point drill instead of a bradawl - it'll do the job just as well.

 

[Trizza]

Good work so far Lupton! Keenly following.
I like to radius my fretboards with a hand plane - its nice and easy to rough out a radius with one and then refine it with the radius block. Much faster than just sanding it.

For my most recent build I made a fret press like StewMac's "Jaws" out of a welding clamp and some scrap maple and leather - I'll never go back to hammering frets. Ever.

 

[LuptonM]

I've been thinking. My fret board at the minute is 8mm thick at the highest point (I was thinking having an extra thick fretboard might give it a nicer tone :roll: ) and should really be about 6.5mm, so will this create me problems later? I can easily remedy it if need be but I hate sanding

I am doing some work on the neck at the moment (doing the scarf joint) and will post pics later

 

[Trizza]

Shouldn't be a problem as long as you can adjust your saddles high enough to compensate for it. You could make the neck route 1.5mm deeper, or the heel of the neck 1.5mm thinner and take up the difference there. My first had an 8mm thick fretboard, too, it didn't cause any problems - although I used a tune-o-matic bridge so I had a bigger range of saddle adjustment.

 

[LuptonM]

This build isn't dead yet, I've just finished my exams so I will have a lot of time on my hands to finish this

My aircraft drill bits have arrived and so has my cheapo shoulder plane. The first priority will be to get the body finished - route the deeper part of the p90 pickup, drill for the electronics cables, radius the top edge and then hog out the jack socket

Then the fingerboard will be next- sand the back till I reach the desired thickness, install the side dots, and then install the frets.

Once these bits are done its only the neck that has to be done

 

[LuptonM]

Routed the inner p90 pickup and radius-ed the top edge

Drilled the cable channel from the pickup cavity to the electronics cavity

Everything has been going ok accept for the jack socket hole which I screwed up and am now trying to repair using epoxy. Its pretty unsightly but I am going to paint the guitar with a solid colour, so as long as I build up enough material that it will be hidden under the jack socket cover I'll be ok

Initially I tried to drill it using a drill press and a 25mm fostner bit with the body clamped in my bench vice, but the the drill press is quite light so the force of drilling lifts the drill press and combined with the vibration of the body in the vice, it makes a mess of the guitar body. I think if I could do it again I'd try to use an auger bit by hand and see if that works

I've also routed the truss rod channel using my make shift router table and I've done a little work on the neck, including the scarf joint. The tenon fits ok but I think it could do with a slither on one side

Sorry about the pics, they have alot of shadow on one side and some of them are out of focus