Maple/Mahogany thinline Firebird; DONE!

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Still not totally sure what to call this one ("Angrybird" - after my minor obsession on the iPad? "Jazzy/Mellowbird" for the music it's most likely going to be playing when it's done? "Emptybird" to reflect it's thinline/hollow nature?), but it's started.

Summerbird - the first of a seasonally themed quartet of instruments that would be the last guitars & basses I'd ever need to own.  I was just thinking about the fact that I'm doing this one in summer, but had an idea for another guitar that could really be a wintertime "indoors" project (plus, it's a much darker instrument, and "Wintercaster" has a nice ring to it), and suddenly, I had 4 projects not only planned out, but named.  Now I just need to get rich....

Took me well into fall to get this done.  Never letting my workshop be taken over by other's stuff again.... 

Just one pic so far - you can see the markings for the centerline, and the approximate bridge & pickup placement. 

Yes: only one, and yes: there.  :glasses10:

It's also marked for where I'll be hollowing out the wood with a forstner bit (started that earlier this evening), then routing to clean up the chambers.  The center of the left side chamber will be routed a little shallower to allow for the tummy cut, but the top will be flat, just a 1/4" roundover on the edges.  You can also see the rough spots on the sides where my jigsaw got... er, jiggy.  I'm more than practiced with the sanding drum from building an RD from a body blank last summer, though, so it'll be fine with a bunch of sanding & smoothing.

I had been sorta planning on replacing the saddles of the bridge with Graphtechs & getting this (running it out separate from the mag pickup), but my "fun" budget is harder to justify with a 5 year old spawn about.  And I'm taking her down to Disneyland next week.... :toothy11: :help:

But then, not long after I get back, the neck for this beast will be showing up, and I'll be just as excited as she is to meet the princesses in person.  :toothy10: :blob7:

 

[Updown]

Hi ihavenothingprofo …….  :icon_scratch:  holy crap thats a long name …..

Just don't call it the 'EmuBird' thats what I've called mine  :icon_biggrin:

What about calling it either ….  :sign13:  iEye .... iSee .... iBird ... iCallBird .... iBellBird or just plain OneEye
Looks like you have one eye already in the wood their.

Think that pickup route needs to be a bit deeper thou  :laughing7:

Be looking forward to following this build, as i'm that bloke building the Cocobolo 'EmuBird' Firebird.

Hope all works out just great for you  :icon_thumright: Cheers

 

[DangerousR6]

Hi ihavenothingprofo …….   :icon_scratch:  holy crap thats a long name …..

or just plain OneEye

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Hi ihavenothingprofo …….   :icon_scratch:  holy crap thats a long name …..

Yes, but "robb" is too boring.  :icon_jokercolor:

Looks like you have one eye already in the wood their.

Yeah, there was a knot - it's already gone, though.  I'll take a few more pics of the post-Forstnerbitten body & get those up when I can.  I'm still needing to get around to getting a router template made.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

BLAM!  Forstnerbittening complete!  . . . though I'm a bit sad, because it was FUN!  (You can see the experimenting I did with different sized bits.)  Soon to clean it all up with a router. Also did a little sanding along the sides to start to clean up the saw rash.  Maple smooths out MUCH easier than mahogany. 

I left a little bit more wood where the tummy cut will go, which I saw in a close observation of Paul Rhoney's Starblaster:

Alas, a family vacation is going to stop work on it for at least a week, but that will give more time to get the mahogany top & the Warmoth neck in. 

 

[DangerousR6]

BLAM!  Forstnerbittening complete!  . . . though I'm a bit sad, because it was FUN!  (You can see the experimenting I did with different sized bits.)  Soon to clean it all up with a router. Also did a little sanding along the sides to start to clean up the saw rash.  Maple smooths out MUCH easier than mahogany.  

I left a little bit more wood where the tummy cut will go, which I saw in a close observation of Paul Rhoney's Starblaster:


Alas, a family vacation is going to stop work on it for at least a week, but that will give more time to get the mahogany top & the Warmoth neck in.  

