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First Commission Build - Is A Super-Tele A Thing?

#201
That's gonna look awesome. Nice work on the hand tool work I eye up the really nice Japanese pull saws from time to time but never pry the creaky wallet open. But I know I'm gonna need one at some point.
Also,
TerribleTim68 said:
Sometimes you just have to make a move, even if it's wrong,
Click to expand...
This is not applicable to relationships and marriages. It will not work out like it does in carpentry.
Just want to clarify this for the viewers.
 
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#202
RichterScale said:
That's gonna look awesome. Nice work on the hand tool work I eye up the really nice Japanese pull saws from time to time but never pry the creaky wallet open. But I know I'm gonna need one at some point.
...
Click to expand...
I'll be totally honest, it's the Rockler ryoba saw -
Z-Saw S-250 Double-Edge Ryoba Saw and Replacement Blade
It's not "really nice" as far as pull saws go, but I feel like you can get into them WAY cheaper than traditional western saws. As a comparison, that ryoba is basically $25. I paid $60 for an old rusted up dovetail saw that I had to clean up. And with traditional saws, you need a dovetail saw and a tenon saw, because they need different tooth counts. The ryoba has both edges. :cool:
If you want to get into pull saws, most YouTubers will recommend the Suizan saws on Amazon -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUP2BE...colid=2O8B4VRN8AHAX&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KRFF3G...colid=2O8B4VRN8AHAX&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MU9XB1...colid=2O8B4VRN8AHAX&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1
Or grab that ryoba from Rockler, you won't be disappointed. ;) :thumbsup:
 
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#203
Relieving The Pressure -
So I took it out of the clamps this morning, because just like Christmas morning, I can't wait. :woot:
Then I clamped it in my bench end vice (this is why I drool over all your fancy workbenches), took a sharp chisel to the veneers to clean off the bulk of the overhang and then ran over the sides with a hand plane to clean it up. I still need to clean up the fretboard surface and get that back to "true" and "flat", but here's some glamour shots -
20220806_082039.jpg


I feel like the different layers of veneer are really gonna look cool once I carve this -
20220806_082054.jpg


20220806_081714.jpg
 
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#209
So, I was gonna start on the headstock last night. I think my next step needs to be sorting out the headstock thickness and shape so that when I route my truss rod slot I have it located correctly. Getting the headstock thickness sorted means I can properly locate the nut position, thus locating the start and end of said truss rod slot. At least, that makes sense on my mind.

Anyways, if I recall, the headstock needs to be 9/16" thick for a guitar, yeah? I see some stuff on said interwebs saying 1/2", I see some stuff saying 5/8", I see some stuff saying 9/16", so it's a bit confusing.

Also, I got frustrated last night and sort of gave up. I wasn't really feeling like filming, but I need to be filming, so I just put it all away and said "Meh, not today." So nothing got done. But my bench is super clean now! :woot:
Tomorrow is race day, so tonight will be getting ready for that, packing my gear bag, all that. So it ain't happening tonight either. Or tomorrow, or probably Sunday either since that's "unloading day". :rolleyes:
 
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#210
I really need to get back to work on this one. Now that race season is over it's time to refocus my efforts.
Oh, for those who might ask, here's how race season finished off....
306507947_587152746532476_8353319809858245103_n.jpg

Enjoy those wins when you get them. This was literally the first one for me since 2008, it's been a while.
Now we move into the "off-season". Lots of work to do to the car, but zero rush.

Okay, back to the task at hand. I cleaned up the workbench and started laying out some pieces. I had been waiting to get the bridge and nut for this one so that I could figure out my nut placement and then start figuring out things like "Did I leave enough extra length in this neck blank?" So I laid everything out -
20220921_195648.jpg

I've got the neck blank ready to go, the truss rod in hand, the bridge and nut in hand and a template set. Then I started laying out some lines. The first was to figure out my headstock thickness. I'm gonna go wit h5/8" here since I didn't really get an answer and I see a lot of info stating 5/8" as a good thickness. I don't have tuners in hand yet, but I think the current plan is to just use the Fender locking Tuners, because at the end of the day we're building a Tele and I want it to have some Tele vibes to it, even if we're adding some hair metal to it with the Floyd Rose. My research on those tuners seems to lead me to a 5/8" thick headstock. So we'll mark that line, then transfer that line to the face of the neck blank and then mark a second line for the nut thickness. Then I can mark a line for roughly the length of the fretboard and then a final line for the end of the body. I have about 1-1/2" of extra length, so we're good! :thumbsup:
Seriously, that was something I was stressing over and part of why I added the extra lams at the scarf joint. Fancy scarf joint is also a way to extend the length of the neck blank. Follow me for more luthier tips! :roflmao:
Oh, the fancy lams at the scarf also hide any discrepancies when trying to line up your stripes too. ;)
It's funny, the extra length I have is just about equal to the fancy lams at the scarf joint, so that's no joke there.

So yeah, I think I'm ready to get back to work on this. My first step will be to thickness the headstock down, then I'll route the truss rod channel, then I'll start working on the headstock shape. I need to use that off-cut from the headstock thickness to glue ears on it. In an ideal world I'll figure out how to add more stripes to the ears by using the correct part of the off-cut. Then I can shape the headstock and then maybe shape the sides of the neck as well.
Once I have all that done I'll move on to the fretboard.
Let's get back to work on this! :cool:
 
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#211
TerribleTim68 said:
I really need to get back to work on this one. Now that race season is over it's time to refocus my efforts.
Oh, for those who might ask, here's how race season finished off....
View attachment 4821743
Enjoy those wins when you get them. This was literally the first one for me since 2008, it's been a while.
Now we move into the "off-season". Lots of work to do to the car, but zero rush.

