Jazzomaster New Build

JohnnyTheBoy · Post by **JohnnyTheBoy** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:00 pm

Hey All!
New on here but have been watching and absorbing info like there's no tomorrow

Well ive been wanting to do a Jazzmaster build for years, and after floating around here and offset checking the cool builds peeps have made, ive decided to start..
I first got the bug to do a build about 6 years ago after being lent a book called "Make Your Own Electric Guitar" by Melvin Hiscox...i didnt give it back for 2 years

Always been a fan of Gibsons, so I decided to cut my build teeth on a Les paul Junior..but with a stratish neck...
Ok, so i made the body by hand from ash, printing out a template off tinternet, and using the bridge intonation scale off my nashville tele that i had at that time, and a bought neck off fleabay...

This is what i came up with..body dimensions all to cock, and a crap neck with epiphone p90's..havent got round to finishing it due to work and one thing and another, and sort of just lost heart with it really...

Really wished id had the sources at the time for a Jazz or Jag build, but hey ho! u live n learn!..and with some things its a case of "Right time right place"...

So..this site has spurred me on to start a jazz build...i'm doing this on a real shoestring budget, and testing my skills along the way!...
It's all started cause of these off fleabay cheap...Â£8.50 for the CIJ Pickguard, and Â£30 for both CIJ pickups and Fender covers...

Got a mate who has a wood turning business he's winding down, so i took the opportunity to snaffle a bit off oak for Â£10(cheers stuart)...not ideal as its a heavy wood, but its one piece and seasoned well...

Progressing well as ive had 3 days on this so far....with the help of my g'friends dad (Ta Rod)...

Step by step

1.) I drew around my Jagmaster for the template, and rough cut the shape using a bandsaw...

2.) Used a sander to smooth the edges...

3.) Routed the side radius out using a router table then routed the pickup cavities and neck out using templates off here (thanks everyone for posting them!)
a drill press and hand router..

4.) Seeing what it'll look like....

Still got to sand body curves for belly cut outs etc...and route control cavity, and tidy pickup routes and tremolo routes...all in good time eh!

This is what im aiming for...but with a 24" scale conversion neck...whatcha think?? Any input welcome!!

I think its a cool colour...retro, but with a hint of newskool J Mascis as its a sparkle...hopefully i can pull it off, or get somewhere near it anyway! I know bursts r a bit of a tall order, but i have a mate whos a damn good car sprayer, so ill inlist his help!...

Even got a logo sorted out

Thats all so far...will keep ya all posted...

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:40 pm

good work so far!

JohnnyTheBoy · Post by **JohnnyTheBoy** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 7:54 pm

stewart wrote:good work so far!

Thanks! I'm not a fantastic woodworker by any means, but it's a learning curve

I hope to create a cool end result by taking my time...
Was looking at Coral or Sherwood Green for finishes but stumbled on the Surfburst..I think it's different..like the Marlin Burst...

serfx · Post by **serfx** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:01 pm

looks good so far, just take your time.
also i love the decal!

rlm2112 · Post by **rlm2112** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 10:03 pm

Nice work so far! I'm impressed.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:14 pm

looks like its going to be sweet and I like the deltones burst finish you're planning and that decal has some nice touches. I look forward to more updates

JohnnyTheBoy · Post by **JohnnyTheBoy** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 1:39 am

Thanks all! Very encouraging!
Slowly slowly catch a monkey...I want to concentrate on the finish and build as best I can without rushing things..

Glad u like the logo design..i like messing with paint packages, and Created a "GibFun" logo for the Paul copy, but as it was a mishmash of Gibson/Fender designs/parts, I decided on a "Forder JuniorCaster" logo..I reverse printed it onto waterslide decal paper, then applied to the stained strat headstock. Only problem was after id lacquered it, you couldn't see it clearly because of the dark head colour...Lesson learned there! Dohhh!!
I have a similar design on my homemade 200w guitar cab..called it the "SuperFord 200" designed after my 80's Fender Super 60 Valve amp...guess you can see the theme running here!

Am really enjoying this creative build process..everyone should have a bit of Wood Time!..

cur · Post by **cur** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:09 am

I like your new build, but feel sorry for your Lp project. I think it is going to be cool, minus the Strat neck. Did you make this to be a bolt on or a set neck?

