TTony’s Q1’20 challenge ... *ALL 3* done

TTony

Quick bit of work this morning ...

Plug fine-tuned and gently* placed into the hole that I made yesterday,  with some glue for company, then clamped.



* gently, using a mallet.

Yes, it (deliberately) sits proud of the top of the body.  The surfacing bit awaits ...


New maple cap jointed, glued and clamped



Now time for lunch whilst the glue sets.

TTony

Lunch done, back to the workshop ...

After some work with a combination of the surfacing bit and my sanding beam, here's the  "plug"


I used a pencil to scribble on the top of the plug, and around all 4 sides of it.  When the pencil marks have disappeared, the plug should be flat to the surface .  But quick double check with a straight edge;

... front to back ...


... and side to side ...


So far, so OK.


I was hoping that Mr RM would deliver a new tiny template following router bit, so that I could clean up the remnants of the old top from around the neck join area.  But he didn't.  And then I remembered that my chisels were fairly sharp, so ...


Messy!!





Slightly less messy after some tidy-up sanding.

Top out of clamps, glued-up nicely;



Next job is to carefully measure the area where the neck joins the body, so that I can cut out  the top, then I can glue the top to body, and I'll be back where I was about 2 years ago with this build ...


(But that's a job for tomorrow as I'm now puppy-sitting for the rest of the afternoon).

paulnb57

Great progress!

BigMonka

This is nice and exciting to watch Tony, looking forward to the next episode!

PeteC

TTony said:

PeteC said:

Question - do you get any flex using the aluminium angle for the router sled?   

Actually, each time I use that jig, I think "perhaps I should get this remade in steel" to reduce any flex.  

But if it does flex, it's so little that it's not measurable - as long as I use it as I do, and don't put any downward pressure on the router - just use the jig to support the router going over the body.

I've got a sanding beam that's just about the width of the a guitar body (what a handy coincidence) that I'll use before I stick the new cap on it, which should help flatten out any non-flatness caused by flex.

It's been a handy little jig - been used a few times through the years!

Thanks Tony. Good to know.  I will make use of the angle Ali lengths I have and I fancy buying some rough sawn limba to plane for my next build.  

TTony

PeteC said

I fancy buying some rough sawn limba to plane for my next build. 

Have you got a good source for that @PeteC - I'd quite like to get some of that too, but my usual timber sources don't generally have any of that.

PeteC

Sadly no Tony.  I have been looking but so far none.   Hoping someone here in the forum might be able to advise.   Generally I want to source rough sawn blocks now and machine my own blanks if I can.  There is a trade Hardwoods place not far from me in Wakefield that I am going to call to see what they can source.   Will let you know if I have any joy.   

If anyone can recommend other good sources for rough sawn blanks of other timbers please shout 

loving the build thread photos and can’t wait to see the next session !  

Cheers
pete 

Andyjr1515

Inspiring, @TTony ;

 Nothing more to be said.
  At the moment

TTony

PeteC said:

 There is a trade Hardwoods place not far from me in Wakefield that I am going to call to see what they can source.   Will let you know if I have any joy.   

Please do.

I've got rough sawn timber before, but via my cabinet maker neighbour (well, he's got one of the business units on the neighbouring farm!), but he tends to use suppliers who provide cabinet making timber rather than more interesting varieties.  Plenty of Sapele or Ash (or Oak!) but not a lot for interesting guitars.

Andyjr1515 said:

 Nothing more to be said.
  At the moment

Good to see you @Andyjr1515 ; and thanks as always for the comments.

TTony

Day off from the workshop yesterday (aka doing things that Mrs TT decided were more important)

Measure* and then cut out the neck join area from the top - otherwise it'll be a little tricky to glue it together




*Actually, I measured, then measured again.  Then made a paper template to check the measuring.  Then transferred the measurements to the maple cap and took it to the bandsaw!

Cover the body in glue, then add clamps.  I'm using a sheet of hardboard, cut roughly to guitar body size, front and back to protect the body (back) and cap (front) from the clamps.



Nice bit of squeeze out without totally flooding out ...



And now it must be time for lunch again ...

PeteC

loving this thread - thanks for the pics   That top is going to be excellent. 

TTony

Whilst the glue on #1 is doing its thing, I went in search of the lost one ...


