Reclaimed timber and my next guitar.

[dmraco]

This one will be ambitious.  It will have a Warmoth neck but the body will be made from this cool pine timber I was given.  It came from a 150 year old structure.  Needs planed and glued for a body blank.  Not sure what shape I will go with but something custom for sure.

Question...do I need to use biscuits when glueing the pieces together?

 

[DangerousR6]

Mmmmmmm, who cares....Let's see the Corvette.... :blob7:

 

[dmraco]

1990 Z51 6 speed.  16,500 miles.

 

[DangerousR6]

Oh hellz ya...That's what I'm talking about. My favorite body style of the Vette, my dad had an '84, mad me so sad when he sold it.. :sad:

 

[DangerousR6]

As for the lumber question, I'd use the biscuits... :icon_thumright:

 

[swarfrat]

Biscuits are basically an expedient tongue and grove thing, and they are mostly an alignment during gluing deal. I'd use em in a heartbeat on quick and dirty shop stuff, except pocket screws are even faster and a lot stronger. Router table, kitchen cabinet, heck yeah. On a guitar? Even though a solid body guitar isn't really an acoustic instrument... it's a lot like farting in public. It's not unethical, illegal, or immoral or anything like that, but come on man, have some class!

 

[dmraco]

Biscuits are basically an expedient tongue and grove thing, and they are mostly an alignment during gluing deal. I'd use em in a heartbeat on quick and dirty shop stuff, except pocket screws are even faster and a lot stronger. Router table, kitchen cabinet, heck yeah. On a guitar? Even though a solid body guitar isn't really an acoustic instrument... it's a lot like farting in public. It's not unethical, illegal, or immoral or anything like that, but come on man, have some class!

I am completely confused...... :laughing3:

 

[line6man]

The piece looks to be about half an inch thick. Will it be used as a laminate top? I can't see that little piece of wood being enough to construct a full body.

 

[dmraco]

The piece looks to be about half an inch thick. Will it be used as a laminate top? I can't see that little piece of wood being enough to construct a full body.

It's two inches thick, six inches wide, and 65 in length.  I plan on cutting it and it will be a three piece body blank about 18 inches wide and 21 inches tall.

 

[Hbom]

no

 

[Cagey]

With modern glues, I don't think you need the biscuits/dowels like you used to. The real trick is getting perfect mating surfaces, and if you can angle them a bit, you get more glue surface. A jointer/planer will come in handy. A good 2-piece body glue-up is well-documented in this Ron Kirn tutorial.

 

[dmraco]

With modern glues, I don't think you need the biscuits/dowels like you used to. The real trick is getting perfect mating surfaces, and if you can angle them a bit, you get more glue surface. A jointer/planer will come in handy. A good 2-piece body glue-up is well-documented in this Ron Kirn tutorial.

That is what I figured.  When you think of it, guitars with glued on necks do not use them and it is a much more highly stressed area than the body. 

I cannot wait to get this thing planed to see the wood grain on a flat surface.

 

[Cagey]

Well, glued on necks generally use a mortise & tenon or dovetail joint, so there's a lotta glue surface and some mechanical interlock involved. It would be extremely difficult, not to mention pointless, to add any locator parts to it.

I'm looking forward to seeing how that wood mills out, too. I usually wouldn't think to use Pine for a body, but when it's that old it's probably finally as stable as it's ever going to be, and plenty hard as well.

 

[bagman67]

Seems to me the advantage of using biscuits is that it adds another square inch or so of gluing surface per biscuit that you wouldn't otherwise get.  For certain applications  - like tabletops that bear a load - I reckon this is desirable; for the comparatively low-stress application of a guitar body, probably not necessary.

 

[dmraco]

Well, glued on necks generally use a mortise & tenon or dovetail joint, so there's a lotta glue surface and some mechanical interlock involved. It would be extremely difficult, not to mention pointless, to add any locator parts to it.

I'm looking forward to seeing how that wood mills out, too. I usually wouldn't think to use Pine for a body, but when it's that old it's probably finally as stable as it's ever going to be, and plenty hard as well.

My thoughts exactly.  The ultimate relic here.  Thinks using some copper nails to give is character.

 

[DangerousR6]

With modern glues, I don't think you need the biscuits/dowels like you used to. The real trick is getting perfect mating surfaces, and if you can angle them a bit, you get more glue surface. A jointer/planer will come in handy. A good 2-piece body glue-up is well-documented in this Ron Kirn tutorial.

Wee don't need no stinking glue, just a couple metal straps and we're good to go...

 

[Cagey]

Well, glued on necks generally use a mortise & tenon or dovetail joint, so there's a lotta glue surface and some mechanical interlock involved. It would be extremely difficult, not to mention pointless, to add any locator parts to it.

I'm looking forward to seeing how that wood mills out, too. I usually wouldn't think to use Pine for a body, but when it's that old it's probably finally as stable as it's ever going to be, and plenty hard as well.

My thoughts exactly.  The ultimate relic here.  Thinks using some copper nails to give is character.

If you haven't seen it, Jusatele's "Barndoor Tele" is a nice piece done along the lines you're thinking, although he didn't use reclaimed timber. He just did a helluva finish on it. Also used real nails, I believe.

 

[dmraco]

Yes I have seen that.  I may even use some fabricated brackets like Dangerous mentioned.  I would recess them in the wood though.  I have some spare copper from my last project I could use.

I may put some strategic nails too.

I will coat the entire thing with some satin poly to keep the oxidation where I want it.

My biggest concern is creating a neck pocket.  My tools are limited.  I will have to buy a few good chisels!!

 

[DangerousR6]

Yes I have seen that.  I may even use some fabricated brackets like Dangerous mentioned.  I would recess them in the wood though.  I have some spare copper from my last project I could use.

I may put some strategic nails too.

I will coat the entire thing with some satin poly to keep the oxidation where I want it.

My biggest concern is creating a neck pocket.  My tools are limited.  I will have to buy a few good chisels!!

:headbang:

 

[bagman67]

My tools are limited. 

You might consider joining one of your local makerspaces.  A quick google search yielded these organizations in the Philadelphia area:


http://www.hive76.org


http://nextfab.com


http://philadelphiasculpturegym.com


Each of these has woodworking workspaces and tools, and likely a community you could become part of to swap ideas and support.  Might be a good way to get your son involved in some of the making end of things as well.