Rodman

 

very precide measuring of the bridgeline, that´s a +- 1mm

point of no return (start drilling inverse!!!)

all is good

need a hole to ground the bridge

 

 

weight of the body?

that´s gonna be not a heavy guitar

sanding and detailing

so sharp

a lil more carving

scraping

and work on the horns - always hard to find the perfect shape there cause you got a million options

 

95

 

 

 

+ bass

 

 

 

lil +

 

 

 

ftl, lead

 

 

 

Now to the part i like most

Body shaping

out into the garden, mask on, and go!

i always start with the backside ... good to see how the wood reacts befor attacking the front

first set of batteries - a success

a lil planning on the front

on we go

absolutely!

so happy

transferring the shape of the pocket

yay

cut that

not bad

 a lil sanding

all is good

repeat

yes

take a deep breath and go

very straight forward, that could have gone worse.

i was planning to go string-through... so let´s see

measure measure... after a lot of testing with unsymmetrical designs there - that is coolest i think

yes, thats it

pro to cut that right now - the flat surface on the back will yield parrallel holes

love that

for good comfort playing while sitting Kay wanted to get the jack right on the side, and to have the cables protected not too far pointing upwards, and the stringholes covered - that setup there will do

drilling and routing went well

if you forget to drill that hole before glueing the neck you are doomed

drill that FROM THE FRONT SIDE!!! I didn´t on my first guitar (!)

perfect spot

fixing a tearout with sawdust and woodglue

 

all is good

 

sorry @ kayteck i think i will have to keep that myself

let´s create a neckpocket...

all is set straight, measured for the bridgeline

and with "borrowed" Kappla from my kids, superglue and masking tape the custom routing template is done in minutes

i start by drilling to the right depth

what a stylish bit (shakes head)

routing feels sooooo dangerous cause you cannot see what you do

but it´s done well

cut

finetuning

hell - what an axe!!!!

great

you gotta trust your joints, they shall not need glue to be stable

 

You might remember that i decided to save the other part of the neck for another build - so the headstock naturally is too slim.

But i had that planned. For longer time i did want to veneer and add wood

a piece of the body

Funder i use for veneer

cut

glue the veneer

glue the extra piece of wood

clamp

ugly?

better

a good time for some tunerholes!

start drilling in the wrong direction to avoid tearout!!!!!

I really like that

 

now to something completely different .... headstock

 

i like angled headstocks, and i just use the piece cut away to create the angle on top to augment the bottom

sanded perfectly flat

glue

a lot of clamps

already a good result

 

perfect

Now - the part soo important for playability.. that has often also to be done on a newly bought guitar, and every guitar deserves that agrain and again after 200-300 hours of playing ... a fretjob

Before you start on an old guitar - set the neck straight with the trussrod - best by measuring on the woodsurface with a notched straight edge

protect your fretboard!!! 2 layers of masking tape

done in minutes

a permanent marker of the color of your choice

a freshly prepared levelibg beam - 400 - 600 gr

go softly until all the marker has disappeared on all frets -

meaning there should be no valleys anymore

check each fret (always 3 at a time) at at least 3 positions

you see how much difference there is in what amount has to be taken away!!!!! To create a perfectly flat surface

when that is done for playability it´s a cool thing to create a fallaway from 12th or 13th fret - that will give the strings a lil more space over the area where they move most - so the setup can be very low action without buzzing  on the high frets and you will have great playability up there for the solos

so - 12th fret is protected and minimally elevated by 2 layers of ... i use isolating tape .. and there is more sanding done on the upper frets - so that elevation leads to the last frets being more sanded than the ones close to 12

when all is done and fretrock check says all is good (watch out the rock at 12th towards the higher frets is natural and wanted now!) - mark again all frets and...

with a triangular file with rounded edges (! - otherwise the fretboard gets harmed!)

you go from either side of each fret

not touching the small center line (< 1mm)

thats perfect perfect

fine sandpaper (~800gr then 1000 up also to 2000 if you have) wrapped around finger or a credit card slided all along the fretboard

to create evenly smoothed tops

fretrubbers (from medium to superfine) do make them shiny by pollisihng

Then MEASURE WITH THE Fretrocker and go back if there is the slightest rock or valley

that´s shiny frets

satriani (9)

 

 

 

lil +

 

 

 

hendrix

 

 

 

better

 

 

 

another cool one (6-6.5)

 

 

 

nice to play (4)

 

 

 

love the Gimmies

 

 

 

it´s so hot

didn´t remember i played that.

so tired i cannot compete with all your 98 today, but maybe i will have time on thu..

