My new project.. Turn a door into a guitar

[LPguitarman]

Lookin' good Rabs. That neck looks really wide. You must have big hands, or is it just an optical illusion?

[Rabs]

Lookin' good Rabs. That neck looks really wide. You must have big hands, or is it just an optical illusion?

Cheers man.... and yeah its big at the moment.. Havent even started to get that down to size yet it was just rough cut.. I may start later today or just wait till tomorrow now.. It will be as Gibsonish as I can make it :).. The fretboard itself is exactly Gibson spec and the total scale length will also be Gibson spec (24.75").

[Guest Farnsbarns]

Still looking good, Rabs. I must admit, at first I couldn't see this being pulled off but your really are getting there.

[Rabs]

Still looking good, Rabs. I must admit, at first I couldn't see this being pulled off but your really are getting there.

Cheers man... Don't worry, still loads that can go wrong yet :P :)

 

I keep imagining when I go to drill the holes for the fret markers the drill or router (haven't decided how im gonna do it exactly yet)that it goes sliding off and takes half the fretboard with it lol.. I will try my best :)

[pippy]

This is great!

 

So much progress since my last peek!

 

I deliberately left off visiting here every day so there would be a huge amount of stuff to see all at once.

Although it's nice to see so much in one 'hit' I think checking in at each stage is more involving somehow.

 

And one of the most interesting aspects is seeing how the occasional slips and hiccoughs are resolved - such as the double-clamping issue.

If you posted all the Beauties without the Warts it would still be good, of course, but not quite as involving nor as fascinating as it most certainly is!

 

Keep Up The Good Work, Rabs!

 

 

P.

[Rabs]

This is great!

 

So much progress since my last peek!

 

I deliberately left off visiting here every day so there would be a huge amount of stuff to see all at once.

Although it's nice to see so much in one 'hit' I think checking in at each stage is more involving somehow.

 

And one of the most interesting aspects is seeing how the occasional slips and hiccoughs are resolved - such as the double-clamping issue.

If you posted all the Beauties without the Warts it would still be good, of course, but not quite as involving nor as fascinating as it most certainly is!

 

Keep Up The Good Work, Rabs!

 

 

P.

Wow.. such nice words from everyone.. Thanks Pip and all who are reading and commenting...

 

And yes I think the wart n all approach is the best way.. That way you can see the learning curve. And just maybe it may inspire someone else to try as I really think it just takes some research, common sense and a passion to do it (as do most things in life)... And it all goes to add the good musical karma :) The idea of creating something that will then go and create music which helps make people happy is a really nice one for me to think about.

[badbluesplayer]

I'm wondering if the neck needs to bow upward a little before you install the trussrod?

[Rabs]

I'm wondering if the neck needs to bow upward a little before you install the trussrod?

The neck is totally straight... The bowing comes from string tension so you never know exactly how a certain piece of wood will react until you string it up.. It will be too late to add the truss rod at that point :)

 

Its mainly there to correct any up bowing from the string tension and for general support... Some people don't even use truss rods on their builds if say its a very strong wood or is multi layered..

[Rabs]

Hello fellow guitar people and watchers :)

 

So this week ive been waiting for a good time slot to go at the neck profile... BUT have just been busy so I decided just to make a quick start on it to get that first bit out the way. Im just using a rasp at the moment (which is a really rough file)..

 

You will see it will take me some time to get to the right shape.. But hopefully tomorrow I will be able to finish it (assuming nothing comes up).

 

But first... Heres me thinning out a bit of wood for the headstock veneer. As with all of this its the first time ive tried this technique so am pretty happy with it :)

 

Heres a vid (my first one on this build (theres two on the second build already)..

 

 

So to the all important neck profile (probably one of the most important bits of the build for a playable guitar)..

 

So this is before. You can see ive drawn guide lines

 

And heres it after a bit of work with the rasp (sorry for the phone cam pics, my main camera is charging). You can just about see the slanted edges im creating

 

and at the end of my first session.. This is going to be done mostly by eye and feel.. I don't want to use any power tools at this point so its all hand tools for this

 

So.. the important start has been made.. I think ive been putting it off slightly as its a bit scary :) lol But hopefully tomorrow I will get to finish this and the next thing you will see is a finished neck profile :)

 

Peace out

[Rabs]

Hello and welcome to day two of the neck profiling.

