Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

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

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 ?

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









Slow night....

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"

LOL!

Guitar build update

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 ?

8mileshigher wrote: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.

Nice!

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!!!!!

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.

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

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.......

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

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