Cool, looks like you put all the nesting holes for the tone worms to settle into.... :icon_biggrin:

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Cool, looks like you put all the nesting holes for the tone worms to settle into.... :icon_biggrin:

They already lived there when I got it!  I tapped it a bit right out of the box and it gave a satisfyingly resonant "plock" every time.  Even in it's current state, I had slipped it under my bed (no way I'm leaving this in the garage to get damp!), then turned around & accidentally knocked it a touch with my toe, I could hear the barest traces of a note.  This piece of wood is positively ALIVE with tone, and I'm really excited to get it finished!   :toothy10:

 

[Corey P.]

This is going to be great!  I really dig the idea of maple for a Firebird body, especially since it's going to be hollow-ish.  What's your plan for the top wood(s)?

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Top will be mahogany.  I plan on buying one of these.  I've kinda liked the idea of a more plain (or at least, not super exotic) wood top.  For this build at least.  :icon_biggrin:  And since it will match the neck (mahogany, pau ferro board), I'd like to end up with something that looks almost like it's a solid body, depending on the viewing angle.  I'll be using a grain filler then TruOil, and hopefully will get some chatoyance (but not too much).

The next build after this is going to have crazy wood figuring, but one thing at a time....

 

[Corey P.]

I'll allow it.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

A quick update:  After consulting with my woodworking pal (& master cabinet fabricator!), I realized I'd have to either spend a lot of time getting router templates made, or I could simply hollow out everything myself with a Dremel.  Yes, it will take more time, but - as my friend advised me - if I want to do it myself, maple has issues with tearouts, and he's personally had a hard time with it (ruined a few pieces - something about the way it changes grain direction can be finnicky). His advice was to get a template made of something HARD with super smooth edges, and edgebanding on top of that. "Don't even think about doing it freehand!"  As you can see already, the body chamber shape is not something that would have off the shelf parts waiting for it.  So Dremel it is!

Also, it's an excuse to buy a Dremel, and it's something that can be done a tiny bit a time in the evenings.  I've had a hard time setting up a time I can get to my pal's shop to practice routing, so a bit more Forstnerbitten*, lots of sanding, and later this week I'll get the top ordered.  Neck to arrive .... not soon enough!  :toothy10:


* - It sounds like fun, faux German to me.  Reminds me of:  this.  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[anorakDan]

If you're going to spring for a new Dremel, seriously consider getting the flexible shaft accessory. Get the best corded Dremel you can afford, make sure it has variable speed. If you hang the Dremel itself from a convenient hook, the bit-end of the flexible shaft accessory is a lot lighter to hold, and will allow you to work longer before your hand gives out.

You have a lot of material to hog out, so buy extras of your steel cutting bits. Only use steel cutting bits. They'll last awhile, but that maple could dull them up pretty fast. Not sure, I haven't tried to hog away that much maple before.

I'm enjoying following along with this thread. Good luck and keep the pictures coming!

 

[Cagey]

A quick update:  After consulting with my woodworking pal (& master cabinet fabricator!), I realized I'd have to either spend a lot of time getting router templates made, or I could simply hollow out everything myself with a Dremel.  Yes, it will take more time, but - as my friend advised me - if I want to do it myself, maple has issues with tearouts, and he's personally had a hard time with it (ruined a few pieces - something about the way it changes grain direction can be finnicky). His advice was to get a template made of something HARD with super smooth edges, and edgebanding on top of that. "Don't even think about doing it freehand!"  As you can see already, the body chamber shape is not something that would have off the shelf parts waiting for it.  So Dremel it is!

Also, it's an excuse to buy a Dremel, and it's something that can be done a tiny bit a time in the evenings.  I've had a hard time setting up a time I can get to my pal's shop to practice routing, so a bit more Forstnerbitten*, lots of sanding, and later this week I'll get the top ordered.  Neck to arrive .... not soon enough!   :toothy10:

Your friend is right in that maple has tearout tendencies, but it's usually not something you worry about with vertical cuts like that. I don't want to talk you out of a Dremel motor, because everybody should have one for a variety of reasons, but trying to hog out that much wood, especially maple, is liable to burn up at least one or more of them and god only knows how many bits. They're just not designed for that kind of duty. Also, it'll take you a dog's life to do it, and your chances of slipping and damaging the body are pretty high, and your chances of the end result looking good are pretty low. Speaking of which, why worry about tearout on a hidden cut anyway?

