Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

[ArtieToo]

I'm pretty sure that Zerberus and Butnut are our two resident guitar builders, but anyone else, feel free to comment.

I've been wanting, for some time, to take one of my laminate body Peavey's, and just duplicate the body using a typical guitar-wood. Probably mahogany or swamp ash. The Predator and Patriot have the exact same body, but its not quite a "standard" shape. So, I can't just order one pre-cut from Warmoth or USACG. That simple fact will influence how expensive the project will end up being.

So, I guess my questions become:

1. Does starting out with a precut body simplify the process? In other words, if I gave a builder a body, and just said "duplicate this", would that keep the cost down? (Zerberus, or Butnut - what would you charge for this?)

2. Does having pre-existing body enhance my ability to just make my own?
Is this a project I should attempt, not having ever done it before? Is the fact that I have a body to dupe, make my task easier - or not really relevant?

Thanks Zerb or Butnut - or anyone else, for that matter.

[Metalman_666]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

Don't forget about Blueline! He's got a reputation in these parts.

[ArtieToo]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

Yeah . . . I figured there were a few others. Just couldn't think of them off the top of my head.

[Fresh_Start]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

Hi Artie -

While I haven't built a body from scratch yet, I've been thinking about it enough to have done several sketches and a ton of research.

Having an existing body to work from would be almost as good as having a set of templates. You're going to have to make or buy templates for the body shape and routing the neck pocket, pickup & control cavities, etc. At least you would know where the pickups and bridge should go in relation to the neck/centerline.

For tools, a minimum would be a router and a band saw. A drill press would be mighty fine too. If you can borrow the bandsaw and/or the drill press, that would be great. You'll need the router and they're not that expensive (relatively).

The Musical Instrument Makers Forum is a great resource, and Melvin Hisc0ck's book Make Your Own Electric Guitar will give you a really good idea of what you're in for

BTW I've heard nothing but good things about Blueline's work. Brian, aka Butnut, doesn't make guitars from scratch IIRC - he just makes them look AWESOME! (Flames... I want more Flames).

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk about this some more.

Chip

[ArtieToo]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

Thanks Chip; especially for reminding me about that book. I've seen reference to that specific one several times before, and I believe acquireing it would be an obvious first step.

I have a nice table saw, (I know, not much help), a good drill press, and the deluxe version of the Dremel. I do need to get a router though. I'm thinking of getting the "table" version. I think I know a couple folks with bandsaws.

MIMF is probably the "other" forum I hang out in after this one.

I just might take you up on the PM's - or I may just continue the converstaion here, in case the info might help others.

I'm really anxious to see how much actual improvement, or affect, it will have, all else being equal, to go to a nice quality hardwood body.

[kmcguitars]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

I built a lefty Strat body last year from a blank. Though I was saving some
cash,But all I really did was buy trouble wholesale. It's easier to learn
from other peoples mistakes So I'll tell you where I droped the ball. The
neck pocket is critcial ( That's a nobrainer !) I did it by hand w/t a
Dremel tool w/t a router base. (that was dumb !) I should have got
the template from stewmac and used a full sized router. I got it good
But far from perfect. When it was all said and done, I had a working
playing guitar. But the neck pocket still caused me problems trying
to get it setup. So I guess the moral of the story is Don't cut
corners!! Get the right tools you need. Sounds like a good Idea you have.
If it doesn't sound better ( I think it will) I will look better with a nice
piece of figured wood

[ArtieToo]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

Thanks JohnJohn and kmc; Most of the places that I've found to get body blanks, appear to have them pre-glued, so I may not need to mess with that step.

However, If I can save some cash by getting them not assembled, I wouldn't mind trying to do it myself.

[MattPete]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

I was browing through the Warmoth showcase this morning, and came across some blanks that were already routed:

http://www.warmoth.com/Showcase/bodies/miscgbody.asp?showThumb=Yes

You could always of that route: have warmoth route a neck pocket (or anything else), but otherwise leave leave it blank.

[Blueline]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

1) Metalmann 666 - thanks for hte knod
2) Those prerouted warmoths look cool, but i think it might be a nightmere centering the body design you want over those prerouted blanks
3) given a router table, one could (if the back of the master guitar is flat) double sided tape and then youse a template/flush trim bit of some sort
but otherwise, the tracing onto cardboard or thin mdf is a good way to go - mdf sands really easily
my concern would be the neck pocket template
no master is going to be much help for that -- and that's the most crucial part
if its a standard strat/tele neck - stewmac sells a template for a reasonable but not cheap price

hope that helps

Cheers

[ArtieToo]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

Actually, that helps tremendously. You just gave me the idea to transfer my "original" to balsa. Balsa is relatively inexpensive, plentiful, dimensionaly stable, (ie., a "form" will last for some time), and it would be hard to name a wood thats easier to "work".

This is the body I want to duplicate:



It's Strat-ish . . . but not a Strat.

[68 lost souls]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

Before you do make it read eerything you can get your hands on and plan every step out down to the tiniest fraction.

I love the forums on projectguitar to read up on things and learn the ins and outs. I know the electronics is no bother to you as you have mastered that side of things but make sure you make it easy on yourself when you make the guitar and have enough space for the wiring etc.

You should deffinately get hishckocks book I have seen it refered to as a bible.

Best way to do things if its your first guitar is to have all the bits your using handy to make sure everything fits properly and is lined up properly.

Always test fit!
Dont cut corners!

[Benjy_26]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

Stew-Mac is a good source for tools. They have a kit that turns your Dremel into a router.

[Benjy_26]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

BTW, I would try to stay away from balsa, you can dent it w/ your fingernail.

[MikeS]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

I've worked fairly extensively with balsa in model form, and know enough about it to know that it will not stand up to string tension, nor does it hold a screw very well. I see a balsa guitar breaking at the heel and the bridge screws ripping through the wood. The thing would also be VERY neck heavy.

Plus, it's difficult to get balsa big enough to built a guitar with. You'd probably end up with atleast 4 piece construction.

[ArtieToo]

Re: Guitar body construction. (Zerb, Butnut?)

I think that perhaps you guys have misunderstood me about the balsa. That would create the "tone-dead-of-the-year" guitar body.

I just meant to use it to make a "pattern" that would be easy to trace and trim.

However, that has all become a moot point now. Blueline PM'ed to me a suggestion that was outstanding, that will solve my problem.
(Using clear plexiglass.)

Thats why he's the "pro".

I'll keep the forum informed as to how this project progresses.