My first build

[Themadcow]

Ok , here we go. I have decided to build my first guitar. I really wanted to buy an rga8, but I have a few issues with the design, pups etc, so I thought I would make my own a little closer to what I want.

The specs so far

27" scale 8 string bolt on
5 Piece maple/walnut neck Ebony fretboard 16" radius
Walnut body
Hipshot bridge
Locking tuners (not sure which yet)
Seymour Duncun Blackouts
Tons of stuff I haven't thought of yet


So here's the wood for the neck

and here it is hacked up into laminates

And now the glue up

Thank god, it worked!!!

 

[Mordacain]

Hey man, nice work so far. I'd love to got the full DIY route myself one of these days. Can't wait to see your progress!

 

[Themadcow]

I managed to get three fretboard blanks out of the ebony, so I guess I'll be building 2 more at least

Now the scarf joint, 13 degrees (ish)

And the first screw up of my build, the blank obviously wasn't 90 degrees to the base of the saw, oh well. A little sanding and planing and we'll be good to go

And now the glue up, forgot to take pics after the cleanup but you get the idea

 

[Themadcow]

And thats it so far, couple more hours and I'll go out and take the clamps off and see how I did.

 

[Themadcow]

Hey man, nice work so far. I'd love to got the full DIY route myself one of these days. Can't wait to see your progress!

Thank you for that. I am really looking forward to this. I'm having a lot of fun trying to figure out what to do. I am a journeyman welder by trade, and have almost no experience with wood. I do know how to measure however, so half the battle is over.

 

[Themadcow]

Alright, the scarf joint turned out great, so I sanded out the rough spots then rough cut the neck shape with a jigsaw. I mean rough

Thankfully I stayed well enough back from my line that I can fix it up and still maintain the shape I need. I believe now is the time to start building my router templates for the neck and the body. This will be my first experience with a router so hopefully all goes well

 

[Themadcow]

Before I go much farther with this I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on using a walnut top for the headstock??? I was thinking it might look good, but it would be neat to see the stripes on there and not just the back. I don't know but I would appreciate any input.

 

[BlackMastodon]

A nice walnut would be good but I see where you are coming from with the stripes. I think that the stripes could look really good with a good clear finish but you can't go wrong with walnut to match the body.

 

[Themadcow]

I agree with you on that, my intention is to finish the body with just a clear finish to protect the wood. I've been picking my pieces with that in mind.

 

[Themadcow]

Ok, so economics have finally come into play with this build and so I had to make a change. Went to windsor to look for wood for the body, and decided to grab a piece of ash, instead of a more exotic wood. I really wanted something nicer looks-wise, but 3 bdft of ash was only $19.22, and money is a little tight right now, so I guess i am gonna have to learn how to paint a nice finish

There is one side of the body blank. I used that strip of trim as a guide for the router and jointed both pieces. First time using a router, and it worked out good. I did have a tearout on the bottom of this piece, so I had to start over, but the second times a charm.

I also decided that I wanted a small volute on my neck, but I didn't design it with that in mind, so I added a chunk of walnut to the joint. I will carve this when I start shaping the neck

That's all the progress so far, I finally ordered a truss rod and a fretting saw from stew-mac, so I should have more to accomplish this week. I don't have a bandsaw, so I am not sure how I am gonna cut the body shape yet, I was thinking of drilling around the outline, cutting with a jigsaw and then cleaning up with a router after. I would love suggestions

 

[Themadcow]

Almost forgot, with all my many many minutes of guitar building experience, I got my first paying customer, my mom (awwwwww) Apparently she thinks that at 33 I am just as likely to be able to do whatever I set my mind to as when I was 5 Aren't moms great? So she wants me to whip up a six string for my dad's birthday in a few months. I said sure, so I started the neck while I was dealing with my body blank yesterday.

This build won't have any of the budget restraints that I have to deal with on my own, so It should be fun. That's walnut/maple/walnut in case it wasn't clear from the pic. Not sure if I should start a separate build thread, or just leave it till sometime down the road.

 

[Saber_777]

Been following this man, it looks great. Can you PM me when pics come up? I want to do a build and I will probably ask for some tipps and such is you can spare a few...