As much time and effort as it'll take you to make a template (which won't require edge banding, btw) and use a real router, it'll still be faster than doing it with a Dremel motor and the pitiful cutters you can buy for them, and I'll wager it'll cost you one helluva lot less. Just bite the bullet and do it right with a real router. You'll be much happier, I'm sure.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

I did grab a Dremel (too late about the flexible head - but that's great advice, have to grab one from the 'depot next time), and just got done trying it out.  Yeah, I'll easily go through a motor or two on this thing - I'll do a bit more with my sanding drum in my power drill, but I've already taken out so much wood, I seriously might just give up on getting the inside - which no one will ever see again once it's done - perfectly smooth.

Of course, that's the impatience of really wanting to play it talking - I'll see about borrowing a router this weekend.  :icon_smile:

 

[llmtelecaster]

I really admire the DIY spirit of this build. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[anorakDan]

I've always wondered what a Firebird would be like with forearm and tummy contours...

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

There won't be a forearm contour, but I did start a somewhat shallow tummy contour.  I did a little sanding work on the back last night, so I'll try to grab a pic of that & get it up.

The hollowness of it is already sounding really cool - tapping it on the back in the middle gives a nice, resonant knock, but the hollow parts are much louder & brighter.  This is going to sound terrific unplugged, and hopefully even more awesome plugged in.  :toothy12:

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Got some sanding done: after a wee bit of time with a disc of 150 grit, and a whole lot with 220 grit (followed by just as much time with 220 sanding by hand), the roundovers & sanding are about 80% done.  As you can see in the second pic, there's still lots of work to be done around the neck pocket area, but the back & all the corners are starting to get really smooth, just about all the jigsaw rash is gone.  Another hour or two worth of hand sanding with 220 around the neck, and I'll be about done.  Then I just need to get the top glued on, the neck pocket & pickup routed, then the top roundovers (making sure I keep them even along the whole edge of the instrument)....  

Lots left to do, and I'm more than a little bummed I can't work on it all the time.  But getting a little closer every day!   :toothy12:

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

So I've made a mistake, and while it's not a total disaster (it might be even better this way), it has ruined my original intention for the project.

I went to my buddie's place last night to hang out & play with the router before routing out the last fraction of an inch at the bottom of the body cavity.  I'd never actually personally used a router before, and we had a few scraps that I went over in tiny passes, then checked for the correct depth & smoothness of the cut.  All good so far.

Then I made some mistakes:

- I had put the bit in myself, and thought I tightened it as much as it can go.  It wasn't - when cutting harder woods, apparently, the bit is more likely to drift downward.  We didn't see it at all in the scraps (pine 2x4s & 4X4s) because they were so much softer/weaker than the maple. This was compounded by-

- One LONG pass along the side.  I now know that one does not do this with routers - take shorter, smoother passes.  I'd done this on the scraps, but my friend didn't see the need to correct my technique then because I'd done perfectly on the scraps. 

The result: On my first pass, I went right through the back of the body.  :sad1:  :doh:  The hole looks a bit like an arrow - pics of the aftermath when I get home tonight.

It's not ruined by any stretch: the sides are still good, and fortunately the hole is right about where the control cavity will go, and can be totally covered by that.  My friend even had a nice piece of mahogany I could use for a control panel, or there could also be a piece I use from my soon-to-arrive top; that could be a neat bit of continuity from the front to the back.  And I'd sorta thought about putting in Graphtech saddles & a midi module at some later point, so that would have needed a panel for a control cavity anyway.

It's a deviation from what I planned, though, and that is what bums me out:  In the spirit of this build, and this idea for a side mounted Strat-style input jack, I'd planned on having no controls, wiring straight from the pickup to the jack, which would be mounted on the side. So that there'd be no holes in either the top or the back of the body, and just one hole for the output jack. 

Sadly, this is not to be.  Oh well.  Top should be arriving soon, so I'll get that measured, cut & glued, and hopefully the neck will be arriving right after I have my friend rout the neck pocket.

 

[Cagey]

I'm just glad you didn't get hurt. It would have undoubtedly been serious. A sharp bit going 36,000 RPM can do one helluva lotta damage to flesh. It might be better to get shot. You're lucky all it did was some minor damage to your workpiece.

But, just so you know (although I'm sure you'll never let this happen again), router bits don't loosen up or "drift" as a result of machining hardwood or making long cuts. That tool holder was loose from the start. Your buddy was probably just trying to make you feel better by telling you that after what happened because this one was on you, and partly on him for not double-checking your setup when he knew you weren't familiar with the thing.