Handtool build #2 - ESP/LTD-ish

[poro78]

Yeah, I used metal ruler last time when I tapered the fretboard.
Double L-bars would just be for extra security as I don't trust my sawing skills much.

But good to know that wedges might cause problems. I guess I won't be using them when sawing those top blanks.

 

[tommyd73069]

Please forgive me, but I've been sitting wondering to myself, how can he do any of this if he hasn't seen any cash in a long time?

I guess living in he US, I never think of bartering or salvaging materials. I wouldn't know how to survive in a cashless society. I really admire your determination to build your guitar in that situation.

Inspires me to stop waiting to save and buy specialty tools and start looking for material. I've been holding out for a band saw, a jointer/planer and templates.

 

[VictOr358]

Please forgive me, but I've been sitting wondering to myself, how can he do any of this if he hasn't seen any cash in a long time?

I guess living in he US, I never think of bartering or salvaging materials. I wouldn't know how to survive in a cashless society. I really admire your determination to build your guitar in that situation.

Inspires me to stop waiting to save and buy specialty tools and start looking for material. I've been holding out for a band saw, a jointer/planer and templates.

I might as well interfere here... It's a normal situation for Finland, one of the most socially oriented countries in the world. Also, one of the most handy-craft oriented societies I've seen. Been there, done that.
As for Russia (if I might =)), multiply any funky material price, except raw pine and grade 3 steel like... times 3? So, salvaging is also appropriate, I can't afford to produce any firewood. Hense McGyver syndrome =) And Poro is also infected =D
And what's wrong with bartering? Just another economy model, and it works pretty well for hobbyists =)

But once again, I, personally, have to state that Poro78 deserves nothing but a deepest respect for his devotion and creativity.

 

[emoney]

I'm with Victor & Poro on this one; if you ain't got it, trade for it....and I live in the U.S., lol.

Nothing better than something that came to you without the benefit of money. Waiting just begats more waiting. Jump in with both feet and things will have a way of showing up when needed.

Good work, Poro. I've done the hand-resaw-split-it-open-because-I'm-tired-of-sawing manuever....lol.

 

[tommyd73069]

I'm with Victor & Poro on this one; if you ain't got it, trade for it....and I live in the U.S., lol.

Nothing better than something that came to you without the benefit of money. Waiting just begats more waiting. Jump in with both feet and things will have a way of showing up when needed.

Good work, Poro. I've done the hand-resaw-split-it-open-because-I'm-tired-of-sawing manuever....lol.

You guys got it right.

I need to horse trade for materials and stuff the way I trade for cars everyday. I used to do it for super nice pieces of wood to build furniture, but it's been 15 years, and I've gotten out of the habit of watching for opportunities.

Sometimes learning is remembering what you've forgotten. Good to get a refresher in frugal.

Keep up the great thread, Poro.

 

[Barnaby]

I forgot the mandatory "Snoopy mug for handtool builders" picture, here it is again.

Handtool builders of the world unite! A quick Snoopy shoutout from Tokyo this morning!

But once again, I, personally, have to state that Poro78 deserves nothing but a deepest respect for his devotion and creativity.

+1000! This is inspiring stuff. That frame saw...damn!

For my money, both Victor and Poro deserve major kudos for inventiveness and raw skill.

 

[VictOr358]

For my money, both Victor and Poro deserve major kudos for inventiveness and raw skill.

Look who's talking, The Benevolent Handtool Mastermind, that's who! =)
I'm deeply touched, Master B. =)

 

[poro78]

Please forgive me, but I've been sitting wondering to myself, how can he do any of this if he hasn't seen any cash in a long time?

I guess living in he US, I never think of bartering or salvaging materials. I wouldn't know how to survive in a cashless society. I really admire your determination to build your guitar in that situation.

Inspires me to stop waiting to save and buy specialty tools and start looking for material. I've been holding out for a band saw, a jointer/planer and templates.

Well, it's not as bad as it sounds - I'm just kind of unemployed at the moment, meaning that I'm studying on labor union's daily allowance.
And as we have all the expenses (mortgage, car, etc.) we already had when I was working it's a bit tough at the moment. I get money once a month and almost all of it is spent on bills immediately. (About 10 days to next payment...)
Luckily wifey is back to work after couple months of sick leave, she brings food to the table.
And to make this situation even better for funding this hobby I have a list of recent extra expenses: Car ~300€, wife's glasses ~200€, wife's dentist (round 1) ~160€... and so on.
She's also going into radiotherapy every day for 4 weeks (starting this week) and that costs something too.
Yay.

But the build is practically free for me. I'm building this for my friend, because he insisted I build one for him, ignoring my warnings - and he's paying the parts.
Now I get some building practice and he gets crappy guitar built by a beginner.

I might as well interfere here... It's a normal situation for Finland, one of the most socially oriented countries in the world. Also, one of the most handy-craft oriented societies I've seen. Been there, done that.

You know how high prices are here - if you can make something useful from scrap, better do it.
Still my skills are next to nothing compared to my grandfathers. For that generation it is/was natural to make things from nothing.

But once again, I, personally, have to state that Poro78 deserves nothing but a deepest respect for his devotion and creativity.

Awwww.

I'm with Victor & Poro on this one; if you ain't got it, trade for it....and I live in the U.S., lol.

Nothing better than something that came to you without the benefit of money. Waiting just begats more waiting. Jump in with both feet and things will have a way of showing up when needed.

Good work, Poro. I've done the hand-resaw-split-it-open-because-I'm-tired-of-sawing manuever....lol.

I'm not good at trading, but I sometimes get lucky - like with the frame saw parts, almost all the material were found from our cellar, the former owner of this apartment had left all kinds of apartment repairing material there.

And certainly jumping in with both feet is the way to go. The greatest resistance in all things is starting.

You guys got it right.

I need to horse trade for materials and stuff the way I trade for cars everyday. I used to do it for super nice pieces of wood to build furniture, but it's been 15 years, and I've gotten out of the habit of watching for opportunities.

Sometimes learning is remembering what you've forgotten. Good to get a refresher in frugal.

Keep up the great thread, Poro.

Handtool builders of the world unite! A quick Snoopy shoutout from Tokyo this morning!

+1000! This is inspiring stuff. That frame saw...damn!

For my money, both Victor and Poro deserve major kudos for inventiveness and raw skill.

Keep your kudos and send me the money.
Too kind, Barn - though you're right - my skills are quite raw.

Look who's talking, The Benevolent Handtool Mastermind, that's who! =)
I'm deeply touched, Master B. =)

What he said.

 

[Jusamies]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETxmCCsMoD0]Abba - Money, Money, Money - YouTube[/ame]

Oh and:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtntTvuv8Aw]Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave...with a box of scraps - YouTube[/ame]

I know what y'all be talking about. But let's see it this way: How many trees would there be left if amateur luthiers had all the money they wanted?

 

[poro78]

Phew.
Resawing blanks must be the crappiest task in building guitars.

There has been all kinds of distractions and my working hours really mess up my building schedule.
I'm just dreaming of moving out of this apartment to some place where I could build without upsetting neighbors.

I started to resaw the top blanks, but somehow it didn't feel good - I wanted to get the body blank ready first.
And to complete that I needed to get my new #5 plane in condition.
The sole was quite ok, so I just decided to sharpen the blade and see what the new toy could do.
Sharpened the blade using Brent Beach's sharpening system and tested the blade.

Looks like crap but is better than my Gillette!

So the plane was good to go.
Now it feels like the building has officially started - first mahogany shavings!

Quite nice.

One reason why I didn't make my workbench too fancy was that I wouldn't feel bad abusing it.
I made a shooting board just by screwing two wooden blocks onto it and putting the plate from my poor man's vise between them.

After some planing with my shooting board and testing I couldn't see any light between the blanks.

Now it finally looks like I'm building something in my "workshop".

And of course wife came to take some ugly pictures while I was gluing the body.

We'll see tomorrow how good the seam will be.

 

[Barnaby]

Nice shavings from a well-sharpened blade! That bench still looks virginal, however. Soon enough, it will bear many, many scars and develop some real character.

Personally, I think the crappiest job in guitar making is the long process of finishing. For me, the fun parts are the sawing up of the wood, then planing, carving, chiselling and fitting everything together...right up to the time you string up the raw instrument "in the white" for the first time and give it a strum. After that, it's not so exciting from my perspective.

I'd happily saw blanks for days on end. Love it!

 

[poro78]

That bench is far from being a battle scarred veteran, but I think it won't take too long to improve that aspect.

Finishing with the long wait is really frustrating, but at least you have already made something at that point.
Resawing is just frustrating as it takes ages with these tools (and this environment) and seems like nothing happens.

After that it's just plain fun until the finishing.
Wiring was also surprisingly exciting - and the first noises through an amp.

And that leads to quite early dreaming, but I just wonder how great is the moment when this guitar-soon-to-be is played by someone who really can play - I can't even play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star fluently

 

[Barnaby]

And that leads to quite early dreaming, but I just wonder how great is the moment when this guitar-soon-to-be is played by someone who really can play - I can't even play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star fluently

Tell me about it! My guitar playing is fit only for scaring small children and crows. Luckily, I know a couple of professional players here who can put instruments through their paces properly, otherwise I'd never really know what they sounded like.

Besides...I'm sure you're a much better player than you're letting on.

 

[poro78]

Besides...I'm sure you're a much better player than you're letting on.

Well, actually I'm not - honestly.
My friend has taught me some basics, but that's all - I can play some riffs and intros, but I can't play a single song completely - not even those usually recommended for beginners...
I can't read notes, music theory is out of my league (I barely know the names for the notes, but surely can't tell if something is E or A# or something and I don't know what notes there should be in chords) and my right hand (fretting hand) lacks coordination, switching from a chord to another takes ages.. and I don't have a sense for rhythm.

And I truly get confused sometimes when playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
(Because I have to really concentrate hard on what direction to go on the neck...)

 

[poro78]

Yay!

Took the clamps off and the body seems to be quite allright!
I have to say that the shooting board and really thin shavings was the perfect medicine for this task.

As a sidestep I also had to fix my trusty #4 - its tote was a bit wobbly.
The hole for a pin at the bottom of the tote was loose, so I drilled it bigger and made a plug from mahogany scrap.

Then drilled hole for the pin and hammered the tote on.

Problem fixed, no more wobbling.

Next task is resawing the top blanks.
Like I said before my saw blade could be much better for resawing.
The maple was harder to cut and the blade jammed couple of times and...

Goodbye, frame saw.
Resawing with Ryoba feels rather clumsy now...
I constantly feel like the blade is flexing and the cut isn't straight... But at the moment it's the only ok tool I have for this task.

Maybe wifey buys me some L-shaped aluminium bars.

P.S. New sensation - the sweet smell of sawed maple - never smelled that before. Quite nice.

 

[GreaseBox]

...P.S. New sensation - the sweet smell of sawed maple - never smelled that before. Quite nice.

Very cool build!! ...and my favorite is walnut, smells awesome when cut...

 

[poro78]

Thanks, GreaseBox! Hopefully this will be very cool in the end also...

Note to myself: Build #5 - walnut.

 

[VictOr358]

The glue looks very promising, and the body should be spectacular, Poro!
As for playing, I've grabbed a Blakie and tried to "Wipe out"... Gee... =D Thanks G*d it was thru them headphones =)

P.S. Yeah, the maple... Sugar... Syrup and pancakes... If I use an electrical saw to split a maple board along... I'm suddenly craving for munchies from the smell =D

 

[poro78]

Hopefully the top will also be spectacular!
...when I get there...

Don't know if I'm going to continue with Ryoba or try to make a new frame saw.

 

[tommyd73069]

Maybe wifey buys me some L-shaped aluminium bars.

P.S. New sensation - the sweet smell of sawed maple - never smelled that before. Quite nice.

If I could send you a pair, I would. I'm frustrated just watching.

I started a thread regarding the thickness of the top cap. I asked if 1/2" was thick enough and got back several "No" answers. Looking at yours, it looks even thinner than that. Is yours going to be flat?