Thread: Body building

I'd grab some 45mm ( x 200) pine from Bunnies and glue a blank up - would not cost much... Pine is SOFT and easy to work with.

Sounds easier than trying to hack thru some hardwood on the first attempt - that would be enough to put you off guitar building for life

FWIW, I don't route the neck pocket until I have cut and routed the body shape..Once the body is routed, attach the neck template and route away ( this is for bolt on necks I am referring to) - Set neck may be different, I've never made one

lol you should stick to one thread walcen,

have you drawn up your plans?

work off the centre line,

so yes you can rout your neck pocket first, take a bit of string and line it up with the middle of the neck and middle of the body

ahh yes.. you need hardware

If you measure carefully, the order doesn't matter. But ...

My preference is to lightly draw the body on the blank, and then route the neck pocket first. Then you bolt your neck firmly in place ... and then accurately mark your centre lines from there. That way you have a precise starting point to work from.

If you cut the body first and draw a centre line, you have to route your neck pocket to match up with that ... and it's easy to be a mm or two out ...

Aw Andrew I had money on you first of the block, so what your saying is that I should post my questions in the threads I've already started? I'm still learning my way round forum fan dangle thingy. thanx for the advice
Kindest regards
Wal

Thanx dadovfor that's what I was thinking in regards to getting the neck perfectly aligned, I'll try that with some scrap pine. and is the distance between the neck and bridge pickups critical or is it just to align the pick Gard correctly?

yea man,

you should keep it all in the one thread, so if you need to find some info that we have already given you, you dont have to jump from thread to thread trying to find what your looking for....

and also it will help future woodwork forum members if they want to read through the thread when they are building their guitars

maybe one of the mods can put all your stuff into one thread

it doesnt have to be in one thread... its just easier....
and as i said... it will really help anyone who wants to read through your build in the future

Originally Posted by walcen

Thanx dadovfor that's what I was thinking in regards to getting the neck perfectly aligned, I'll try that with some scrap pine. and is the distance between the neck and bridge pickups critical or is it just to align the pick Gard correctly?

Pickup placement is a matter of personal preference.

If you're using a pre-cut pickguard then that will largely dictate the placement ... but if you're cutting your own pickguard, then you decide the placement.

Originally Posted by walcen

Also I was wondering if I should rout the neck pocket first and shape the body around it. Or should I start with the neck first,Or should I run out and purchase all the hardware first, jeee I’m sooo confused, I don’t want to spend money on good tone wood and then ruin it due to lack of experience and or confidence.
Any words of encouragement welcome
Ps
If I had to guess who was going answer this first, I know who my money’s on

Hi Wal,

My suggestion would be to buy your bridge first, of at least decide what it is, because the height of the bridge will dictate the neck angle you need to incorporate into your neck pocket rout. Also I would suggest marking your centreline first, then routing out the body shape, and then routing the neck pocket after you have shaped the neck. My reason is that you want to know what shape the "peg" is that you are making the "hole" for. Also you need to know where the neck meets the body. That is for example, A les paul meets at the 16th fret. How will you line this up correctly if you haven't routed the body shape out. I think it is much simpler to fit the neck to the body, and not fit the body to the neck.

PS. My money was on Andrew also.

Cheers,

Peter

LOL dammit.... i have failed you all

Hey Andrew, you haven't failed anyone, you just proved that your not as predictable as every one thought ROFLMAO .

Hey guys I was wondering how you all source your hardware, eg LP stuff, Shop online? Retail supplier? E bay?, how do you measure the quality of your products? what's the difference between a $40.00 hum bucker and a $140.00 one? If I wanted to use all gold components, should I buy them all from the same place to avoid mismatched coulors?
Sheeesh why do I feel like the kid that wont stop asking Y? .

kindest regards to all

Wal

i usually go on ebay and type in the search box wht i want

then look at completed listings to get some idea of how much such items are going for

then look at available auctions and buy it now deals

then i ring the local retailers and ask them about their prices on their available stock keeping in mind what the ebay prices are

then i might intimate to the retailer an offer to buy lots of stuff from retailer if he is amenable to some discounting and should both parties' lucky stars be in alignment, a fruitful business transaction might ensue

also quite a few places online tht sells guitar parts in Aus...reasonable and trustworthy

as for worrying about difference in colours imo most OEM manufactured stuff made in Asia are made by only a couple of manufacturers (who specialise in them) who then sell them to second tier producers who rebadge the items for thier products then onsell to the publik

bit like computer monitors...motherboards, etc etc

however, non Asian suppliers/sources can have differing ranges of specs

Hi all, can anybody tell me if the top of the LP body needs to be angled down from the bridge to the neck pocket at the same angle as the neck pocket? and should the pickup pockets also be on that angle?

PS. Hay Andrew, if you happen to be reading this I'd just like to say I'm glad it's you cutting that big slab of timber with that panel saw and not me. There has to be a better way.

Kindest regards to all
Wal

lol didnt i send you a whole bunch of links with people building lespauls?

they explain the angled neck pocket and such

you could make up a jig and angle the whole top.... so the pickups follow the neck/string line....
and leave the bridge secction flat and do some crafty carving....
hmmm now i have more ideas

as for sawing that wood....
im feeling it now...
arms feel like dead weights lol..
and todays saws SUCK!.... should go get my old ones resharpened (when i win loto )

and the better way.... is to find a person with a big bandsaw and make friends with him