With a few kits under my belt, I am really feeling the call of the scratch build. While making my own neck still seems like a very tall ask, shaping and routing a body from scratch isn't beyond the borders of possibility. How hard could it be? Well, I aim to find out!
Now tone wood is generally expensive, and a pre-made body bank can set you back anywhere from $100 and up. Even the local lumber yard wants nearly $100 for the timber required to create a really nice 3-piece blank in mahogany, ash or Tasmanian blackwood. While Maple was the cheapest I was quoted, coming in at around $60 for the equivalent of a body blank, thats still a lot of money to go throwing away on a failed attempt.
And so, enter the pine body - a cheap way to earn my luthier chops without breaking the bank. Bunnings stock a 1.2m length of finished pine 45mm x 90mm that's just perfect for making 4-piece 45mm deep bodies. Just two of these 1.2m lengths, at $9 a pop, is all you need for a standard body blank - that less than $20 people! Much more within my comfort zone for learning this black art.
And so off to Bunnings I tromped and got me some pine - enough for two bodies. In no time each piece was halved into 600mm lengths and ready to be glued together with Titebond - the king of wood glues.
I slathered each side of each piece with Titebond - enough to drown a rather large horse - and then got the pieces all clamped together with 46mm clamps.
After I was engulfed (yet not consumed!) by the ensuing wave of escaping Titebond, I did a little cleanup and now must wait a couple of days for the glue to dry. Unfortunately I only have 4 clamps, so the second body will have to wait.
Once the glue dries, the next step will be squaring off the ends with my new (el-cheapo) bandsaw, and flattening off the top and bottom with 40 then 80 grit sandpaper. I'm really excited to see how this turns out, although I'm well aware that this is the *easy* part of the process. after this I'm going to have to think seriously about where this thing is headed!
A big thanks to Warren Gaull from 4D Guitars for suggesting the pine scratchy to me. You've stared me on the long road to luthier awesomeness Wokka!
Now tone wood is generally expensive, and a pre-made body bank can set you back anywhere from $100 and up. Even the local lumber yard wants nearly $100 for the timber required to create a really nice 3-piece blank in mahogany, ash or Tasmanian blackwood. While Maple was the cheapest I was quoted, coming in at around $60 for the equivalent of a body blank, thats still a lot of money to go throwing away on a failed attempt.
And so, enter the pine body - a cheap way to earn my luthier chops without breaking the bank. Bunnings stock a 1.2m length of finished pine 45mm x 90mm that's just perfect for making 4-piece 45mm deep bodies. Just two of these 1.2m lengths, at $9 a pop, is all you need for a standard body blank - that less than $20 people! Much more within my comfort zone for learning this black art.
And so off to Bunnings I tromped and got me some pine - enough for two bodies. In no time each piece was halved into 600mm lengths and ready to be glued together with Titebond - the king of wood glues.
I slathered each side of each piece with Titebond - enough to drown a rather large horse - and then got the pieces all clamped together with 46mm clamps.
After I was engulfed (yet not consumed!) by the ensuing wave of escaping Titebond, I did a little cleanup and now must wait a couple of days for the glue to dry. Unfortunately I only have 4 clamps, so the second body will have to wait.
Once the glue dries, the next step will be squaring off the ends with my new (el-cheapo) bandsaw, and flattening off the top and bottom with 40 then 80 grit sandpaper. I'm really excited to see how this turns out, although I'm well aware that this is the *easy* part of the process. after this I'm going to have to think seriously about where this thing is headed!
A big thanks to Warren Gaull from 4D Guitars for suggesting the pine scratchy to me. You've stared me on the long road to luthier awesomeness Wokka!
Lifting Grip
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing this amazing post