Guitar scratch build

[_ej_]

So I've been wanting to make a guitar for a while and I decided a few weeks ago to just go for it. The goal is to make a guitar that plays great and didn't cost much. I have around $60 invested in the raw materials for the neck. I'm going to hit up some local saw mills to try and find cheap wood for the body.

At this point I've got the neck partially complete. I've made a few mistakes but overall I think I'm well on my way to making a playable guitar

Tracing the template




Drilling truss rod access


Routing truss rod channel




Roughing out the shape


Final trim


Fretboard attached and trimmed:


Whats left on the neck is to mill the headstock down to the correct thickness, drill the tuner holes and do the carve. I'll keep updating as I go.

[Tortuga]

Hey - didn't know you were 'handy'. Very cool! Neck looks great - how you gonna shape it, though?

Where'd you get the templates?

Will be watching this one

[_ej_]

Hey - didn't know you were 'handy'. Very cool! Neck looks great - how you gonna shape it, though?

Where'd you get the templates?

Will be watching this one

I'm by no means gifted when it comes to wood working but I get by

I'll be shaping it using a rasp, a file and sandpaper.

I designed and ordered the templates from an laser cut outfit. It was like $75 for the neck, body and pickup route templates. They're really nice.

If this all goes well I'll probably build a neck for my JM next, that way I can really say I built it

[Tortuga]

That's cool - I've got a neck cut out for a tele that I was beginning to scratch build, but I only got as far as the profile. Something keeps holding me back from trying to shape it - probably the fear of royally fucking it up. Although, I often read on TDPRI of many first-timers coming back after their 'first' to report how easy it was.

I've been printing templates that I get from TDPRI and MLP. Made a set using 1/4" MDF first, then transfer that to 5/8 or 3/4. That's worked really well.

Thanks for sharing the progress, EJ - hopefully this will get me motivated to get my own work going again

[_ej_]

That's cool - I've got a neck cut out for a tele that I was beginning to scratch build, but I only got as far as the profile. Something keeps holding me back from trying to shape it - probably the fear of royally fucking it up. Although, I often read on TDPRI of many first-timers coming back after their 'first' to report how easy it was.

I've been printing templates that I get from TDPRI and MLP. Made a set using 1/4" MDF first, then transfer that to 5/8 or 3/4. That's worked really well.

Thanks for sharing the progress, EJ - hopefully this will get me motivated to get my own work going again

Pics of your neck?

[ajaxlepinski]

Wow! That's an ambitious project and it's already looking good!!!

[Marc G]

Very cool man... looking forward to seeing the final product.

[Tortuga]

That's cool - I've got a neck cut out for a tele that I was beginning to scratch build, but I only got as far as the profile. Something keeps holding me back from trying to shape it - probably the fear of royally fucking it up. Although, I often read on TDPRI of many first-timers coming back after their 'first' to report how easy it was.

I've been printing templates that I get from TDPRI and MLP. Made a set using 1/4" MDF first, then transfer that to 5/8 or 3/4. That's worked really well.

Thanks for sharing the progress, EJ - hopefully this will get me motivated to get my own work going again

Pics of your neck?

Working on it... can't find

May have to take some new ones Will get back to you asap.

[itchyfingers]

Very cool, EJ!!! You have some cool projects going on, man.

[_ej_]

Spent some time with a Bridgeport mill










I couldn't figure out how to switch the Bridge port into high gear so my tool was spinning really slow for woodworking. As I result I got some tear out. All of it was cleaned up by my finish cuts except for one spot. I took a chunk out of the fretboard behind the nut. It sucks but it should be easily fixable.

[_ej_]

Side dots marked


Drilled


Glued and trimmed


A neck begins to emerge

[Marc G]

Nice!

[ovid9]

That's awesome man! I would've bought all the stuff. Started, screwed up and rage quit long before this point.

[Tortuga]

You doin' that in your house?

And you have access to a mill? Damn, dude - you should be doing some metalwork for that thing!

Are you going to try your hand at finishing, too?

Looks good, and you be crankin'. Can't wait to see how she turns out.

[_ej_]

That's awesome man! I would've bought all the stuff. Started, screwed up and rage quit long before this point.

I've made a few mistakes but it's getting there.

You doin' that in your house?

And you have access to a mill? Damn, dude - you should be doing some metalwork for that thing!

Are you going to try your hand at finishing, too?

Looks good, and you be crankin'. Can't wait to see how she turns out.

