eGuitar Plan's Daily Diary 12/06/11

I was going to detail my later electric guitar build in a multi-part series, but I have so many projects going on, I decided to organize this blog into a daily diary. Today would have been Part 3 of my latest build, but it will now be the eGuitar Plan's Daily Diary 12/06/11. So here is what happened today:

This morning, I glued up a couple of Ash blanks for a pair of Envirocaster guitars. One will be a single cut and the other a double cut. Since moisture has been reintroduced to the wood, I'll let them sit for a couple of weeks.

To make a neck, I start with a suitable blank and my neck template. 

I trace the outline of the template onto the blank and mark the holes for the tuners and the ends of the truss rod. Next, I take the blank to my band saw and cut the shape about 1/16" (1.5mm) outside of the outline.

After cutting out the neck, I use a homemade pattern sander on my drill press to fine tune the shape.

This is how the neck looks after fine tuning on the pattern sander. I also planed the headstock thickness, drilled the tuner holes, routed the truss rod slot and formed the back contour. From the original blank to this stage took about three hours of work.

Holy Sh*t, I Broke My Neck!!

My Guitar neck that is. I've never had this happen before, but I've heard other luthiers and guitarists describe the anguish of having a headstock snap off. While wet sanding, the guitar slipped off the table and CRACK!. It can be fixed, but the guitar can't be sold. Maybe I'll hold a contest and give it away.

Highline Single Cut Update: A Little Necking Today

The headstock has been rough sanded to shape. The cap is Maple
with a nice flame pattern, which will match the body.

I started blending the back of the headstock with a rasp file.

The heel was blended the same way as the headstock. At this point,
I'm thinking of adding a long tenon, but we'll see.

The Super Easy Series of Electric Guitar Plans

I'm working on a new idea for a series of plans that will simplify the guitar construction process by utilizing a Stratocaster style replacement neck. The idea is based on the reality that many potential builders want to make their own electric guitar, don't have the skills or specialized tools necessary to make their own neck and fretboard.

What I have in mind is to offer two cool looking body shapes; a single cut and a double cut. After you decide on the shape, you'll select either a hardtail bridge, a standard tremolo or a Floyd Rose® tremolo configuration. Finally, you'll choose either two humbuckers, three single coils or two P90s to satisfy the pickup arrangement for your guitar.

After you finish making the body, all you'll have to do is purchase a Stratocaster style replacement neck, bolt it on, add your components and you'll be ready to ROCK! With so many Strat style replacement necks on the market, including unfinished paddle headstock models, there should be no reason why you can't build the guitar of your dreams with nothing more exotic than a jigsaw and a router.

Below is a screen shot of the two body shapes I plan on offering. Please let me know what you think as your opinions are what inspires me!