Chambered Guitar Project
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I wanted to build a guitar that was a bit lighter than a standard solidbody guitar, but would still be a solid piece of lumber. I wanted to have the sustain of a neck-though, and the resonance of a semi-hollow body, well close anyway. Here's shot of the rough pieces that go into making the guitar. The neck is hard rock maple, the wings are Black Walnut. |
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I started by drilling inch holes through the end of the neck through neck blank. I had to drill them halfway, then turn the wood over and drill them from the other side. I was amazed that They lined up almost perfectly. |
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Next, I drilled holes part-way into the body "wings" being very careful not to drill to deep. I also measured carefully so the holes would line up with the holes in the neck. |
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Here is the side of the neck early in the shaping process for the heel. I drew a line where the heel ends and the body begins to help me shape it. Note the piece of cardboard protecting the wood from the clamp. |
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Here is a pic of the headstock with one side clamped. I already have the other side glued. Note the blocks sticking out the side of the headstock. The pattern for the headstock was wider the the wood. |
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Here is the headstock after the veneer is on and the shape is cut out and sanded.
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After the wings were glued on, I made a control cavity template. Here is the template clamped to the guitar. I had to leave room for the router, so I used another neck as a spacer. |
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Here is the front of the guitar after the veneer is on, and the routing is done for the humbuckers. You can see the maple neck-through section in the pickup holes. |
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Here I'm laying out the components, just to see what things look like. There is a stained piece of veneer on the top to help me visualize what the guitar will look like. I stained several pieces using different stains, and found the one I think looks best. |
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Here is the guitar after staining the top. The grain "pops out" nicely. |
| I have the fretboard masked off, ready for sealer. |
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I'm installing hardware in this pic. |
| Here's the finished guitar, Front... |
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Back... |
| And a closeup of the headstock. |
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