Winter Build-Off 2022 - Scraps! ...also, it's a guitar.

[BishopJP]

For this Winter's Build-Off, I decided to do a companion guitar build to go with the bass.

This will be a scratch build, but I will be using parts that I have already glued-up. Also, since it will have tiny strings and too many of them, it will not be in the regular scratch-build category.

The plan (at the moment) is for a 25.5" scale, bolt-on neck, semi-hollow, probably with 2 pick-ups, though I have not entirely decided on that.

The body will be a multi-piece made from the same scrap pile as the bass body...

...though the actual woods are yet to be decided, they may include but not limited to wenge, alder, cypress, cherry

The neck will be made from one of these multi-lam blanks I glued up earlier this year...

...and like the bass, will have a bocote fretboard.

I glued up this 1/4" sapele top from other scrap a couple years ago, as an experiment; might as well use it for something!

Also, I plan to stain the top RED! Kinda like this...

I made this bass last year (?); the top is lace wood, also stained red. When I finished this build, I found that I like the look of the back waaaay more than the top!

This will be my first guitar build, there will be a fair amount of figuring it out as I go!

The companion bass build can be found here;
Winter Build-Off 2022 - Leftovers!

Thanks for looking!

 

[Jeff Siddall]

Sub'd!

 

[BishopJP]

Minimal progress on this build, mostly cutting pieces down to size for the multi-lam body blank...

...planning to use the heavier, stiffer woods (PH, some sapele) as the "spine" which the neck and bridge will bolt on to, and the lighter woods (cypress) as the wings, with some cherry and black limba thrown in for flavor.

Since the neck blank and top are already glued-up, this build is still even with the bass build.

Body design coming shortly!

 

[BishopJP]

Got the body shape finalized...

...little preview of what the top will look like. Not sure yet if I want the center-line on the seam or in the middle of a board.

Time to make templates!

 

[BishopJP]

Couple of things have transpired which have slowed progress on my builds;

a) Some of my employees have been out due to covid exposure meaning I have to pull double-duty at my shop. No big deal, just means longer days and lots of apologies to customers...

2) I ran out of epoxy. It has taken me all of a week to find time to get out and get some more (see excuse number "a" above) but I was finally able to get to West Marine this morning.

Progress should resume this weekend; in the meantime, here is an uninspiring pic of some bits of wood in clamps...

Quick note to any (both) people following this build; I will be building both instruments in tandem, so there will not be much unique content in this thread until I get to the rough shaping phase. Unique, as in, not the same as my other thread...

Thanks for watching!

 

[BishopJP]

Installing carbon fiber back straps;

I use a home-made slotting template, stuck to the blank with double sided tape, with a router guide bushing and a ball nose spiral router bit; same set-up for the truss rod slots. Clamp a scrap of mdf as a stop at the end of the slot.

take the base off the router body to help with alignment

...route the channel down to 1/2", checking with caliper as I go

...aaand done! ready for carbon fiber...

laying out the CF strands...

...epoxy and CF go in the slot, piece of sapele milled to be a snug fit, clamped into the slot.

In other developments, the Missus had some store credit at a local music store, she picked up a set of S.D. Pearly Gates for me! Although, perhaps there was an ulterior motive as she is the guitar player in the household.

Some parts...

...nothing terribly fancy, but it should work

 

[Matt Liebenau]

That sounds like a smart lady with good taste. I have a set of pearly gates in a guitar and they sound great.

 

[dwizum]

Pearly gates are one of my favorite guitar humbuckers!

 

[BishopJP]

That sounds like a smart lady with good taste. I have a set of pearly gates in a guitar and they sound great.

She is both and I will tell her you said so! I just hope she like's what is apparently going to be HER guitar!

 

[BishopJP]

Still creeping along here...

Finally have all the body wood milled and ready for the penultimate glue-up!

After gluing up the chunks, I jointed one face and one edge flat and square, then re-sawed them on the table saw to get them to the same thickness. Then they get sent through the planer to get cleaned up...

The missus convinced me to layer the pieces asymmetrically, which was difficult for my brain, but I went with it...

I also got a truss rod installed in the neck blank...

This will be my first neck with the truss rod adjustment at the headstock, so I am figuring it out as I go!