 

[Themadcow]

Alright, time for a small update. Had a week where I got very little done but I am back at it.

Grabbed a fretsaw from lee valley tools and printed out a template from fretfind and started hacking away
I then made a depth stop using a wooden ruler I had and finished them to their final depth

Turned out pretty good

Then it was back to the bosses garage today to route the truss rod. The stew mac hotrods require a 7/32" straight cut bit to route the channel, and you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find one in the edmonton area. Finally on a hunch I went to KMS tools.........

This is router jig 3000

After about 7 or 8 passes I got this:

Perfect fit. You need to notch the channel out to 1/4" wide and 1/16th deeper to fit the hex nut at the end. I used a 1/4" straight bit and free handed it.

Now it's time to glue the fretboard down. I used a stip of painters tape and cut it down to 3/4" wide to keep the glue out of the hole.

Tape off

Fretboard on

Now, for anyone trying this, I recommend printing out a square template from fretfind rather than the tapered version. Since my frets were layed out off the centerline rather than a square edge, it was a bit of a pain gluing the board down perpendicular to the center line of the neck...my own stupidity, but I am sure it could happen to anyone. Measure 8 times glue once.
Anyway that's it for today tomorrow I will cut the fretboard to shape and clean up the edges with a sander, wish me luck

 

[scherzo1928]

Great job! I would never dare to do some freehand routing.

 

[Themadcow]

Great job! I would never dare to do some freehand routing.

I am just so inexperienced that I don't know any better It is my first build, and my first time using a router, so I am experimenting a little.... I was smart enough to build a jig for the channel though.

 

[xMaNgOxKusHx]

Dude... this is inspirational! Your progress looks fantastic btw, i'll definitely be following this thread for a while... I am SO interested in seeing (hopefully also hearing) the outcome of this axe, especially since its an ash body!
please keep up with your awesome updates!

 

[Themadcow]

Dude... this is inspirational! Your progress looks fantastic btw, i'll definitely be following this thread for a while... I am SO interested in seeing (hopefully also hearing) the outcome of this axe, especially since its an ash body!
please keep up with your awesome updates!

Thank you for that, I really appreciate it. I'm actually thinking of going back to my original idea of all walnut for the body, or maybe doing Ash for the bottom and a 3/4" walnut top. Once the neck is finished to the carving stage I will look at my options financially and see what i can do.

 

[xMaNgOxKusHx]

Either way, in my opinion they would both look sick and be unique as hell, but awesome combinations i must say!

 

[xMaNgOxKusHx]

I also have a few questions even know you haven't come up with it ALL yet:
1. What is your plan for paint(or other)?
2. Why go with a hipshot bridge?
3. Is there a certain reason for the type of wood used other than to be unique?
4. What other things about the rga8 is it that influenced you to make your own, and is this going to be an archtop also?
5. What are your plans for the 6 string your making for your dad?

 

[Themadcow]

I also have a few questions even know you haven't come up with it ALL yet:
1. What is your plan for paint(or other)?

Easy, I have no frigging idea. I know the neck will be unfinished, maybe shot with clear just to seal it. If I get a nice piece of walnut then the body will be a natural colour as well.

2. Why go with a hipshot bridge?

Well, I like how they look, and there honestly aren't that many options for an 8 string bridge available right now. At least as far as I can tell.

3. Is there a certain reason for the type of wood used other than to be unique?

A little research ( and by a little I mean every night for the last 3 months I've read something) has shown me that walnut should give a nice rounded out sound for my 8 string. I am a shredder, so I am not looking for a djent sound , but I wanted something that would give me a fairly tight low end, and warm tone for my leads.

4. What other things about the rga8 is it that influenced you to make your own, and is this going to be an archtop also?

I just loved the way the neck and the body felt. I've got fairly short fingers and so the neck on it is just about perfect, even for big sweeps. The body is comfortable to play.

5. What are your plans for the 6 string your making for your dad?

My dads will be a prs inspired build, 22 frets, 3x3 headstock. It will have a wizard style neck though, dimarzio crunchlab and liquifire pickups. Gold hardware, and gold fretwire from lMI. That as far as i'v got with it, besides the neck being laminated. As far as the body goes, I was thinking walnut with a quilted maple top.