Guitar
The flat bars of aluminium, which I ordered, have arrived. If I arrange them as a T-beam and add the other components I have already bought, it looks like this.
The guitar is almost complete, right? All that's lacking is some wood.
Not exactly. I can see the following steps ahead of me:
I guess it'll take more than just a couple of months before this can actually be called a guitar. That's all right. I'm not in a hurry.
- Two-layer Aluminium Neck
Among the drawbacks of my old T-beam designs were the lack of a truss rod or similar system to control the bow of the neck. A way to help this - but still use stock aluminium beam for the guitar - could be having a neck in two layers - an upper flat beam,...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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....
Guitar
The aluminium bars have arrived
The flat bars of aluminium, which I ordered, have arrived. If I arrange them as a T-beam and add the other components I have already bought, it looks like this.
The guitar is almost complete, right? All that's lacking is some wood.
Not exactly. I can see the following steps ahead of me:
- Plan exact geometry of the T-beam.
- Decide/calculate placement of bridge and pickups
- Cut and route top flange
- Cut and route bottom flange
- Bolt and epoxy glue the two flanges together.
- Cut fingerboard and epoxy glue it to top flange.
- Mount frets.
- Design and make locking nut from a piece of brass.
- Level and dress frets.
- Drill holes for bridge and mount bridge
- Put on strings, test how much too high the action is.
- Route recess for lowering bridge.
- Cut wood for neck and body
- Sand wood parts
- Stain and oil wood (I'll probably use spruce for the first version, but I'd like it to look like walnut).
- Mount wood parts.
- Wire electronics (pickups, pots and jack).
- Mount electronics.
- Mount strings.
- Play.
- Adjust.
- Play some more.
- etc...
I guess it'll take more than just a couple of months before this can actually be called a guitar. That's all right. I'm not in a hurry.
- Two-layer Aluminium Neck
Among the drawbacks of my old T-beam designs were the lack of a truss rod or similar system to control the bow of the neck. A way to help this - but still use stock aluminium beam for the guitar - could be having a neck in two layers - an upper flat beam,...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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....