Guitar
As mentioned earlier, I've had an unexpected hard time finding a suitable T-beam. There are lots of them available, but none wide enough for me to make holes for the pickups without intersecting the top flange completely.
For now, I have given up on finding a T-beam, and I will be making my own. It will consist of a 120 mm (4.7") wide and 10 mm (0.4") thick flat bar of AlMgSi0,5, also known as 6063 Aluminium, which will act as the top flange of the t-beam. The vertical part of the T will be a 30 x 10 mm (1.2" x 0.4") AlZnMgCu 1,5 (aka 7075 aluminium).
6063 is a fairly soft aluminium which should make it fairly easy to shape the neck, make holes for the pickups and make a recess where the bridge will be (otherwise the bridge will be too high). I've heard that it is so soft that it can be difficult and "gummy" to shape, but I could't get a piece of 6061 Aluminium, which was my preferred alloy. We shall see how much of a problem it'll pose.
7075, on the other hand, is very hard and strong, which is nice because the vertical flange will have to withstand the pull of the strings. It will be more difficult to drill, saw and file, but fortunately, the shaping needed on this bar is much simpler than on the top one.
I plan to join the two bars with screws and two component epoxy adhesive.
I ordered the bars yesterday, so now it should only be a matter of days before I can get going. All in all, I'm quite satisfied with the solution. I'd have preferred a "real" T-beam, but this solution allows me to have a stronger alloy where it really matters: The bottom flange.
- New Tuners
I've always wanted to try out my a particular form of tuners for headless guitars and basses. They work by having a scew pulling a brass block in which the ball end of the string is mounted. The main inspiration was Jeff Turpin's tuners; drawings...
- Stick Bass Pictures
I've made the spine of the two-string, nylon string, fretless piezo alu T-beam stick bass. Now I have to stick some wood and some piezo pickups on it. Some photos: I will shorten bot ends of the T-beam down to the tuners and string holes. Btw, these...
- A Different Tuner System For Headless Designs
The guitar I'm planning at the moment might be the first in a series. If it turns out well and the building process is fun (the planning sure is), I expect to build another one. And probably then another. And so on. If the guitar turns out sounding...
- Alternatives To The T-beam
I've tried quite a lot of places to get the crucial component, the T-beam. It is more difficult than I originally expected. I've tried a couple of scrap metal dealers and the leading Danish metal distributor. Plus a couple of web-based stores....
- Background - Why And How
Over the last years, I've become more and more interested in building guitars rather than (just) playing them. I never got around to actually building anything, but I took a couple of guitars apart and put them together again. I also discovered, that...
Guitar
Making my own T-beam
As mentioned earlier, I've had an unexpected hard time finding a suitable T-beam. There are lots of them available, but none wide enough for me to make holes for the pickups without intersecting the top flange completely.
For now, I have given up on finding a T-beam, and I will be making my own. It will consist of a 120 mm (4.7") wide and 10 mm (0.4") thick flat bar of AlMgSi0,5, also known as 6063 Aluminium, which will act as the top flange of the t-beam. The vertical part of the T will be a 30 x 10 mm (1.2" x 0.4") AlZnMgCu 1,5 (aka 7075 aluminium).
6063 is a fairly soft aluminium which should make it fairly easy to shape the neck, make holes for the pickups and make a recess where the bridge will be (otherwise the bridge will be too high). I've heard that it is so soft that it can be difficult and "gummy" to shape, but I could't get a piece of 6061 Aluminium, which was my preferred alloy. We shall see how much of a problem it'll pose.
7075, on the other hand, is very hard and strong, which is nice because the vertical flange will have to withstand the pull of the strings. It will be more difficult to drill, saw and file, but fortunately, the shaping needed on this bar is much simpler than on the top one.
I plan to join the two bars with screws and two component epoxy adhesive.
I ordered the bars yesterday, so now it should only be a matter of days before I can get going. All in all, I'm quite satisfied with the solution. I'd have preferred a "real" T-beam, but this solution allows me to have a stronger alloy where it really matters: The bottom flange.
- New Tuners
I've always wanted to try out my a particular form of tuners for headless guitars and basses. They work by having a scew pulling a brass block in which the ball end of the string is mounted. The main inspiration was Jeff Turpin's tuners; drawings...
- Stick Bass Pictures
I've made the spine of the two-string, nylon string, fretless piezo alu T-beam stick bass. Now I have to stick some wood and some piezo pickups on it. Some photos: I will shorten bot ends of the T-beam down to the tuners and string holes. Btw, these...
- A Different Tuner System For Headless Designs
The guitar I'm planning at the moment might be the first in a series. If it turns out well and the building process is fun (the planning sure is), I expect to build another one. And probably then another. And so on. If the guitar turns out sounding...
- Alternatives To The T-beam
I've tried quite a lot of places to get the crucial component, the T-beam. It is more difficult than I originally expected. I've tried a couple of scrap metal dealers and the leading Danish metal distributor. Plus a couple of web-based stores....
- Background - Why And How
Over the last years, I've become more and more interested in building guitars rather than (just) playing them. I never got around to actually building anything, but I took a couple of guitars apart and put them together again. I also discovered, that...