Walnut/Maple/Bubinga guitar build

[line6man]

As some of you recall, I started a thread a while back, hoping to try building a guitar body as a hobby woodworking project.

My practice body came out well, I still have to do some final sanding and contouring, then I'll have it finished in a solid color. I am finally getting going with the real thing, so I figured I would start a build thread.

My plan is to build a Fender Stratocaster style guitar, with exotic woods. (Well, and domestic.)

For the core, I chose Curly Black Walnut.

And for the laminate top, Figured Pomelle Bubinga.

Between the Walnut and Bubinga, a Flamed Maple accent line.

Since I don't have a planer, jointer, or enough clamps to properly clamp up the body, I had a fellow TB member make a body blank for me. I suppose this is cheating, but I will be doing the rest of the work myself.

Here is the finished body blank.

Today's little bit of work was cutting out the rough shape with a bandsaw. I left the top of the blank intact, so I can do the neck pocket route, so I'll get pictures of that after I do the route and cut out the rest of the shape.

I did wet the scraps down with Naphtha to show off the color and flaming in the accent line, however.

More info to come.

 

[jmorbita]

nice !!

 

[gbarcus]

That bubinga is stellar!

 

[SaintMez]

Nice looking Bubinga you got there!

 

[line6man]

Ok, today I did the neck pocket route. It came out well. Very tight fitting to a MiM Strat neck. (But the guitar will eventually get a Rosewood/Ebony neck.)

I got two small burns in the corners, but those can be sanded.

Does anyone foresee any problems with having a neck pocket that is half heartwood and half sapwood? Perhaps the sapwood could compress more than the heartwood, making the bottom of the neck pocket uneven? Or am I being ridiculous?

And here is a pic of the Walnut back, wet with Naphtha.

 

[TomA1234]

That bubinga is HOT, as it the walnut.

 

[line6man]

I decided to rough out the roundovers and forearm contour today, as well. I've really been looking forward to seeing how the forearm contour would turn out, and I'm glad the flaming shows up so nicely in the Maple. Now I just need to finish the contouring and sand it nicely to a perfect aesthetic.

 

[line6man]

I've not had a chance to work on this lately, so today I made time to do the tummy cut, and since the unfinished neck pocket area was starting to bug me, I swapped blades on the bandsaw and refined it a bit. I'm becoming too lazy to finish any step all at once before I skip around to do something else.

After sawing and sanding the upper horns and neck pocket a bit, the it's really starting to take shape as a body! (Nevermind the unfinished and roughly sanded roundovers. I need to finish up on that part.)

As you can see, I also did the control cavity route. I did it sometime last week, but never posted an update.

Preparation with a Forstner bit:

I don't know what happened, but I was taking a 1/8" pass and the router bounced out of control, ****ing up the walls of the cavity. I was so pissed that it happened, but very glad that the damage will not be noticeable at all when the cavity gets shielded.

In any case, a bit of Walnut colored wood filler, that I conveniently already had a tube of, fixed up the router dings.

This probably ruins half the fun for most of you, but I'm not ready to build a neck yet, so I ordered a Warmoth neck for now.
The specs of which are as follows:
Right handed
Headstock shape: Stratocaster
Construction: Warmoth Pro
Shaft wood: Indian Rosewood
Fretboard wood: Macassar Ebony, Unique Choice Fretboard #FB1228
Nut width: 1 5/8"
Contour: Standard thin
Frets: 6150 Stainless Steel
Tuner reams: Schaller (25/64", 11/32")
Number of frets: 21 frets, no overhang
Radius: 10-16" compound
Inlays: No inlays, white PVC side dots only
Nut: R2 Floyd prep, with mounting holes
Scale length: 25-1/2 in.
Standard 4-bolt mounting pattern

Concerning the fretboard, #FB1228 is this particular piece of wood.