And found (in a gig bag), in a dusty corner of the workshop, amongst boxes and planks of wood  ...



I really don't remember why I left it in that state, rather than finishing it off!

I do remember doing the top.  Used Wez' wetsanding technique and it's beautifully smooth to the touch.





The messy glue residue at the fret ends makes me think that this is a neck that I built.  






I *had* wondered where those p'ups had gone.  Gibson PAFs.  Now I've found them.

PeteC

What have you got in mind for this one? 

TTony

PeteC said:

What have you got in mind for this one? 

First task is working out why I put it aside whenever that was!

I really don't remember what (if anything) is wrong with it, although it seems a bit daft to have got it to this stage and not finished it unless there's something not right with it.  Work out what's wrong, then fix it.

I do remember putting hours into getting the top right.  I bought a couple of planks of newly cut Walnut from a local wood fair.  Put them aside to let them dry out naturally, and then had to prep them (they'd bowed quite a bit whilst drying) for use, and then the hours in carving the top for this guitar and using this one as the practice for the wet-oil sanding  technique.

lysander

That top carve and finish are superb ! Lovely looking guitar.
On my last project that I put aside due to not having the time to properly continue it currently, I made a note where I was, and all the things that were wrong, and wrapped it together with the stuff.
Maybe worth doing for the next time

TTony

lysander said:

Maybe worth doing for the next time

There are so many things that I'll do differently next time!  Sometimes it feels like everything I do, I'm just doing it that way so that I can do it differently next time


And here's a guitar that I'm building to that principle ... I'm now just about where I was with this build around 2 years ago. 

Clamps off.  I remembered to measure - and write down - where the p'up cavities were, and I found them!


Open up the cavities, trim the edges and round over, do a bit of sanding, mark out the bridge position, and the next job involves that large drill bit and a couple of bridge studs.  I've triple checked the bridge height and reckon that I've got the clearance to use the PRS  SE wrapover bridge, as long as its base is within a couple of mm of the body.  



It'll be interesting to see whether the tiny hole for the earth wire still ends up in the bridge stud hole ... a test of drilling accuracy!

To decide;
- what control layout to use.  I might just have 1 vol, 1 tone and a selector switch.
- what finish to use.    I've got some offcuts of the cap to try out some options.    Faded red?  Denim blue?  Or I might try mixing some (Osmo) white tint into some oil and just keep it simple.



And confirmation that my dead-brain Q yesterday was, err, as dumb as I realised it was shortly after I posted it.

Trimmed the end off the "DC" neck pocket, and now the neck will fit nicely once I've extended  the neck cavity another 20mm into the body.  My question (to myself) now is whether I have this as a 1 or 2 p'up guitar.  And what finish to put on the body.  

Rosewood neck on a light Korina body with a P90 (or two).  I'm looking forward to this one.

lysander

Great save and great looking top !
What did you use to bevel the edges ? I really like that sharp but smooth look.

TTony

lysander said:

What did you use to bevel the edges ? I really like that sharp but smooth look.

On both bodies, I used a roundover bit in the router.

On the Korina body, the bit was set low so that it took the tiny fraction off the top as well, so you've got that little line that follows the outline of the body.  It's only a fraction of a mm deep though, so it'll probably disappear during sanding.  But I like it, so I might have to redo the cut to make it more prominent.

TTony

Couple of free hours this afternoon meant that I could make some more progress ...

First up, bridge stud holes for the maple capped  one, with a cunning plan;





The bridge posts are now recessed into the body, so that the bridge goes as low as it can possibly go.  Just in case I needed a bit more adjustment room.  If I'd thought of doing that originally ( @lysander !), this whole mess would probably have been avoided, but why do something once if you can do c*ck it up the first time and spend hours re-doing it ...



Feeling chuffed with myself, I thought I'd have a go at fitting the RW neck into the Korina body.  Extend the neck pocket the necessary 20mm and ...

... it drops in like a good 'un.




Quite happy with that side too - just like my "proper" LP Jr neck pocket fit!!

Need to sort out the join angle, but that'll depend on the bridge ... and I've just bought a nice bridge which should suit this one, so will put this build aside now until the bridge arrives.

Workshop shut for today.

PeteC

I really like that RW and Korina combination.     3 control pots ??