Rock!

 

installed and polished side-dots

on to some frets - that´s gonna look great

don´t forget to use a small triangular file to oben the top of the fretslots to avoid tear-out if ever a re-fret will be needed. i use a bit of superglue and a normal fretting hammer - starting to hammer in the middle and going to both sides then

after fretting cutting the ends and filing them to the level of the fretboard from the sides

then sanding a bit

and ultra-important start to round over the edges with a file that has one rounded edge to not harm the wood

thats how you would get most bought guitars finished...

but we will take extra steps - a 2nd round of rounding over

a lot better already

sandpaper up to 600 gr

fretrubbers medium to superfine

always testing each and every end and going back to the file when needed

that is the fretend Kay deserves

some oil

and have a first look at the final thing

i think that payd off

 

i´ll skip the fun process of designing the inlays - here is our results and a lot of fine fine work to be done.

 

 

Finding the right Size to fit 13-11 perfectly

that is good

starting with a sharp blade - a fresh one

hard work but that will pay

using a dremel like tool to route being very very very carefull wearing lens glasses also

cannot be happier pfffff

deciding what to use - yes - shells from lovely Bibione, Italy it is

hammer smashed shells

making it small, not too small

 

sealing the ground with oil...

and quick sanding sealer (i don´t want epoxy to oenetrate the grain and make ugly dark lines eventually)

filling with tranparent epoxy and the shells

over the top of the fb

reinforcements are arriving

let dry

and file it down

WEAR A MASK!!!!!!!!!!!! that dust will sit in your lungs forever!

finish the sanding with a bar with like 400gr

oil - yes!

better than expected

and the other ones - Kay created very special ones - never seen any like those

setting it all

a lot lot of fine fine work later

oiled and sealed

sidedots

must be measured and drilled precicely will be seen all of the time

and straight forward filling of the inlays

after filling filing

sanding

oiling

happy

 

 

go fretless?

probably not - so scary things incoming again

i really recommend 2 (or 3) independent measurements BEFORE cutting the frets - i do measure, and i have the positions from the frets of my strat marked on an alu ruler.

 

What makes cutting a lot easier is first go with a sharp blade along a ruler

like that

point of no return - fret slotting saw

first time i use that radius block as a guide to keep the blade perfectly straight  - works well

one fret i slipped minimally at the upper end - less than 1mm, won´t be seen under the fret, but i still would know - so fixing that with sawdust and glue - just let dry, sand, oil and cut again

watch out - don´t use sawdust and superglue - that will darken the fill!!!

just mix the sawdust from cutting with a bit of woodglue on a paper or piece of plastic - and fill in.

all is done - repair cannot be spotted

roger that. Very important to measure again there - the carving of the neck had taken away a lot of material and altered the tension inside the neck, also does the fretslotting alter the tension in the fretboard. Now would be the time to see if a lil twist of the trussrod will straighten the neck or - in worst case - do a bit of sanding to straighten again.

Both unneccesary here.

 

 

let´s start with a centerline

you mark the (almost) flat area in the middle that shall not be touched

and for a more D than C you divide the remaining space laterally into two

and also on the side you divide the neck in two...

and you start by rasping away the outermost (marked) part

voila!

now you divide the newly created area by two and also the area next to that on top

and you do the same on the side ...

and rasp away the marked areas

and you get

a symmetrical, well shaped neck in like an hour

that´s the moment to take it and feel if the thickness and shape is about what you want - cause it´s not getting markedly thinner no more, just smoother

if you feel ok - take sanding paper and sand from both sides evenly

the measure HAH that´s "precice" on the nut side

oh yes that´s on the 17th fret

looks

and feels great

we got ourselves a guitarneck