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Post subject: Bowling lane maple gonna build some guitars, any ideas???
Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:50 am
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So my cousin runs a bowling lane here and they have replaced all the lanes. I am making off with a ton off maple sections from the lanes.
I am going to be cutting it up into body blanks, I'll send one to my Dad in Minn. He is a great carpenter and it' s always been a great idea to have him build a guitar for me. If I'm lucky I may have close to a dozen or so body blanks. I am probably going to buy the necks through some online sites. I'm sure someone has done this before and I'm not the first, But I think it will be a cool idea. Maple is pretty heavy..lol Anybody have any ideas about routing, templates etc?


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Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:12 pm
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Just be careful doing the body routes. Make sure you either trace and move slowly, or better yet make a template to follow. Measure everything twice and when you are sure it's right...measure it again!. Lightly clamp the neck in place they figure out the bridge position. You'll be happy when it's done.

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Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:26 pm
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Depends on how thick the planks are. You don't want it too thin in routed areas, I would think. Sounds like a good project to me, keep us informed! :)


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Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:40 pm
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Sounds very cool to me. Yeah man, let us know how it's going.

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Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 2:34 pm
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Hmm. If it is good maple I'd want to use at least some for necks. The neck is the center of the instrument, and the real test of the builder.

Still, solid maple bodies would be very unusual and cool. As you say, heavy too. So how's about doing hollow bodies? Warmoth do this very complicated route:

http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/bodies/st ... rat_hollow

And probably the world expert as far as Strat-type hollow bodies are concerned is James Tyler, like the one at the top of this page:

http://www.tylerguitars.com/pages/whats ... tsnew.html

Both of those are pretty challenging. I'd start with something simpler, like a Strat version of the Thinline Tele hollow body:

http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/bodies/te ... e_thinline

Of course, it's always far more difficult with a Strat, because of the front and back contours. You have to make the body in two halves, front and back, with different routing templates for each. Vox have recently been doing something similar with their new Virage guitar:

http://www.voxvirage.com/history.html (click through the pix)

Of course, all those folks do their routing with huge and expensive CNC machines. With a hand-held router it is going to be very complicated, but it can be done. If your dad is a good carpenter then he'll understand how, and if you really make a dozen or so bodies it will be worth the effort of setting up all those templates.

Something special to pull of, if you can do it!

After all that, you have to use natural or transparent finishes to show that timber, because it is going to be pretty significant.

Best of luck - C


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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 10:45 am
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Well, the old man is only getting one to bulid whatever he pleases.
The lane is more than thick enough., It needs to be planed.
The beauty of it... is it's thick, already glued and pieced together. I just need to "portion" it out.
I agree the routing is goig to be fun,...lol..I am going to have to get some nice templates.
I'm thinking a Jag, a Swinger(Musiclander), and maybe a couple odd bass types. Maybe an Entwhistle "Buzzard type shape. :shock:


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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:32 am
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Hi again, Bastard (doesn't feel quite right, saying that...)

I'd strongly recommend making your own templates out of 3/4 inch marine ply, or similar. The trouble with most commercially available templates is that they are made from thin transparent acrylic sheeting.

It is all very well to be able to see through to place them accurately. But the thinness of those jigs leads to all kinds of fiddly difficulty when trying to follow them with a collared router bit. Especially when excavating shallow cavities for pickups, neck pocket and trem springs, which require multiple descending passes. Tricky with a skinny template.

Making a set of templates is nearly as much work as making the guitar body itself. But once you have them then knocking out further bodies gets easier and easier. Well worth the effort if you intend to ever make more than one guitar. And taking accurate measurements from an existing Strat body is a great way of learning about various subtle little details in Fender's design...

Good luck - C


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