Let's build an "ES" guitar, and I might have questions

[emoney]

Well, well, well. We can finally get back to this project since it was shelved for the Tele.
Actually, I learned quite a bit more on that build, which was part of the plan, as I want
this one to turn out correctly. Sadly enough, my pictures have gone missing for this
update, but I'll try to rectify that tonight. I did, however, get the neck plane cut at
the aforementioned 5.6 degrees. I still need to take my edges down a bit, but I'll hopefully
have the neck route and tenon done by the weekend. Then, we're back to cooking with oil.

(mainly this was a gratuitous bumpage of the thread for easier access this evening)

[emoney]

So, I got the edge-sanding done flush and started on the neck pocket;

Roughed out the tenon on the neck so I didn't forget the 19th fret-join this time;

And then I got distracted by someone wanting to talk about my sailboat I have for sale,
so that's about it for the night.

[Brian I]

Awesome looking guitar, Eric.

Brian (aka henderson is go)

[ocw]

It's nice to see this back in progress e.

[emoney]

Thank you both very much.

Sooooo....tonight I figured I'd go ahead and finish cutting that neck pocket;

Then I cut my tenon down to match that newly made pocket;

Then I made sure it was a good tight fit, proving it to all the world by showing a picture
of me holding the guitar, suspended, by neck alone;

And I also realized, during this "neck suspending process" that she's not going to be as
heavy as I had feared. Still a little to remove with the p'ups, and the shaping of the neck
and fretboard, but hardware will add that all back. I think I'll be able to live with it.
Hopefully this weekend I'll get the binding channel routed, trussrod installed and the neck shaped.

We shall see what we shall see.

[The Refugee]

This'll be good

[emoney]

You know, I had my "first" build in my hands last night, the walnut-topped LP and I almost
couldn't recognize it, based on how much I've learned over the past year. I never did wire
that guitar and I'm glad I didn't as that would've been a real waste of good materials.
From the fretboard to the neck joint to the headstock shape, it's amazing how much a
person can grow in a small amount of time and with a little bit of practice.

Just thought I'd mention this, in the event you're working on something and you're new
at this, getting a little frustrated like a lot of us have and do. Don't fret, because with a
little time and even more patience, it'll get better.

[LC100]

What's your plan for the wiring? Looked at your image of the top being glued on and noticed there was no channel from the neck pickup going back. Just going to drill through the cavity side wall or use a long bit to the bridge pickup cavity and then out from there?

[emoney]

Y'up. Going straight through the side of the pickup route. Figured that was just as\
easy, since it was all open down the side. I'm a plumber's son, so I have a "mini-snake"
to get the wires pulled through.

[emoney]

Wellllll, one of us screwed up his fretboard and had to make a new one. I don't think there's
any reason to actually "name names", because we've all messed up, right? And, truth is
this guy is a pretty "ok" guy, so we don't want to go mussing up his good name and all.

The board was already too thin and I didn't like the radius, so there was still more to sand.
I figured I had to be getting down to the "thin" part of the inlays, and even WORSE, it
looks like the same guy either tapered the board incorrectly or cut the fret slots wrong
because every one of them was pointing north, if that makes sense. Oh well, whattya
gonna do, right?


Actually got so far as to start the inlay pocket routes, but forget to take a picture and
I'm too lazy to walk down to the shop and take one, so use your imagination.

Have a great weekend all!

[emoney]

Waiting on epoxy.....since one of us is out of the stuff.

This board is just under 3/8" thick,
so I dropped the bottom of the routes for the inlays to set below the top surface. That
way, when I plane it down, I won't be losing all my inlay. I'm getting smarter I think.

[ctmullins]

Originally Posted by emoney

I'm getting smarter I think.

*snicker*

[emoney]

Well, believe it or not, this is actually a "new" picture, although it looks almost exactly
like the one about 3 or 4 posts ago, lol.

If you look closely, you can see that the tenon has now been cut to actually fit the pocket
and the headstock has been slightly reshaped. Man, am I slow or what?

Truth is, I've been out of commission for the past week as it was "Homecoming-Time"
as my Son's ship, the USS Halsey, finally got back from a 7 month deployment, so..there.

