Millul
Well-Known Member
Cool thread and guitars!
Ash & Maple Carved Top Superstrat Builds
- Thread starter Hywel
- Start date
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This thread is great! Love to see how you make use of the small space you've got. My space consists of a workbench in the corner of my living room. Need to throw out my bag of excuses already and start a build!
Where did you source those brass ferrules?
Where did you source those brass ferrules?
Cheers
The brass ferrules are from eBay but you seem to be able to get them at loads of hardware stores. Most places in the UK call them screw cups or cup washers. Much cheaper than the ferrules from guitar stores as these are ~£9.50 for 100
Deegatron
Well-Known Member
What did you use to hold down that veneer while routing? double sided tape? I tried this once and it ended up lifting on me / wrecking the piece... I'm also afraid if I use too much double stick tape I'll never get the veneer of....
Double sided tape. I've tried a few different brands but this stuff works on a whole different level to others I've used. It's strong but not permanent but most importantly it comes off in one piece and you don't have to spend the next hour cleaning tape residue off everything.
It probably also helped that the ebony was still ~2-3mm thick so it had some rigidity to help it survive the taping and plaining.
electriceye
Well-Known Member
Double sided tape. I've tried a few different brands but this stuff works on a whole different level to others I've used. It's strong but not permanent but most importantly it comes off in one piece and you don't have to spend the next hour cleaning tape residue off everything.
It probably also helped that the ebony was still ~2-3mm thick so it had some rigidity to help it survive the taping and plaining.
Why wouldn't you just glue the veneer (and dry) before routing. That seems backwards to me.
With most things I would but once the veneer is glued to the headstock it becomes very hard to fit in the thicknessing jig since the neck will stop it lying flat. Ideally something like a drum sander could bring it to thickness without the risk of destroying it but they are a bit big and expensive for me at the moment.
I back at work at the moment but I'm hoping to make some good progress on these at the weekend. Next steps are to glue on the fretboards, place and drill for the bridge, route the control cavity recesses, carve the tops and bevel the back.
JimF
Contributor
Still loving this! Went back to search for more of your build threads to read through but all the pictures aren't showing... 
Do you ever sell these on or are you a guitar hoarder, like most of us on here
Do you ever sell these on or are you a guitar hoarder, like most of us on here
Still loving this! Went back to search for more of your build threads to read through but all the pictures aren't showing...
Do you ever sell these on or are you a guitar hoarder, like most of us on here
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showpost.php?p=4643012&postcount=431 This post has links to the imgur albums of all the old builds but there isn't any text so the photos don't have any context at the moment.
I'm definitely a hoarder! I've got a full rack of all my builds, the travel guitar hanging up in the cupboard and a few other guitars standing around in cases. I've never sold any but I might have to soon as I am seriously running out of space.
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/showpost.php?p=4643012&postcount=431 This post has links to the imgur albums of all the old builds but there isn't any text so the photos don't have any context at the moment.
I'm definitely a hoarder! I've got a full rack of all my builds, the travel guitar hanging up in the cupboard and a few other guitars standing around in cases. I've never sold any but I might have to soon as I am seriously running out of space.
I have the same problem
Subbed to this one.
JimF
Contributor
Well may I be first to call dibs on both of your first sales! Ha
JimF
Contributor
Loved seeing those! Wish the build threads still had the progress pictures they're mighty impressive! It's really spurring me on to crack on with my own build. Or pay someone!
There's probably enough guitars around your place to outfit a small country.
Build one! Even a partscaster is great fun and I'm sure the ones you build yourself play better.
I've put together a mini drum sander to deal with the backs of headstocks and volutes. The drum is a little large at the moment but it got them level, ~15mm thick and free of saw marks. I might try and mod it to sand in a fretboard radius at some point.
Fretbords are glued on. I use a pair of 1mm drill bits though the 2nd and 22nd fret slots to hold the board in place. Once the glues dry I chuck the bits in the drill again and they back right out with no mess.
While I was waiting for those to dry I made the control cavity covers from some walnut. They are a bit thinner than I normally use but I need the depth in the cavity for the push pull pots so they'll do. Once I've modded some drill bits and routed the recess they'll be attached with magnets.
One of these guitars is going to get a set of Fishman Fluence Modern pickups (hence the battery compartments) but the other didn't have any specific pickups. I do have a spare set of BKP Juggernauts but I thought since I was building the guitar, I might as well make the pickups as well. I'm going to try a ~8k 42AWG alnico 5 neck with a ~15k 43AWG ceramic bridge in zebra. Nothing too fancy but I bet they suck.
Tomorrow I'll get the fretboards trimmed, bridges placed, string though holes drilled and hopefully start carving the tops
JimF
Contributor
Very impressive work as ever!
Update time!
I added the back bevel.
And fitted the cavity covers. I've made the covers thinner than usual to make sure the cavities are deep enough but that meant I couldn't sand in a recess to allow them to be opened like I normally do. Instead, I routed a deeper channel at one end of each cavity so now if you push on that end of the cover the other end pops up. It'll be held closed by some 4mm neodymium disc magnets.
I needed to get the bridges placed and holes drilled before I carved the top so I used some fishing line as the outside strings to make sure there was enough space either side of the fretboard.
Once I was happy with the location I drilled all the holes and used my template for the ferrules on the back. I had a bit of tearout on one body but the lipped ferrules will cover it.
Once that was done I could make a start on carving the tops. I'm going for an Ibanez RGA style carve with no pronounced belly or recurve at the edges. I drew a quick template, transferred it to the guitar in pencil and marked a 6mm deep line all around the edge to guide the boundaries of the carve.
The Shinto saw rasp and Iwasaki carving files were my tools of choice on this one. Oddly I found the smaller 150mm extra fine Iwasaki was much easier to use and more efficient than the larger 200mm fine version.
Once the rough carve was in I blended it with a random orbital sander and some 80 grit paper. It came out really well and I'm really happy with the carve but it's basically invisible in the photo. I did actually carve the one on the left, I promise!
Hopefully it'll be more visible once I've got some finish on there.
Very nice! I love my Iwasaki files too, they're great little tools.
Impressive work considering you don't have that much of powertools 
.I learned a lot from your build, and it really motivates me to go build my own guitar . Sometimes I'm kinda jealous with you guys because you can get your hands on high quality handtools (like the Shinto rasp) and here I am struggling with Chinese knock-off . Keep on the great work!!
.I learned a lot from your build, and it really motivates me to go build my own guitar . Sometimes I'm kinda jealous with you guys because you can get your hands on high quality handtools (like the Shinto rasp) and here I am struggling with Chinese knock-off . Keep on the great work!!Thanks guys
I didn't get quite as much time as I'd like today with other stuff going on but I managed to finish the carved top for build "A" and got the inlay in the fretboards. I was going to use white plastic as usual but after a problem with a supplier I thought about alternatives. In the end I bought a big roll of 2.5mm aluminium wire which is perfect for the small dots I like.
I drilled the holes according to the template and glued in little bits of wire with CA glue. A squirt of accelerator and they could be cut and filed flush to the ebony. You can't see it in the photos but they are reflective with a satin finish, much better looking than white plastic I think.
Once the dots were in I stuck everything together for a quick mock-up.
electriceye
Well-Known Member
So much cool ingenuity going on here. Love it! That drum sander = ( . )( . )
