DIY Guitar Messing About (2 Viewers)

[JohnnyRaz]

Finally putting the router away on this build

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Neck fitted: about .5mm higher on one side, but that’s not a biggy. Allignment with centre line is good which is the main thing

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Absolute point of no return - gluing the fretboard on

 

[JohnnyRaz]

And all of a sudden we have something that looks like a guitar.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

String up to test allignment - bridge is off by about 1mm, I’ll have to have a long hard think about how much I care about that before I attempt a redo.

 

[magicbastarder]

it's out in terms of being too high or too low on the body, i assume?
looking great anyway.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

it's out in terms of being too high or too low on the body, i assume?
looking great anyway.

About 1mm off centre to the bass side. I managed a fix by widening the holes slightly on one side and shimming on the other!

 

[JohnnyRaz]

For a bit of steam punk styling - I’ve converted the speed control knob from the gramaphone that the mahogany came from into a strap lug.

 

[magicbastarder]

'your amp goes to eleven? Well, let me tell you about this guitar...'

 

[JohnnyRaz]

'your amp goes to eleven? Well, let me tell you about this guitar...'

how it worked originally was intriguing - adjusting it raised or lowered a small screw, that pushed against an armature, that adjusted the diameter of rotation of one of these, which controlled the speed of the clockwork motor that ran the turntable

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Day off work today. Sanded, sealed and grain filled. Onto the fun part..

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Getting there sure

 

[JohnnyRaz]

2nd last coat..

 

[JohnnyRaz]

All wooden bits finished. I might knock the ultra-high gloss of the body down a bit to more of a sheen with some steel wool.. the combination of high gloss and dark colour is unforgiving with any blems, and I seemed to pick up way more dust that usual. Looking good though I reckon..

 

[JohnnyRaz]

There ya are now.

 

[ann post]

That's lovely altogether.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

That's lovely altogether.

Thanks - came together well in the end. Plays and sounds fairly decent too.

Have inherited another tool - my grandfathers plough plane - how joiners did beading and rebates before routers

 

[magicbastarder]

JR, what scale length have you used for your tenor guitars? i see the fender tenor teles are 22 or 23", so not as far off a standard scale length as i'd imagined?
i think i've assembled the wood for what may be a les paul style tenor, but not sure i want to go as small as this:

Flight Centurion Tenor VB

Tenor Ukulele with Pickup Design: Single cutaway solid body, Body: Mahogany, Top: Flamed maple veneer, Neck: Mahogany, Fretboard: Ebony, Ivory coloured fingerboard binding, Scale length: 432 mm, Nut width: 35 mm, Bone nut, 19 Frets, Pickups: 2...

www.thomann.de

 

[JohnnyRaz]

JR, what scale length have you used for your tenor guitars? i see the fender tenor teles are 22 or 23", so not as far off a standard scale length as i'd imagined?
i think i've assembled the wood for what may be a les paul style tenor, but not sure i want to go as small as this:

Flight Centurion Tenor VB

Tenor Ukulele with Pickup Design: Single cutaway solid body, Body: Mahogany, Top: Flamed maple veneer, Neck: Mahogany, Fretboard: Ebony, Ivory coloured fingerboard binding, Scale length: 432 mm, Nut width: 35 mm, Bone nut, 19 Frets, Pickups: 2...

www.thomann.de

Difference is a tenor guitar vs a tenor uke.

Tenor guitars are in the range of 21-23’’(essentially same as tenor banjo) tenor uke 17’’ or so. The 17” will work at the cdga tenor tuning - but will be a bit floppy.

For two of them I’ve gone 23’’, were to do it again I’d make a 22’’ - as I was tuning them to cgda a little less tension on the strings would be nice. One practical reason to go for a longer scale length is you’ve more tolerance when you’re slotting the fretboard (which I presume you’ll be doing yourself).

One thing about the narrower fretboard for 4 strings is you really don’t have to worry about radiusing it - it makes very little difference to playability unless you’ve a very extreme/small radius

 

[magicbastarder]

Thank you!