Star Swirl *** 1st build

[cmiller0034]

Info Bomb




Things happend.



Boom corners.


slot were cut. Some good


Some ugly






sharks got punched








janktastic


See you next time surfing crusaders. Same bat time, same bat forum.

[cmiller0034]

Edges of this neck are looking a lil' sloppy....




Time to CLEAN THINGS UP!




And I immediately regret using this stupid bit... tear out within the first minute of use. DO NOT PURCHASE MLCS 10807 TripleWing Flush Trim Bit! Complete Garbage.




I switched to a much shorter but more reliable bosch trim bit






Then I switched to my new hot bit. A Yonico carbide tipped spiral bit. I have had good success with Yonico and they are low in cost. Wish I had one with a 2 inch cutting surface.



I have GOT to fix my homemade router table it has too many issues. This time the screws in the plexiglass base have caught my template and caused more tearout in my workpiece.



the aftermath




I countersunk the holes a bit more.





The double sided tape I used was TREMENDOUSLY strong! I was afraid I was going to snap the template in half prying it off.



Duck tape doesn't mess around




Finished product. I think Ill make a Plexiglas master template out of this before I cut into it.





I think this is what it's supposed to look like



Play it Thing!



Thing approves.






The reason for the Season. I found this record at a Salvation Army about 5 years ago, never having heard of the Ventures. I thought the guitarheadstocks looked cool and the girl cute. After getting into surf music and staring at this record on my wall Mosrites have worked their way into my heart.





See ya next time Space cowboys

[BlackieOnasis]

[cmiller0034]

Thankyou sir... a-thank you

[cmiller0034]

Guitar Butchery or (how I trashed my Truss)




This is a cautionary tale of what impatience and exhaustion brings.

Making cumbersome jigs for singular tasks is time and materially taxing. I thought I could make a truss rod channel routing jig much smaller than the ones I see being used on web. The theory is sound, but sadly my execution of it was not. (I worked on this from 9pm to 3am the next morning)


1st mistake: Should have used brad point drill bits. Bit walked like a drunken sailor




2nd mistake: Should have used way longer and thicker Wood/MDF "Walls" for Router Guide that way I could make one Clean pass for each progressive depth.




3rd mistake: I was cutting in the wrong direction. Which made the router buck and jump and mangle the channel.







4th mistake: I gave up on the Jig and decided to go "FREEHAND". which would not have been so bad it the channel wasn't so off course at this point.


All these mistakes produced this ugly truss rod "channel" which if left in it's current state will leave my poor rod unstable and even if I worked properly might possibly buzz quite a bit.








Don't WRECK your ROD man! Build a decent jig and test it first. Or, take your time when freehand routing.

I have purchased a small bucket of wood putty in hopes of smoothing one side of the channel. The left side is the worse of the two. Hopefully with some silicone the channel will be snug enough to house ma neckbone.

[BlackieOnasis]

Been there, brother. I don't have pictures of the process, but what I found works best is to route the slot before doing any other cutting on the neck blank. This requires the sides of the blank to be straight and true, of course, but it's much easier to get a straight slot dead center. The slot doesn't interfere with any of the rest of the neck build, either.

Mark a centerline on your neck blank where you want the slot to run. You'll want to extend this line all the way around the blank, from end to end. This makes lining up the blank on your table much easier. On the heel end of your blank, mark where you want the truss rod slot to end. Again, wrap this line all the way around the blank so you can see it while feeding the blank through your jig.

Set up your router table with two of these cutting guide clamps (or something similar)


clamped to the top so the router bit will ride dead center of your blank. The easy way to do this is to take your pre-marked blank and sandwich it between the two clamps with your hands. Then arrange the clamp-blank-clamp sammich so the centerline on the blank is centered on the router bit. Clamp the clamps down and make sure the neck blank slides smoothly between them and is still centered on the bit.

Next, set up one of these cheap-ass laser markers (or something similar)


so it intersects the router bit at a 90* angle to your guide clamps. I set it up so that I push the blank into the bit and stop when my slot-end mark hits the laser line. I make several passes, each deeper than the last, until it's the proper depth. If my bit is wider than the rod, I shim the slot with veneer strips. I do the same thing if I cut a little too deep.

It'll take some practice to get comfortable with the process, but the results seem to be consistent.

Hope this helps. I'll see if I can't document this on my next neck build.

[cmiller0034]

Thanks for the tips Blackie.

Set up your router table with two of these cutting guide clamps (or something similar)

I already own one of those but not two

i also own a laser marker which I used when modifying my jacked up Squier Jazzmaster about 2 years ago.



















I will try your method on my next build Blackie. I did it this way because I did not cut the maple in a manner that allowed for even squared up sides. (I was being cheap and wanted to get as many necks out of my blank as possible) Plus part of the blank had a long crack in it so I had to crowd the 2 necks together when cutting them out.

If anyone wants to check out my first effort at guitar modification you can check it out here:

http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=66049

I'm going to Probably build/redesign my Jazz in the near future using the same hardware. But make it semi hollow-bodied, Steel Frets, and a two way trussrod. THAT THING IS HEAVY!

For tonight, I plan to drill the 3/8" hole for the trussrod adjuster and fix the channel with a little wood filler and sandpaper. HERE"S HOPING!

[BlackieOnasis]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ2HcRl4wSk[/youtube]

[BlackieOnasis]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ2HcRl4wSk[/youtube]

Well, THAT didn't work.

There it is!

[cmiller0034]

There it is!

BlackieOnasis is obviously a man of Great class and distinction. Though the ONLY Sandler movie I own is Happy Gilmore. Rob Schnider sightings are most appreciated in small doses.

I Can and I WILL!!!!!!!!!!! I can route truss rods ALL NIGHT LONG! In fact, I did route and cleanup the channel. I don't even think I will bother with the wood filler. Silicone should be enough to quell any potential buzzing I think.

Here's what I did tonight:


Didn't NEED to use the laser... but everything is better WITH lasers.



Access hole for truss rod adjustment. I routed out the middle first to the back would keep the drill straight. Worked out alright.







made the back cut first with my Japanese flush cut saw same one I used on the fret slots. Then used the router to knock down the excess. The router is balanced on the end of my granite surface plate for stability.



Cleaned up the Truss rod channel a bit with the proper bit this time. 2 flute carbide 1/4" upspiral bit which I had forgotten that I owned Brought the channel to a final depth so the rod seated properly in the channel.











Not pretty but the 2 way truss rod seems snug in there. I will run a bead of silicone down the channel that should fill any gaps I think. The rod is covered with Blue protective covering so I don't worry about the silicone affecting the function of the rod.



Test fit



Now I gotta put a radius on this fretboard and put in those Abolone dots. Dont know If will tomorrow though. My back tooth is killing me. Time for Dentists appointment.