next build - DC Special-ish

Andyjr1515

PeteC said:

  Also I'm getting much better at repairing and covering up the cock-ups so that no-one knows ! 

That's 2/3rds of the skill set.  Trust me...

greggreg66

Looking awesome Pete! Are you making 3 bodies to go with all the necks, or are some of the neck for future builds? Look forward to seeing the carving.

PeteC

Cheers @greggreg66     Started the second body and now waiting for some more wood to arrive ( 20mm maple boards).  Doing a few variations on the same design basically.   Carving starts soon once first two necks are finished.  

PeteC

Bit of progress on necks today and yesterday.   Looking ok.  Using Jescar 55090 for frets next then adding heel blocks and doing the shaping - best part of the build for me    Tuners are going to snot green Gotoh SD90 “vintage”  locking which I quite like ! 

sawyer

Love the headstock design. Very graceful.

greggreg66

Looking great Pete! Will look brilliant with the carved top 

PeteC

Thanks both.   The headstock is a bit PRS derived I know,  but works ok with the curved head    Hoping I can get the body carve to look good ! 

Jazzthat

Definitely good looking headstock . What wood did you use for fretboard?

PeteC

Cheers @Jazzthat    Fretboards are Panga Panga on both of these.  Very similar to wenge.  Needs sanding to about 400 grit to feel really good as it’s quite open grain compared to some of the better quality rosewood , but when sanded well it feels great and takes frets very well. 

mikem8634

Really impressive stuff. I really don't like PRS headstocks - yours is lovely

PeteC

cheers @mikem8634 - much appreciated 

just back from the shed with some fretwork done on these two now. 

I like to use a little glue in the slots as I believe it helps fill any tiny voids and promotes vibration from the strings. 
Not sure if it makes much difference in reality but I still like to do it. 

Leaving the necks overnight to settle now before filing fret ends , then onto adding neck heels and shaping the necks. 

Using the drill press and fret caul makes this job pretty easy and gives very consistent results. Looking down the neck against the light I don't see any high/low spots at all.  They will still need an accurate levelling and polish anyway though. 

Jazzthat

PeteC said:

cheers @mikem8634 - much appreciated 

just back from the shed with some fretwork done on these two now. 

I like to use a little glue in the slots as I believe it helps fill any tiny voids and promotes vibration from the strings. 
Not sure if it makes much difference in reality but I still like to do it. 

Leaving the necks overnight to settle now before filing fret ends , then onto adding neck heels and shaping the necks. 

Using the drill press and fret caul makes this job pretty easy and gives very consistent results. Looking down the neck against the light I don't see any high/low spots at all.  They will still need an accurate levelling and polish anyway though. 

Excellent results @PeteC . I can't wait to see them finished !

mcsdan

Following. Hoping to get somewhere even close to buidling from scratch in a few more builds once I'm happy just assembling parts!

All looking fantastic!

Kalimna

Very interesting build, and I'm enjoying the 'how I go about it' bits in your posts. May I offer a suggestion? From the photo's your truss rod channel is square-bottomed. It would be stronger if you used a round-ended (cove?) cutter for this step.

Looking forward to the next installment

Adam

PeteC

cheers Adam. 

that's correct - I do have a cove cutter but it cuts at 1/4" rather than the tighter 6mm for these rods. 
thanks for the tip, Worth knowing. 

PeteC

Bit of slow steady progress.  

 Headstock tapers done with a simple router jig.   I like a subtly tapered headstock.   

And I started my first carve and learned just how hard hard maple is !!   Aching arms now.  

I still have to plane the pick up and neck angle plane into the top which will mean having to redo the carves at the horns and then bring the while of the cap down to final thickness but its been a fun afternoon trying out some carving for the first time.    Im hooked !!   Im planning  to do a deepish recarve with some violin planes i bought from China - ebay 

Hats off to Mark Bailey and AD Finlayson for their generous sharing of video info which has been a big help getting me going on these builds.   

PS. I know its odd these days but i like a plain maple cap ! 

PeteC

Some fun hand carving with gouges and veritas scrapers today.   Very satisfying and coming along nicely.  

Difficult to see from this shot but the bulk if the work was hand planing an angle of 2 degrees into the body from the neck join to the crown of the body  - 
the rest of the break angke will go onto the heel of the neck.  

Also learnt that carving can be very dangerous - not the razor sharp tools - just forgetting to tell the wife i was going to do this in the dining room instead of the shed !!  Ouch !   

davros

That's looking great, Pete - watching the carve progress with interest! Love the plain maple top with some mineral streaks.

You're a much braver man than me doing it on the dining table, though!!

PeteC

Cheers.   Usually everything gets done in the shed / workshop but theres so much stuff going on doing 4 guitars simultaneously in an 8 x 10 shed that its migrated into the house a bit at the moment.    Your latest build looks amazing btw. 

Corvus

Very nice all round Pete. Late to catching up on everything but good stuff.
Like your table saw sled, is that a narrowish blade or is it just my eyes. I might use mine more if I could find a slimmer blade.