Friday, March 26, 2010

Part 5: ...waiting...



Waiting...
...and waiting...
...and waiting.

I ordered a custom 12 string neck 4 weeks ago from Warmoth guitars. I'm told that 5-6 weeks is the normal waiting time - so I shouldn't complain. But I hate waiting. Especially since I can't move forward with the build until the neck arrives.

So, we wait and stare at pictures of what the neck will look like when it gets here.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Part 4: Set my people free!


(please click on an image to enlarge)

I've been in a holding pattern with this build. Because of the holidays, vet bills, vacation plans and other expenses - work on this 12-string has had to grind to a halt. But things are now back on track. The neck (from Warmoth), bridge (from Ebay), and the tuners and pickups (Guitarfetish) are on the way. That means that those things need a body to attach to. Which means it was time to bust out the router. Below are some pictures of the process (warts and all).
Normally I would have used a jig saw to rough-cut the shape out of the wood and then use the router to clean it up. But this butternut wood is so easy to work with I just went straight to the router. The only thing that worries me is that the butternut might not be strong enought.
Time will tell.






Had a small slip here. Zigged where I should have zagged. This bump has mostly sanded out already but it pays to take your time and make many passes.
It doesn't look it in the pictures but I made many passes with the router - never digging out more than 1/4 of an inch at a time.