Manny's first build(in progress)

Manfred-Klose

I think its time to share some pics.

For now i only have one, its a african mahogany body with abrosia maple top, still need to glue it on and rout out the the cavities, i am building 2 identical guitars alongside one another, so that if i make a mistake i still have the extra one, but no big errors yet!!! i'll try and post more pics as i make progress, but be patient, i'm taking my time here, i want to make a success out of it.

Anyway it's a Superstrat/Dinky shape:

http://i616.photobucket.com/albums/tt245/Manfredklose/Manfred1.jpg

What code should i copy for it to show in the forum? i'm new the the whole photobucket thing.

deanBailey

[img]http://*link*[/img]

Looks cool, do you have another angle?

AlanRatcliffe

Manfred Klose wrote i am building 2 identical guitars alongside one another, so that if i make a mistake i still have the extra one, but no big errors yet!!!

Great Manfred. Just leave the one as is for now (preferably the one you feel has the nicer grain) and wait until you finish the first one. Then you can do the second one, applying what you learned in the process of building the first.

What code should i copy for it to show in the forum? i'm new the the whole photobucket thing.

Should look something like this, surrounded by the image tags:

[img]http://i616.photobucket.com/albums/tt245/Manfredklose/Manfred1.jpg[/img]

Otherwise, just paste the link here like you did, select it and hit the image button:

and it'll put the tags in automatically.

Manfred-Klose

Thanks

Looks cool, do you have another angle?

Not yet, i'll rather finish the bodies before posting the detail pics, but i think i might just have some on my cellphone, i go and have a look and post them as well

Gearhead

Hi, can't see the joint on the mahogany; are they 1-piece blanks?
Are you putting on the maple caps for a particular purpose?
Are you going to drop-top them, shape through them or have no elbow contour?
Did you thickness the wood yourself?
Do you have all the hardware already or are you going to rout and pray?
Will you finish the guits opaque or transparent?

inflames

Well done Manny!
Good luck with the rest!

Manfred-Klose

Yes i was lucky enough to find a big enough 1 piece mahogany for the body(s).

I take it to wood to my local woodworking factory to have it planed and drum sanded to be perfect.

Do you have all the hardware already or are you going to rout and pray?

Yes i do. And busy making some routing templates from perspex.

Are you putting on the maple caps for a particular purpose?

No not really, just for the look as it a thin piece of maple wont affect the tone of the body.

Will you finish the guits opaque or transparent?

Havent desided yet, maby transparent

deanBailey

LOL Jesus Gearhead, you're like a kid in the toy isle of the grocery store. ?

Riaan

Looks great! Man am I itching to try that...!

Gearhead

See the reason why I asked about the elbow contour and the opaque finish was that if you have an elbow contour you're going to run out of maple cap half way through it. This would look very very funny when finished in some transparent way. Judging from your other answers you have thought this through ages ago?

Manfred-Klose

you have thought this through ages ago

I started planning and doing research about 3 years ago, only now i feel i have enough knowledge to embark on such a journey.

deanBailey

Yeah I know what Gearheads talking about. My custom does that because the maple top isn't that big. I actually think it gives it character which will only make a difference if it's a natural finish..

Black machine guitars have them too ?

AlanRatcliffe

Stratlike forearm contours will cut through even a 1/4" cap anyway, so to get a drop top cap right, you'd have to jump through hoops to shape the mahogany and curve the cap around it (kerfing the maple laminate to bend it. Gluing becomes more of a problem too. Not ideal for a first build.

What does work well is to laminate a dark pinstripe between the two, that accentuates the layering and makes it a feature. Like this:

The Warrior guitar in the pic is extreme, with multiple laminates, but hopefully you get the idea. ?

Gearhead

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Not ideal for a first build.

but also not something impossible (1st build):

AlanRatcliffe

Not impossible no, but it does notch up the build complexity quite a bit.

Can't make it out properly from that pic - is that a drop top laminated top?

Gearhead

(would not want to hijack Manfreds thread) it's 6mm maple as a practice drop top before doing an expensive flame maple one. I was trying to point out, as Manfred said he did not have the tops on yet:
- he still has a chance to rout out cavities, which would be a good idea since mahogany bodies tend to be heavier than comfortable;
- he can still decide how to do the elbow contour.
I personally would not put on a cap unless I wanted to do some chambering or for looks.

g1

Looking good Manfred!
You'll have to show me those extra pics when I see you on the weekend ?

Manfred-Klose

OK here is some more pics from other angles.

1 piece mahogany body:

And my crazy bookmatched maple top:

Enjoy!!!

PS:Yes i like those swirls in the mahogany!!!

Shredder3211

Leka leka - dit lyk regtig awesome, watter pickup gaan jy nu weer in sit??

Manfred-Klose

Sal nog kyk wat ek hier het, dink ek sal vir eers duncan design pickups insit en hoor hoe klink dit voor ek gaan pickups gaan koop.