My Amateur Sevenstring Scratch-build project

[Kahless]

I'm afraid it will not have those little love heart inlays, although i was toying with the idea when i saw love-heart jewellery on ebay!

Thanks for the compliments Mysticlamp and simulclass83.



Now it is body Routing time!! This is alot of fun!

The plywood template needs to be raised a little for the template pattern bit, otherwise i'd be making to deep a cut on the first pass for my liking/skill.

For this i am using some scrap plywood (a very useful tool) and double sided tape (also, amazingly useful).

Here is my working environment.
The little bench is pretty stable, and kneeling on the ground i get a good eye level view of everything without having to bend... Though i do have to kneel
For stability i routed two holes through the template and into the body blank, and plugged two big screws in there. This allows the raised plywood template to easily hold the weight of the router while keeping everything aligned.
The screws only screw in where the pickup routs will be, so don't worry, there are no big holes punched into the final body

Ouch! I did chip the template somehow. I could milliput the gap and sand smooth in a day but there's not enough time - I must continue carefully.

Lunchtime! While still coated in sawdust (minus the hands) I can operate the kettle (cup a soup) and the butter with more precision than I can operate the router.

I used the other end of a craft pen to clean sawdust out the channel as I routed. I'd be better off with a Jigsaw for this, but then i'd be better off with a bandsaw than with a Jigsaw, I have what i have, for now.

Progress. It is getting dim, and also i have to go out tonight, so unfortunately have to dust everything off, and take it all apart, to then set it up again the next day.

Pondering.
I got some Macassar Ebony veneer off of eBay - The sheets all have a kink in them- they were really cheap for that reason.

You may wonder, what is inbetween those two oak planks being clamped up?

The fingerboard - overlaid with Ebony veneer! The ebony should provide a harder surface than the Mahogany underneath. I cut it very carefully to look seemless once the frets are in, with each join being hidden by frets, and with each sheet joining up.
The black marks are from cheap electrical tape that i used to help keep things aligned while clamping :/ I'll have to see how it goes..

Here i am trimming the excess.

And here it is sitting over the neck - I'm really happy with that look in combination with the headstock. Thats an old bankcard that I use for clamping protection so fantasy csi magic to sharpen up images will not get you my money

And now the body is cut out!
From different angles;

Here is the body and fingerboard being vision-tested.

I am also planning to use the Macassar Ebony veneer to nicen the sides;
It's a pain to cover up that fantastic grain, but there are some damagy gaps filled with mlliput and really oddly placed seamlines to cover up.
I may also put spruce down the middle of the front of the body;
Advantages: It will go with the headstock, can allow me to route wiring channels then cover them, and may even add a slight brightness to the tone (tempted to experiment and create a hollow U channel under the bridge). It also stops the black sides from having a Mutton-Chop effect on the overall look of the guitar, which i can't have :/
Disadvantages: Spruce ontop of Mahogany; I could go to Hell for that.
Also, eew, this picture really makes me want to sand that top smooth! So scratchy. But i am a slow worker and it oxides quickly, so i'll be leaving it for now.

Taking the scraps, the fingerboard and a bridge, I tested this wee idea; perhaps I could make some kind of Electric Zither one day.

 

[ibanezRG1527]

loveing this build!!!! you seem pretty damn good with a router to me haha

i cant say i agree with the body shape though. or the headstock haha

 

[skeels]

Awesome man! Love your DIY approach - and the reminder of the importance of lunch breaks!

Heehee- electric zither!

 

[Mysticlamp]

sexy, it's coming along great!

 

[Kahless]

Thanks guys More updates below.

i cant say i agree with the body shape though. or the headstock haha

It is definitely not to everyones taste!

I shaped the body using a detail sander my dad bought me (perfect gift for the moment!), giving the front and back a gentle curve towards the ends

The cutaway looks small but the horn doesn't go out that far and so it only needs to be this size.

I really like the way the horn thins at the back.

I used a piece of paper to transfer the control pot positions from the front to the back. This will help me design a big enough cavity on the back - I don't want it too big as the body isn't all that dense as it is!

I routed a very thin channel/stripe in the top, and have glued a veneer in there;

I've drilled some preluminary pot holes.
This also shows the veneer glued on. I used double sided tape to stick down a piece of wood as a guiding fence for the router, which made it easy to get a straight channel - It looks like there is a gap on the right hand side but that is just the excess height of the veneer that will have to be sanded flush (i will leave this to soon before finishing, as it would go dull by then if i did it now).
Unfortunately, there are some bits where the double sided tape has messed up the top.

I decided to cut two strips of Oak from a plank to cover/decorate the ugly joins on the back...

...Like so!

