Totally! I’ve picked up quite a bit of stuff here too, although most of what I do is based on me standing around scratching my head…
is there anything in I’ve done that’s been helpful or interesting to you?
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SBO 22 - Solomon's new groove - Scratch Build
- Thread starter JParsons
- Start date
is there anything in I’ve done that’s been helpful or interesting to you?
Probably a couple of things. That reply specifically was about the fretboard prep. I’ve used a shooting board and plane before, although I want to get more in the habit of using hand tools when appropriate, but wouldn’t have thought to trim a fretboard that way.
I had to learn a lot of hand tools based methods, and a lot of them have just stuck.
when I first started, I didn’t even have a jigsaw- just a hand plane, cordless drill, a few hand saws and a small trimmer router. I made a lot of guitars that way!
I work in a very similar fashion, and having a limited amount of power tools (in my case router, mini bandsaw, power drill, orbital sander) necessitates a certain creativity that would be lost by having big power tools or a CNC. Great build btw.
Took a moment after some client work to move this project along.
As I was planing down the filler strips I had the thought that maybe I'd put the carbon rods too deep into the neck, so I took some measurements and went inside to mock everything up in CAD. Sure enough, I'd put them down far enough that I would come pretty close to carving into them when I shape the neck. I had probably 0.5mm clearance, which did not fill me with confidence. So, after a bit of head-scratching and measuring, I noticed I'd left the neck blank a few mm oversized. That meant I could just remove material from the top face, effectively bringing the rods up and giving me some more room to work! Phew!
A few passes through the drum sander, re-mark the centreline and I was ready to thickness the headstock and taper the neck.
I was excited to use my new big surfacing bit from Radian. I popped it in my router bit and realised it didn't fit through the slot of my router sled
Easy fix I thought - just widen it with my OSS.
All that work to discover my thicknessing jig rails are a bit too tall, so my router bottoms out before the bit touches the wood! I considered running my jig through the thicknesser, but decided I'd just put one of my regular router bits in and get the job done.
Headstock done - I flipped it over, shimmed up the nut end, and routed the thickness taper into the back of the neck. Ready for routing the truss rod slot now.
As I was planing down the filler strips I had the thought that maybe I'd put the carbon rods too deep into the neck, so I took some measurements and went inside to mock everything up in CAD. Sure enough, I'd put them down far enough that I would come pretty close to carving into them when I shape the neck. I had probably 0.5mm clearance, which did not fill me with confidence. So, after a bit of head-scratching and measuring, I noticed I'd left the neck blank a few mm oversized. That meant I could just remove material from the top face, effectively bringing the rods up and giving me some more room to work! Phew!
A few passes through the drum sander, re-mark the centreline and I was ready to thickness the headstock and taper the neck.
I was excited to use my new big surfacing bit from Radian. I popped it in my router bit and realised it didn't fit through the slot of my router sled
Easy fix I thought - just widen it with my OSS.
All that work to discover my thicknessing jig rails are a bit too tall, so my router bottoms out before the bit touches the wood! I considered running my jig through the thicknesser, but decided I'd just put one of my regular router bits in and get the job done.
Headstock done - I flipped it over, shimmed up the nut end, and routed the thickness taper into the back of the neck. Ready for routing the truss rod slot now.
Attachments
I got the neck loaded into the truss rod jig, centre lined up perfectly, and 1/4" bit loaded into the router.
A few passes later and we have a perfect slot
I like to use fine brad nails at either end to keep things aligned while gluing up.
A few notes about my process - I found the thinnest clear tape I could and I use that to cover the truss rod. I know most people remove the tape, but I leave it on there. It's only 10mm wide, so it covers the slot with a bit of overhang, and it's super thin. Just added insurance.
I do also put a bit of silicone along the bottom of the truss rod slot, but also a few dabs between the round rod and flat bar stock of the truss rod itself. I've had a few rattles over the years. I don't want that happening again!
Finally, I clamp using a bar that has a very slight curve in it, pushing the neck into a very slight forward bow. In my experience, titebond tends to cause the wood to swell and force the neck into a back bow, which is not ideal. My glued necks end up either dead flat or with a slight forward bow. The spring clamps along the edges make sure there are no gaps or thick glue lines along the edge of the board.
A few passes later and we have a perfect slot
I like to use fine brad nails at either end to keep things aligned while gluing up.
A few notes about my process - I found the thinnest clear tape I could and I use that to cover the truss rod. I know most people remove the tape, but I leave it on there. It's only 10mm wide, so it covers the slot with a bit of overhang, and it's super thin. Just added insurance.
