Luthier altert: building your own guitar

[brammy]

Guitar update

I've got a lot of routing to do..... am I nervous? You bet.

[8mileshigher]

Kent, a question regarding the Back: are you going to "cover" the routed out semi-hollow Back of the guitar with plastic or some sort of wood veneer ?

[johnallg]

Uh, Kent, uh, I think you need something a little more substantial than paper for a headstock......









Slow night....

[brammy]

Kent, a question regarding the Back: are you going to "cover" the routed out semi-hollow Back of the guitar with plastic or some sort of wood veneer ?

Yes, it will be covered with a glued on piece of 1/8" maple.

Uh, Kent, uh, I think you need something a little more substantial than paper for a headstock......

I think it'll be ok .... The only song I'll use it for is "Paperback Writer"

[johnallg]

LOL!

[brammy]

Guitar build update

"Black Pearl" pickguard from PICKGUARDIAN

[8mileshigher]

It's taking shape nicely.
BTW ... how wide is that 12-string neck at the nut ??? The neck width looks pretty substantial or is that just the way the photo kames it appear ?

[brammy]

It's taking shape nicely.
BTW ... how wide is that 12-string neck at the nut ??? The neck width looks pretty substantial or is that just the way the photo kames it appear ?

1.75" at nut.... same dims as a Ric 660. I think it looks a little fat because the fretboard and back of the neck haven't been rounded yet. I'll start on that Tues night.

[doctorwho]

Nice!

[brammy]

Saga of the fretboard..... if you remember, I messed up my original ebony fretboard with an incredibly stupid cutting mistake..... then I purchased pre-slotted and pre-radius'd ebony fretboard from Stu-Mac...... then I decided to repair the original one and use it..... THEN tonight I screwed it up again when I attempted to deepen the fret slots. Tomorrow night I will attempt to REMOVE the original fretboard and put on the Stu-Mac one.

aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[brammy]

update

I'm not entirely happy with the final shape of the double cutouts, but it's not too bad.... and it is FAR too late to do anything about it.

[8mileshigher]

Nice binding work --- and you did a heck of a clean (neat and trim) Rout out of the body cavities.

[brammy]

A closer look would reveal some shakiness, but it'll work ok. One thing I did might be interesting to those who have built or will build a guitar.....
I had it designed in CAD for a 2 degree angle on the neck. But I was very nervous about cutting that angle into either the body neck cavity or the neck itself. So I cut the neck cavity deeper and then made separate angled wedges of 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 and tried them out. 2 deg would have been just right (to place the bridge in the center height position) but I chose 1.5 so the bridge could be positioned a bit lower. The neck connection is currently very ugly and I dont quite know what to do about it......

I also managed to snip off the tip of my left thumb with a pair of sharp shears.......

[kiramdear]

Kent, what kind of finish do you have in mind?

[brammy]

Glad you asked..... I've been all over the map on that issue. As of now I'm planning on going with the advice I got from a local luthier.
His advice is to avoid the plastic finishes like polyurethane and polyester. So my plan is this:

- Sand very smooth.
- Clean with Naptha
- Stain with mixture of denatured alcohol and medium brown dye.
- apply sanding sealer
- Sand smooth
- Clean with Naptha
- Multiple thin coats of brush-on DEFT brand Gloss Brushing Lacquer with fine sanding between coats.

Any advice or suggestions are most welcome