Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: GuiTony on July 13, 2008, 12:30:59 PM

Title: New Build
Post by: GuiTony on July 13, 2008, 12:30:59 PM
This one has taken a while (a long while!) to build, but finally it's done ...

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/tonysguitars/SHngz3KBWzI/AAAAAAAAA_g/BQZO8nwK6to/s800/IMG_2029.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/tonysguitars/SHngWRxQv9I/AAAAAAAAA-w/dIpz0NraICs/s800/IMG_2035.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/tonysguitars/SHngaUTMl3I/AAAAAAAAA-4/20NgHIa-Hgk/s800/IMG_2037.JPG)

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/tonysguitars/SHngectkVfI/AAAAAAAAA_A/xNEKbhwSnn4/s800/IMG_2041.JPG)

Cherry body, cherry cap, mahogany neck, wenge fingerboard.  No, they're not BKPs, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway.  I'll use some BKPs in a build soon, honest.

There are a few firsts for me in this build.  I've sort of challenged myself to do something different in each build, so this one has a couple of inlays (mahogany around the sound holes in the body and cherry into the headstock), as well as prepping the bookmatched cap from some offcuts from the cherry plank.

There are a few unplanned "features", but I'm not admitting to those here ... you can spot them for yourselves!

Also a couple of bits to finish off - strap buttons, string trees, and re-finishing the neck heel where I had to take an extra 2mm off as a late adjustment to get the action right.

Title: Re: New Build
Post by: dave_mc on July 13, 2008, 01:11:25 PM
i like it. A lot. It's growing on me, for sure- when i opened the thread, i wasn't so sure, but by the time i'd finished reading, i liked it! :D
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: Ian Price on July 13, 2008, 01:53:36 PM
Nice! And if you don't mind me asking what was the outlay?
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: AndyR on July 13, 2008, 01:56:00 PM
Same here, grew on me while I was looking at it.

Lots of lovely wood :D

Well done...
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: GuiTony on July 13, 2008, 02:02:42 PM
Thanks guys. 

Your comments made me step back and look at it again ... and I think I can see what you mean about it growing on you. 

I think the look balances better when you see the whole thing, rather than just the body shot.  When you get the contrast of the fingerboard against the cherry body, and then the cherry veneer in the headstock to mirror the mahogany inlay in the body, it just seems to "work" better as a design, I think.

Outlay ... not a whole lot, probably <£100 for the materials.
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: indysmith on July 13, 2008, 02:07:59 PM
Beautiful guitar, very nice work! How does she play/sound? Clips!
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: noodleplugerine on July 13, 2008, 02:34:40 PM
Looks good - Wish I could do the same!
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: FernandoDuarte on July 13, 2008, 03:23:35 PM
Looks cool!!
A luthier friend of mine here in Brazil have made circles F-holes in his 7 string telecaster but in a different position...
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: Ratrod on July 13, 2008, 04:39:24 PM
Very nice but I would have preferred an F-hole instead of circles.
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: 38thBeatle on July 13, 2008, 05:26:08 PM
That does look great.I like the  sound hole. A nice twist.
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: Philly Q on July 13, 2008, 05:55:44 PM
Nice work!   :D 

I especially like your contrasting inlays in the body and headstock.
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: GuiTony on July 13, 2008, 07:30:17 PM
All - Thanks again for all the comments.

Re the f-holes ... I made mine different because (a) I can, and (b) I really don't like the traditional shape!  I know the f-shape is the standard/traditional/established (etc) shape, and that guitarists are amazingly conservative when choosing their instruments ... but I prefer them this way  :D

Next up will be, I think, a re-interpretation of a LP doublecut junior ...

No f-holes in that one though  :wink:

It doesn't play too badly either, and when I sort out some sort of recording capability, I'll post some clips.
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: opprobrium_9 on July 13, 2008, 10:02:09 PM
Not my thing but the wood is very nice.  Cherry always has a nice tinge to it.
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: FELINEGUITARS on July 13, 2008, 10:33:19 PM
Nice stuff - like the soundholes.
Contrasting wood is a nice touch around the holes
Did you use one of those special inlay jigs for that - the one that has the inner/outer bushings for the router
Special features?
No 17th fret marker though?
Unusual ferrule arrangement on the back?
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: GuiTony on July 14, 2008, 06:07:50 PM
Nice stuff - like the soundholes.
Contrasting wood is a nice touch around the holes
Did you use one of those special inlay jigs for that - the one that has the inner/outer bushings for the router
Special features?
No 17th fret marker though?
Unusual ferrule arrangement on the back?

Thanks - good to get a "professional's" view  :D

I'm actually really pleased with the inlay contrast.  I only had the woods that I was using - ie cherry and mahogany, but I think that they work well enough together.  I like the design, so I'll probably re-use it in future builds.  Though, read on ....

The inlay was a purely manual process rather than a special inlay jig (tell me some more about those) in that I cut an outline-shaped hole in some mdf with a jigsaw, used the router with the template to trim out 2mm from the top of the body.  Then I placed the template onto a piece of thicknessed mahogany, and drew round the inside of the template to get an inlay-shape.  Then jigsawed that out, making sure that I left a good 1-2mm all the way around the outside of the shape.  Then sanded it to fit. 

Yes, that was a long-winded way of doing it, and a "special inlay jig" sounds a whole lot easier!

17th fret marker ... damn your professional QC standards  :x  ... I realised I'd missed it after I'd put all the frets in, and didn't fancy fitting in then, and trying to sand it smooth with the frets in place whilst keeping the fretboard radius correct!

Re the string ferrules at the back ... I just countersunk a strip into the back (with nicely bevelled edges of course!), and then counter sunk the string holes into the counter-sunk strip.  No actual metal ferrules there.
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: WezV on July 14, 2008, 06:39:18 PM
i really like the cherry you have been using!
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: _tom_ on July 14, 2008, 06:41:01 PM
Looks great and the hole looks nice and unique. F holes can be a bit boring.
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: GuiTony on July 16, 2008, 08:22:48 PM
i really like the cherry you have been using!
And I've still got plenty left  :D

Thanks _tom_ ... I agree!
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: WezV on July 16, 2008, 08:46:20 PM
more tele's!!!!
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: Roobubba on July 16, 2008, 09:00:20 PM
lol wez
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: MrBump on July 16, 2008, 09:33:47 PM
Really nice guitar.

Roo, don't you find the top horn a little bulbous?

(sorry!!!)
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: FernandoDuarte on July 17, 2008, 01:43:34 AM
17th fret marker ... damn your professional QC standards  :x  ... I realised I'd missed it after I'd put all the frets in, and didn't fancy fitting in then, and trying to sand it smooth with the frets in place whilst keeping the fretboard radius correct!
:lol:
Title: Re: New Build
Post by: Roobubba on July 17, 2008, 09:59:55 AM
Really nice guitar.

Roo, don't you find the top horn a little bulbous?

(sorry!!!)

It's excellent, I don't even need to say anything to get my point across any more. You see a tele, you see the bulbous bit, no intervention required. Job done.
:)