Rabs

Yet again I didn't get too much done... Arrggg.. kind of annoying but not much I can do about it. Anyway.. The necks are set in good and I got a lot of the neck carving done on both and started measuring for the pickup and bridge positions which hopefully I will get to finish tomorrow.

Bodies and necks all glued :) Always a good day ... :)

Got a small amount done today.. Both bodies are ready for their necks.. I just need to do the neck tenons tomorrow and I can glue and get these bloody things finished :)

Still cool to do it.. If we did it just for the money none of us would ever play anywhere.. Years ago when I was in a band I do remember once doing a gig and just about getting enough money for a Maccy Ds each on the way home :)

Ahh, here we go... These ones came in a neat pouch wallet thing too which had them numbered in order...

Roughly yes. They make them a bit longer than you need.. I have also bought rolls of fretwire but they tend to be over radiused... I will see if I can find a picture of them.

Well its always worth doing in my book. But in this case I had gone a little bit saw happy when I was cleaning the slots out and deepening them slightly just before I fretted it.. And if you see the pic where I put the side dots on, the holes are a bit big and a player would feel those holes so it has to be done :) (and its a relatively quick process too). But I appreciate the comment anyway :) Also these frets came pre radius'd and they were de-tanged at the ends (the tang is the bit that goes in to the fret slot)... You would absolutely need to use de-tanged frets for a neck with binding... But if I had used normal fretwire the tang goes right to the end so the holes would normally be much smaller.

Ok.. For those still interested... Second neck is almost done. Shaped the fretboard to the correct dimensions (43mm - 56mm and 12" radius if you are interested). Frets and side dots on Then I need to cover the fret slot holes left on the side So I rub rosewood sawdust in A dab of super glue on top And sand it back down. Sorted :) Also rounded the back over So here we are.. Two bodies and necks ready to join for life ;) More soon.

I would agree with you but ive seen what this wood looks like with finish... Im not sure I want to mess with that :) What I may do though is put some ebony sawdust on the top and rub it in to the grain... that can look really cool.. I will see what happens when I do it ;) Theres a guy on another forum who made a guitar with the same batch of wood.. Check this And then I wet the wood slightly to get an idea...

Ok.. I got a bit more done this week.. Both bodies are bound And one neck is almost done And the other one got its fretboard glued today. Hopefully I will get that first neck and body glued tomorrow which is always a good day :) (if I get time )

Good job.. Looks like it was meant to be there :)

Inlay time.. And actually the first time ive done trapezoids... But ive done blocks so its the same method. So you line up and draw around the inlay Then deepen the cut Then you go around the inside edge with a chisel like this.. the lines you already have mean that it comes out nice and clean The you evacuate the middle And hey presto you have an inlay hole :) Needs to be a bit deeper, but once you have the shape that's pretty easy. Just eight more to go :) Also did the binding on Walnut 1 today And tested the knob position to make sure it fits in the space in a pleasing manner and they look like it will be ok.

Neck for the second build is almost done. And heres some better pics of the body where you can see the carve more... Pretty much ready to get its binding and neck :)

Carved the top of Walnut DC 2 today... Really this build is going to almost be identical to Walnut 1 DC so I wont post so much how I do things, just shots of when it progresses. So heres a bunch of shoots of the newly carved top :)

Ok so I have decided.. Im just going to do another carved top with this solid body... The single pickup guitar idea will be next on the list then :) This is roughly what im planning (at the moment :) Did the body today

Hmm.. Im a bit split by that.. I sorta like it and sorta don't at the same time. One of the reasons apart form its one of my favourite shapes that I go with the double cuts is that so many people seem comfortable with it. And it allows me to do different things with the way I use the wood and my hardware options but yet still remain somewhat familiar.. Well that's what I reckon anyway.

Ha... actually that's how it came... The person I bought it from drew that on there. :)

Because I need about 7-8mm at least to do a carve.. The tops are like 6/7mm thick... If I use a top it has to be a flat top... So it just cos I wanted to use the top.. I can just carve the walnut and not use a top and do a single pickup design..

HELP.. I have way too many things I want to build... So that new walnut body.. Im not sure what to do with it... I have a flamed and spalted maple top which ive been dying to use... BUT I really like the walnut and am thinking maybe it will be cool to do another carved top like the one I just started and have the grain going in the more normal direction and I can directly compare the two which will be cool.. Ive also had this idea for a one pickup guitar.. While I know they aren't for everyone, there is something about the look of the I do like.. This is the rough idea BUT if I do that and use a top, that means I cant carve it as they are too thin.. and im not sure I want to go back to flat tops again... These are the tops Hmm, decisions decisions.. What do you think?

On with the neck... Made from some really nice re-claimed wood (Asian mahogany I think, could be Iroko, really hard to tell) You can see how old the wood is But it clean up real nice So I shape it Put the trussrod in and make the access hole for the adjustment tool And all glued up Heres the body.. A bit more sanding done.. Almost there Here I wet the body a little to get a glimpse of what it may look like with finish And heres a sneak preview of whats coming next.. Im just deciding if its going to be another carved top or to use one of the nice maple tops I have for it.

Righty.. So on with this Walnut build... Did the carve today. Also the binding channel is done cos trying to do it after the carve is way more difficult. So I draw around the areas I want to carve. I put the binding on and mark around the top of it which gives me a nice accurate line to carve down too. And go at it with my angle grinder that has a sanding disc attachment First pass I do the horns with the orbital sander as I want a bit more control in this area.. And will finish it with files and sandpaper. And here we are Then I smooth the humps and bumps with my orbital sander And here we go Still needs more fine sanding and possibly shaping... But I find it best to stop here and come back tomorrow with fresh eyes. Before you go too far and cant go back :) More soon.

And for anyone who missed the start of this since photoidiots killed it.. Heres the vid :)

Cheers... We were playing through that Marshall and the pickup combo REALLY works... Sounded great.Without boasting, in terms of playability and sound I would pit this guitar with almost any other.. He said he loved the woman tone it makes and the sustain was good... In some ways im sad cos I was actually thinking about keeping it for myself.. But that kind of defeats the object of what im (trying) to do :)

Thank you. And yup :) He lives over the road from my "workshop" and saw the original lump of wood I made this from and I promised to go show it too him when it was done.... So I went over Tuesday night to show him and he said he had the day off the next day and wanted to know if he could borrow it overnight just to check it out.. So I said yes.. Then I went back this afternoon and we had a long chat, as I walked in the door he told me how much it sings and that it begged to be overdriven.. Its that sort of guitar :).. And then after an hour or so of us talking guitars he said you know what lets do it.. So yeah, I was kinda shocked but obviously happy that something I made can have that effect.. Literally the first person to try it and bought it... Even I haven't played it much beyond a few chords. Now on to the African Walnut build..

SOLD!!! :o And here it is in its new home... In very good company