Much to my wife's chagrin, yes I am doing some of the work at the house I haven't decided if I'm going to do anything as far as metal work goes.

Yeah, I'm going to finish it. I finished the guitar in my avatar along with a few others so I'm pretty confident with that.

[Tortuga]

Cool man!

[EndTime]

I'll offer some unsolicited advice. I wouldnt work the neck shaping like that. I guess we all have our ways and more than one way to do things, but rounding a small section then, i assume, trying to continue that shape down the neck will be hard to keep consistent. Since i don't see any rasp marks, i guess you used that little sanding drum for some, or all, of that.

I'd recommended using the rasp and working the entire length and just keep rounding and moving inward the entire side. This way the shape stays consistent the length of the neck. Work each side of the neck equally and moving inward to keep it somewhat symmetric as you go. Final shape will be done by hand, or power sander if you are confident/comfortable.

Good luck.

[Tortuga]

I like that thinking - I've seen a bunch of builds where someone will trace a profile a the nut and the butt from a 'good' neck, and then try to work it through using a rasp, but I agree - very hard to get everything to come out right and still retain the original profiles. You're bound to go too far along the way, and then have to blend with the starter cuts, which will have to be reduced, since there's not any material to work with.

[_ej_]

I'll offer some unsolicited advice. I wouldnt work the neck shaping like that. I guess we all have our ways and more than one way to do things, but rounding a small section then, i assume, trying to continue that shape down the neck will be hard to keep consistent. Since i don't see any rasp marks, i guess you used that little sanding drum for some, or all, of that.

I'd recommended using the rasp and working the entire length and just keep rounding and moving inward the entire side. This way the shape stays consistent the length of the neck. Work each side of the neck equally and moving inward to keep it somewhat symmetric as you go. Final shape will be done by hand, or power sander if you are confident/comfortable.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice dude. I actually am using a rasp. My plan was to rough shape the 1st and 12th to establish my thickness boundaries and then do the whole length between then in a shot. I also just wanted to work on the transition between the headstock and the neck just to see how it shapes out.

I sanded briefly before the pics just because I wanted to see what it looked like cleaner

The one mistake that is pissing me off is the shit clamp job I did. There is a visible glue line between the board and neck on one side. It seems stable and doesn't move so I think it will be alright. I'll do better next time.

[EndTime]

Ok. Shaping the 1st and 12th can be useful. I tried it before, but still found i like to just work the entire neck from a square stock. I'll just keep adjusting the thickness as i go and use my dial calipers to keep the thickness where i wanted.

Two tools that find extremely useful for neck shaping, besides really good rasps and files, are dial calipers(even cheap ones are suitable for neck shaping imo) and for keeping your profile in check i use a contour gauge. I'll get the profile off a neck i want to closely profile and just keep checking my shape with the contour gauge. Both can be found at Home Depot

[_ej_]

Ok. Shaping the 1st and 12th can be useful. I tried it before, but still found i like to just work the entire neck from a square stock. I'll just keep adjusting the thickness as i go and use my dial calipers to keep the thickness where i wanted.

Two tools that find extremely useful for neck shaping, besides really good rasps and files, are dial calipers(even cheap ones are suitable for neck shaping imo) and for keeping your profile in check i use a contour gauge. I'll get the profile off a neck i want to closely profile and just keep checking my shape with the contour gauge. Both can be found at Home Depot

I have and have been using both

[EndTime]

I like that thinking - I've seen a bunch of builds where someone will trace a profile a the nut and the butt from a 'good' neck, and then try to work it through using a rasp, but I agree - very hard to get everything to come out right and still retain the original profiles. You're bound to go too far along the way, and then have to blend with the starter cuts, which will have to be reduced, since there's not any material to work with.

Pretty much my experience. Keeping the initial 1st and 12th profiles a bit bigger will help blending them in later,

[_ej_]

The final thickness I'm shooting for is .85" at the first and .9" at the 12th. Right now its .9" at the 1st and .95" at the 12th. My plan is to rough it out and get the profile consistent and then do the final thickness.

[_ej_]

Rough shaping is complete. There's lots of sanding to do but I'm very happy with the shape. The profile at the 1st is in between a D and C and it transitions to a nice flat D at the 12th. Thickness is 0.87" at the 1st and .9" at the 12th.

[itchyfingers]

Nice work EJ! That 2x4 is starting to look like a guitar neck.