Back to Building! Let's See What I Remember ;) (5 builds and counting inside)

[LtDave32]

Dick, the Allparts rod does have little serrated teeth. Look real close.

I've used both, but for some reason I remember both of them looking like the Warmoth rod, which has more pronounced saw-teeth, and that shiny raw-steel cap. At any rate, I don't think you'll go wrong with the Warmoth rod. They work well.

 

[Skyjerk]

Damn man! I thought I was all that popping back up and resurrecting my build after a mere 2 1/2 years, but you just schooled me!

Still, it looks like you are digging deep, buying tools, and making serious progress

Nice!

 

[dickjonesify]

Damn man! I thought I was all that popping back up and resurrecting my build after a mere 2 1/2 years, but you just schooled me!

Still, it looks like you are digging deep, buying tools, and making serious progress

Nice!

It’s even worse than it looks haha. The two builds that were already started on page 1 of this thread are from years before.

 

[Skyjerk]

It’s even worse than it looks haha. The two builds that were already started on page 1 of this thread are from years before.

Are those two still unfinished?

 

[dickjonesify]

Are those two still unfinished?

GOT OFF MY BACK, BRO!

No. No they’re not
The SG was so close to done. I even played it live once. But when doing the fretwork I noticed the neck had the slightest twist. After a few attempts to fix it, I pulled it off and trashed it. That one lost steam. The Junior has gone through a few design changes but is that closest to being ready for paint.

I don’t know, man. I just fell away from it for years on end. Busy job, busy life, no money to spend on parts or supplies, etc.

 

[Skyjerk]

GOT OFF MY BACK, BRO!

No. No they’re not
The SG was so close to done. I even played it live once. But when doing the fretwork I noticed the neck had the slightest twist. After a few attempts to fix it, I pulled it off and trashed it. That one lost steam. The Junior has gone through a few design changes but is that closest to being ready for paint.

I don’t know, man. I just fell away from it for years on end. Busy job, busy life, no money to spend on parts or supplies, etc.

I'm not judging



I dont know if my video shows the top of my one long kiln i use for heat treating swords, but theres about 6 or 8 different unfinished knives on top of it, and two swords behind it, that are all unfinished in addition to the Strat I've been waiting to Finish for 3 years.

I'm the king of procrastination. Well....I was the kind of procrastination. Until now

 

[dickjonesify]

ves on top of it, and two swords behind it, that are all unfinished

Oh I saw them! Very cool.

 

[LtDave32]

I'm just glad we've got another good builder return to us ..

Couple of them, actually. Welcome back too, Chris!

 

[dickjonesify]

More new stuff today!

Pearl[oid celluloid] inlays from Philadelphia Luthier. They look great. Nice depth to them. I still need to acquire some rosewood. These will go on the carved top DC.

Which will be made easier to install because of this little guy…

It’s from Elmer Guitar. It’s the same design as the StewMac one but cheaper.

And this MojoAxe bridge for the SG Junior! I should’ve sprung an extra $10 for the aged one but I’ll age it myself.

 

[dickjonesify]

Overdue on some updates. Unfortunately, I only slow down to post updates after I make a[nother] horribly dumb mistake

As you may've seen in my "Where is a ll the rosewood" thread, I got a hold of a nice chunk of Indian rosewood that they sliced up and sanded for me at the shop. 5 fretboards worth (and a 6th slightly thinner) for $43!

I also recently got a cheap Zona saw for fret slots. Yes, I should get a nicer one or the table saw blade. Hopefully before long. I built a miter box. It was a little difficult because I wanted to make it dual purpose. I need to to slot 1/4" thick fretboards and 1" thick maple necks, complete with a Fender style headstock. I could (and will) do fancier but because I only learn the hard way, here it is.

For much cheaper than a metal fret template, I got this maple (ew) 24 5/8" scale fretboard from StewMac to make boards copy-carver-style.

So here's the thing. It's got 2 different heights for the saw, which fits very snugly.

I did break down and buy one template but I wasn't about to get two lol. Extra space on the sides for the headstock on one-piece necks. The template sits perfectly flush with the walnut spacers on both sides.

In line with the pin (not necessary but that's what I did) is a .023" slot that I add a feeler gage to, which sits just proud of the surface.

I can then stick my rosewood back to back with the maple fretboard and copy it.

Works pretty well!

 

[dickjonesify]

Glued some binding onto the SG's fretboard.

I took off a lot of extra with a plane pretty quick. I actually did the bulk of the rest of the work on my new router table but didn't get a pic.

 

[dickjonesify]

Then comes the inlay :/
These pearloid celluloid inlays from Philadelphia Luthier look great! They're also thick enough...well, the should be.

I tried laying these out several different ways and none were perfect. This was closest. I cut around them carefully with an Xacto blade.

Apparently I didn't get any pics of the routing but I used my Dremel with my new routing base from Elmer Guitar. It worked great. But man, I have awful eyesight. It was a real issue during this part. I need some of those lit up, magnifying glasses haha. I did pretty well until the last couple skinny ones. I did not take a close-up of those.

Epoxy and rosewood dust...

Filed

I was feeling pretty good at this point. Then, my first mistake... I used my 9.5" radius jig to nip the tip. I figure I'll get close and finish it with a 12" sanding block. Well, I went too far and nicked the outer corners off the highest inlays. It was juuuuuust too deep and I didn't have them flush enough to begin with.

