First guitar build

[Megaton_900]

Tape 1, template 0

The heel looks nice and clean cut to me.

Happy with this so far.

I now have some abalone side inlays, jumbo fretwire, abs plastic to cut cavity covers, some neck screws & inserts and some strap buttons.
The Wilkinson locking tuners and i ordered arrived too.
Only have to buy a nut and some sort of knob for the volume pot.

 

[Megaton_900]

What a great build project! And you appear to be going at it very well! Should be epic when done! Subbed for updates.

Thanks
Its been loads of fun so far, and i am not even 1/2 done.
Definitely considering doing more after.


I have a suspicion that i should have left the body a bit longer before cutting it to its final shape. Does anyone know how long i should leave bits like this to settle (eg, the neck now)?

 

[Megaton_900]

Rounding the neck with a bastard cut file.

My aim at this point was to make it THIN. Wizard thin.
Had to remember there is a truss rod route in there somewhere, but as i didn't have the depth measurement (i routed mm by mm until the truss rod fitted) i had to guess based off the depth at the nut side.
This was a problem

Went for the off-centre carve.

It did turn out good, except for a few things.

 

[Megaton_900]

I managed to get closer than i was hoping to the truss rod route.
Not broken through, but close enough that i could flex the wood with my thumb.

First idea was to flood the route with glue, and hope it solidifies a bit.
Here i am using a syringe and some shrink tubing to get it behind.
This did not work. At all.
It was actually a very stupid idea come to think of it...
I just made heaps of mess.

Split it slightly, to let the glue seep out.
Put a dab of super glue too.

After letting it dry and realizing it hadn't worked, i thought perhaps a thick poly finish could save it (you cant -see- the crack, but you can feel it flex)

It turns out my neighbor it a top notch cabinet maker (who knew ) so i picked his brain a bit.
The poly finish is a no-go, as it would work fine initially, but after a year or so it would split. Poly is sharp when it splits, don't want to cut my hand open when it happens.
He also helped me identify what happened to the body.
The method Bunnings uses to dry their structural grade hardwood is not nearly as good as it used to be (in his words).
He had a quick glance over the body and noticed that the whole body had twisted diagonally minutely, causing the corners to be high/low and the join to split slightly more at each end.

So, change of plan:
I will be continuing with the body, starting the neck again (salvaging the truss rod if i can) for the sake of gaining experience, but not mounting any hardware.
Probably attempting a solid finish (or even a swirl if i fell brave), to practice.

Just to finish on a high note:
I think i will adapt this thread (rather than waste it) to my journey of learning to make a first guitar, as opposed to just that one. Hopefully this will help anyone else going down this path avoid any of the mistakes i make (there will be plenty more to come).
My neighbor very kindly agreed to give me a hand if i need help/some tools.

 

[Megaton_900]

I picked up some much nicer woods to start again

Left to right; New Guinea rosewood, Padauk yum, American wallnut

Not quite sure what the wallnut is for, as it is slightly to thin for a body, and to narrow for a drop top. I just could not let this one get away

 

[Jacobine]

How thin is that walnut? Might be 'super thin blackmachine-ish' worthy. Or bookmatched possible given it's the right size. Gorgeous none the less!

 

[Megaton_900]

The walnut is 32mm x 240mm x 700mm, so i guess it could make a very thin guitar, like a sabre or a sg. Not quite sure about the width though, it would need to be jointed.
I was considering perhaps a 4 or 5U rack cabinet or a rediculously deep carved top, but it really depends how hard joining it will be (for a body).
Its still early days

I also have a nice ebony fretboard i picked up for cheap a while back.
I have been saving it for something nice, but i thought it mite go well with the almost fluorescent red of the padauk.
Once i get my method sorted a bit more

 

[DistinguishedPapyrus]

Bummer, don't feel too bad man, my first guitar has taken 3 years and 5 attempts to achieve.

