Kahless
Active Member
I have been working on building a 7 string guitar, my first, from little/no experience of woodworking (began with drill and hammer). I'm not sure how it began, how or when i managed to actually plunge into this project, but i really must have gathered alot of information that made me feel like i could do it, and for that to happen i would have to have been looking up more and more information on the parts of guitars, becoming more and more interested until eventually something just twigged inside - It's time...
Time to make something big.. well, not really that big. but bigger than things i have made.. and i'm old enough now to do these kinds of things now o
Now, when I first started this project i had very little money, earning £50 a week, so i was cutting every corner that i could (cost wise), and concentrating on simply making something, not too fancy; however, times have changed and i got a better job, and suddenly the scale of the project has risen as i learned more and realised i was capable of more than a log with some hardware bolted on - Much time has passed.
If it is okay, i am going to post early pictures and update this topic (faster than i build) until it catches up! I will write as though i am building as i post to make things less confusing to read and write. The first few pictures are via phone, but after that i got a camera and start taking better(ish) pictures.
To begin with, i shall show a sketch (digital) of the guitar as planned (after sketching about 3 hundred body shapes);
It is quite a squarish body, rounded as a classical guitar but with a cutaway in the style of a Les Paul, but without an arching top as such. There will be a gentle curving of the top, and a point at the bottom like the Ibanez Iceman. I am going for that chunky body look that the iceman has. The headstock is leaf-like to mirror the base. The fingeboard is very long - the plan is to make a baritone scale length and see if i can use normal gauge strings tuned to B.
The guitar will not be white (although that looks cool, and reminds me of this crazy expensive/sleek guitar) but rather will proudly present the wood it was made from.
Here is the pile of wood i will be building from;
Once part of the walls of our house, this ancient Mahogany has been drying for over 50 years. I don't know what it was finished in but it looks hideous. When cut it is pink inside, like a medium steak
I cut some strips and i am joining them together to form a neck blank. At this point, the saw and clamps are my only friends (read tools).
I wish i had some other woods to stick into that laminate to make it more attractive. I have glued it with opposing grain patterns, which should help with stability
Time to make something big.. well, not really that big. but bigger than things i have made.. and i'm old enough now to do these kinds of things now o
Now, when I first started this project i had very little money, earning £50 a week, so i was cutting every corner that i could (cost wise), and concentrating on simply making something, not too fancy; however, times have changed and i got a better job, and suddenly the scale of the project has risen as i learned more and realised i was capable of more than a log with some hardware bolted on - Much time has passed.
If it is okay, i am going to post early pictures and update this topic (faster than i build) until it catches up! I will write as though i am building as i post to make things less confusing to read and write. The first few pictures are via phone, but after that i got a camera and start taking better(ish) pictures.
To begin with, i shall show a sketch (digital) of the guitar as planned (after sketching about 3 hundred body shapes);
It is quite a squarish body, rounded as a classical guitar but with a cutaway in the style of a Les Paul, but without an arching top as such. There will be a gentle curving of the top, and a point at the bottom like the Ibanez Iceman. I am going for that chunky body look that the iceman has. The headstock is leaf-like to mirror the base. The fingeboard is very long - the plan is to make a baritone scale length and see if i can use normal gauge strings tuned to B.
The guitar will not be white (although that looks cool, and reminds me of this crazy expensive/sleek guitar) but rather will proudly present the wood it was made from.
Here is the pile of wood i will be building from;
Once part of the walls of our house, this ancient Mahogany has been drying for over 50 years. I don't know what it was finished in but it looks hideous. When cut it is pink inside, like a medium steak
I cut some strips and i am joining them together to form a neck blank. At this point, the saw and clamps are my only friends (read tools).
I wish i had some other woods to stick into that laminate to make it more attractive. I have glued it with opposing grain patterns, which should help with stability
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