Frustration & a few thoughts on building from a body blank

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

So this is the 95% complete RD-esque machine I've built for my brother.  Full story here.

I'm nearly done, but I've been kept busy with work and haven't had the time to put in the finishing touches.  One big snag I ran into is evident in the first pic below:  having cut it out of a Warmoth routed body blank, and not having had a bandsaw available, I thought that my jigsaw skills would be sufficient to carry me into cutting the body shape, and I'd be able to clean up any errors with a sanding drum and/or orbital sander.  I was right, for the most part, except I somehow failed to notice the amount of overhang on the neck joint area.  As soon as I had it strung up, I knew I'd have to reshape it - which I started to do.  Not sure if I can get it all done without unstringing, unbolting.  :sad1:

The lesson here, kids, is: The Right Tools For the Right Job.

I left myself plenty of room for error all around the body, but it's caused me to take a lot more time than I should have, and there's snafus such as the giant, blocky (and sharp!) neck heel.  If I'd taken the time to hunt down a bandsaw to borrow for a bit or even buy used, I'd have had a much easier time finishing up all the fine sanding & whatnot.  As is, I have to put the rest of the tweaking/tuning/intonating/wiring on hold while I file & sand that neck heel into a less intrusive shape.

For the next guitar I build for my brother (or anyone else), I'm pretty sure I'm letting Warmoth do the heavy lifting on the body work. 

 

[shanejw]

I'm about to get started on my first project from a body blank.  I dove in head first ordering a blank with nothing pre routed.  Its kinda scary but I have a friend thats done it before so it shouldn't be too bad.

 

[DangerousR6]

Don't take any short cuts, disassemble it and lop off the excess.... :icon_thumright:

you don't want to risk any possibility of any damage to that beautiful neck.... :dontknow:

 

[-CB-]

turn the front pickup ring around, and stick it in the bridge position, then take the flat ring and stick it by the neck..... <smiles>

Looks good to me!

 

[elfro89]

That neck is BEAutiful

 

[Jusatele]

Good to see someone posting up advice about where they went wrong, it keeps us all honest.
Good points you have about correct tools.
Thanks for the post.

 

[Velcro]

Don't take any short cuts, disassemble it and lop off the excess.... :icon_thumright:

you don't want to risk any possibility of any damage to that beautiful neck...

+1  You should notice a difference in sound though. If PRS is to be believed.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

turn the front pickup ring around, and stick it in the bridge position, then take the flat ring and stick it by the neck..... <smiles>

No dice - take a look at the bridge pickup adjustment screws... Carvin does that on all their current HBs.  I think it's because.... actually, I have no idea why.  But I'm sure there's a specific reason.  The Phatcat ring is the one that came with it, and I will switch it around, I just didn't notice it wasn't flat because I was looking down to screw the holes.

I'll file & shave some to make sure it's rounded & smooth on the treble side, but I'm actually wanting to keep as much contact area between the neck & body as possible, as I'm of the opinion that it helps with resonance.  And holy schlamoly is this thing resonant; even unplugged, I play a chord and go get a bite and . . .

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7-5io1muSQ[/youtube]