Intro before I get bitten by yet another craft-art

[Gerbrand Nel]

Well hello there forum, glad I found you
Let me first introduce myself before I start asking my beginner questions.
I am a digital animator by day, and a knife maker / parent / handyman around the house on weekends.
I played guitar about 10 years ago in college, but sold my last axe because it was really interfering with my studies.
I know this sounds weird:... guitar interfering with studying art, but I was really serious about both back then.
About a month ago a friend showed me Rocksmith 2014.
This software awoke all those forgotten riffs and music passion.

Now it is in my personality to want to create things, and nothing beats using something you made yourself.
I have most of the tools and woodworking skills to tackle making a guitar, but first a few questions:

I have a few Leadwood boards in my workshop, and was wondering if it could be used to make a neck and body for something like an Ibanez S series.
It's bloody hard and super dense, but it moves around like a snake in a bag.
I made a bathroom cupboard out of the stuff, and the doors only close properly in winter ( made it in winter
I would really like to use it though because its beautiful stuff.

Second Question: Why is the fretboard always a different piece of wood?
Can you make a solid neck and fretboard out of one piece of wood?
That's it for now.
Thanks for reading
G

[Barry Daniels]

If it moves then it will not work well as a neck. Necks are most commonly made from mahogany which is one of the most stable woods around. A separate fretboard is not necessary, but it allows installation of a truss rod.

My advice: don't reinvent the wheel on your first guitar. Buy a book and a plan and stick to them for the first few guitars. Then innovate.

[Peter Wilcox]

Welcome!

I'm just a dilettante myself and others here can give you better info. I'm not familiar with leadwood, but from what you say it may not be stable enough for a guitar, though for a solid body it may be adequate. However, it is very heavy, which may not be what you want hanging around your neck for hours. http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-ide ... /leadwood/

As far as single wood necks/fretboards, Fender has been making them of maple since the beginning.

[Hans Bezemer]

You could search this forum for posts from Dave Weir, he makes one piece necks.

[Gerbrand Nel]

Thanks for the quick and friendly input.
I find myself torn between a les paul style guitar and a Ibanez RGA or Ibanez S.
These are very different guitars, but for some reason I'm 50/50 between them.
I could probably consider leadwood for the ibanez because its such a thin lightweight design.
Then again, making a slim guitar from the heaviest wood on the planet is almost like making an inflatable dart board.
I wasn't planing on making a single piece neck, I just never seen it before, so I thought there was another reason other than installing the trusrod.
I like to understand the reasons for things before I try and replicate them
Thanks
G

[Warren May]

Fender necks are one piece maple. The truss rod channel is routed from the back of the neck. One consideration for the type of wood is the ability to hold the fretwire which has small barbs that hold it in place. Also, softer woods are more easily worn. Martin and Gibson used mahogany for the neck and added an ebony or rosewood, possibly following violin family traditions (?).

A really hard, dense body might also affect the tone. Like Peter, I've never heard of Leadwood but I'm an amateur hack. It sounds hard and brittle and if unstable, use something else. It's also possible that the wood wasn't good and dry when you made your cabinet. It can move a lot as it's drying.

In the States, poplar is pretty inexpensive and I think Ibanez uses it for some of their models. It is really easy to work with and lightweight. Not sure if I'd make a neck from it but I've used it on Strat/Ibanez shaped painted bodies.

[Gerbrand Nel]

If I go for the Ibanez look, the finish should be allong these lines
http://www.imusician.co.uk/acatalog/00067093.jpg
with this kind of shape
http://static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2 ... QM_TGB.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mOOsuXq9lwc/T ... 50-100.jpg
I might just give it a try with the leadwood for the body, and route out some cavities inside to make it a bit lighter.
I say all of this without knowing what I'm talking about.
Is it a bad idea to lighten the body this way?
G

[Gordon Bellerose]

Welcome to the forum!
This is a great place to learn about building instruments. I have asked many questions that have all been answered, so do not hesitate. Most of the experienced people here are more than helpful, because they too were beginners at one time.

In regard to your question about using Leadwood for the body; yes you could use it, and hollow it out to reduce weight.
Never having used Leadwood, or even having seen it, it is hard to say how it will affect tone.
Possibly using it for the body, hollowed out, and using some other wood for the top might work.

If it is a wood that "Moves" as you suggest, it may not work well at all. Stability is important in wood used for an instrument.

[Gerbrand Nel]

Wow, it has been a long time!
I'm glad to update this thread with some pics
I laminated the wood so the white parts mirror to create a flame pastern.

routing the headstock

Headstock angle

Here is my DIY radius block

That's it for now, more to follow
G

[Gerbrand Nel]

This is my maple fret board
I cut the grooves with a hacksaw blade I sanded down to be narrow enough.
This was a real pain as the blade got stuck something fierce.

Here I'm making the inlay for the fretboard
I wanted to use leadwood for this so it echoes the body and headstock.

fitting the trussrod

more later

[Gerbrand Nel]

last few pics

[Hans Bezemer]

Cool outcome!

[Gordon Bellerose]

Nice looking guitar!

I have a couple of questions, if you would be so kind as to answer them.

1. How heavy is the guitar?
2. How did your frets fit after using a hacksaw blade to cut the slots?
3. In the pic you show of the neck joint, it looked like there was not a lot of mating surface. How is that working out?

[Gerbrand Nel]

Thanks Hans and Gordon. Glad you like it

Gordon:
The guitar is very heavy. I haven't weighed it, but its about double the weight of my cheap strat copy factory guitar
The frets needed some epoxy, so I don't think I'll do that again. But hey, The guitar works, is in tone, and sounds pretty cool.
I'm not sure what you mean by mating surface, but maybe this pic helps.

I'm not a master player or instrument maker, but playing a guitar you made yourself is its own reward, so I don't think I'm the right person to judge the performance of the end result.
G

[Mark Swanson]

That wood looks very dense and heavy. If your frets are not staying seated and are popping up, it's best to use CA (superglue) to glue them in place. This glue will wick in if applied at the ends and then clamp the fret down. Do one or just a few frets at a time. If you have to apply it in the center of the fingerboard you'll have some cleaning up to do, taping off helps. be careful and go slow, you should be able to get the frets to stay put.

[wally iverson]

ok thats super awesome

id like to strip the paint off my black one for wood look