Not to get off track, but holy shit what a game!

Really though!

My Bears lost, but damn that was a great game.

Double Doink!

After that great win, I went back out to the shop.

I glued the template to the body and set the router up with a 1/2" bit.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...373034a098.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0c7e495f3c.jpg

I couldn't reach about half of the pockets with the drill press, so I had to go slow on those.

This is the first pass with the short bit.




I progressed to 3/4 and 1" bits until I had 35mm depth including the 14mm template.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...35a6b5385f.jpg
Took forever. Like 45 minutes.

But I am rewarded at the end of the day with this sight :
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c6d9b00b4e.jpg

It took a bit of filing in the neck pocket corner and the heel of the neck, but it's snug as a bug
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3135944a94.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...91b2b267c8.jpg

It's a milestone, looking like a guitar now. :thumb:

Heh, he said body cavities.

Dang it is a guitar, we had our doubts. :)

i should have held off on that bridge pocket. Just realized. I went with the template, so it's probably ok, but I should have measured to see if the nut is 25.5" from the front edge. The variable is where I glued the fret board to the neck. The saddles adjust back and forth, and hopefully that is enough to correct the distance if I was high or low with that when I glued it on.....

I did some shaping of the body today. I cut to within 1/16 to1/4" around the perimeter of the body with the band saw. Then I set the drill press up as an oscillating spindle sander. That's the feature that made that the one I asked Santa for.



At 44 seconds, I show you a sand paper de-clogger. It's just a huge eraser, but it works a treat.

Next job was routing out the back cavity. That's where I'll mount a claw that gets hooked to 3 springs. The springs attach to the bottom of the tremolo block. This provides tension on the strings, as the strings go up through the block and over the bridge via the saddles then on to the tuning pegs. The idea is to balance the tension to where the back of the bridge plate floats 1/8" or so above the face of the guitar, so you can pull on the tremolo bar and bend the note upwards.

I've been resisting drilling holes in my template and guitar body, preferring the super glue trick. So to get the back lined up to match the front, I had to shape the body first so the template was easier to mount.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...236070bc16.jpg

This pocket is 3/4" deep. The ones I did on the front are too. That's 1 1/2". The body is 1 3/4" thick, and they overlap, so you can't go too deep.

The right side has that elongated section. That's where I have to cut all the way through the body so the bridge can fit through.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e2cbc9bd6c.jpg

To be able to rout a straight line on the left, I need to make a little jig. I used a piece of the left over plywood I made my bench out of because it's 3/4" thick. First I need a template to transfer the shape.


https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4a95dcddd1.jpg

I cut the paper out with an exacto. Then tape that and trace on the plywood. Cut that out with the band saw.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...08ae354139.jpg

Took me 2 tries. But with that in the large area and taped down, I routed the remaining 1/4" through to the front.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...8d68622261.jpg
And we're through!
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...702de77dce.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a4aebb9d17.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...635b9271f5.jpg

The bridge arrived
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...782ea2b399.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...32c473e7eb.jpg

I'm about 3/8" long on the scale. This may be a problem.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...52aeba81a8.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...057f5d2555.jpg

I'm going to do a bit more research. I can probably come another 1/8-1/4" into the body with the neck, and shorten the heel the rest....

I will adapt and overcome. Or I'll do another neck and use this one for the next guitar. We shall see.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...75dfa18198.jpg

That drum sander attachment is pretty cool, I've never seen one.

I like it.

I talked to a couple guitar people and watched a couple more videos on bridge placement in my down time today, and I do need to fix that distance issue. There are a couple ways to correct it.

I could get longer screws for the saddles so they reach out farther. I could cut further into the body where the neck fits in. I could shorten the neck under the finger board.

The latter is what I'm planning to do. I looked at a few pics of guitars, and the fret board over hang is longer than what I have by a good 1/4", so it shouldn't even look weird. The high E needs to be 25.5" from nut to the break over point on the saddle with that saddle 1/8" from locked down in order to give the best intonation. I may have to be a bit further out with the saddle, but it should serve. Friday evening when I return from visiting Spencer, I'll get to it.

Then I think I need to poke holes in the head stock for the tuners. I need them installed in order to center the bridge before I drill holes in the body to mount the posts. Next Sunday, I'm going to visit Pete and get a fret install lesson.

Weeeeeee!

You mean you're putting visiting your boy ahead of keeping us entertained? Good for you, you've got your priorities straight. :notworthy

WTF?

It's like you people have lives, or something.:eyebrow:

I think I fixed it.
I routed another 1/8" from the pocket
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...eb3eddc3d3.jpg

Then sanded an 1/8" from the heel with the drum sander set to let the finger board under while I reduced the heel. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...29e6af0429.jpg

The line is the end of the truss rod inside, so I wanted to make sure I didn't tear through.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...57ff4d95b4.jpg

The 3rd 1/8" I'll account for by extending the saddle screws. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e723676112.jpg

Did some body sculpting this morning

I love this rasphttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...06c7c3b093.jpg

This is called the belly cut :

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3c1e2b3a39.jpg
It's to keep the edge from digging into your belly.

Contour lines drawn on the face
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...de26bb4a33.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a71dab9fc0.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...132dbe46d5.jpg