Channels routed. This was really challenging because of the gentle curve across the back of the body. Doing things in the wrong order!
I've also taken a stab at chiselling a twin-leaf shaped control cavity. Unfortunately, these chisels are uber cheap and not sharp enough to cut butter. Soo, i sharpened them, and they lasted about 20 minutes.
I then started to use the widest drill bit i have to get more material out, but being a hand drill, its risky business!

Oak strips glued in, trimmed (with a flush cutting saw I bought for sawing the frets - £6 on eBay and it is an awsome saw!) and planed.
Planing is immensly pleasurable. I also like to plane cheese, into many super thin super tasty slices. Planing wood is almost as delicious.

These little strips of Macassar Ebony are going over the sides of the guitar.
I considered having the grain the other way, as this way up will leave the grain open at the top, which means some sort of edging will be essential.
However, this way around, I can trim till the joining edges are black to black, and then sand flush - It will all look very continous, like one long veneer.

This is the glue on process, with titebond, a pile of elastic bands, with kitchen roll tubes, plastic wrapping and poster tubes cut up and arranged so as to balance the pressure evenly across the veneer.
Too much work! Too much can go wrong!

I later decided to use a comination of Super Glue and titebond.
I put a strip of sanding sealer in the middle of the area that is to hold the next strip.
When dried, i sanded it down, brushed some titebond on the top and bottom, and coated the middle(sealed) line with super glue.
Then i quickly slapped the veneer on, holding it there for a minute, firmly.
My hope is that the super glue clamps the titebond enough to allow me to sand/cut the edges later as i wish.

Time to install the truss rod!
Plenty of masking tape, and a rather funny looking to fit at the same time.

Here it is being clamped in. There is loads of electrical tape on the other side of the plywood just in case of glue squeeze out.
It is a Martin-style U-Channel truss rod, so the aluminium channel has to be fixed in with epoxy.
I was worried about how much glue to use - Too much and it could squeeze into the wrong places, too little and things would not operate as intended.
I suppose i'll find out which one of those this install falls under one day!

Sanding the fingerboard smooth. I used some foam offcuts i got for incredibly decent prices at the Foam Centre in Glasgow.
It is really good for this, until the grit got too high!

I then put a coat of Birchwood Casey sanding sealer on the fingrboard. I don't plan on finishing it, but i wanted to make it a little tougher and smoother.
It also looks fantastic like this! My biggest fear was finding a midgie on it the next day!

 

[Kahless]

[ Glueing the Neck ]

Carefully masking the wood surrounding the neck join - I intend to absolutely flood the lands with glue.

The neck being joined.

The masking tape absorbed alot of glue...

ALOT of glue. It scraped off okay. Masking Tape Yay!

I drilled holes and added some dowels in for support - They are in at slight angles in order to prevent upwards neck creep.

[Edging the fingerboard]

I am joining some spruce onto the side of the fingerboard as edging

And here it is joined - Sorry for the blurry image!

Tested along with everything else - looking fine

Still need to scrape the overhang though.
This is fun, though i have to be really carefull with the grain.


[The Frets:]

I began by carefully taping a paper template on, and scoring each frets position

 

[Kahless]

Those scores really stand out!

Here is my fret-slot sawing set-up. You can see the first two slots having been cut, and the £6 on eBay Flush-Cutting saw that cut them.

I used two bits of plywood, two clamps, and two initial saw-cuts as a tiny vice for holding the fretwire still while i cut it with a Hacksaw.

The first fret in, together with my "cut up frets" holder - Some packing card literally "stabbed" with the frets, in order.

I messed up on this fret! And another is at a funny angle. Not so good.

Filling the gaps with veneer

And flattening.

From here on out, i first checked every cut with some parallel objects (e.g. some glass).

I then thought about using a kitchen knife to make an initial very straight groove for the saw to follow, but this knife can't handle wood like it can melons.

Squeezing two straight blocks together to create a situation in which the saw can only move correctly.
If i were making several guitars, i'd use alot of material and make a long enough mitre block, or create a jig with all the slots pre-cut. But for now, not only will this do...

...But the un-peeled double sided tape on the saw-touching end of the MDF makes a brilliant slippery surface for the saw to slide against.

Initially i was hammering frets in, but It wasn't working out too well for me on this flat fretboard. so i opted for pushing them in.

First, i needle-filed the end of the tang so it would not get caught on the way in.

Then, I ran a triangular needle-file along the top edge of the slot, to allow the fret to be seated well - the cast corner between the tang and the base of the fret could cause it to sit proud otherwise.

I was able to use the back edge of the saw to clean sawdust out the slots.

Then I pushed the frets in from one side. I happened to be able to use a Pin Vice here - I stuck the fret in the Pin Vice, and held and pushed the pin vice (not pictured - a small hobby manual drill) base while pushing down on the fret with my other hand.