You can pick up an Eden neck fairly cheap. No sure what scale you made if for, but I am guessing 25.5" cuz of the strat neck.

http://cgi.ebay.com/EDEN-Paddle-Guitar- ... 3985wt_907

You color combo for the Jazzy is going to be great. You need to give good details on the painting process.

rps-10 · Post by **rps-10** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 1:08 pm

Cool project, love homemade stuff out of odd woods.. all very Brian May like

Where you getting the neck from?

JohnnyTheBoy · Post by **JohnnyTheBoy** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:12 pm

cur wrote:I like your new build, but feel sorry for your Lp project. I think it is going to be cool, minus the Strat neck. Did you make this to be a bolt on or a set neck?

You can pick up an Eden neck fairly cheap. No sure what scale you made if for, but I am guessing 25.5" cuz of the strat neck.

http://cgi.ebay.com/EDEN-Paddle-Guitar- ... 3985wt_907

You color combo for the Jazzy is going to be great. You need to give good details on the painting process.

Thanks for the link Cur! I had originally planned a bolt on Gibson style neck but couldnt find one for the right price so plumped for the strat neck..ive thought about sticking a tunomatic bridge on her as well..it's a dormant project i can easily resurrect!

I shall dig into the Jazzomaster again on my day off..but i shall definitely post pics of the spray job when it happens

rps-10 wrote:Cool project, love homemade stuff out of odd woods.. all very Brian May like

Where you getting the neck from?

Well i was after a nice piece of ash, but the oak was 1 piece and had been seasoned for donkey's years...a snip at Â£10...
This is definitely a budget build for me as u can guess...
Maylike indeed! Brian May's "Red Special" guitar was Oak & blockwood with a mahogany veneer...Yeh mines going to be an oddball project for sure, odd wood, mish mash of parts, shoestring budget, but cool colour..

From what i can gather Oak seems to be similar to white ash in weight and needs sealing well due to being very open-grained, and there's lots of debate whether it sustains well or not...well i shall find out and let you know!

I really want to source a conversion neck as i love the scale of my duosonic, but i may even have a go at making one as i have a piece of maple and a nice bit of rosewood for the fingerboard somewhere around the house..
Otherwise i'll try to find a squier strat neck with a profile that suits and try that...but shortscale suits me!

DGNR8 · Post by **DGNR8** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:59 am

Good for you, man. No fear. Are you getting paint from Manchester? Looks like you might already have some ideas. After trying several brands today I am really starting to lean toward my tried and true (Reranch). I bought somebody else's Pelham and it pools in a fucked up way. Not happy.

JohnnyTheBoy · Post by **JohnnyTheBoy** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 10:33 am

DGNR8 wrote:Good for you, man. No fear. Are you getting paint from Manchester? Looks like you might already have some ideas. After trying several brands today I am really starting to lean toward my tried and true (Reranch). I bought somebody else's Pelham and it pools in a fucked up way. Not happy.

Hey DGNR8! Sorry to hear your paint problems..
I've looked at Manchester for the paint but as Id need about 5 cans it wouldn't make it a cheap build...would cost about Â£75!...besides that I have an air compressor and gun, and access to colour...
Also I have paint left over from motorbody repairs on several cars and have a jade green, a yellow and plenty of primer and laquer!!
So I'd be a fool not to have a go at using that lot!
A friend of mine had his bass sprayed at a VW paintshop with great results, so I'm happy the strength will be in the paint...

I've decided to make a neck as well now..ash neck with maple fingerboard!...
This build is gonna be so hobo!...

JohnnyTheBoy · Post by **JohnnyTheBoy** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 3:37 pm

Just a quick update on the Jazzomaster build....
Got routes for tone and trem cut out..

And angle/sanded the belly cut and arm cut....

Got some more goodies courtesy off ebay...New Grover tuners for Â£20, 2 MOP blanks for inlays..Â£6...Mustang bridge Â£20
And got my Fender Japan trem from usa for Â£40 (Saving Â£23 over allpartsuk price)...

Ive also decided to make my own trussrods to suit the conversion necks i'm making...got steel rod and bar, and some steel blocks which i will tack-weld onto the bar..and then tap and die the rod and blocks to suit...first attempt using aluminium box section failed dismally due to the rail being too rigid...am using a threaded nut and allenbolt which i will loctite onto the rod....

