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Thread: And So It Begins - Build Thread - Strat

  1. #1
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    And So It Begins - Build Thread - Strat

    Excited. Wood arrived, guitar hardware arrived. Chuck and I got together today to look over the hardware components, wood, and the plans. We went to Staples later in the day and had the plans printed. Template wood is in the shop, plans printed and reviewed. We both may be building the same guitars, but we are both excited to do something that we've talked about for YEARS.!!!

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    Last edited by Dennis Peacock; 02-07-2015 at 9:39 PM.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  2. #2
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    Go Dennis!
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  3. #3
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    Good on you two! Pace yourself. There is a tendancy to want to rush through the build. (At least for me)
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

  4. #4
    You just can't beat a good ol' guitar build thread! I'm working on my first two (acoustic) now but not doing a build thread. Can't wait to see what you come up with on this guitar.
    David
    CurlyWoodShop on Etsy, David Falkner on YouTube, difalkner on Instagram

  5. #5
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    Well, I hope y'all don't get your hopes set too high on us. We bought pickups and such that had really good reviews without us spending a whole lot of money on them. I guess what I'm really trying to say is: this is our 1st guitar build and we spent money on what we felt was good for our first build. We bought stuff from Guitar Fetish and we ordered wood from Woodworkers Supply. We found a wood supplier that is fairly local to us that we can get wood from at a lower cost for the next build.

    We also cheated just a bit on the fingerboard....we ordered them already slotted and radius-ed. I guess you could say that we entered into this with caution and didn't want to take on too much of a challenge the first time around. Can you sense our nervous decisions?
    Last edited by Dennis Peacock; 02-08-2015 at 9:14 AM.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  6. #6
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    I think pre-slotted fingerboards are sensible even for pros. Unless you are using something exotic for your fingerboard it's a lot of precision work for an outcome that is easily not as good. Have a wonderful time with your build! If you're like me there will be moments when it stops being fun (when some step goes badly), best to then put it aside for a day or so and return refreshed and ready to do it over so that it comes out as perfectly as you can do it. It's only wood, and if you need to create a little firewood on the way to having it come out exactly as you would like, it's worth it.

    Beware the distortions introduced by copy machines if you're making full size templates-- double check that the templates and measurements match up! (you can guess how I know this is a pitfall).

  7. #7
    Best advice I can think to give at the moment is to think through each and every step with the neck. Follow some reasonable sequences that you find somewhere (maybe even right here on the Creek), but do really think about each step...I mean REALLY think about the details. Going to run a router down something? Where's the fence going to go? Will some other bit of the neck interfere? Should you do it earlier in the process when you have a straight line somewhere, or did you blow away that convenient edge because you started shaping too soon? Think about how you might route the truss rod slot for a prime example of people making an awful lot of problems for themselves by getting too anxious!

    The biggest pitfall with the neck is doing something out of sequence and blowing away some line, edge or reference that you would find extremely convenient later on. For an example of this, look at Julie's fingerboard inlay thread. Not to pick on Julie but I'm sure she'd agree that things would have been simpler if she had done the inlay when the fingerboard was flat. No major big deal...just build a little jig and move one, but that's the kind of thing you want to avoid if you think of it.

    So just think it through in detail a couple of times. Building the neck is just a bunch of simple procedures if you do them in the right order, and a royal PITA if you don't. Establish your centerlines early, and make sure you never blow it away. Going to sand the top of the neck? Is your centerline there? Better transfer it to the sides before you start! Going to trim some off the end of the neck? Better make sure that centerline is transferred to the top before you trim.

    Same goes for the body. Luthiers then to work off of centerlines because you will be extremely hard pressed to find even one part that's straight and parallel to anything. Everything is curved and tapered.

  8. #8
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    Hummmm.....I've been thinking about all this in great detail. I will be looking at the plans we had printed up in great detail sometime this week. I have to develop a plan of "order" for us to follow. I know it will start with the body but the neck has me the most tensed up.

    I know it's just wood....but there's money tied to that expensive firewood pile in the corner....and money is what I have the least amount of.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  9. #9
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    Uhhmmm, you posted on Feb. 7. Why haven't I heard a sound clip yet? I 'spose you're one of them procrastinators? Anyway I will be watching this thread!!! I just purchased a Rainsong 3 weeks ago. I heat with wood and no amount of humidity could keep my other geetars in tune or straight! Got tired of not playing. I can park this thing in the snowbanks and it still stays true.

    Bruce
    Epilog TT 35W, 2 LMI SE225CV's
    CorelDraw 4 through 11
    CarveWright
    paper and pencils

  10. #10
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    I'd second John's advice. I learned the hard way when making some projects that have curve to curved piece joinery. The order in which you do things is vital to both the effort required and the outcome. I took notes on what worked or didn't for the next time. I think for a simple table (4 legs, 4 stretchers, and a top) I had 44 steps. Every piece was curved (most with compound curves) and tapered and there were no 90 degree angles at the end. You will need to think, how will I hold it for this operation? Will I have adequate bearing / reference surface for the operation? How do I inlay work after the curves are cut? I made my life unnecessarily difficult by inlaying after the legs and stretchers were glued up.
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Shawn Pixley View Post
    Good on you two! Pace yourself. There is a tendancy to want to rush through the build. (At least for me)
    I do not play but both of my sons (16 and 21) do. I want to build a guitar someday. Actually, I would like to build both an accoustic and an electric guitar.

  12. #12
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    I'm not interested in musical instruments at the moment but I think it is exciting to make some new product or use a new build technique just for the pleasure of mastering a new skill. Take time and enjoy every moment.

  13. #13
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    Good news, this past Saturday, Chuck and I got together in my shop to look things over and start the process. We got our templates cut out but now fully sanded yet and we still have a back template to make and route out the pickup holes and such in the body template. We also tinkered with a jig that Chuck made for cutting the back of the neck to get the shape we want for the neck of the strats. The jig worked well once we both figured out how to set it up and use it. We now have to adjust the "pucks" on both ends to give us the neck profiles that we truly are shooting for. Maybe we can start cutting real wood in the next couple of weeks. Chuck lives about an hour from me so we try and plan carefully so we can make the best of our shop time and progress on the guitar making process.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by John Coloccia View Post
    For an example of this, look at Julie's fingerboard inlay thread. Not to pick on Julie but I'm sure she'd agree that things would have been simpler if she had done the inlay when the fingerboard was flat.
    Actually, I never considered doing the inlays before radiusing the fretboard because I use the router jig I built for creating the radius. I'd be afraid the shell would chip out when the router bit contacted it. The solution with the bass inlays was pretty simple, make up a couple of rails and a wider plate for the Dremel base. It works pretty well. I tried sanding the radius down and it was a real pain. I'll work around any issues as long as I can use the router jig to radius fretboards.

    My problem with the inlays on the bass is with the fine points in the inlays, much smaller than any bit Stew Mac sells. The other problem is keeping the area clean of dust so I can see the lines when wearing a respirator. Without the respirator, I could just blow it away while I work, but if I don't wear the respirator, I pay for it.

    On all the necks I've made so far, I installed the inlays after I did the radius, but they were just dots. No problems there.

  15. #15
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    Pearl dust is poison. But,I doubt you'd breathe enough to be harmful. If it was real potent,I'd already be dead!!

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