This is it, I had the same problem with nearly cutting into the truss rod route.

 

[Megaton_900]

Bummer, don't feel too bad man, my first guitar has taken 3 years and 5 attempts to achieve.

This is it, I had the same problem with nearly cutting into the truss rod route.

To be honest, i was in a great mood all day
I noticed that:
- My insight to use the crappy end of the beam first paid off
- It has cost me ~$40 in timber for well over 30hours fun & practice
- Bought some wood that i am reaaaaly looking forward to working with
- Had an amazing lasagnae for lunch

I had a browse through your build too, nice work.
You approached the same problem completely differently to me, and it turned out nicely from what i can see from here


A small update on the neck:
I had it glued 3 days ago from today, and my previous assessment was after my usual day wait for it to dry.
I checked just this morning, and it is absolutely rock solid
Not really surprising (in hindsight) it wasn't fully dry, with the amount of glue that went in there.
The thinned space has slight shoulders, i think i can fix that, and none of the flex from before.
Lets just hope the truss rod still works

If i can pass the body through a thicknesser, and touch up the neck, i could still save this lot. If not, i just started gluing an identical neck.

 

[Neilzord]

Enjoying the progress in this thread! You definitely have the right attitude, And an "amazing Lasagnae" allways helps!

Look forward to more of this story to your first completed guitar!

 

[fastmerc]

Nice way to jump in. I haven't had the guts yet to tackle a from scratch build.

 

[Megaton_900]

Small update again.
A combination of bad weather and being kept very busy meant not much has been happening sadly.
When i have had a chance i have been pouring over guitar builds from other people, YouTube demonstrations and other assorted guitar building/woodworking guides.
Several purchases have arrived (such as a fret slot saw) and i have made myself a little list of tools that would make this much easier.

I have figured that:
- A table saw
- Jointer planer (8"+)
- Thickness planer/drum sander
- Belt sander
- Bandsaw
would make this considerably easier to get things cut square/flat/accurate (assuming i can use them properly )

The neck, after a single (feather-light) pass of 320 grit to remove the squareness of the almost sanded through part.

2 little dark lines, so i probably wont use this neck for anything other than practice.
Try things on this first.

The next one that i glued up, then made to the correct thickness (and as flat as i could with a hand plane).

Scarf joint.
I will be going and buying a belt sander or something to make this a bit easier/better. I have had to do this part about 10 times now, so hopefully im getting better

Picked up a few ideas on how to make gluing a bit less messy.
I started spreading out the glue with a little scraper thing (old plastic drink coaster) rather than use the timber to squeegee it around. I saw a few times people using paint brushes, and i did try that, but i found i like this better.
(ignore the pencil drawn angle, i drew that one wrong)

I have done just about everything wrong with a hand-plane that i can now
i moved the angle adjustment bar by accident, and it made these gauges on the otherwise smooth fretboard side.
I have also realized that grain alignment is much more important than a visual thing.
For this, the grain on the right and the headstock (and the middle was parallel, so doesn't matter) were aligned 1 way (cut towards camera) and the left side would cut smooth cutting away from camera (and that direction peels up the join of the scarf joint ).

Somehow i managed to make both sides flat, but not parallel, and the neck heel is too slim (14mm).
Must have been a bit plane-happy. oops
Looks like this has become another practice piece.

 

[pondman]

I love your attitude to this build - not getting pissed off and just ploughing on
I've burned a few necks on my way
A belt sander is a great investment and so are a couple of bungee straps to attach it to a workmate for shaping .

Great build

 

[Megaton_900]

Thanks for the comments everyone

I am hoping to commandeer a shed in a few weeks time, so i should be able to spread out the sawdust a bit

 

[DistinguishedPapyrus]

- A table saw
- Jointer planer (8"+)
- Thickness planer/drum sander
- Belt sander
- Bandsaw
would make this considerably easier to get things cut square/flat/accurate (assuming i can use them properly )

I managed to do my first complete build without any of those. What I have is a router, drill press, jig saw, circular saw and a few other basic hand tools. the build came out quite nice, check it out: 6 string build

Yes those tools would help out tremendously, but for a n00b like me, I'm not at the level of cranking out $2000 guitars every month, so I dont need thousands of dollars in equipment to do a nice build.