I was deciding between a solid black piece of Ebony, and Macassar, but settled on this particular board, because it was the perfect cross between the two things I wanted from a fretboard. On the one hand, I wanted something very tasteful, that would not take attention away from the Bubinga top, but on the other hand, I hate black Ebony because it's so plain. I like very fancy fretboards. I talked it over with a bunch of people on Facebook and the Warmoth forum, and most people thought this board would be a good choice. It's plain and black, but with a subtle brown stripe that keeps it from being boring.
I can't wait to see how this Ebony mates up with the Bubinga in the end.

 

[Musiclogic]

Looking good so far. Going to be a pretty soprano bass

But can you build it in 10 days.....LOL

 

[line6man]

Looking good so far. Going to be a pretty soprano bass

But can you build it in 10 days.....LOL

If I had more time this week, than yes. (Assuming you're not counting finishing in the ten day requirement.)
No need to rush it though. I'm either too busy or too lazy most days, anyways.

Btw, I gave up on the magical quest in search of pin-based Schallers, and just ordered the regular screw-based version.

 

[line6man]

I haven't done anything with the body lately, but I decided to make a wooden control cavity cover from the scraps I had left over from the body blank.

There was not enough Bubinga to do a whole control plate, so I took the wood from around the curvy parts of the bass and treble sides of the body, which conveniently bookmatched, and stuck a strip of Maple in the middle.

I got a nasty crack along the edge. I probably should have cut the wood closer to the template with the bandsaw, after the template was positioned.

In any case, some CA glue fixed it up.

The end result:

(Again, the neck pocket and horns are not finished yet.)

 

[line6man]

My Warmoth neck came last month. This neck will stay on the guitar until I'm ready to build necks some day. That's a bit above my skill level at this point.

Stripey Macassar Ebony Fretboard.

Indian Rosewood shaft.

Tuners, string retainer and nut installed, and strung up.

First look at the neck on the body.

Trem cavity routed. I had a few chips in one of my templates that magnified into a slighly wavy rectangular opening for the trem block. Not a big deal, however, it can be sanded.

Pickups and bridge recess routed.

Strung up and playable for the first time!

I've changed my mind three times now about the pickup configuration, but ended up settling on HSH, and added a middle pickup route.

Metal pickup rings.

Slightly recessed output jack.

The original 42mm Floyd block was too tall, so I replaced it with a 34mm brass sustain block.

As I'm finally almost done with this thing, I'm experimenting with Tung oil on pieces of scrap. I'm going to try a low-sheen finish with no grainfill, for a more natural look, as opposed to an "encased in plastic" type of finish.
Here are some scraps after five coats of Tung oil.

And three coats on the control cavity cover.

All I have left to do at this point is route for the blade switch pickup selector, finish shaping up the neck heel area, and do some final sanding. Perhaps I'll get to that neck week.

 

[bassingeorge]

OMFG! beautiful!

 

[Yvarg]

This one is coming out great! Love the wood choices on the Warmoth neck too!

 

[LightGroove]

Looks great...I like your wood choices... just a heads up..Read a bit more about ebony and macassar ebony..my understanding is that these move over time ...even after drying and can split...fwiw

 

[Yvarg]

Shouldn't be a problem. Just wipe the board down with a little oil on a rag when you change the strings. I've got a few ebony fretboards and the only one that has cracked was some crazy kind of asian ebony I've never see before (and it was cracked when I got it).

 

[Meatrus]

Looks great...I like your wood choices... just a heads up..Read a bit more about ebony and macassar ebony..my understanding is that these move over time ...even after drying and can split...fwiw

I have heard that too, but I'm guessing its only a concern on larger pieces. Ebony has been the fingerboard wood of choice for hundreds of years on classical instruments, most of which still look great! Also Macassar Ebony is less prone to cracking. So, there should be no concern here IMO.

 

[line6man]

A lot of people on the Warmoth board have Macassar Ebony and (Gaboon?) Ebony boards, and I don't think I've seen any complaints over cracking. I'm sure it's happened, but I don't think it happens often. I'm not worried.

Here is another cool pic of the fretboard. The flash is a little merciless, but it's smooth and clean like the first picture.

 

[dremy2006]

you can make a nice pen with the scrap///...

 

[Hopkins]

That walnut is to pretty not to be a top. Very nice build.