Nearly got them all in! That's it for now

 

[peagull]

I also like to plane cheese, into many super thin super tasty slices. Planing wood is almost as delicious.

Looking forward to seeing this finished

 

[AcousticMinja]

Dude you are awesome! This build looks crazy! I can't wait to see the finished product. Keep up the fantastic work!

 

[scherzo1928]

I think this is going to turn into an airpanos moment...

 

[BlackMastodon]

I think this is going to turn into an airpanos moment...

My thoughts exactly. Now I won't be surprised if he turns out to be a god with an airbrush too.
Keep up the good work dude.

 

[Stealthtastic]

looks like it is coming along great man, I am definately going to be watching this thread to see how it goes.

 

[Vinchester]

Not a fan of headstock design but damn that fingerboard looks real good!

 

[Kahless]

Thank you all for your comments

I'm sorry for the delay in posting content, this is gonna be a bit of a bump... It's been really busy recently, working (and playing) hard!

I think this is going to turn into an airpanos moment...

My thoughts exactly. Now I won't be surprised if he turns out to be a god with an airbrush too.
Keep up the good work dude.

Woow, thanks guys, but I can only dream of having a project that cool!


Frets all in, I couldn't resist a wee peak.

[ Trimming the Fret Ends ]

I was attempting to use a coping saw (with the frame rotated out of the way) to cut the ends of the frets flush. The blade broke, and i couldn't see how to fit another one on as it was far too short (several inches), but it came spae with the saw so it had to be right, right?
The only way i could fit it on, was clamp the coping saw frame.. ALOT, until the blade would fit on it. I then hoped firstly that it doesn't pop away, and secondly that it woudln't just expand and shatter the blade when i unclamped!

It didn't, but that blade did not last long.


In my desperation i was thinking of using a hacksaw to get some off, then sanding the rest down somehow, or just shelling out on flush-trimming clippers (expensive ones eh).
However, i discovered something awsome (or perhaps entirely normal) about my hacksaw;

The blade can go on at an angle!
This made it so easy to cut off the extra frets without anything in the way, and boy was it quick!

I then used an aluminium oxide stone to sand the rough a little...

...and clamped that fretboard right up!



[ Holes for the Bridge ]

Now, masking tape to line up the bridge perfectly.
I left this till the fingerboard was joined to the neck, just in case the fingerboard ended up the tiniest bit off and the bridge was then in the wrong place - Aesthetics < sound quality, afterall, i'm my own customer.

The screw holes were drilled using the bridge as a template, then the string through holes were drilled.

 

[Kahless]

[ Pickup Routes ]

Next up, the pickup routes - Here I am marking out a new template.

The prevous attempt (coping saw) was terrible, i just couldn't cope (literally?)

Drilling the middle chunk out a bit before routing. It's not a drill press, just a hand drill, tape, and some dreamin'.

Need some courage before this next part...
(only kidding, that was the end of the evening - never drink and route! )

Freehand routing the template (Never done this before). This was immensly fun. So much more fun that using a template where i fear every second that something is going to pop off and i wont be able to see it happen until its too late and my work is ruined!
Nope.. Here, i get to move the router more slowly as I close in on the edge, and be very careful, and so quite accurate. It was nice and relaxing.

The results are good. Lets see how good:

Too good. It's a tight fit! Perhaps too tight :/
Some sanding should fix that up and make sure that the surfaces don't have any jagged/missed bits.

Now to transfer this shape onto some MDF for a deeper template.

The plan is to use some screws and blocks to raise the plywood so that i can drop through the MDF in small enough passes.

First some drilling for easier routing. MDF turns into some weird sandy worms after drilling. So odd.

And here it is raised with some other blocks of MDF...

..although I needed to recess the holes to allow the screwhead to sink so that the Router could slide about the top. In the end, one of the screws was too high and my Router base is mightily scratched.
The first pass went ok. Not well, because, as the next close up shoes, I nipped one of my clamps!

CLEAN cut. Routers can go through glamps just like that eh? A little scary.

Template routing done, nice fit for the pickup to drop right in, and plenty of lines carved into the templates so that they can be easily aligned with the centre line of the neck-bridge.

Clamped up for some routing.

Unfortunately this tiny screw came out of the clamp that holds the ball bearing in place. I found it at the end of the day inside one of the Guitars cavities! After cutting through the clamp in the morning I thought it may have just been destroyed.

Pickups routed! Looking good.


[ Wider neck ]

The fingerboard is a little wider than the neck as it joins the body - I never initially planned to edge it with that spruce.

So, i used my Flush cutting saw to cut an even thinness-slice of Mahogany, sliding the handle of the saw against the pine that the Mahogany is clamped to.

It worked out well. I really love this saw!

This slice and another were then glued and clamped on to make the neck thicker as it joins the body.

 

[theo]

sweet, keep up the good work.