 

So, I said in my last post I was going to try and finish it today but yet again I have been kept busy doing other things (typical when you want the spare time it seems to go away lol)... Anyway.. Heres where we were at yesterday

 

 

Now there are proper ways to do this by measuring klines out and creating facets on the side of the neck and then smoothing that to a round surface.. Ive been doing it by eye and feel.. Maybe its right maybe its wrong but we will see soon.. I think its going ok.. I only had to stop cos after two hours rasping my hands (and body) needed a rest :) So id rather do it in another session when im fresh again and do it properly than rush it and regret.

 

So here it is again after about another hour

 

Im gonna leave the very back and front of the neck and do that with finer files as the rasp as you can see is fairly rough with the wood

[Rabs]

And finally after another 45 mins

 

Getting there :)

 

 

So.. Im not sure if I will get to finish this tomorrow.. But if not it will be done 100% on Saturday..

 

Nearly there.

[Greybeard]

And finally after another 45 mins

 

Getting there :)

 

 

So.. Im not sure if I will get to finish this tomorrow.. But if not it will be done 100% on Saturday..

 

Nearly there.

 

 

 

+1 for your patience Rabs. You seem to have a "feel" for what is the right thing to do and you don't get pressured by the urge to get it over with. Good project.

 

 

GB

[surfpup]

Wow! That is looking a lot like a guitar neck at this point. Your patience has my utmost respect. I woulda screwed that up for sure!

[Rabs]

+1 for your patience Rabs. You seem to have a "feel" for what is the right thing to do and you don't get pressured by the urge to get it over with. Good project.

 

 

GB

Thanks man... and yes totally... I am taking my time on the first one to make sure I get it right.. I do get a bit impatient with it sometimes but always try to resist going too mad.. I think its good to do a bit, have a look what you've done and then carry on a fresh.. As I have said part of the issue I have is that I am working in such a small space. After a few hours of it the air is thin, I am sweating and my hands are hurting.. So I think slowly slowly catchy monkey :)

 

Even though I may have a solution to that soon (the work space) :)

[Rabs]

Wow! That is looking a lot like a guitar neck at this point. Your patience has my utmost respect. I woulda screwed that up for sure!

Cheers man.. it really does seem in this case that slow and sure is the way

 

My next one will go much quicker im sure :)

[Rabs]

Welcome to day three of the neck profiling. And all I can say is OWWWwwwwww.. RSI city.. My right thumb is killing me right at the joint.. I think its cos I must be using poor technique, but I think that's cos I don't have a proper bench to work off..

 

Oh well.. I may have to let my hand rest for a day before I finish this.. But never mind theres lots of other things to do in the mean time (like fret markers )

 

Sooo.. First I will show you a series of shots so you can see it taking shape.. Then in the next post I have three side profile shots that really show the difference.

 

So heres what we have at the moment. Actually not a bad shape but still too thick.. So rasp on :)

 

And after a bit more rasping and sanding

 

I also feel the shape along the way making sure it feels right and ergonomic on the hand

 

Not bad. But still not there yet.

 

Then I smoothed it down a bit to get a better idea

 

Starting to really get there

 

 

See below for a good idea of how the neck has changed and the almost finished version

[jdgm]

Rabs do you have a spokeshave?

[Rabs]

So heres a side view where you can really see

 

Wednesday

 

Thursday (you can see its still a bit bumpy)

 

 

And today.. Peretty much done.. just some minor hand sanding with a higher grit paper now

[Rabs]

Rabs do you have a spokeshave?

Nope.. ive seen them but have been trying to avoid buying loads of tools so am trying to make do with what I have :)

[Searcy]

Nice! This is the point that you start to worry about going too thin. You're looking plenty safe though.

[Rabs]

Nice! This is the point that you start to worry about going too thin. You're looking plenty safe though.

Cheers.. And yeah I was slightly worried about hitting the bottom of the trussrod lol (cos its quite deep at the back).. But all seems well.. Im pretty much at the right profile size now so its just a bit of shaping and sanding to a smooth finish..

 

As I say... fret markers next.. YIKES :) But like everything so far I will take it slow, practice on some scrap wood first and make sure I get it right..

[Searcy]

IF the fret markers are round they are easy.

[Rabs]

IF the fret markers are round they are easy.

Its getting the depth right and the angle straight that worries me :) (and that why I went with plain dots ;))

[Searcy]

Its getting the depth right and the angle straight that worries me :) (and that why I went with plain dots ;))

 

Sink em a little high and sand em flush. Easy like pie. You're doing the hard part now.

[Rabs]

Sink em a little high and sand em flush. Easy like pie. You're doing the hard part now.

Lol.. yeah.. but we are talking a thickness of 2mm.. not much room for error.. I think im gonna gauge the depth simply by putting tape on the end of the bit. I will try for 1.5mm and as you say sand the rest flush (hopefully :)).