 

[Megaton_900]

I managed to do my first complete build without any of those. What I have is a router, drill press, jig saw, circular saw and a few other basic hand tools.

How did you make the laminates for the neck?
I have been using the thickness of the boards i get, and cutting them flush after gluing, so i cant get anything as slim as those wenge pinstripes.
And how did you rough-cut that scarf joint angle?
I have been struggling to get an accurate angle with power/hand planes.

I have been getting by so far with a plunge router, power & hand plane, jig saw and a rasp.
The list is more of a wish list

I will be trying to burrow as much as i can, and some (ie bandsaw) are a bit more optional.
My father has a 40yr old hobby bandsaw that struggles with 2mm balsa, that needs replacing anyway

 

[DistinguishedPapyrus]

How did you make the laminates for the neck?
I have been using the thickness of the boards i get, and cutting them flush after gluing, so i cant get anything as slim as those wenge pinstripes.
And how did you rough-cut that scarf joint angle?
I have been struggling to get an accurate angle with power/hand planes.

I have been getting by so far with a plunge router, power & hand plane, jig saw and a rasp.
The list is more of a wish list

I will be trying to burrow as much as i can, and some (ie bandsaw) are a bit more optional.
My father has a 40yr old hobby bandsaw that struggles with 2mm balsa, that needs replacing anyway

The neck lams are thickness cut with a router hovering above a marble slab on a sturdy jig made of scrap ply wood, like this:

^ yes I know its a full neck blank but the same idea applies to each individual lam. I also thickness the guitar body like this. The piece of marble came from Home Depot (home improvement store). It's sold as window sill material. Works great not only to cut super flat pieces but I also have a second piece of marble that I use to sand with. Just spray some mild adhesive on the marble, lay out a few strips of sand paper, and you can sand machine quality glue joints with a little practice.

Ane the scarf joint is cut with the same router using a very simple jig of two pieces of scrap... like this:

I cut the scrap 1x4 pine at exactly 11.5 deg. and clamped it up real square against the neck blank. Then slide the router along the angled part, taking about 2mm per pass. I did rough cut the scarf with a hand saw first just to remove the bulk of the material and make the job a little easier on the router. Note the acrylic sheet that I bolted the router to, it gives a bigger, more stable footing to the router and helps alot to keep dust from flying up into your face and you can still see through it to where the bit is cutting. Also note that the whole set up is hovering out away from the work bench on a 4x4. I love working on necks like this, it makes it easier.

Notice the tightness of the glue joints? Thats done completely using the methods described above, right in my garage. It does take a little practice but it all comes out very well in the end.

 

[Youne]

Good job dude ! Keep it positive !!!! You've done a good gluing !! Wat to see it finish !!

 

[Megaton_900]

Hey guys, its been a while but im not dead yet!
I have been kept really busy, but i have a break coming up so hopefully ill get a little more done soon.
Whenever i get a chance i am working on little projects (i've made a nixie clock, a tray for my pc case, a 3d printer).
I think i am getting a bit more confident at woodworking.
Been adding/upgrading my tool collection too, bought a much better jigsaw (i found i use it all the time) and a table saw among things.
Also got to relocate from an uncovered table in the back yard, to the garage.
Luxury

But first, i think ill also give those 2 speakers (hiding in the background of my last pic) a home.
I want the floor space their boxes occupy back...
Once i figure out how to prevent accidental limbs/digit removal with my table saw, i hope a cab wont be quite as challenging as a guitar neck.

 

[mathloss]

great to hear news from you!!!
I really enjoy readind your post
keep on working!!!!