Headless guitar concept – day 2

I had a few little details to accomplish today, before glueing up the front and back halves of the guitar body. Yesterday’s epoxy has dried, so I sanded it down flush to the face of the board.

I used a thin needle file to clean up the switch slot.

 

I used my router to cut some grooves for the pickup wires, then put in the 3/8″ round-over bit to radius the edges.

 

I did as much as I could of the front and back, but the bearing wouldn’t fit into the tight corners.

 

I had some success stepping down to a smaller bearing, but I had to be careful not to cut too deep.

 

Next step was to drill out the holes for the tuners. I got out my calipers and measured the tuner body to determine what size hole I needed.

Since the tail is at an angle, I stacked a few boards to level it out. This enabled me to drill perpendicular to the tail. I drilled out all six holes, then moved on to the bridge.

 

I repeated the process of measuring and drilling.

 

Since the bridge posts are press fit, I set them in only a little ways, to make sure they lined up with the bridge. They will get pressed in later, after the finish is applied. I also installed the machine head tuners to check them as well. It is a tight fit, but it will work.

To install the 5-way switch, I had Adam help me attach some double-sided tape, then I centered the switch and pressed it in. With the tape holding it, I drilled out the pilot holes at the mounting points. I removed the switch and drilled out the larger clearance holes.

 

I counter-sunk the holes and installed the switch. It fit very nicely.

Next, I measured the volume and tone potentiometers, then drilled their mounting holes.

 

With all the minor details complete, I glued the two halves together and moved on to the neck.

 

I have an old guitar neck that someone gave me, and I intend to convert it to my purposes. After I chop off the head, I need a plate that can hold the strings. I designed something, on the CNC,  that I want to try. It will be thin, so I taped a 1/8″ thick piece of maple to a thicker piece of poplar. Now I can cut all the way through the maple without worrying about the piece breaking free.

 

The carve only took a few minutes. I pried the thinner piece away with a large chisel, then sanded down the new headplate.

 

With the plate complete, I proceeded to be-head the neck.

It was set up for a Floyd Rose style nut, so I cut the head off just past it, and attached the headplate. I even left a hole for adjusting the truss rod. This will not be the final version of the headplate, but I needed to test the concept. When I find one I like, I will have it made in steel or brass.

 

Before Attaching the neck, I need to fill in the old neck holes. This was easily accomplished with some whittled maple pegs and some CA glue. When they dried, I cut the left-over off and sanded them flush.

 

After lining up the neck, I pulled the clamps off the body and drilled out the new hole pattern, on the back of the guitar, matching the standard neck plate, that I had.

 

With the neck installed, I thing it looks pretty cool.

 

I did as much edge sanding as I could, but I just couldn’t get into the tight spots.

For those locations, I started by cleaning them up with my modelers’ rasp.

I wrapped some sand paper around a marker to sand the small notches.

I sanded down the entire body working from 80 grit, down to 220.

I wiped down the body with Naphtha to clean away the fine dust, and to admire the grain.

The last item on my list for today is the hole for the jack.

I held the guitar on edge and drilled a 3/4″ hole through the side into the control cavity.

Next I installed the plate and drilled pilot holed for the screws.

Well, it is past 1:00AM again so I am going to bed.