We have a "winter storm" headed our way, here in the Raleigh area, so I may have an extra day off to get some shop work done!

 

[RichterScale]

We have a "winter storm" headed our way, here in the Raleigh area

By "winter storm", do you mean it dropped down to 31 over night and there was a little frost on a few windshields at 6am, and it will be 40 all day?,....or,...do you guys actually get nasty temps and snow sometimes?

 

[BishopJP]

By "winter storm", do you mean it dropped down to 31 over night and there was a little frost on a few windshields at 6am, and it will be 40 all day?,....or,...do you guys actually get nasty temps and snow sometimes?

Your summation is accurate...

Although, we may actually get "snow". Or as Northerners might say, "dust". Last time this area got 2 inches of snow, there were abandoned cars on the highway, on fire...

The real issue here is freezing rain and ice, which makes the already terrible highway traffic... more terrible?

 

[RichterScale]

We poke fun, but the truth is, it's not funny when an area that doesn't normally experience freezing temps and icy roads, does. Ice doesn't care who you are or if you have 8 wheel drive.

 

[BishopJP]

Very true!

Still ok to poke fun, though. Like, why does everyone panic-buy all the bread and milk? Water and firewood is plentiful, but if I want toast or fruit loops I am out of luck!

 

[RichterScale]

Very true!

Still ok to poke fun, though. Like, why does everyone panic-buy all the bread and milk? Water and firewood is plentiful, but if I want toast or fruit loops I am out of luck!

I could get into what's wrong with people as a whole, but it would take a good hour to type it all out and I'm sure I'd end up on some type of watch list,....if I'm not already on it.

 

[BishopJP]

Careful...! don't think subversive thoughts where your devices can hear you!

Also, I own a retail business... you don't have to tell me about "people".

 

[TerribleTim68]

We just came out of our winter storm about a week or so ago. It was sub-freezing and a solid 6" of snow in most places, up to 18" in others, for a solid two week stretch there. We had one town up in the mountains report 48" of fresh snowfall in a 24 hour period. We went about three days with all of the mountain passes coming into the area from the East closed completely because the DOT couldn't clear the roads, while at the same time the only North/South connection was flooded so they closed it too. We still have stores that have completely bare isles due to lack of stock from those highway closures. Oddly enough, they were able to stock the Valentine's isle within minutes. Can't seem to get toilet paper, but the Valentine's isle is packed with chocolates.

But I'm happy to report that we are now back to our typical steady rainfall and 40 to 45 degree days, dipping down to about 38 at night. Long term forecasts put us pushing 50 degrees by next week. I'm a little confused because typically we get a two week stretch of snow every year, but it typically hits us late January, so this one was rather early.

The big problem here is, literally everything is built on the side of a hill. Even though we get that two week stretch of snow every single year, when just about every neighborhood consists of 5 to 6 percent grades on every street, it's never fun. Just getting to work can be an adventure. My boss said "It's a good thing you own a 4 wheel drive!" I replied "Yeah, doesn't stop any better though. just means I can get going good and fast before it slides off the road."

 

[Slidlow]

I'm sure I'd end up on some type of watch list,....if I'm not already on it.

 

[Beej]

I could get into what's wrong with people as a whole, but it would take a good hour to type it all out and I'm sure I'd end up on some type of watch list,....if I'm not already on it.

 

[BishopJP]

Slight hiccup when routing the body...

Apparently I had the guide bearing too high on the template. I had intended to catch the upper 1/16" of the template, however it appears the rounded edge of the bearing caught the edge of the MDF template and raised up just enough allow the cutters to dig into the template.

Good thing I spent all that time smoothing out that curve before I started routing...

Thankfully, I only carved out a little piece before I realized something was wrong.

Since there was a sliver on the edge of the template that was the original shape, I was able to set the bearing to ride on that part and start the route on the top edge of the body. Once I took the template off, I was able to finish routing that portion, setting the bearing to reference the freshly routed top edge.

And here we are...

Not sure yet how I will fix that, but probably the easiest would be to plane off the rest of the top until that part goes away. The body blank is 1-3/8" at the moment with a planned 1/4" top, so I could lose 1/16" and still have a plenty chonky guitar...