I do also put a bit of silicone along the bottom of the truss rod slot, but also a few dabs between the round rod and flat bar stock of the truss rod itself. I've had a few rattles over the years. I don't want that happening again!
Finally, I clamp using a bar that has a very slight curve in it, pushing the neck into a very slight forward bow. In my experience, titebond tends to cause the wood to swell and force the neck into a back bow, which is not ideal. My glued necks end up either dead flat or with a slight forward bow. The spring clamps along the edges make sure there are no gaps or thick glue lines along the edge of the board.
Attachments
Me waiting for my SMac order to arrive with the fret markers so I can fit them and move on to fretting the neck…
granted, there’s a dozen other things I could do in the meantime, but I figured I’d use that time to work on client work.
Hopefully I can make some progress next week!
A little progress between client work today.
Trimmed the neck blank flush with the fingerboard using my plane, then followed up with a hard, straight sanding block.
A sheet of Parchment Pickguard material turned up the other day, so I quickly knocked that out using my Otter table and an MDF template.
One thing I do differently here from what I used to do is skip the flush cut bit and chamfer bit and use a 1/4" round-over bit instead. I set it so that it's just starting to clip the MDF template, and that seems to be the right amount. Saves a few steps and gives me a good surface to clean up.
Despite having my extractor set up, I still up with glitter everywhere!
Still waiting on my fret dots to turn up. If the order isn't here mid next week I might either skip dots, or use some pearl ones which I have on hand. Although knowing my luck the order would turn up just after installing the pearl ones...
Trimmed the neck blank flush with the fingerboard using my plane, then followed up with a hard, straight sanding block.
A sheet of Parchment Pickguard material turned up the other day, so I quickly knocked that out using my Otter table and an MDF template.
One thing I do differently here from what I used to do is skip the flush cut bit and chamfer bit and use a 1/4" round-over bit instead. I set it so that it's just starting to clip the MDF template, and that seems to be the right amount. Saves a few steps and gives me a good surface to clean up.
Despite having my extractor set up, I still up with glitter everywhere!
Still waiting on my fret dots to turn up. If the order isn't here mid next week I might either skip dots, or use some pearl ones which I have on hand. Although knowing my luck the order would turn up just after installing the pearl ones...
I've got a few bodies freshly sprayed ahead of schedule, so while they're curing I thought I'd treat myself to some personal build time!
I trimmed up the neck heel, finessed the headstock transition, then got to the messy work of routing the neck pocket.
Gotta be happy with that fit! It's not super tight, as I'll be finishing the neck in shellac.
After making sure the center line was still where I marked it, I set out the bridge and got the pickguard mounted ready for routing the pickup cavity using some fresh templates.
Finally, I trimmed the headstock to shape, drilled for the tuners and put it all together.
I'm still waiting on those fret markers, but I'll keep holding out for a bit longer. Then I can get cracking on fretting and neck shaping. I still have to fab the control plate out of aluminium, and I'm thinking I might do a matching neck plate instead of the stainless steel one that's currently on it.
The sunset was nice tonight. Couldn't help but take a pic of the workshop on my way back into the house.
I trimmed up the neck heel, finessed the headstock transition, then got to the messy work of routing the neck pocket.
After making sure the center line was still where I marked it, I set out the bridge and got the pickguard mounted ready for routing the pickup cavity using some fresh templates.
Finally, I trimmed the headstock to shape, drilled for the tuners and put it all together.
I'm still waiting on those fret markers, but I'll keep holding out for a bit longer. Then I can get cracking on fretting and neck shaping. I still have to fab the control plate out of aluminium, and I'm thinking I might do a matching neck plate instead of the stainless steel one that's currently on it.
The sunset was nice tonight. Couldn't help but take a pic of the workshop on my way back into the house.
Attachments
Metalwork time!
I had a bunch of stainless steel plates laser cut for me a while back and the guy did an average job - the countersinks were not round, and he made the control plates upside down so the side I needed for the face was the bad side with no countersunk screw holes... not to mention the holes for the pots are 1/2" instead 3/8". He came good with replacements, so I'll be using these as guides for some new aluminium ones.
First step is to protect the good side with tape, which also gives me a good surface to mark - then it's over to the second bandsaw, which is an old Aussie-made beast that's frightening to use and pretty fussy with setup.
I double taped the template to the blanks and got to work trimming them to shape - at first I tried the robo-sander in the drill press, but it was a bit too grabby for my liking. I took it to my OSS, which I've used for this before, and got to work.
I just sanded until I hit the stainless template, then used a file to touch things up a bit.
