Thread: First build! - The story so far

Shane, This is looking great.
Good to see another person taking the plunge into luthiere. I may warn you, that before you've finished this one you will be planing your next.

And don't stress about fretwork, i suppose its just the same as taking your first steps into building guitars. I remember when i started on my first axe I found this quote "a beginner makes a few mistakes, a pro has made them all". Despite being moderately unplayable it was the experience that kept me going. But, from those pictures i can assure you this is gunna be a beaut.

Once again, great work and top efforts.
And i will defiantly be following this thread

Cheers,

Hi Yoz,

Good onya for having a go! Its looking really nice.

...and still trying to come up with the detailed design for the MOP inlay in headstock and fretboard.

I struggle with this as well, which is why I havent attempted it yet

Originally Posted by Yoz

...and still trying to come up with the detailed design for the MOP inlay in headstock and fretboard.

Yup, you and just about everyone else.

It's nice when you start getting people telling you what they want, you just have to think the "how" not the "what" too.

Neat looking design.
May I ask where you sourced your sapele from?

The thing with fretwork is, even a computer controlled mill with tiney tolerances will still produce an instrument that is imperfect. Its intrinsic in the instrument design. Cheack out www.earvana.com for some interesting explanations on that particular subject.

Keep up the great work!

P.S. dont let the missus see you posting pic's of the washing

Thanks guys!

Mongrel, I'm in Christchurch and managed to source the Sapele from a mob called BBS timbers. Wow! Did they have a nice warehouse full of exotic timbers!!! And cheap too (well, a darn sight cheaper than the other quotes I got from suppliers in the area).

My next problem is finding a good woodworks supplies store in this part of the world. I'm an Aussie who only moved here at the end of last year and have been struggling to find a good local supplier of tools, finishes etc, outside of the usual suspects (Bunnings, Mitre 10...). So if anyone knows where the locals go.....

And as for the washing.... a small house and a 3 year old daughter means there's always going to be ##### everywhere in the photos! Even the washing. Next time I'll try to capture the snow covered southern alps in the background of my pics.

Cheers,
Shane

I have bought parts from www.guitarparts.co.nz and they have been great (our dollar is better than yours ner nernernenrnenrenrn)
PS wait till your "lil mongrel" starts making guitars, like mine

The kiwi peso has been breaking my heart ever since we moved over here! You should do the calcs on buying from Stewmac using $NZ... It's pretty scary!

Now on to today's (and yesterday's) efforts.

Had glued the bookmatched maple together previously.
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w.../June09238.jpg

Glued some maple onto the headstock and trimmed to fit.
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-18609011.jpg

Then cut the drop top, and cut the f-holes using the dremel.
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-18609001.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-18609005.jpg

And just now glued the top onto the body.
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-18609012.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-18609010.jpg

Also cut the control cavity opening today and prepared a sapele cover to match, but forgot to take pictures so will upload them tomorrow.

One of the challenges here in Christchurch right now is that the maximum daytime temp is only around 6 degrees (and I have no insulation or heating in the garage!). So I'm doing all my glueing at the end of the day and letting it cure inside overnight (-2 outside tonight). It's going to get interesting when it comes time for finishing

Cheers,
Shane

Hi Yoz, Great first build, And good to hear about the weather over there in New Zealand.
Makes me feel like I am living in a heat wave down here in Tasmania.
Cheers Bob

One of the challenges here in Christchurch right now is that the maximum daytime temp is only around 6 degrees (and I have no insulation or heating in the garage!). So I'm doing all my glueing at the end of the day and letting it cure inside overnight (-2 outside tonight). It's going to get interesting when it comes time for finishing

Im having the same problem down here in Melbourne, obviously you have it worse. every breath out just fogs up. brrrrr


Great progress, and a lovely maple top to match.

Originally Posted by Yoz

One of the challenges here in Christchurch right now is that the maximum daytime temp is only around 6 degrees (and I have no insulation or heating in the garage!). So I'm doing all my glueing at the end of the day and letting it cure inside overnight (-2 outside tonight). It's going to get interesting when it comes time for finishing

I had similar problems with water based finishes, so I put the lacquer tin in a pot of hot water and had two large halogen lights keeping the ambient air temperature up towards 20degC and bought it inside of a night. Doing it this way I got 4-5 coats on a <10degC days

There are definite advantages to looking into 2 pac poly coats

I'll echo everyone's entiments with this one and say all is looking great there, Shane.
Keep the pix flowing, mate.

Originally Posted by Yoz

One of the challenges here in Christchurch right now is that the maximum daytime temp is only around 6 degrees (and I have no insulation or heating in the garage!). So I'm doing all my glueing at the end of the day and letting it cure inside overnight (-2 outside tonight). It's going to get interesting when it comes time for finishing

Cheers,
Shane

The city founders picked the worst place for Christchurch to be built....right in a swamp. No wonder its cold and damp. I lived on the banks of the Heathcote River over in Spreydon.....about as damp and cold as you can get.

Hi Kiwigeo, I'm on the banks of the Heathcote in Somerfield. When it rains for a few days, the back yard fills with water (from fence to fence!!) and it takes days for it to drain away into the ground. I should probably be building kayaks, not guitars!
Cheers,
Yoz

So things have slowed a little this weekend. Partly due to family commitments on the weekend but moslty due to the dremel kicking the bucket!!! And I was due to cut the binding channels next too. The Dremel repair agent won't have it back to me until Wednesday so I'm picking away at smaller tasks in the meanwhile...

The good news is the goody bag arrived from Stewmac on Friday! So I've trimmed my rosewood fingerboard to fit the neck and installed .02" white plastic binding for frets. I had to sand it a little to fit but it has come up better than I had expected! Will post a pic later today.

Question - A couple of you suggest sealing before gluing bindings to prevent staining the wood with the glue. Can I seal the whole instrument with a coat of shellac before I cut the binding channels or glue the fingerboard on? Will the glue (Titebond or expoy?) work fine over a coat of shellac?

Now that I have all my electrics I will also drill the holes for the knobs, switch and tuners today.

Cheers,
Yoz

Pics of the trimmed fingerboard with frets in:
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-21609002.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-21609003.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...e-21609004.jpg

Cheers,
Yoz