I did actually get the trussrod cut, threaded on both ends and installed along with the
Maple filler strip (also noticeable in pic), so the fretboard should be glued to the neck tonight or tomorrow night.
I just ordered binding for both the neck and the body, so I have an excuse for going
slow. Well, it's a flimsy excuse, but an excuse all the same. I will get the binding channel
cut this weekend, so I'll be ready for my order to arrive. I'm trying a new source for
binding and I've decided to go with something a little shorter as there just seems to be
so much waste with that tall stuff. I may regret the decision and have to re-order
anyway, but it's worth a try at least. I've got a couple of guitars at home that have
1/4" binding on them and they look pretty good. We'll see, I suppose.

[JRo]

I've been thinking about doing an ES style guitar too but I didn't want to do laminated stuff. This is great info, nice build too! Can't wait to see it done!

How's the weight?

[emoney]

Originally Posted by JRo

I've been thinking about doing an ES style guitar too but I didn't want to do laminated stuff. This is great info, nice build too! Can't wait to see it done!

How's the weight?

Actually, I'm going to be pleasantly surprised with the weight. I don't have a
scale at home, but I will get one before I'm finished with it, but I do believe this
thing will come in around the 8lb mark. I'm comparing to other guitars I have
at home. Keep in mind, I focused really hard on shedding every ounce I could
because I was really worried about it being a beast.

I'm just waiting on stuff now. Should have my fretting and binding material
in by early next week and I get proceed on this one. I'm looking forward to
hearing how it sounds

[JRo]

Me too! I'd love to see a video when you're done!

[emoney]

Well, at this rate, I should be done by 2015 I figure. Sheesh.
I'm so used to ordering stuff from StewMac and it getting here like 2 days later. I'm
still waiting on my binding and frets that I order from Ebay, but they come from Canada
and I know I should expect 2 weeks. Hopefully, that means this week. In the meantime,
I'm just piddling;


I'm gonna hafta order more Holley and more "logos" from Tuslah as this is the last.
I haven't heard from our member here that I got the Holley from so I suppose I'll need to
find another source. You know which builds I'm favoring by the one that gets the real
logo instead of a emoney-made-one. Speaking of which, I've decided I just can't bring
myself to wire up the honey-burst 3 p'up build, because quite frankly, I just don't like
3 pickup guitars. I thought I could convince myself it would be all right, but that ain't
happening. I guess I'll try my hand at trying to remove the neck, but if nothing else,
I'll cut the neck off, plane off the maple, plug the hole and put a new top on it. Oh well,
live and learn, right?

[emoney]

WooHoo!!!! Finally got my binding and fret material in! You know, this stuff, for the money,
is a great value and it actually got here sooner than it should have. And get this,
the seller rebated me some of the shipping that neither I, nor his online "combined shipping calculator"
caught. Nice to deal with an honest guy. The binding, 1/4" was like $1.00 a foot and the
fret material was like $2.00 a foot, I think? Actually, if somebody really, really wants to
know I'll look it up, but he's easy to find on Ebay....seller name; Bezdez. Anyway, got
the FB fretted and the binding glued on, waiting to dry;

So now I can finally finish shaping the neck and get it glued to the body, AND, cut the
binding channel and install that ON the body. Shoot man, by the time my compressor gets
here, which should be by the weekend, I'll be ready to shoot color.....ok, well, maybe....

**EDIT** The fretwire is $1.00 a foot and the binding is $1.00 for 5 foot

[emoney]

Well, it looks like the double-secret binding elasto-clamps held fine.
Nibs are now in progress;


You know, I'm getting better at this whole "Fretboard building thingy". At least it seems
to get a little easier. Not the Nibs, mind you. They just stink all the way around. But
the rest....not so much. I am a fretboard making fool!

[emoney]

Well, thanks to Tropical Storm Debby (wouldn't you know it, another woman giving me problems)
I had an unexpected day off from work. Not that my place of business closed, but because
my street and subdivision has officially become an island. We are cut-off from the rest of
the world by a rather high and agressive tide. Always one to look on the bright side, and
since I'm lucky enough to still have power, I decided to do a little work on sweet muffin here.
Binding is pretty much finished, outside of a smidgeon of detail sanding;



Also go the neck about 85% shaped;

So, before we know it, this puppy will be ready for some color.

Although I'm still waiting on my air compressor to arrive. Oh well, a guy can't ask for
everything now, can he?

[Barnaby]

Looking really sweet - like the neck shape as well. Is the centre seam OK, however? It looks like there are a few gaps, but those could be pencil marks or lighting.

If not, is it time to invest in a handplane to get that 'perfect' join?

[emoney]

It's a pencil mark. The power jointers never leave a bad joint. Just sayin'........

[Riku]

That guitar is stunning mate. Absolutely stunning. Enough said

[emoney]

To diverge a tad, I took some pics of the toll that Tropical Storm Debby placed on us here
on the Gulf Coast of Florida. This is my backyard and if you'll notice, there's no 'sea wall"
on my neighbor's side. Not supposed to be that way, ftr.;

I tried to get to work yesterday, this is driving towards the East....AWAY from the water;

Some of our neighbors who thought they were making the safer choice in home selection
being further from the coast. They got it worse than those of us that live ON the coast
did?


I made it through this morning, although the water got up OVER the step rails of my
wife's Kia Sorento. I felt it nudge against the floor board in the deepest part. Oh well,
the worst part seems to be behind us.....assuming this water-shedding-b&*ch is done
with us. We'll keep our fingers crossed. The joy of living on the coast in Florida during
hurricane season! Woohoo!!

[pulaifax]

stay dry my friend

[emoney]

In the spirit of "resurrection", this little lady got new binding.....AGAIN;

What happened was, SOMEBODY snuck into my shop last year and didn't check the sandpaper and proceeded to sand the binding "pretty". Well, low and behold, the orbital was loaded with 60grit paper, so almost immediately the guitar got thinner, and so did the binding. He/she obviously tried to "sand it all into shape" and that left a much less than desirable outcome. So, since this person screwed it up, she's been shelved for the past 5 months.

However, I now have my motivation back and even though I'm in the process of building neck #3 for this beast, I will overcome and finish it, even if I have to kill the guy that screwed it up. Oh, and I guess I'll add better security to the garage now. Some people, right?

[emoney]

I know we've been here before, but THIS time I really, really mean it....

If the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise, this year old beast may actually have a neck glued to the body by the end of this weekend. Proof's in the pudding, of course.

[pulaifax]

looking good - you can do it

[emoney]

Well then, I suppose we're suppose to offer up suggestions on how we do things, so I figured why not join that fray, right?
This morning, it was time to work on the fretboard. Here's how I set up my radius sanding contraption;

The fretboard is still taped down to the fret slot template, centerline-to-centerline and I put a 1x board on it's top edge to give me a guide rail. Notice I don't use 2? The 2 small clamps serve two purposes; a) to obviously hold the piece in place and b)more importantly, to serve as "stops" for the radius blocks. I keep them in position where a little less than 1/2 of the block comes off the fretboard so it helps to eliminate that "dip" you can get if you push your sanding block off the ends. The 1x guide board is intentionally sized so that enough of the radius block is above it to grip for pushing. Here's how it works after a few minutes of some aggressive sand paper;

After the radius is cut, and for the record I sand up to 1200 grit just to get a view of what the grain will look like when I'm done, and for no other reason, it's time to break out one of these;

Yep, I make those myself, who do you think taught Freddy how to do it? Buwahahaha, of course that's a lie, silly boys (and girls). I only use the bradpoint to start the "dot hole" and finish with this;

The tip of the brad point goes too deep for my liking as I like to set the dots as deep in as possible;

And, I can use the length of the forestner bit to gauge how deep I want to cut. When I'm done, lay the dots in position and;

Recognize the last one is a smidgeon off center, so I'll go back with the forestner bit and widen the hole, hoping the slurry of sawdust and epoxy will render it not noticeable. That's it for today kids, it's sunny in West Central Florida with a 70s temp forecast so that means it's.......yard work time. (Thought I was going to say something like boating or fishing or beach, didn't you?) Have a good weekend!

[emoney]

And in case you're wondering how it went from a fretboard with blocks to a fretboard with dots, don't forget a gremlin snuck in and screwed the pooch on that particular board and neck, so this is a "re-do". Which of course, I normally reach total perfection and don't need to re-do things, but I thought I'd help those of you that are a little less talented than me, guys like Greg, Roman, Glenn, Barnaby, etc.