Guitar Logistics Build Thread - 2014

[RestorationAD]

Starting up the new thread for 2014.

Got some great projects for this year. More multiscale madness, headless builds, another express run, and maybe some multiscale basses.

Expect custom pickups, exotic tops, and as much instruction as I can manage.

Cheers!

--RAD

 

[RestorationAD]

Not going to use all of these this year but at least some.

The veneers are the most interesting because they are going to be part of a run.

Left to right

Headplates - Maple Burl Top - Quartersawn Flamed Maple (fretboards) - Flamed Maple top - Headplate


Headplate - Flamed Maple Top - Matched Flamed Veneers - Spalted Flame top - .67" Quilted Maple Top - Spalted Flame Top

 

[Watty]

The maple burls you've posted have looked awesome; looking forward to seeing how this one turns out!

 

[BlackMastodon]

Nice woods! Did you get those from Fraser Valley Fine Woods?

 

[RestorationAD]

Nice woods! Did you get those from Fraser Valley Fine Woods?

Yes.

 

[RestorationAD]

Preview of an upcoming build. Still working on the multiscale version.

Here is the 27.5"

T9 Blackguard 8 String

 

[ormsby guitars]

I'd love it more with a shaved heel. I know they don't get in the way on your builds I've actually held but it might flow a bit nicer. And people love that stuff. What you think?

 

[straightshreddd]

No rush or anything, but any info on this express run you speak of?

 

[RestorationAD]

I'd love it more with a shaved heel. I know they don't get in the way on your builds I've actually held but it might flow a bit nicer. And people love that stuff. What you think?

Thanks for catching that! I didn't realize how huge it looks. Hard to get my vision into a drawing sometimes.

Yes the heel will be clean this is just a CAD export to try and get a feel for the guitar as a whole. So the line you see is for the body cut out not the finished product.

I plan on having it completely sculpted on the back side. More like Shaun's latest guitar and less like the earlier guitars. If you draw a visual line between the cut away and the top horn that is what I plan to remove (by hand with a rasp since I don't use my CNC for carves).

Also another point is I had to make the cut away pretty severe on the straight 27.5 to get access to the upper frets. On the multiscale the cut away is not as far down the body and looks much more balanced.

 

[RestorationAD]

No rush or anything, but any info on this express run you speak of?

Eh I haven't decided yet. It depends on timing this summer. The plan as it stands is fixed specs on 3 to 5 guitars. No crazy tops just solid bodies with minimal carves with solid necks and crazy exotic fretboards and maybe a matching headplate. Oil finishes. Maybe Multiscale 7s?

Something I can knock out in a few months time. I don't want any run to take too long or tie me up.

I love what Perry has done with the Hypemachine runs but I just can't manage that volume working only weekends.

 

[RestorationAD]

Well 2014 is here and it is time to get some things rolling for the new year. The shop will be too cold for the next few months to do any consistent work but I will try to get things prepped as best I can for the upcoming build season.


Picked up some interesting boards the other day at the wood store. The Bocote should make a nice fretboard or two and I am not sure what to do with the burl Bloodwood yet. It will need to be stabilized somehow because there is a lot of checking in it.





Some 8/4 Khaya (African Mahogany) that I picked up for some upcoming work. I landed a pile of veneer tops so I needed some thicker body blanks to take advantage of them. Basically I can't manage to rip a 2" strip off one edge because the board is so heavy and I don't have any rollers (note to self buy roller stands). So I cut what I can and then free it up so I can cut the body billet on the radial arm saw.

 

[RestorationAD]

I end up with 3 25" neck blanks and 4 body billets from a 6' piece. I then split the 3 25" pieces to preserve the quartersawn grain. I follow that up by ripping the billets into something closer to what I need and get some veneers in the process. No waste.

 

[RestorationAD]

Billets look almost book matched because they are from right next to each other on the board.

 

[RestorationAD]

Adding some black lettering to the cover plate



I am not sure why I didn't do this years ago. I have a file that I love and I have used it for years to bevel fret ends. I took all the teeth off one side when I bought it but it still had the edges. If you ever slipped with it it would dig up the frets because of this. Finally I decided to round both edges to protect from that.

 

[RestorationAD]

Headless guitar work. I am going to do more of the neck work on the CNC for this model. This is the trussrod slot. Also going to do the fret slots on the neck as well. I will still carve the neck profile by hand though.





Like everything done with the CNC it ends up being very tight.

 

[RestorationAD]

Ended up scraping a little with the chisel to get it perfect but it worked really well.

 

[RestorationAD]

So the idea is to use the pins so I can flip the neck without trying to figure out positioning on the CNC. Index pins are your friend. The template I tried ot cut from acrylic was really sloppy. It is really hard to cut plastic on a CNC with a router as your spindle. It always ends up burning and melting after a long pass. I am ordering new bits for cutting plastic and I will work on IPM feed rates to fix it. For this weekend though all I needed was a center line and pin locations.





Also drilled a hole so that it is easy to find when I trim it free. Then a little silicone and the trussrod.

 

[RestorationAD]

Time to glue up fretboard.



Filling some fret slots.



If you think the CNC makes things easier I would say you are wrong. It just makes it different. I still have to clean the edges with a sanding block by hand.

 

[RestorationAD]

So this is the first pass at the new 8 String S9 Multiscale.


It is going to be 26-28" with Dual Diablo Multiscale Blade humbuckers. I am planning on adding single coils blades as well as hot rails style blades as an option. I plan on starting the first prototype soon.


This is not a technical drawing but a quick sketch.


S9 8 String Chronos Multiscale

 

[RestorationAD]

Headless work


Back profile finished up on the CNC. This one gets a huge LP style fat neck so I had to leave a lot of meat on the back of this one. Then we flip and do the fret slots.