Second guitar - Black limba/BB/multi-scale 7

[KR250]

A tiny bit more progress, I glued the top to the body and then routed the body using the template router bits. I routed out slots for the pickup wiring to go through before hand (can't find that pic). Still working on sanding out some of the rough spots, but overall not too bad.

Still debating on exactly how I want to bevel the edges on the front and back. Originally I planned to carve the top down along the edges to show the body wood through around, kind of like a binding. Lots of room for error there, so I may also just leave it alone. Any suggestions?

The back side I'll probably bevel at 45 degrees and then smooth it over, and also include a tummy cut.

 

[KR250]

A little more progress:

I finished the tummy cut yesterday, traced out some lines, used a hand saw to cut just short of the lines, chiseled out the pieces, then sanded it down. Same process I've seen on another post here, worked great.

I'm close to the neck building portion so I've been mulling around how to make the compound scarf joint for the multi-scale for a while. I tried to figure out how to use my miter saw but finally gave up once I found a good YouTube video that I thought I'd share:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_nMZItvQ1w

Based on this, I built a simple jig for my band saw. I've got some spare 1x2" pine pictured below for my test cuts and did some trial and error. I'll likely cut the actual neck tomorrow.

The jig just rides in the miter slots, then I screwed in a piece of 1x2 pine at 10 degrees for the tilt, then had to shim the jig up until I got the slant line of the top of the fret template to match the blade. I used some door jam shims to figure out the angle I needed, then cut a piece and attached it to the jig with some dowels.

I'm using my fresh 3/4" blade to try and keep the blade flex to a minimum so the cuts are slightly rough, but pretty straight.

To get the headstock at the correct angle for the compound joint, I had to jig it up and run it through as well.

No sanding done, just rough cut to get the process down. When I cut the wood for the neck I'll do some sanding to get it perfectly flush, then run dowels through on the side pieces that will get cut away.

Comments, feedback, before I cut the actual neck?

 

[StarbardGuitar]

This looks great so far! I love that combination of black limba and buckeye burl, very interesting combo

 

[KR250]

Made the cuts for the actual neck yesterday, then glued it up. Took the clamps off today and sanded it down a little. Pretty darn close but you can still see a seam line on the top (3rd pic). I need to thin the head stock down though so it'll smooth out, then will cover it.

This is what I have leftover from the top, I'll need to get creative and re-glue it if I want to fit it over the head stock and look decent. I have a shape in mind but haven't cut out the template yet. I'll probably have to thin out the buckeye down to a veneer thickness in order to make things work, or try something else using a stain over the maple. Haven't totally decided yet. Open to suggestions.

 

[warped]

Nice job gluing the scarf join together. I got in all kinds of trouble doing mine, ended up trying to put a couple of screws on the edge, which then split away when I tightened them a little. Didn't get my laminate lines to match up perfectly, but I have a piece of laminate in the scarf join to break the lines - will have to do.

 

[dankarghh]

KR250, warped, you should know that you're both directly to blame for my next build.

 

[BlackMastodon]

Nice job gluing the scarf join together. I got in all kinds of trouble doing mine, ended up trying to put a couple of screws on the edge, which then split away when I tightened them a little. Didn't get my laminate lines to match up perfectly, but I have a piece of laminate in the scarf join to break the lines - will have to do.

Use thin nails instead of screws and drill a pilot hole. You just want the pieces to stay together while you are clamping them before the glue sets so they don't have to be in there super tight.

 

[Hywel]

Nice job gluing the scarf join together. I got in all kinds of trouble doing mine, ended up trying to put a couple of screws on the edge, which then split away when I tightened them a little. Didn't get my laminate lines to match up perfectly, but I have a piece of laminate in the scarf join to break the lines - will have to do.

Use thin nails instead of screws and drill a pilot hole. You just want the pieces to stay together while you are clamping them before the glue sets so they don't have to be in there super tight.

My latest favourite method is finding some cheap 2-3mm drill bits, set up the joint, drill the bits in and then remove them from the drill but leave them embedded in the joint. It seemed to disturb the joint less than nails or dowels for me and you can just reverse them or tap them out when you're done.

 

[KR250]

KR250, warped, you should know that you're both directly to blame for my next build.