Okay, back to the task at hand. I cleaned up the workbench and started laying out some pieces. I had been waiting to get the bridge and nut for this one so that I could figure out my nut placement and then start figuring out things like "Did I leave enough extra length in this neck blank?" So I laid everything out -
View attachment 4821742
I've got the neck blank ready to go, the truss rod in hand, the bridge and nut in hand and a template set. Then I started laying out some lines. The first was to figure out my headstock thickness. I'm gonna go wit h5/8" here since I didn't really get an answer and I see a lot of info stating 5/8" as a good thickness. I don't have tuners in hand yet, but I think the current plan is to just use the Fender locking Tuners, because at the end of the day we're building a Tele and I want it to have some Tele vibes to it, even if we're adding some hair metal to it with the Floyd Rose. My research on those tuners seems to lead me to a 5/8" thick headstock. So we'll mark that line, then transfer that line to the face of the neck blank and then mark a second line for the nut thickness. Then I can mark a line for roughly the length of the fretboard and then a final line for the end of the body. I have about 1-1/2" of extra length, so we're good! :thumbsup:
Seriously, that was something I was stressing over and part of why I added the extra lams at the scarf joint. Fancy scarf joint is also a way to extend the length of the neck blank. Follow me for more luthier tips! :roflmao:
Oh, the fancy lams at the scarf also hide any discrepancies when trying to line up your stripes too. ;)
It's funny, the extra length I have is just about equal to the fancy lams at the scarf joint, so that's no joke there.

So yeah, I think I'm ready to get back to work on this. My first step will be to thickness the headstock down, then I'll route the truss rod channel, then I'll start working on the headstock shape. I need to use that off-cut from the headstock thickness to glue ears on it. In an ideal world I'll figure out how to add more stripes to the ears by using the correct part of the off-cut. Then I can shape the headstock and then maybe shape the sides of the neck as well.
Once I have all that done I'll move on to the fretboard.
Let's get back to work on this! :cool:
Click to expand...

Glad to see this project moving again!

Congrats on your podium!
 
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#216
Grab Her By The Ears....
Everything needs a clickbait title these days, right? :roflmao:
So I figured I'd probably better get back to work on this thing, now that race season is over and my wife is staring at me as if to say "Are you done yet?" :p
First thing to do was to cut the headstock closer to thickness. I marked out some lines and took it to the bandsaw to lop off the bulk -
Screenshot 2022-09-30 204934.jpg


From there we can use that offcut to get our material for the ears, then we know it's a good match. Again, band saw to lop off the bulk and cut it into two separate pieces -
Screenshot 2022-09-30 205117.jpg


We need to sharpen up a hand plane next. For this task I chose the trusty #5. For those playing along with the home game, I had been using the #6 for the neck blank, so this is the first time the ol' #5 makes an appearance. Let's get an edge on it -
Screenshot 2022-09-30 205149.jpg


This is my janky sharpening rig. These are some very affordable diamond plates I got off Amazon in 600, 800 and 1,000 grit. I built a jig to lay them in that clamps in my tail vice, which makes using them much simpler. A few passes on each stone and then clean up the back side, hit it on the strop and we're good to go! I then clamped those pieces we cut off in the same tail vice and started planing them down (I don't know why Windows refuses to accept that "planing" is a word) -
Screenshot 2022-09-30 205218.jpg


I know someone is gonna ask "How were the shavings?" Well, here you go -
20220930_203245.jpg


There's something about a smooth running hand plane that just makes me smile. I didn't even use my plane wax this time, it was just gliding. I planed it down until the black laminate started to show through, because I wanted that stripe at the ears. Then we can glue those ears on the headstock -
20220930_202705.jpg


20220930_202653.jpg


Yes, they are a bit thicker than the headstock. I'll trim that off with the band saw later. For now, we let this dry overnight. I'll probably come back to it Sunday, I need to do a complete front brake job on my truck tomorrow. But, we're in good shape to move on to rough shaping the headstock next and I want to route that truss rod slot too. Now that I just typed this, I probably should have routed the truss rod slot before I glued that ear on, because now my fence isn't gonna run all the way off the neck, so I may be into some chisel work here. :facepalm: :meh:
Nothing like painting yourself in a corner. On a good note, it's the adjuster end of the truss rod, so there was some extra work there anyways. Oh well, I'll figure it out later.
 
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#219
Flamingo21 said:
@RichterScale
We're all eagerly awaiting your 283-layered headstock. :drool:
Click to expand...
That just gave me an idea for a face plate ( could also be used for PG or control cover). I'm wondering if it would be too much weight to use something like Mokume, it's layered metal similar to Damascus, but usually done with copper/brass/nickel and other softer more decorative metals.
You should be able to get it pretty thin with reasonable stiffness.
Don't know if it would add too much weight, would definitely look badass.
 
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#220
Mickey666 said:
That just gave me an idea for a face plate ( could also be used for PG or control cover). I'm wondering if it would be too much weight to use something like Mokume, it's layered metal (...)
Click to expand...
This post got me curious so I went to Google images, typed "mokume" and saw this bracelet:
bangle-mokume-gane-breed.jpg


It costs €350 , by the way. :eek: But yeah, looks cool.

Edit: it weighs 116 grams, so just over four oz
 
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