Build #5 - Quilted Maple Top, Indian Rosewood Neck Super Strat

[StarbardGuitar]

This is looking too good man. Very keen to see more. I must be one of the few who like the scarf'd piece to match the neck though i'm sure.

Thank you!

Yeah, on my last build I used the same wood as the neck for the scarf joint, but it was ever so slightly misaligned and it bugs me to see because the laminate stripes are just a hair off. I figured on this build I could avoid that by using a different wood, and maybe it'll turn out interesting looking too. Also, the rosewood I bought for the neck wouldn't have been long enough for me to make the scarf with the same wood. Maybe on my next build I'll try the trick that people do on here where they put some veneers between the scarf to hide any slight misalignments.

 

[electriceye]

That's looking really nice! I think you could have gotten away without the relief routes in the top. That counter doesn't look too extreme.

 

[StarbardGuitar]

That's looking really nice! I think you could have gotten away without the relief routes in the top. That counter doesn't look too extreme.

Thanks! This was my first time ever bending a top, and I also had a small crack near the contour area on the top from a piece that tore out while cutting the rough shape out. So I just took every precaution I could to make sure I didn't make it worse. I figured it'd be better to play it safe on my first attempt, and you're probably right that if I were to do this again it might not be necessary.

 

[StarbardGuitar]

Slight change of plans with this build! I recently came across a pic of this tele that I used to dig, and I decided to go with that color scheme for this build rather than going blue with the birdseye fingerboard like I had originally planned on.

So I ordered an ebony fingerboard from LMI (this time at the full 25.5" scale lol) but unfortunately they sent me one that was wrong. I had asked for 3/4" behind the nut to leave me room to make the shelf for the locking nut, but the one they sent me only had 3/8" which isn't enough. I got in contact with them and they said they'd send me one with correct specs as soon as possible, so I can't complain! It just means I have to wait a little longer to continue working on this guitar because there's not much else I can do at this stage. Also, I now have a left over birdseye maple fretboard and an extra ebony fretboard, so maybe I can save those for future builds.

Also, unrelated but I turn 20 today! Man time flies.

 

[StarbardGuitar]

I got the correct fingerboard in the mail the other day, and got that glued up tonight. Should be another update up soon with some more pics!

 

[StarbardGuitar]

Got a little more work done today. First I cleaned up the edges of the fingerboard so now it's flush with the sides of the neck.

Routed for the binding channel, installed that and cleaned it up. Looks good.

I also cleaned up the sides of the body from the router marks so that is ready to rout for the binding channel. I wanted to get more done today but ran out of time. Next step is to make a jig to be able to rout a binding channel with an arm contour.

 

[J_Mac]

Noob question - What made you decide to go 13 degrees rather than 10 dude? Is it down to looks?

 

[StarbardGuitar]

Noob question - What made you decide to go 13 degrees rather than 10 dude? Is it down to looks?

Well, on my last build I used 10 degrees for the scarf, and I feel it wasn't quite steep enough to hold the strings at the proper angle past the nut without having to wind the strings on the tuners more. In theory you really want as few windings around the tuner as possible so there's less string to slip and cause tuning issues. I saw that Warmoth uses 13 degrees for their scarf joints so I figured I'd try that, it seemed like it'd be a good angle where it's not too extreme and potentially easy to break, but steep enough to hold enough tension and angle on the strings past the nut. The scarf joint angle is probably going to be something I'll keep messing with in future builds until I find what seems to be a happy medium for me. But hey, thanks for asking, I never mind answering "noob questions" haha, I'm always happy to share what I've learned so far!

 

[J_Mac]

Thanks man interesting stuff \m/

 

[StarbardGuitar]

Made up the jig for routing a binding channel around an arm contour.

This is the underside, you can see it's basically just a copy of the jig stewmac sells where that little donut is what actually rides on the edge of the guitar. You can also see the holes from when I tried to use a different router at first, but it was too heavy so I went with a palm router instead.

It doesn't work perfectly, as it doesn't quite cut to the same depth as it makes its way around the contour. I could adjust my jig but it wasn't hard to file down the rest just around the contour. I also can't get in the horns with the jig so I had to do those by hand. I'm still pretty happy with the jig and I think it'll be useful for all sorts of edge work since it is far steadier than holding the router by hand.

I may go a little overboard with the binding tape.... lol

My goal tonight was to get the neck pocket routed and the neck fitting, and I achieved that so I'm happy! Also started the route for the neck pickup since I knew I wanted it right up against the neck pocket.

 

[MoonJelly]

Lookin' snazzy

 

[J_Mac]

Nice jig! The cut looks superb. How does it stay flush with the contour?

 

[StarbardGuitar]

Nice jig! The cut looks superb. How does it stay flush with the contour?

Thanks, it could use some adjustment but works pretty well! If you take a look at the second picture on my last post, you'll see the circular piece of mdf with the chamfered edge around the router bit. That is what actually rides against the edge of the guitar, the 1/8" or so of flat surface on that piece of mdf. As you pass the guitar through, the jig moves up and down with the contours because only that little bit of material is actually riding on the guitar body. And since the part of the jig that the router is attached to rides up and down the tall box part, it always stays level.

Hopefully that makes sense, it'd be easier to explain if I could visually show you it in action.

 

[J_Mac]

Aha I think I get it yeah nice!

 

[StarbardGuitar]

Unfortunately, I no longer have time/motivation to finish this project. I've decided to sell the unfinished project, and I figured I should share that here, since a lot of you guys would be interested in finishing it or have the skills to do so. (I hope this isn't against the forum rules, and if it is I apologize in advance.)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272451082041?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649