Thanks for the comments so far, I blame everyone on here for my new addiction There are some very inspiring builds going on, or completed.

As much as I like a few of my existing guitars, something just isn't quite right and trying to mod them isn't worth it. I figured I can build at least 5 guitars before I get to the point of what I would have paid for a really nice custom, so I've got another 4 builds to try and get it right

Nice job gluing the scarf join together. I got in all kinds of trouble doing mine, ended up trying to put a couple of screws on the edge, which then split away when I tightened them a little. Didn't get my laminate lines to match up perfectly, but I have a piece of laminate in the scarf join to break the lines - will have to do.

I used 1/4" dowels for the scarf joint which worked great even though I didn't properly measure out placement and got real close to the head stock. I'll try the drill bit method next time for a smaller footprint. That sounds like the way to go.

A little more progress:

I've noticed that my angle is just slightly off at the nut, ugh. Not enough to make a big difference, maybe a half degree. I can always adjust the fanning angle to match it but it will mostly be hidden by the nut so I'll probably just leave it. I also made the scarf cut with perhaps too much excess at the top, and will be very close on length into the neck pocket. Lesson for next time, or order bass blanks to get more material to work with.

My pickups arrived a while ago, went with EMG 81-8x for the bridge and 60-8x for the neck. I've never tried the 60 before, but have the 81 as well as various x series in my other guitars and have been quite happy with them.

Hipshot hardware all ordered as well, hopefully will arrive soon so I can finish out mocking up and drawing the head stock design and tuner hole locations. Not going to make any cuts before I have the hardware. I went with the open style tuners, 4 on the bass side, 3 on the treble, and the solo saddles.

In the meantime I've been working on contouring the body, just slightly at the edges. It's slight enough to keep it simple yet enough to provide relief for my picking arm.

I did about 1 inch around the edges and then draw a line between on the horns to cut to. Totally high tech...

Just a slight carve, still needs some touch up. You can see the line in the neck pocket that I cut down to.

Rough shape of the head stock. I drew out the string lines to try and line up all the tuners. They are about 1 3/8" spacing between centers. I haven't accounted for how the tuner will offset the string location yet though, so I'll adjust it once I have the hardware. Also still figuring out how I'm going to laminate the top.

Beveled the back side.

Need to fix up a few spots around the horns. Haven't decided if I want to totally round the bevel or keep it somewhat sharp.

 

[warped]

KR250, warped, you should know that you're both directly to blame for my next build.

haha, and your green burled top guitar is reason I stopped thinking about it and started doing it

 

[Summer Candra]

nice top！

 

[KR250]

A little more slow progress....

I received the Hipshot hardware along with a few items from StewMac (just ordered more tools for fretting).

I routed out the truss rod, the router shifted on me slightly and had a fail moment towards the bottom, although it's not too big of a deal as everything is still seated snugly. I need a proper table router or jig to do a better job next time. I'm using the StewMac hot rod with the spoke wheel towards the neck pickup. This makes it about an inch short of my scale length but I haven't been able to find any alternatives yet other than making one. I'm also planning to run carbon rods on either side but haven't routed those yet.

Spoke wheel with a slightly uneven cut, but it has just enough clearance to spin. I think part of this end will be cut off in the neck pocket as it sits right up to the neck pickup. I'll have a notch in the fretboard to allow access, similar to the Bulb Jackson signature model. The fanned frets will make it a bit interesting though...

I found a good scrap piece that I split on my band saw and glued together. I have it sanded now and looks pretty good with just the right amount of dark areas for my taste. I may wait to attach it to the neck until after I finish carving it to make sure I don't have to bin it.

 

[KR250]

Working on the neck has been slow progress, but getting closer.

Routed out the carbon rod channels.

Started shaping the back of the neck after thinning it down with the router.

Mock up of the neck with head stock before glue. I didn't tack it down when gluing so it shifted and I re-did the whole thing with a new piece.

New piece glued on, I used staples and cut off the tops for "tacks". This worked out pretty well and didn't shift on me at all. I did the same process for the fret board. I also used a solid piece vs. the split piece I had before and I much prefer not having any seam line. I also flush sanded the top piece to the neck where the nut will sit. It's not perfect but I'll radius it on final sanding.

