7string Fanned fret Neck through siggi braun/avenger build

[givemeajackson]

Hello there, i figured i'd finally start a build thread here. this is my first build, i am a complete noob in terms of woodworking, and i have like 5 tools in total, so failure IS an option in this case but well, i'll learn from my mistakes, and those of you who want to start as well might too my current status: i cut out the body, and i planed the planks for the neck. currently cutting them, will glue then soon.

specs:
oak body, maybe i'll chamber it and add a flame maple carved top with an f hole.
5-piece neck thru body construction, woods being maple and walnut.
maple fretboard, 24 frets, 25.5 to 26.5 inches scale length
2-way trussrod, no neck reinforcements spsrt from the 5 piece neck.
improvised ghettobridge using a bent brass/steel plate with strat saddles
probably lace deathbar and x-bar
1 volume with push-pull to split the pickups, 3-way toggle.

pics made with the crappiest of phone cameras (i'll get a better cam soon):

the mdf template on top of the neck planks with the unfinished fretboard on top of it.

and that's the monstrously thick (6 cm...) oak body, with a neck stolen from a cheap guitar. the back will be heavily carved with an angle grinder in order to lose weight (and of course to make it ergonomic), and if i get the top i want i'll chamber it as well, because it is brutally heavy! (and that would enable me to use a piece of the back as the control cavity backplate, i hate the look of plastic...

 

[givemeajackson]

my pictures don't show... any advice? i'm using photobucket...

 

[Eliguy666]

Try imgur, it's a bit more reliable in my experience. imgur: the simple image sharer

 

[givemeajackson]

thanks, i'll give it a shot

 

[DredFul]

I was going to comment last night but I fell asleep.

Anyway welcome to the wonderful world of guitar building!(says the guy who hasn't made a single one yet) I think a flame maple top with f- hole would look soooo good on a avengerish shape other specs also sound quite tasty! Hope you get your pics working soon I also suggest using imgur.

By the way are you that guy from youtube whose name offends Ben?

 

[givemeajackson]

yes, yes i am... i am a sucker for his videos! and i agree, i'll have to get a top for it. also because of the weight, my oak body will be unbearably heavy...

 

[givemeajackson]

Let's try that again with imgur...

 

[givemeajackson]

BAM! thanks guys I'll try to glue the neck together during the weekend

 

[givemeajackson]

broke my plane, ....ed up my saw, realised that i don't need a body break angle if i go with a strat style multiscale bridge, and last but not least it's too cold to glue in my shop... what a shit day... but well, at least the problem with the break angle is fixable, it is now definite that it's going to have a flame maple top.

 

[DredFul]

Sorry to hear that you have problems. But then it's twice the fun when you get past them by the way, what kind of finish are planning to do? I think red would look like pure sex with flame maple and the f-hole

 

[givemeajackson]

hmm, haven't thought about red really, but the idea appeals to me. i initially wanted to go for a really dark blue burst with gold hardware. if i were to make it red i'd definitely go for a rather dark shade, and i'd probably go for a burst as well. i don't want it to be too brightly colored, this guitar should basically be more of an aston martin than a lamborghini in terms of looks: elegance over excitement.

 

[DredFul]

Blue burst with gold hardware would be quite fancy! Would fit with the shape quite well in my opinion are we talking about black on the sides and blue in the middle -type of burst?

 

[givemeajackson]

veeeeeery dark blue on the sides, progressively lighter towards the middle. so basically i'll stain the whole thing black, sand back in the middle and then hit the entire thing with blue, so that it's !almost! black at the edges.

 

[DredFul]

Looks awesome in my head

 

[givemeajackson]

in mine as well but well, now i need a new plane, otherwise i'm not getting anywhere...

 

[givemeajackson]

Well, first, i would like to inform you that i now have a plane again. it's crappy, not a fraction as good as my mourned old one, but it's a plane, and a shit plane is better than no plane.

Secondly i've made a discovery that revolutionized my guitar playing and my understanding of ergonomics: i've been drooling over hfschmid picks for quite some time now, but i don't have 30 bucks to spend on a pick at the moment. because i was bored, i decided to try and make a similarly shaped thing, and since i didn't find any other scrap material lying around my house i used some 8mm thick mdf. i cut out a pic shape and then used a rasp and a file to get it to the desired shape (the entire process took me about 15 minutes), and holy shit, i recommend that each one of you who owns a file, a saw, a rasp and some kind of scrap material that is about 8-10 mm thick and can be worked with these tools does so too! that little chunk of MDF that disintegrated within 5 minutes of playing completely overthrew all i thought i knew about picks (while making my guitar a bist dusty though...)! it is simply the most awesome feeling ever, you can completely relax your hand while having all the stability you want! i'll be back in half an hour when i made one out of some scrap maple that should be a bit more durable, and next week i'll try and get some soapstone and some acrylic to make some picks out of that.

if you have 20 minutes of time and the materials i listed, MAKE ONE RIGHT NOW!

also, i can only imagine how awesome the real deal hi-tech material hoofschmids must be! i'll get one as soon as i can afford it. also to thank patrick for the inspiration.

why can't i write patricks last name? is there something wrong with his stuff or him that i'm not aware of?

 

[Mik3D23]

Well, first, i would like to inform you that i now have a plane again. it's crappy, not a fraction as good as my mourned old one, but it's a plane, and a shit plane is better than no plane.

If you don't know how, learn how to tune up your planes. Especially if you bought it from HD/Lowes/other stores like that, they never come sharp or true. The base usually needs to be leveled and the blade needs to be sharpened pretty good. I got a 40$ plane from HD and I thought it was just a useless piece of crap when I got it, then I learned how to tune it up. Now it's a useful piece of crap

Also, how did you break your old plane?

 

[givemeajackson]

If you don't know how, learn how to tune up your planes. Especially if you bought it from HD/Lowes/other stores like that, they never come sharp or true. The base usually needs to be leveled and the blade needs to be sharpened pretty good. I got a 40$ plane from HD and I thought it was just a useless piece of crap when I got it, then I learned how to tune it up. Now it's a useful piece of crap

Also, how did you break your old plane?

well, mine doesn't even have a chip breaker... it's just blade, then cap iron. the handles are disgusting plastic, the depth and angle adjustment is horrible (it requires you to take off the cap iron every time you want to adjust the depth...) blade sharpening needs to be done anyways all the time, i don't consider that to be a relevant point when buying a plane. no idea how flat the base is, but that's too much work for my taste... but my old one (acorn, as far as i know it was at least 50 years old), made from cast iron, fell onto concrete and simply shattered loved that thing. but well, the new one is one my father never used, so it's free, and i'll use it until i find a better (old) one on the internet again.

 

[givemeajackson]

btw, made the maple sample of my new picks. it's awesome! i'll never buy picks again!

 

[Mik3D23]

Leveling the base isn't too bad, all I use is a sharpie, a flat piece of marble, some emery cloth or aluminum oxide sandpaper, and some elbow grease. But that sucks about your other one shattering. Hopefully you'll find a nice one. Check local craigslist from time to time