First Build - DC Junior

TTony

PeteC said:

Does anyone else have days like these 

No.


Mine are more like weeks.



Seriously though, I always double check with the router.    When changing bits, I unplug the thing just to make double sure.

PeteC

Yes me too when changing bits.  - but today was just me being stupid 

Danielsguitars

The router incident could've been really nasty so thank goodness it's only a bit of wood damage, yes side dots are a pita for me, I've got some to do tomorrow before I can get fretting

It'll all be worth it come stringing up time, that's a great feeling

Andyjr1515

I used to run industrial factories and spent huge amounts of time training folks about 'Lockout, tagout and verify' - which is to prevent exactly the 'unexpected router' startup on a grander scale (where you are not just going to lose fingers...)

And yet...dammit...I've done EXACTLY what you did.  Plugged in what I thought was a switched off router!  Luckily it was on its side on the workbench but I c*****d myself with the surprise and the what might have been   

It is a salutary lesson for us all and everyone on the forum should read your post (and also because your build is so cool )

PeteC

Wise words Andy - lesson learned .....

so a bit more progress after work today. 

Side dot holes drilled on the lovely Fobco and fretboard glue up under way. 

Nice tight glue line and not too much squeeze out so hopefully this will be a good bond. 

TTony

PeteC said:

 

One of the “you can never have too many clamps” stages!

PeteC

Yep - I had to trot back out to the shed for a couple more when I realised that there weren’t enough to get a consistent glue squeeze out.   Even then it’s not totally as I wanted it to be honest but I can live with it on this first build .   Learning lots along the way - good job there is some exemplary work here on the forum as a reference.  

Cheers 
Pte 

PeteC

IvisonGuitars said:

PeteC said:

Then after a LOT of aligning the neck and body I set about using my super duper neck jig to route the pocket.   Only to find that the way I have made it none my router bits are long enough to to route the pocket deep enough!    Bugger!  So now I have decided to route a flat pocket tomorrow (day off) and put the angle on the neck instead , though I am a bit nervous about getting that right. 

Very impressive neat work so far Pete!

Regarding the neck pocket/angle: a vintage Junior has a flat neck pocket and the angle in on the neck tenon so you're doing it right  

Hi Neil,   Would you be happy to advise which router bits you use to cut your 35mm deep neck pocket?  

PeteC

Fretboard all glued up (needs cleaning up) , and side dots now done - not vintage correct but just what I had available.  really enjoyed this bit and happy with the placement of the dots. 


The inevitable noobie question next.....

I have been thinking a lot about the merits of neck pocket angle versus heel angle. 
I want to go with angle on the heel as Neil (Ivison) and Daniels' have suggested - but I'm still umming and aahhing about the best way to go about this. 

I thought about trying to mill the angle on the drill press using a surface trim bit. I have an x-y vise for the drill press so I could set things up to mill off a few millimetres on the back of the heel with the neck set at say 3 degrees to get the facet right.  Or I could shim up at the nut and use a router sled on a couple of blocks at the right height to get the few mm shaved off.   

Or I could try use a block plane etc etc .     

By my reckoning with a tenon about 71.5mm long I need to measure about 3.5mm off the end of the heel and shave off that angle.  Basic trig - but theory is very different to practice - especially when you've never done it before ! 

How do others go about it ? 

cheers
Pete

DartmoorHedgehog

PeteC said:

I want to go with angle on the heel as Neil (Ivison) and Daniels' have suggested - but I'm still umming and aahhing about the best way to go about this. 

How do others go about it ? 

Disclaimer: I'm sure this is considered a massive bodge and if you've got routers and things there are probably much better ways!

... but what I do if I want to make a slope like that on a bit of wood is clamp the thing in a metal-jawed vice so the part I want to get rid of is sticking out, then file down to as close as I dare to the metal without bashing the file, then finish off with coarse abrasive paper on a block until it touches the vice jaws.

Again, I'm sure it's a massive bodge and it does sort of assume that the vice jaws are dead parallel (mine are as near as doesn't matter), but it does get decent results with basic tools.

TTony

My favourite expert does it this way ...



The neck is resting, fretboard down, on a piece of wood that is hinged at the heel end.

The block of wood between the angled piece and the baseboard is moveable - by moving it left to right, you change the angle at which the neck is resting.

The router rests on top of the two side pieces at the right end of the jig, and  then cuts the angle into the base of the heel.

As long as you cut a little at a time, you can trial and error both the angle and the amount of heel that you cut away.

PeteC

Thank you ever so much TTony - that is exactly what I needed to see/read.  I will put a jig together to try this. 
cheers ! 

TTony

That was only little tip.

Mark's course is full of them.  There are normally a few ways of doing most jobs - Mark gives you the simple-but-it-works version for most of them.

Not sure where he's hosting the course now, or what the cost is, but I originally proof-watched it for him on Udemy (and it is still there).

[edit]
Here
https://guitarmaking.co.uk/

PeteC

just one quick question about this jig - how do you clamp the neck to the jig - there doesn't seem to be much room to use clamps etc or is it done before the board is radiused and using double sided tape?  Ive already radiused the board so need to be able to secure the neck.  
cheers

TTony

Put a couple of strips of something (eg hardboard) down the outer edges of the wood that the fretboard will rest on, to counter-act the effect of the fret radiusing.

Mark then uses these

To clamp the back of the neck to the bench, but don't clamp it so tight as to damage the back of the neck!


Alternatively, I've got one of these ...


... which I place over the neck, and can then clamp (again, not really tightly!), the bottom of that caul  (ie the uppermost surface) to the bench.

PeteC

great - thank TTony 

Andyjr1515

Or I could shim up at the nut and use a router sled on a couple of blocks at the right height to get the few mm shaved off.   

I do this.

I'm a lot better at sharpening and using a hand plane than I used to be, but I'm still not reliable enough to ensure that the heel is completely flat.


Great build, this...

PeteC

Following the jig advice help here and with a big up to Mike Tarr guitars too i now have a heel angle planing jig gluing up ready to use with my palm router and a surface trim bit.   Thanks guys.  

Here are the construction pics if it helps anyone else to build one of these

Onwards !  I now have such a collection of home made jigs that I am going to have to build more than just my dc junior

TTony

PeteC said:

Onwards !  I now have such a collection of home made jigs that I am going to have to build more than just my dc junior

Did no-one mention ... you can never build just one


Nice jig btw!  Looks like that'll do the job just fine!

IvisonGuitars

Sorry @PeteC, only just caught up with this, great build so far!

For the neck mortice, I use a 12.7mm profile bit, much like this one: https://www.trenddirectuk.com/46-95x1-4tc ;

For the neck heel angle, it already looks like you've got that well and truly licked! I have a selection of simple angle jigs of various degree denominations that I use - 1.5 for a Single Cut and 3 for a '59 DC: