Neck Block Quandary

I have a bit of wood on hand that I laminated up and cut into a tentative neck block, however I'm not convinced I'm going to use it. I thought at first it was oak, but on closer inspection I think it's actually virola. Never seen anyone use virola in an instrument, but it's a fairly nice wood. Research reveals that it is quite nice to work with, being easily glued, and working well for mortise and tenon type joins... which is exactly what I plan to do to attach the neck to the body. If anyone who reads this happens to know anything - good or bad - about virola with regard to use in an acoustic guitar, feel free to post a comment. In the meantime, I will seriously consider just getting some basswood from a shop up the hill from me. Basswood seems to be a common choice for neck blocks, so I guess it would be a good one.

However, regardless of the whatkindawoodisitandshouldIuseit? quandary, something I wanted to say about it was with regard to the grain orientation. I've been reading that the best way to orient the grain is horizontally. This is for stability, as the grain of the sides of the instrument will also be horizontal, meaning that expansion/contraction should not lead to splitting seams open.

Pre-Construction Design

Pick Up Ring

The pick up ring is really just a housing in which the pick up sits, holding it at the correct hight and angle in relation to the strings. I had been looking for some ready made ones, but then I realized I could make my own. Better yet, I could address the question I had in the first post; where else can I use oak? The pink paper is just template of what I'm going for. I wanted something that reflected the shape of the framing around the tuner dial on the old cathedral style radios.


The trick will be to get the angles and curves just right to make it fit on the guitar top properly. The one in the picture is oriented as though at the neck position. The one at the bridge would be inverted. This is because I want flush, close fittings near the edges of the neck and bridge.

Pre-Construction

The Mold - Part Two

Well, the mold is pretty much done now. I gave it a shot of paint on the inner edge so I could more easily see if there are any problems, and to help seal the surface of the MDF.

It looks quite narrow, and it is. The reason for this is I'm going for a slim body, and the sides will only be 1.5" (38mm) high.

The next step will be to devise an effective way to clamp the veneer in place when laminating. At this point I'm thinking what I will do is cut holes in the MDF along the contour of the side wall shape so I can arrange the clamps horizontally around the shape. We'll see what happens as I get further along. Sometimes I change ideas right in mid-thought.

Pre-Construction Work

As tempting as it is with all my projects to just dive in and start making the thing, I have learned that the right amount of prep work can make life so much nicer when it comes time to actually start making it.


The Mold - Part One

The finished shape of the guitar will be greatly dependant on the shape of the sides. This feature must be considered in three dimensions in order to obtain the finished result desired. First, the shape of the body, as you look at the face, will be determined by the shape of the hole made in the mold. The mold (seen below, rough cut) is what will give shape to the sides as the maple veneer is laminated up against the inner edges. The surface against which the first layer of veneer meets the mold will be the shape of outer edge of the guitar when done. The first of the three smaller images on the right is the process of turning the two halves into a frame that can be put together and dismantled. I've glued the support struts to one side, and will use screws to attach it to the other side, making sure that the mold lines up correctly.

























The two images that are heavy on green show how I used a card stock template to check the shape of the mold. Pretty good, really, but for one area that just happens to be crucial to the construction - the area where the neck meets the body. As you can see, I had to shave a few milimeters off here and there.

Now, the vertical aspect of the cut must be square. If it isn't I'll end up with a wonky jazzbox. I'm using glazing and spot putty to get a perfectly smooth edge. Most guitar builders probably don't do this, but it's a method I've used a lot to get my sculptures surfaced just right, so I like to use it. The bottom image shows the use of a compound square to check the angles. Every spot I see that is off - such as the one you see below - I work at it until it's perfect.

The Design

The design for this guitar was inspired by one of those old round top cathedral style radios. It's actually easier to see that influence when the image is viewed upside down.


The neck, sides and probably the back will all be maple. The top really wants to be spruce, but I haven't gotten my grubby little hands on any quartersawn spruce just yet (in the works). Some of you readers will know why I'm needing quartersawn spruce (or even what quartersawn is), but for those who are new to this I will explain as I get further along.

The tailpiece will also be maple, carved from a solid piece of wood. The fingerboard will be ebony, and the headstock will be maple with an oak face. I'm thinking it needs another touch of oak somewhere to create some balance in the design, but that will iron itself out as the project goes on.

It will have two humbucking pickups, neck and bridge positions, each having their own vol/tone controls. Locking tuners will be installed, as well as the standard electronics/hardware associated with electric-acoustic guitars.

This post will serve as an introduction to the instrument plan. As I go along I will try to post pics and info about what and how I am building it. Hope you enjoy.