Roland's 2016 Build Challenge

Serratus

There's a slot running along the underside of each slug and a pin that pokes up through a hole in the bottom of the tubes. The pins locate in the slots to stop the slugs rotating 

BigMonka

@Roland I actually meant the hole where the guitar string comes through the block (left hand side of your photo above). But I guess when the string is at playing tension it should be bang in the centre of the hole it runs through.

Roland

Serratus said:

There's a slot running along the underside of each slug and a pin that pokes up through a hole in the bottom of the tubes. The pins locate in the slots to stop the slugs rotating 

Thanks, that's what I expected.

BigMonka said:

@Roland I actually meant the hole where the guitar string comes through the block (left hand side of your photo above). But I guess when the string is at playing tension it should be bang in the centre of the hole it runs through.

The string movement is so slight that it won't be a problem. This is the movement to bring a G string up to tension

Roland

I want a small, lightweight body.

Steinberger's cricket bat, or its Hohner equivalent, looks as though it should be a good ergonomic shape for a slide guitar. Several times I've tried to play one, but always found that I couldn't hold it steady. The problem is that there's no body which I can grip with my right forearm. That's a problem which was recognised by Steve Klein, and by Chris Forshage. Both of them have designed bodies with a large upper rear bout. Both of them also have a lower horn that allows the guitar to sit comfortably on your thigh when seated. I rarely play seated, so I can save even more weight there.

The latest version of the design looks like a teardrop, similar to the Vox:

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/vox-mk-iii-teardrop-guitar-sunburst/87505?gclid=CLz00NSi4coCFULnGwodZ5EJRQ

but with the neck offset, and a horn to bring the strap button forwards towards the 12th fret. Exactly how far forward I won't know until I've tried it on an mdf template. There's nothing to see yet, but I'll take pictures when I cut templates.

It will be built out of two thicknesses of B&Q Furniture Board (spruce blockboard). What I like about this method of construction is that I can route out wiring channels and cavities before glueing the top and bottom together. Like my other recent builds it will have forearm and belly chamfers. Not sure about binding though. I like the finished effect, but chamfers make cutting the binding channels quite complicated.

In other news I decided to buy a cheap neck rather than buy the parts to make one. I'm not sure it's suitable as mentioned here ;http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/961187/#Comment_961187

Roland

Almost three months, and no reported action on this project. The tuners and headstock clamp are now built, using brass for strength rather than the aluminium of the prototype. They look a bit clunky because, without machine tools, I can only work to a tolerance of 0.5mm. 

Costing what I've done it is quite difficult because I've been using bits that are left over from other projects, or scavenged from scrap. For example, I have a tin of machine screws that I raid rather than buy new. Brass grub screws for the string clamps were once part of an old electrical junction box, and I can't remember where the tuning screws come from.

On a visit to @octatonic I picked up his Forshage, and immediately realised that the playing position was not for me. Back to the drawing board on body shape. 

Roland

For this project i wanted to make my first neck. When I added up the cost it looked challenging. By the time I'd bought a truss rod, fretwire, plus wood for the neck and fretboard, there wouldn't be much left for pickups and controls. On paper it looked better to buy a neck. I went for a £20 Chinese neck thinking "these are all cut on jigs so the wood quality might be poor but it will be playable". Wrong. it's nicely finished, but some of the fret slots are in the wrong positions. They need filling and re-cutting.

So I bought a neck second hand through this forum thinking "pay more and get better quality". Wrong again. The neck was twisted, more than 1.5mm out over its length. It had also been drilled several times, with a broken off neck fixing screw still in place, and cracks between two of the holes. Lastly the heel wasn't square or level. Normally I would have sent it back, but I decided to renovate it to get neck building experience. The screw holes won't matter because it's not going onto a standard body shape.

First I built a fretboard radius jig for my router. In fact I made two: 10 inch and 16 inch. 

https://goo.gl/photos/qWaLUDXckGuptVUu6

The jig sits on a board, running on rails either side of the neck. 

Then the easy bit - I straightened the neck, and let it settle, pulled the frets, let it settle, re-radiused the fret board to take out the twist, and re-fretted, and then straightened the heel with a router. It was more work that re-cutting the Chinese neck, but worth it for the exercise.

Cost so far:

£40 Neck

£8  Jescar fret wire

Roland

Building one-off guitars is a voyage of discovery. I enjoy thinking things through, and working out solutions to the challenges.

Lately I've been redesigning the body. Originally it was to be an ergonomic shape. When I played @Octatonic's Forshage I realised that it wasn't for me and changed my mind. My band has been asked to play Elton John's Rocket Man at a wedding in September. So I though this would a good opportunity to do something exotic and exhibitionist, hence this stellar body shape:

TTony

I don't see the image?

longjaw

Neither can I!

paulnb57

Nothing to see here, move along!....

Roland

Any better?

paulnb57

Yes! Superstar!

DartmoorHedgehog

Excellent - weird is the new normal

Roland

To keep those edges clean, and strengthen the points of the star, I've bound the front of the body. I haven't decided yet whether to bind the back, or round the edges over for comfort.

The colour scheme needs firming too. I'm leaning toward a gold front, but haven't decided whether the back and sides should be gold, white, or natural. Suggestions welcome.

Roland

Today I was reminded why I don't like painting. The binding went on without a hitch. Sanding sealer filled the grain. Multiple coats of white to the front face were smooth as a metal sheet. One beautiful coat of metallic gold shining like a mirror ... and a fly landed on it while it was drying.

Now I have to wait until it's hardened so I can sand it all off and start again

DartmoorHedgehog

Roland said:

One beautiful coat of metallic gold shining like a mirror ... and a fly landed on it while it was drying.

Bastards...  last weekend I varnished a case I've made for my diy guitar and it became a complete midge graveyard.  Luckily I don't really care how it looks so I just sanded them down, but would have been well annoyed if I'd been after a nice finish rather than just durability.

Roland

It was a float finish: the solvent in the gold paint liquifies the white undercoat, the metal particles end up at different levels and give depth to the finish.

Well, it's all stripped off this morning, and the sanding sealer is going on after lunch.

DartmoorHedgehog

Roland said:

It was a float finish: the solvent in the gold paint liquifies the white undercoat, the metal particles end up at different levels and give depth to the finish.

Sounds cool - hope the flies keep away this time

Roland

Another attempt at publishing a picture https://goo.gl/photos/Xi7h1tzPu5mnuB3K6

Moss