So at this point, I'm thinking it's trash b u t I know I'm going to relic all these to some degree so I press on [foolishly].

I smoothed out the board some more and dyed it and the inlay a little too much. I also brought the fret slots to their final depth and radius.

So, I have some fret wire. Why not...

So now I move to the table saw. Measure once: throw it in the trash, right? That's the saying??
Marked poorly

First, notice that I sanded back the dye some from the inlay and I actually dig the color now.

But I think my eyesight bit me again. Something was off center and not even by a tiny bit. This is now officially trash. Oh well. Learning lots of lessons. I need to do a pin router style inlay jig like @nuance97 made, which is also going to require an accurate template.

Live and learn. Here's a pic for your viewing pleasure...

 

[nuance97]

That’s tough… better luck next time

 

[dickjonesify]

That’s tough… better luck next time

I’ve just been ‘fast food‘ing it lately. I need to get back to the measure 5 times, cut once mindset. It’s been a while.

In the back of my mind, that board was trash when my route for the 19th and 21st fret marker were very poorly done. It wouldn’t have been a big loss but I kept going and now I’m out the inlays, a set of fret wire, some epoxy and a lot of wasted time.

 

[nuance97]

I’ve just been ‘fast food‘ing it lately. I need to get back to the measure 5 times, cut once mindset. It’s been a while.

In the back of my mind, that board was trash when my route for the 19th and 21st fret marker were very poorly done. It wouldn’t have been a big loss but I kept going and now I’m out the inlays, a set of fret wire, some epoxy and a lot of wasted time.

I’m bad about measuring 5 times, and being wracked with worries that I didn’t measure good enough so I wait a day, and measure 5 more times so I can cut it 5 days later

 

[DannoG56]

Let’s focus on the positive things-your feeler gauge and flipped fretboard method is great. I can see doing something similar, so thanks.

I am wary of screwing up inlays, so I tend to avoid doing them. I guess templates make that job less fraught, but I haven’t tried that. Good luck on the next board, you have more wood ready to go.

 

[LPTDMSV]

Then comes the inlay :/
These pearloid celluloid inlays from Philadelphia Luthier look great! They're also thick enough...well, the should be.

View attachment 794017

I tried laying these out several different ways and none were perfect. This was closest. I cut around them carefully with an Xacto blade.

View attachment 794018

Apparently I didn't get any pics of the routing but I used my Dremel with my new routing base from Elmer Guitar. It worked great. But man, I have awful eyesight. It was a real issue during this part. I need some of those lit up, magnifying glasses haha. I did pretty well until the last couple skinny ones. I did not take a close-up of those.

View attachment 794019

Epoxy and rosewood dust...

View attachment 794020

Filed

View attachment 794021

I was feeling pretty good at this point. Then, my first mistake... I used my 9.5" radius jig to nip the tip. I figure I'll get close and finish it with a 12" sanding block. Well, I went too far and nicked the outer corners off the highest inlays. It was juuuuuust too deep and I didn't have them flush enough to begin with.

View attachment 794022

So at this point, I'm thinking it's trash b u t I know I'm going to relic all these to some degree so I press on [foolishly].

I smoothed out the board some more and dyed it and the inlay a little too much. I also brought the fret slots to their final depth and radius.

View attachment 794023

So, I have some fret wire. Why not...

View attachment 794024
View attachment 794025

So now I move to the table saw. Measure once: throw it in the trash, right? That's the saying??
Marked poorly

View attachment 794026

First, notice that I sanded back the dye some from the inlay and I actually dig the color now.

View attachment 794027

But I think my eyesight bit me again. Something was off center and not even by a tiny bit. This is now officially trash. Oh well. Learning lots of lessons. I need to do a pin router style inlay jig like @nuance97 made, which is also going to require an accurate template.

Live and learn. Here's a pic for your viewing pleasure...

View attachment 794028

I wonder if I will be so open about it when I next make a mistake!? Doubt it!

I am pretty sure I will not be attempting that style of inlay without a template like the ones @pshupe makes, I would not trust myself to freehand it. Seems like the kind of job that the factory would have done with a template?

There’s something else I need to get better at, and that is recognising when I am in the right frame of mind to do work that requires a lot of patience and when I am not. I get that wrong quite often.

 

[dickjonesify]

I’m bad about measuring 5 times, and being wracked with worries that I didn’t measure good enough so I wait a day, and measure 5 more times so I can cut it 5 days later

Let’s focus on the positive things-your feeler gauge and flipped fretboard method is great. I can see doing something similar, so thanks.

I am wary of screwing up inlays, so I tend to avoid doing them. I guess templates make that job less fraught, but I haven’t tried that. Good luck on the next board, you have more wood ready to go.

I wonder if I will be so open about it when I next make a mistake!? Doubt it!

I am pretty sure I will not be attempting that style of inlay without a template like the ones @pshupe makes, I would not trust myself to freehand it. Seems like the kind of job that the factory would have done with a template?

There’s something else I need to get better at, and that is recognising when I am in the right frame of mind to do work that requires a lot of patience and when I am not. I get that wrong quite often.

Thanks for the encouragement, guys.
I’m back at it today.