And!!..finally!!...have got some plans drawn up to make a neck/radius jig for my router...the measurements are approx as ill be making it outta scrap mdf...

Am just about to make a start on the jigs!!...pics to follow

Joey · Post by **Joey** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 5:14 pm

Do post tons of pixs of that radius jig. I was gonna buy one off of ebay. I was staring at my routers last night thinking "how the fuck can I make one".

You got balls trying a neck build. I've avoided em for so long. Have always been turned off by the high cost of tools required for a neck build & mad skills needed.

Good stuff

JohnnyTheBoy · Post by **JohnnyTheBoy** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:28 am

Well its not that difficult to do Joey..i figured all i needed to do was make a trough for the router to move on, and then a moveable table for the router to sit on which would slide on the trough...and i had the idea of making the table double sided so i can route neck trussrod routes, and also radius necks and fingerboards...check youtube out for jig ideas...

I havent got tons of decent woodwork gear either, so im making do, and having a go..and thats what its all about!...just read up..stick a plan together, then have a bash yourself!...

Jig so far....

And rough cut the necks out of ash...Ive deliberately left 2 square edges so i can line the truss route up in the trough easier....

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:46 am

How you planning on putting the curve in the truss rod channel?

Have a look at THIS bear in mind that they are fitting the truss rod from the back side with a skunk stripe, so your truss rod jig would need to curve the other way (concave instead of convex). Sitll some useful info.

JohnnyTheBoy · Post by **JohnnyTheBoy** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 1:35 pm

Hey! Cheers for reply mrinsane! I had tried to make a Martin style single action truss rod using threaded bar and aluminum channel, as shown on a YouTube vid by "Guit Wild"..but when assembled, the allychannel I was using was too strong and wouldn't bend..

So after a bit of swearing I've decided to go the whole hog and try making a trussrod like the one you got from Janikas...(was yours a double action?)...
I checked out TDPRI's forum before starting, and understand if you have a Gibson or fender style single truss, that u hav to pre-bend the rod using a curved route...I'm tryna keep it simples tho!...so with the careful use of tapping the threads, I recon I can get the truss to bend both ways...that's the theory anyway

So I thought "kill 2 birds with 1 stone" and make 1 side of the neck routing jig so I can just route a straight truss route easier, and the other routed for a 7.25" profile to match my mustang bridge...
I hope not to prove myself wrong ha ha!!...

So how u getting on with your neck builds??...made more progress?? It's most definitely a learning curve!!
But it's all good fun eh!

Addam · Post by **Addam** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 7:13 pm

Done nothing neck-wise, I plan on getting some better tools first (mainly a better router).
Might build some jigs and make some necks. Maybe a maple 24 incher with skunk stripe, Maybe a bound neck?
Not sure if I'll be able to do blocks? We shall see in the fulness of time...

I think the hardest part of the trad curved truss rod install will be the fillet/skunk strip and making it fit nicely.
I'll be watching this thread with interest.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:09 pm

i know you fancied doing a burst finish but that's a lovely bit of oak there, seems a shame to cover that grain!

JohnnyTheBoy · Post by **JohnnyTheBoy** » Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:41 pm

Yeh I know Stewart! It looks nice and has a crazy pattern to the grain...kinda like small s's...and the smell of it is amazing! Like a sweet nutty smell ha ha!...
But!! It's not a perfect bit of wood by any means...it has a few tiny cracks I shall need to fill, but that's no biggy...Hence doing the burst..that way if I need to fill it I can disguise it in the burst...

I've taken your findings Mrsane and have erred on the side of caution with close cuts on the necks..shall then really take my time with the template routes...I have some maple too thin for a neck which I may experiment on first...

Yeh a 24" maple neck will be very tasty..i have two pieces stuck together as we speak for such an occasion should it arise...and I think it just might! As I've just got some covered single coils winging their way to me...

I did think about binding, but recon I'd screw that up proper..but the blocks are something I think I can handle...practice on scrap first methinks!!...I'd love a StewMac dremel holder for the inlay work, but I'll be fooked if I'm gonna pay out for something like that...I'm way too pikey for that stuff!!...now then, wheres that tube I've got knocking around ?????.....