Guitar Body Working Out in Spite of Total Lack of Skill

[Steve H Graham]

I thought people who gave me advice on my guitar body might want to see how it's shaping up.

Unbelievably, the glue job turned out perfect. The body is very flat, with no gaps anywhere.

I got tired and forgot what I was doing when I was routing out the shape, and for an instant I let the body touch the bit when the body was moving in the wrong direction. As a result, there's a gouge on the side, but it's on the centerline, in what happens to be a great place for a contrasting inlay (which I can claim I planned from the start).

The photo doesn't begin to do the figuring justice. It looks so nice I changed my whole design to show it off. I'm going with a Tune-O-Matic, Bigsby, and humbucker-sized pickups so the wood won't be covered by a Telecaster bridge.

This is really exciting. At worst I'll have the coolest cutting board in the neighborhood.
174211

I will probably need advice on the inlay. I think I'll clamp the guitar vertically with the bridge end sticking up (that's the gouged area), and put two pieces of scrap beside it to prevent tearout. Then I'll use a router to make a shallow cut across the body, from front to back, and I'll glue in a pretty piece of maple. If I can find one.

Will I have to dovetail it to make it work, or can I just have flat walls in the cut? I'm talking about an inlay about 3/16" thick, 1.5" wide, and 1.875" deep.

[Andrew Nemeth]

Nice looking wood Steve! How about posting some photos of the damaged area for us less musically gifted to see. I'm not sure I follow where the damage/opportunity is.

-Andrew

[Steve H Graham]

I don't have a photo right now, but there is a gouge in the general area of the strap pin (the place where you put the pin that holds a guitar strap). It's on the side of the guitar, not the front. That would put it on the left side of the photo I posted.

[Steve H Graham]

Funny consumer note: I was considering going with a Rio Grande bridge pickup, and I emailed the company for advice. While I was waiting, someone told me about TV Jones. I emailed them for some info. and I have already received multiple helpful emails from Mr. Jones himself. I decided to go with his pickups. They sound great on the web, and with customer service like that, I can't resist.

Still haven't heard from the other guys.

[glenn bradley]

Funny consumer note: I was considering going with a Rio Grande bridge pickup, and I emailed the company for advice. While I was waiting, someone told me about TV Jones. I emailed them for some info. and I have already received multiple helpful emails from Mr. Jones himself. I decided to go with his pickups. They sound great on the web, and with customer service like that, I can't resist.

Still haven't heard from the other guys.

Good customer service wins again.

[Wes Grass]

That looks really beautiful.

If you're going to put binding around the top and bottom, then you could rout across the end for an insert. Or 2 cuts with a saw, and some work with a chisel will save some setup and fixturing for a router. You've got enough surface area that it doesn't need to be dovetailed. Just make sure your end pin screw goes through the inlay and well into the body for insurance.

Inserts like this are pretty common on acoustics, and are typically tapered top to bottom. They're mainly used to cover the glue joint between the bent sides, to hide the mismatch of grain that's inevitable, but they look nice regardless.

If you're not binding, and plan on rounding the corners instead, be very careful routing the radius as you can get chip out where the grain runs parallel to the edge. Don't ask me how I know. If you keep your floor clean during this process, you might just luck out and find the chip and be able to glue it back. Don't ask me how I know that either ;-) Except my floor wasn't anywhere near clean. Somebody was looking out for me on that one.

[Steve H Graham]

That's a lot of good advice.

When I decided to make this a bookmatched guitar and expose the wood, I had no idea how many complications I was introducing. Now I'm terrified of routing the edge, because I can't use auto body filler to patch it. If I were painting the guitar, it wouldn't be a problem, but since the finish will be clear, I can't mess up. Again.

I wonder if binding would be better. But I don't think I'd like plain white. Maybe if I could get a maple-toned binding.

[John Coloccia]

Don't worry about it. It will be covered by the Bigsby you said you were going to install. I suggest you leave it alone and don't touch it until you're much further down the road with the guitar. See how the Bigsby fits. It may cover all or most if the damage. What you don't want to do is route from one end to the other and leave the ugly endgrain of the inlay exposed for everyone to see. If it's covered later by the Bigsby, then it doesn't mater, but it won't be covered on the back. Best would be if the Bigsby covered the whole thing. Then you could simply clean up the affected area and put in an inlay of whatever wood you want, and no one will ever see it.

[Michael James]

That's a lot of good advice.


I wonder if binding would be better. But I don't think I'd like plain white. Maybe if I could get a maple-toned binding.
Ok, I removed my post from last ngiht as I realized it was in the wrong spot...sorry about that.
If I'm preaching to the choir here, excuse me for good intentions...this is not a lutherie column. Stewart McDonald has all sorts of guitar building parts including lots of different binding.
There is a reason a seafoam green tele is cheaper than a sunburst custom.
Best of luck in your project - tele's are special:)
mj

[Larry Fox]

Oooh- that is really pretty, can't wait to see more of this build. What are you going to do for the neck - make or buy? I am currently working on jigs etc to build the neck as that is where I am starting so I will be following this thread with interest.

Would be cool if you could slather that top with some DNA and snap a pic and post - that figure would leap out at you.

[Steve H Graham]

I'm buying a neck. I can barely make a body. Making a neck would be like trying to decode the human genome. I'm planning on birdseye maple. Gold hardware. I'm going to machine half of an ashtray bridge from brass (omitting the pickup area) so the wood will be exposed.

[Matt Day]

I didn't notice if anyone responded to your inlay question, but you don't need to dovetail it. A simple flat bottomed router bit will do the trick, and the glue will do all the work.

That's some very nice figure!

[Jon McElwain]

I didn't notice if anyone responded to your inlay question, but you don't need to dovetail it. A simple flat bottomed router bit will do the trick, and the glue will do all the work.

That's some very nice figure!

+1! Also, I don't know if you have been on the Wood Whisperer site before, but check him out. He posted a video of a guy building his first acoustic. Lots of stuff about the acoustic body that won't help much, but the videos would help a lot when it comes to attaching the neck to to body and such.

Good job taking on a tough project like this. I know you are learning a lot and that the project once completed will be very rewarding. Keep up the good work, and keep us posted on the successes and even the failures! Oh, and lots of pics!

[Jaze Derr]

I'm sorry, I don't have any help for you, but I just wanted to say WOW on that wood. absolutely gorgeous, and I'll be waiting for a pic of the finished project.

[Steve H Graham]

Bad news: I tried to rout the pocket, and I used Irwin Quick-Grip clamps to hold the template down. The clamps are so weak, the template shifted, and the pocket is now too big. I guess I'm getting a chance to learn about solid body guitar repair.

I plan to rout around the pocket area until I have a regular shape an inlay will fit in, and I'll try to stick some walnut in there that matches up well.

It's unfortunate, but the guitar will still look great, and if it doesn't work out, it will not be hard to make another one. Seems like they always have some nicely figured boards at the local lumber place.

I used a new Dewalt 611 router. I really like it. It's small and maneuverable, and it seems like a good choice for someone trying to develop better skills.

[Bo McCorkle]

beautiful piece. Bolt neck or set neck?? very interested to hear how you are planning on routing the neck pocket if it s a set neck. (i play and have always wanted to build one but i love set neck and havnt come up with a clever way to rout the 2 degree pocket and make it me proof) anyways i love it and of course keep us posted :)