Short Scale Project** Done (for the most part)

Painting? Routing? Set-up tips? Or just straight-up making a guitar from scratch? Post here, and post pics!

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holyCATS1415
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Short Scale Project** Done (for the most part)

Post by holyCATS1415 »

24" Scale mahogany neck thru. Kind of a Rickenbacker meets a melody maker, but with the scale length of an airline strat-o-tone.

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ebony peg head overlay. Going to inlay something simple on it. Have not finished shaping the headstock yet, it's a little hard to see but its going to be something like whats roughly outlined in pencil on it.

Probably going to have a tune-o-matic and a humbucker with a coil tap in the bridge. Going to clear coat it. Also need to pick up some decent tuners.

Its ultra small. the body is about 2 inches shorter than my strat-o-tone, so kind of in the Kay Vanguard size range.

Should be done in the next month or so
Last edited by holyCATS1415 on Thu Apr 11, 2013 6:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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cur
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Post by cur »

cool!

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robert(original)
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Post by robert(original) »

very cool!
i remember years ago there was no one on these boards that did this shit, just aug, and then myself. and then folks started getting dremels, like morecowbell, and then people started getting routers, and now. shit. it seems like there are at least 5 people on here with some serious "skillz"
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Post by holyCATS1415 »

robert(original) wrote:very cool!
i remember years ago there was no one on these boards that did this shit, just aug, and then myself. and then folks started getting dremels, like morecowbell, and then people started getting routers, and now. shit. it seems like there are at least 5 people on here with some serious "skillz"
Thanks! I started posting here soon after the Aug thing, I remember watching several of your projects come together. I went to a Luthier school in Big Rapids Michigan in 2007 but then I moved a couple times and started going to college and didn't have a lot of time to work on anything. but now I've got a schedule that lets me do fun stuff at least a couple days a week.
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Post by robert(original) »

grandrapids.... what was the name of the school. i think i may have almost gone there but went to midwest luthierie in st. louis instead.
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Post by holyCATS1415 »

robert(original) wrote:grandrapids.... what was the name of the school. i think i may have almost gone there but went to midwest luthierie in st. louis instead.
Galloup Guitar School of Luthiery in Big Rapids. It was way out in the middle of nowhere but we spent every day from 8am-6pm working on guitars. I did the journeyman course which lasted 8 weeks as I couldn't afford the mastery program. We built an electric guitar in the first couple weeks of class to more or less get some experience doing set ups, fret work and paint jobs. Then we spent the rest of the time building an acoustic. Definitely a decent program, at least I got a lot out of it.

Also we got pretty good deals on ordering tools from stew mac and few other places while we were going there.
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Post by robert(original) »

THATS THE PLACE! i had played with the idea of going there before i settled in st. lious. I know a guy in Qualicum beach B.C. canada right now going to school. i can't remember what the place was called that he i going to though... i just remember when i was looking around at schools there were just as many in canada as there were in the u.s. which i thought was strange.
slightly off topic, i apologize. but im digging the work so far!
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Re: Short Scale Project

Post by toez10 »

holyCATS1415 wrote: ebony peg head overlay. Going to inlay something simple on it.
Should be done in the next month or so
Keep it simple this time, guy. I always thought it was a big mistake when you overdid the inlays on your stratotone.

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Post by robert(original) »

stratotone? i missed this....
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Post by holyCATS1415 »

robert(original) wrote:stratotone? i missed this....
Just a beat up airline strat-o-tone I have had for several years. Toez is joking about the dragon inlay haha.

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this is it shortly after I bought it. does not look like this anymore. missing neck pickup (sold the pickups and wiring harness for a ridiculous amount of money), humbucker in bridge, input is now on the front, new pick guard, side where input was is now mostly held together with tape (silvertone and mustang are long gone).
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Post by Zack »

this looks like an awesome project.
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Post by holyCATS1415 »

Goots. wrote:this looks like an awesome project.
Thanks! This was kind of an experiment, but it's turning out pretty good so far.
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Post by holyCATS1415 »

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Glued up straight, and sanded top and back flat. Up next is to put in some fret markers (might just put 2 dots at the 12th fret and just have side markers) and then radius the fret board. followed by tuner holes then peg head overlay, pickup and control cavity route, and bridge / stop tail mounting holes.

Not sure whether I want to route the control cavity on the front or the back. Opinions?
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Post by Pens »

Honestly I have never liked a guitar that was back-routed. That might sound weird but I always preferred front-routing. It just seems weird to make routes on both sides when you don't have to mar the back side at all. You're already installing a bunch of shit on the top, why not just do it all there?

Also, that body would look awesome with binding on it. Just sayin.
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Post by robert(original) »

top routed. do an bindings! that would look really awsome, especially if you leave it natural.
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Post by holyCATS1415 »

Top routing it is! With a b/w/b pick guard that will be sort of melody maker shaped.

It's a little too late for binding, I don't have a router bit that be able to cut that close to the neck. I've got neck started for another one of these in the near future, I was going to make 2 at the same time but I didn't have an extra truss rod and didn't feel like ordering one. This one is kind of a prototype. Next one might have a slightly longer body and probably will have binding on the body.
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Post by robert(original) »

do you use a router for binding? i have a lil attachement for a dremel that comes in handy. its not that exact on corners so youll need to get out a file/chissle but it will get into those smaller spots.
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Post by holyCATS1415 »

robert(original) wrote:do you use a router for binding? i have a lil attachement for a dremel that comes in handy. its not that exact on corners so youll need to get out a file/chissle but it will get into those smaller spots.
I used one last time. I've got a small router bit with a top bearing that works really well.
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Post by holyCATS1415 »

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update
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Post by hotrodperlmutter »

ace mathyew