Cut and sanded the sides of the fretboard then cut the angle on the neck. I think ideally if I had a longer piece of wood, the angle would extend further back to house the truss rod.

I used silicone for the ends of the truss rod (scraped it flush later). I realize now (after gluing on the fretboard) that I did not add any glue for the carbon reinforcement although it did get lots of glue to the fret board. Hopefully that is enough. Those carbon pieces are REALLY snug and next to impossible to take back out even if I de-laminated the fret board. Lesson learned for next time.

Lining up the center line for the neck pocket. I cut out part of a piece of 1/2" MDF as the router template. Currently the fret board is sits just barely above the body so I have a little room to play with the neck angle.

Routed and neck set in place for mock up. Still playing with the final depth and how far inset it is. I had the joint nice and tight until I cut it further back. Now I'll have to add some really thin shims to get it tight again, but it's really close and the center line is good.

Hopefully some more progress over the next week. My wife is due with our first son in about 2-3 weeks so I'm really trying to finish this before then!

 

[frahmans]

cool looking headstock and build. congrats on the new baby coming along too

 

[JuliusJahn]

Too late now but Hipshot sells the tuners with the knobs already on!

 

[KR250]

You mean the buttons already attached? I didn't realize that. I also exchanged the classic open gear for the grip lock open gear tuners (made a mistake when ordering initially). Hipshot was awesome with the exchange.

Too late now but Hipshot sells the tuners with the knobs already on!

Mini-update:

Radiused the fretboard to 16". 220, then 400, then some 800, and finally 1000. Feels awesome, but still figuring out what to finish it with. I'm leaning towards tru-oil/wax combination. Any other suggestions?

Cut out the fret slots over the Fretfind 2D template. I used a thin ruler as my guide, no issues so far. I still need to put in the side fret markers and drill the tuner holes. Hopefully tomorrow, then work on the back of the neck and hopefully not mess that up.

 

[JuliusJahn]

You mean the buttons already attached? I didn't realize that. I also exchanged the classic open gear for the grip lock open gear tuners (made a mistake when ordering initially). Hipshot was awesome with the exchange.

Hipshot is one of the better hardware dealers you can do business with these days. Next time order a 6GL0B-XXX (thats the Grip Lock Open Back) where XXX is the tuner knob model, like A02 or P07 etc. make it GLOBT for the treble side tuners.

As for the board, either commit to an oil/wax finish (after frets are on) or do a clear finish first, polish and buff it, then press the frets in.

 

[KR250]

Some pictures of progress:

I went the faceting route to carve out the neck. Some measurements of my existing guitars and a bunch of trial and error. It's really close, but still a little thick towards the outer edges so a bit more work needed.

Mock up, the neck pocket is really tight but I had to shim it and still need to contour the neck to body area. I should have gone with a thicker heel for a better contour. Next time.

I sanded down the shim to get the action aligned for the bridge. The ruler line is from the fretboard, so I may need to raise the bridge slightly or decide to bring the angle of the neck down a bit more but it's in the ball park.

Pickup cavities routed, you can see the routed lines I did initially before gluing on the top. Everything lined up nicely here.

Drilled the pilot holes and string ball cavity for the solo bridge saddles. Not perfect, but much better than my first body attempt.

Starting to look like a guitar!

I need to route out the electronics cavity next, still deciding what to use for a cover. I have a thin piece of maple that will work but it's just a bit short to work with the StewMac templates. Since I'm going EMG active, and only a volume and toggle switch, I probably don't need to hog out that much space for them.

I'm going to do the oil/wax route on the neck and still planning on some sort of gloss for the body, or at least the top and head stock.

 

[Spicypickles]

Very clean work!

 

[DistinguishedPapyrus]

I don't know how I managed to miss this thread, but man it looks solid so far! I wouldn't worry about the carbon rods not being glued properly, if you think about it, the truss rod is not glued in place yet it is still able to perform its function of providing tension on the neck just by being enclosed inside a snug cavity... same idea with the carbon, and what little bit of glue did get in there during the fretboard glue up will ensure full contact over the length of the rods.

Clean work so far though, love the carving on the top!