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Thread: New solid body electric guitar

  1. #46
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
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    Wayland, MA
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    Second time out of the clamps it’s got a slight back bow that the strings will flatten out and the propeller twist is gone! Hooray! Hope it stays that way!

    No way to post pictures from a phone I guess?

  2. #47
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
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    SE Michigan
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    3,222
    Very happy to hear it’s behaving now. Looking forward to the updates.

  3. #48
    Good to hear you persevered and have it under control.
    Thanks,
    Fred

    Seasoned professional possessing unremarkable proficiency at innumerable skills.

  4. #49
    I have learned a lot from this thread, Roger. Thanks. We are the problems overcome.

  5. #50
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    Sep 2013
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    IMG_2960.jpg

    So here we are, recovered back to where I was ten days ago. I still have no sensible explanation for why the neck bowed and twisted when I first glued the fretboard on, but I know what I would try differently in the future-- primarily gluing it using cauls and a flat reference surface.

    IMG_2952.jpg

    It turned out to be surprisingly (distressingly?) easy to remove the fretboard. I used this cool neck heater from LMI and a temperature controller I already had in anticipation of building a mini-kiln. I guess I already posed pictures of that.

    I was over-optimistic in my early appraisal that that neck had emerged, "dead flat". It wasn't, by a long shot. The bow was mostly gone, but the twist was still there, big time. By carefully and selectively planing the surface I knocked down the high spots. Because the neck was already shaped to near-final dimensions, and there's very little excess under the truss rod I did not have the freedom to simply take away wood until it was flat. I chose to glue a piece of black veneer onto the low side of the neck to bring it up to the point where I could flatten that region without taking off significant material from the original neck. It will look like the fingerboard varies slightly in thickness when it's done, but that seemed better than trashing it. If you measure carefully the peghead is slightly twisted (maybe 1 degree?) from the fretboard. I don't think it will be noticeable without applying winding sticks. So it ends up a little bit of a kludge, but, so far, a seemingly successful rescue.

    Fretting is next up on the agenda, along with the final refinement of any curves that need it and finish sanding of the body and neck.

  6. #51
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    Sep 2013
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    In between building crown molding for our kitchen cabinets I did a step that feels like real progress, installing the frets. I got this nifty device with a grooved wheel that bends the fretwire to a perfect radius, and then a caul with different radius inserts to press the wire in place using my drill press. Boy, I love having the right tools for the job. Couldn't believe how quickly and easily the job went!

    IMG_2968.jpeg

    Really looking like a guitar now!

    IMG_2972.jpg

  7. #52
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    I use a similar fret press in my DP. If I ever got to doing this a lot, I'd buy an inexpensive arbor press and convert it to use the same caul system.

    That instrument is a work of art!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #53
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    Sep 2013
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    Closing in on the end of the build! The finish is on, I have to go back and touch up a couple of small sags but it is about time to wire it up, install the hardware, and find out whether it works! The finish was a couple light coats of dewaxed shellac to help pop the figure, Target EM1000 sealer, followed by three coats of EM8000cv conversion varnish with crosslinker in the last coat. I didn't use a grain filler, which may, in retrospect have been a mistake, OTOH, it looks like wood, not plastic laminate. Given what a newbie I am at spray finishing it came out pretty well. It was my first project using my new small QS-125 touch up spray gun from Homestead Finishing, I was really pleased with the way it behaves. It seems perfect for small projects, I'm looking forward to trying it on some of my turned pieces. There was some confusion and the PPS system I ordered for it was delayed; I re-learned why I like the PPS so much better than a cup! I do have some areas where the finish is slightly grainy, perhaps overspray, or maybe just too light a coat. Anyone familiar with this finish ever buff it out?

    Spraying a complicated 3d object is definitely more challenging than flat surfaces!

    I hung the guitar from the rafters to allow me to spray all sides.
    63959634801__D649D74D-6239-48F8-9498-A4BE7A6BBEC6.jpeg


    I've got cocobolo pickup rings; plastic seemed wildly inappropriate.
    63975789861__1E1B1AEE-55F5-4F5D-AF01-5203B05F104C.jpg

    Need to get better pictures once it's done!
    IMG_3075.jpg

  9. #54
    Beautiful work, Roger, just beautiful!!

    David
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

  10. #55
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    Sep 2013
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    It's done! i'm told it plays like a dream and sounds great. Sustain is approximately forever. It weighs about a half pound less than a Fender Strat. At the end we decided to send it off to a local "real" luthier who has a Plek machine to do the final setup. He used both the machine and some hand fine tuning to make the action perfect, something I'm not sure I could have done. The customer, my son, is ecstatic. I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Making instruments is really addictive.


    IMG_3168.jpg IMG_3173.jpg IMG_3174.jpg IMG_3185.jpg
    Attached Images Attached Images

  11. #56
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    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    When a "showpiece" also is a fine player, you know you have something! That's really beautiful...the inlay is exquisite. Bravo! 'Can't wait to see your next one...
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #57
    Really fine job on that, Roger! Beautiful work, indeed.
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

  13. #58
    Wow it looks amazing and your son has a one of a kind guitar. It was inspiring to watch you overcome the challenge you were face with.
    Thanks,
    Fred

    Seasoned professional possessing unremarkable proficiency at innumerable skills.

  14. #59
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    Sep 2013
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    Thanks for the kind comments. It was a fun, if challenging, project. I should probably start the next one before I forget what I've learned!

    For those who have guitars that aren't quite perfect I can certainly recommend having it Plec'd. A really skilled setup guy can achieve the same result, but really skilled setup guys are few and far between and made much more efficient by starting with the machine. -- And it does required a highly skilled operator to make it work; the decisions are all made by the human running it. Being able to measure and correct twists and dips at the level of 0.01 mm is amazing.

  15. #60
    Debating a Plek for my '99 MIA strat which developed a tuning issue skilled luthiers/techs can't sort.
    Thanks,
    Fred

    Seasoned professional possessing unremarkable proficiency at innumerable skills.

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