Finished Shots - Trini Lopez 335 ish Tribute

Andyjr1515

meltedbuzzbox said:

Can I have f holes?

Oh...we're talking about the next build already!!!   

Of course

meltedbuzzbox said:

It's looking great Andy!

Phew! 

Andyjr1515

Double-posted

Andyjr1515

Life is too short to try to fit full wiring looms through diamond-shaped f holes - and there is always the possibility that @meltedbuzzbox might want to try different pickups in the future - and so this will have an access hatch.

I say access hatch, because it will be just that - it won't attempt to give full unfettered access to all of the controls from the back, but enough to be able to easily fit and replace the various components.  And, ideally, it should be invisible from the f holes.

Position and size-wise, this is what I have in mind:


The plan is that it will be cut (carefully!) using a dremel with a 1mm bit and precision base from the back and thus the grain and figuring will fully match, a bit like this one I did on a recent bass build:


And it will be held on, like the one above, with magnets.

So, that's the next job


   

Andyjr1515

A scribe round the paper template with a sharpie:


And out comes the Dremel and 1mm bit:


Then some very careful following round the line.  This one has the advantage that the back brace will stop it dropping when it cuts through:


Then the fret-slot tenon saw joining the cuts in the brace to release the hatch:


Next job will be to glued some strips at the back to form the rebate, which will house also the magnets, add some purfling to close the gap and fit the hatch.

davros

Very neat! Bravo!

meltedbuzzbox

Did you have your brown trousers on for that cut Andy?

Looks super tidy sir!

Andyjr1515

meltedbuzzbox said:

Did you have your brown trousers on for that cut Andy?

Yes - indeed...and a bucket of bleach in case any spilt over

Andyjr1515

For the rebate, which will also hold one side of the magnets, I used some scrap pine packaging sheet - nice and light and easy to bend to the curve of the back:



For the packer, I used a strip of maple veneer. 
I'm a bit weird when it comes to purflings and bindings - I generally iron them on in the same way I do veneer (glue both sides with a good quality PVA wood glue; let it dry; position it; iron it on inch at a time; hold in place until the melted glue cools and grabs):


And done, ready for trimming:
  

Great thing is that it is completely repeatable - if there's a gap (and as it happens there was!), then I just re-iron that bit, hold it in place and let it cool.  I use a single-edged razor blade to trim it flush and then a quick sand gives me this:


There will be a slightly thicker maple pinstripe too between the wings and the neck so it should hopefully all visually tie in.

normula1

So good Andy.

Andyjr1515

Thanks, folks

And onto binding channels.  A while ago I saw on one of @WezV 's threads a Radius Dish UK version of a binding channel cutting jig that looked to be a simpler but much more affordable version of the LMI cutter system.  It looked good and so I got one - and I'm well pleased

The challenge with acoustics and carved tops is that the edges are radiused and so it is impossible with a standard router base to be able to cut a right-angled, straight-line bottomed channel.  For my acoustics I've used a Dremel with a Stewmac add-on - they work, but they are tricky and every attempt is a 'heart in your mouth' job.  And with an acoustic, it's pretty much the last thing you do - so you risk the entire build.

The LMI rig is great but very, very,very expensive...OK if you are building dozens and selling them, but no good for a hobby builder.  The Radius Dish UK one is a lot cheaper and yes, simpler but does the job.

Here it is with the clamp brackets I will be fitting when I do the binding for the top.  The rubber band is mine - it's a hefty weight so I felt the need for a counterweight:


The key is that the base has a raised pad that sits on the edge of the guitar top/back and therefore follows the curvature of the surface and gives you a perpendicular slot that follows the curvature of the top/back.

For the back - because the join plane of the wings are flat and perpendicular to the sides, I didn't need the clamps to make any height adjustments.  I just used a glass sheet as my base surface sitting on a piece of level wood perpendicular to the router slide:


It worked well


Final job of the day was to square up and final-thickness the neck blank:


Next jobs are the final bits to do before putting the tops on the wings, which include:

- finally deciding with @meltedbuzzbox the position of the slide switches (so I can ensure that area is the correct thickness for the switch levers to poke through enough from the back)

- adding some side blocks for the bridge studs

- copper shielding the chamber

As always, thanks for looking

 
 

Andyjr1515

Still have the above to do before I can put the tops on, but in the meantime I spent a happy hour or so this afternoon working out the neck angle and where the various cuts on the neck blank need to be.

The neck angle is really just about geometry and it has to be right on a neck-through...so I will be checking it all out a few times before I rush ahead and cut the blank.  Main thing is that the blank is going to be deep enough to accommodate the required neck angle of around 3.5 degrees.

Headstock angle-wise, I usually go for around 10 degrees which, with a modest volute and with the laminations I reckon gives decent 'neck break' resistance at the same time as an OK break angle over the nut.



The top will have a subtle carve, similar to the back.

Andyjr1515

By the way...in that photo, there is a blue line (that I realise that you can't see) on the neck at 3 degrees...the mockup isn't sitting at 3 degrees... 

Andyjr1515

Having double, triple and quadruple checked the angles and measurements, cut the outline shape for the neck, leaving an extra mm or so wiggle room all round.  I also added the 1.5mm maple pinstripe layer:


The headstock will be a little shorter than this but, as they say, you can always take more away but it's a lot harder to put it back.

In terms of the pinstripe, this is how it will look both sides.  The chalkmark on the ebony is where the final outline will be cut to and, all being well, it will be maple-bound both sides:



Starting to look like a guitar....

davros

Awesome to see this coming together, and I'll be interested to see what impact, if any, the through neck will have on the sound.

DartmoorHedgehog

Looking good - stripier than a stripey thing with stripes. That last picture looks like some sort of alien elephant.

davros said:

I'll be interested to see what impact, if any, the through neck will have on the sound.

A normal 335 is pretty much a through-neck though isn't it? Just with a glued joint between the centre block and the rest of the neck.

davros

That's very true!!

Andyjr1515

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Looking good - stripier than a stripey thing with stripes. That last picture looks like some sort of alien elephant.

davros said:

I'll be interested to see what impact, if any, the through neck will have on the sound.

A normal 335 is pretty much a through-neck though isn't it? Just with a glued joint between the centre block and the rest of the neck.

Thanks

Of course, for the front view at least, most of it is covered up - headstock plate, fretboard, pickups, bridge and the maestro vib

Hmmm..alien elephant.  Too little sleep?  Too much WFH? 

Ref the sound, yes, I agree.  It is pretty close to a 335 for most of the stuff that matters.  I guess the vibrato is likely to make the most difference.

By the way, I weighed it.  6lbs 1oz so far.  With luck it should end up below 9lbs.

Andyjr1515

Andyjr1515 said:

Of course, for the front view at least, most of it is covered up - headstock plate, fretboard, pickups, bridge and the maestro vib

(Any excuse for a mockup)  See what I mean @DartmoorHedgehog ;


Actually, that's the first full mockup I've done.  Now ain't that purrty!  


And there is a reason for me to do the mockup.  Is this of help with your deliberations @meltedbuzzbox ?  : 

WezV

Thats looking very nice

Andyjr1515

WezV said:

Thats looking very nice

Thanks, @WezV ;