I drilled out the neck plate and countersunk the holes (cleanly), and once I'd drilled the screw holes on the control plate I could screw it down to a piece of mdf so I could safely hold it while drilling the bigger holes for the pots.
I had a bunch of stainless steel plates laser cut for me a while back and the guy did an average job - the countersinks were not round, and he made the control plates upside down so the side I needed for the face was the bad side with no countersunk screw holes... not to mention the holes for the pots are 1/2" instead 3/8". He came good with replacements, so I'll be using these as guides for some new aluminium ones.
First step is to protect the good side with tape, which also gives me a good surface to mark - then it's over to the second bandsaw, which is an old Aussie-made beast that's frightening to use and pretty fussy with setup.
I double taped the template to the blanks and got to work trimming them to shape - at first I tried the robo-sander in the drill press, but it was a bit too grabby for my liking. I took it to my OSS, which I've used for this before, and got to work.
I just sanded until I hit the stainless template, then used a file to touch things up a bit.
I drilled out the neck plate and countersunk the holes (cleanly), and once I'd drilled the screw holes on the control plate I could screw it down to a piece of mdf so I could safely hold it while drilling the bigger holes for the pots.
Attachments
Today, a tale of joy and woe...
I took a minute to make a proper routing template for the control cavity - I normally get lazy and drill a few holes with a forstner bit, then route out a rough cavity freehand.
Nice and clean! I was on a roll, so I took on my most dreaded job - drilling the bridge ground wire...
I missed!
But instead of falling into a pit of despair I took a breath, re-adjusted my angle of attack, and drilled it properly.
Much better. Time to deal with that strange hole that magically appeared on the back.
Just a tapered plug tapped into the hole with a bit of titebond.
Not invisible, but it should become fairly unnoticeable under transparent white. Maybe I can just tell myself it's a knot?
I took a minute to make a proper routing template for the control cavity - I normally get lazy and drill a few holes with a forstner bit, then route out a rough cavity freehand.
Nice and clean! I was on a roll, so I took on my most dreaded job - drilling the bridge ground wire...
I missed!
But instead of falling into a pit of despair I took a breath, re-adjusted my angle of attack, and drilled it properly.
Much better. Time to deal with that strange hole that magically appeared on the back.
Just a tapered plug tapped into the hole with a bit of titebond.
Not invisible, but it should become fairly unnoticeable under transparent white. Maybe I can just tell myself it's a knot?
So my Stewmac order finally arrived. Only 5 weeks in transit...
All that waiting for 10 clay dots. I thought about moving on and using pearl that I had on hand, but I knew that if I did that the package would arrive the next day!
I like to sand up to 800 grit, then use a very fine brass wire brush to deliver the final shine. It leaves a great finish. I then give it a coat of soft bees wax, so that if I get any glue on the fingerboard it will wipe straight off, or just flake off once it's dry.
One more check over to make sure the slots are clean and deep enough, then it's on to hammering frets - small stainless steel that I had bent and undercut beforehand.
I'll give it a day for the glue to cure, then I'll trim and bevel the ends and fill the open fret slot ends!
Not too long and I'll be ready to sand, sand, sand!
All that waiting for 10 clay dots. I thought about moving on and using pearl that I had on hand, but I knew that if I did that the package would arrive the next day!
I like to sand up to 800 grit, then use a very fine brass wire brush to deliver the final shine. It leaves a great finish. I then give it a coat of soft bees wax, so that if I get any glue on the fingerboard it will wipe straight off, or just flake off once it's dry.
One more check over to make sure the slots are clean and deep enough, then it's on to hammering frets - small stainless steel that I had bent and undercut beforehand.
I'll give it a day for the glue to cure, then I'll trim and bevel the ends and fill the open fret slot ends!
Not too long and I'll be ready to sand, sand, sand!
Now the glue has set, I can knock back and bevel the fret ends.
I lay a few layers of tape across the frets, because I've found that the bevel tool likes to catch like filings and embed them into the HDPE block. Then they get scrubbed across the tops of the frets, leaving little gouges that need to be filed away! Not ideal.
I filled the fret ends with dust and CA glue, but didn't take any pics. Now onto my favourite job - shaping the neck! I mark lines for the facets I want to work towards, but first I file away the bulk at the headstock and heel transitions.
After I've shaved away the main facets, I mark some smaller ones, shaving away until the basic profile is set.
A tool I've grown to appreciate a lot in the next step is a 7.25" radius sanding block. I use it to smooth out the ridges of the facets, and it reveals any high/low spots that need more attention.
There's still a lot to do, especially around the headstock/heel transitions, but that'll have to wait for a day or two.
I lay a few layers of tape across the frets, because I've found that the bevel tool likes to catch like filings and embed them into the HDPE block. Then they get scrubbed across the tops of the frets, leaving little gouges that need to be filed away! Not ideal.
I filled the fret ends with dust and CA glue, but didn't take any pics. Now onto my favourite job - shaping the neck! I mark lines for the facets I want to work towards, but first I file away the bulk at the headstock and heel transitions.
After I've shaved away the main facets, I mark some smaller ones, shaving away until the basic profile is set.
A tool I've grown to appreciate a lot in the next step is a 7.25" radius sanding block. I use it to smooth out the ridges of the facets, and it reveals any high/low spots that need more attention.
There's still a lot to do, especially around the headstock/heel transitions, but that'll have to wait for a day or two.
I think I picked it up from a fellow Aussie builder on Instagram!
ideally I’d like something with an even smaller radius, might have to find someone with a cnc to knock one up for me…
Sanding day today! After sanding through the grits I gave the neck a seal coat of blonde Shellac.
I like the subtle shimmer this piece of maple has. After a bit of dry time, I set up the laser engraver and etched the logo on the front, and on the back, a drawing my eldest son did when he was little. It's a little reminder to myself of what life is actually all about...
Now the bodies turn! I hate this part...
After everything was sanded to grade, I filled the pores with some timbermate. I didn't go with anything too dark, as I didn't want too much contrast. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a minute or two to sand it back!
I like the subtle shimmer this piece of maple has. After a bit of dry time, I set up the laser engraver and etched the logo on the front, and on the back, a drawing my eldest son did when he was little. It's a little reminder to myself of what life is actually all about...
Now the bodies turn! I hate this part...
After everything was sanded to grade, I filled the pores with some timbermate. I didn't go with anything too dark, as I didn't want too much contrast. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a minute or two to sand it back!
Today was both fun, and not fun.
Not fun in the sense that sanding pore filler off is dusty and lame, but fun in the sense that I got to lay colour coats on! As I was putting a coat of sealer on, I had the brief thought that I might leave it natural. I mean, look at that grain!
But I came to my senses and warmed up a can of trans-white lacquer. I tried a few different nozzles, initially going with one that had a wide spray pattern, but soon found out that it had a tendency to build up around the nozzle and spit small spots. It also wasted a lot of lacquer, so I went back to the mid-sized one I'm used to.
A full can was just right. I was a bit worried that it might be too white, but it ended up being perfect!
I'll leave it for the weekend, denib it next week, then move on to clear coats.
In the meantime, here are more shots of the headstock, with the little scribble I mentioned earlier.
My son drew it on the front of my workbench one day when he was little. I had just given my bench a spruce up, so he must've decided it was a good canvas! It's faded now, but I had to foresight to take a photo, vectorize it, and have it as something I can etch onto my personal builds.
The neck is sealed with white shellac at the moment, but I've got some ruby shellac brewing that'll get me the vintage look I'm after. I put a special additive into it that causes it to cross-link after 20 days or so. It needs a few days to activate though. That makes it more durable and impervious to alcohol, sweat, chemicals etc. Of course, that defeats one of shellacs best qualities of being easily repaired, but I'm not fussed. I just like working with it.
Not fun in the sense that sanding pore filler off is dusty and lame, but fun in the sense that I got to lay colour coats on! As I was putting a coat of sealer on, I had the brief thought that I might leave it natural. I mean, look at that grain!
But I came to my senses and warmed up a can of trans-white lacquer. I tried a few different nozzles, initially going with one that had a wide spray pattern, but soon found out that it had a tendency to build up around the nozzle and spit small spots. It also wasted a lot of lacquer, so I went back to the mid-sized one I'm used to.
A full can was just right. I was a bit worried that it might be too white, but it ended up being perfect!
I'll leave it for the weekend, denib it next week, then move on to clear coats.
In the meantime, here are more shots of the headstock, with the little scribble I mentioned earlier.
My son drew it on the front of my workbench one day when he was little. I had just given my bench a spruce up, so he must've decided it was a good canvas! It's faded now, but I had to foresight to take a photo, vectorize it, and have it as something I can etch onto my personal builds.
The neck is sealed with white shellac at the moment, but I've got some ruby shellac brewing that'll get me the vintage look I'm after. I put a special additive into it that causes it to cross-link after 20 days or so. It needs a few days to activate though. That makes it more durable and impervious to alcohol, sweat, chemicals etc. Of course, that defeats one of shellacs best qualities of being easily repaired, but I'm not fussed. I just like working with it.
