Like that Headstock!

@louis-kerckhove

Good job on the body design, it’s always nice to see an different/oddball shape!

Have you carved the neck yet? If so, was it difficult to do? I’ve heard it can be rather splintery. 

Wenge looks great and I’m also gonna use some at some point.

Keep up the great work!

@eddie6string

Yeah he’s got cancer I believe.

He posts an update on FB every so often regarding the new edition of his book, I hope he gets to complete it.

Nice that you might get to interview him🤞 🤞🤞 

@mattbeels

@eddie6string

Melvyn was advertising the latest edition of his book earlier this year so it must be finished. He was also advertising his equipment for sale but most of it was gone by the time I contacted him last year. He's very friendly by the way.

Good job on the body design, it’s always nice to see an different/oddball shape!

@mattbeels Here, we accept you whatever body shape you are Matt. 🤣🤘

@rocknroller912

I had a look and it’s not out yet but you can register on his website to be notified when it’s ready, which I did. I have the first two editions and they’re great, obviously.

Yep.

I'm in regular contact with Melvyn  - as the book is available in electronic form it will constantly be updated and added to.

Melvyn wasn't expected to see the year out!

He ageed to be interviewed by me for my YouTube channel,  but when he's been well enough my wife's been too poorly, and so it goes on!

Some stories should be told!

@eddie6string

Sorry to hear that your wife’s not well, take care!

Thanks 

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@matt beels

Thanks for the kinds words, i based my design on a strat but gave it my own twist.

I did some neckcarving today, and wengé is indeed quite splintery. When you work it you have to be really carefull, it is pretty hard. I drilled the tuner holes, i did it really slow and it there was a big chip that come off (i will be able to fix it but still sad 🙁 ). You really have to take your time with wengé because it is so hard, it is really hard on your tools to! 

Best of luck with wengé, it really is a beautiful wood.

Louis

Hi Everyone,

I hope everyone is doing allright. Today i did some neck carving and routed the neck pocket. I also cut out the shape, it starts to look like a guitar. I also have a picture of the assembly so far. I still have some sanding to do but we are getting there!

Greets 

Louis

Hi Louis

Your build is looking good I hope it plays as good as it looks

@louis-kerckhove

Excellent work! Your neck carve looks great, which tools did you use? I wonder if a Shinto Rasp would be good for wenge 🤔

You may want to consider reshaping the bottom horn for some upper fret sweetness but if you don’t play up there then all good!

Happy New Year!

@mattbeels

I removed most of the material from the neck with a milling machine. My grandad fired it up so we could do most of the removal with machine. It still has te be sanded, it now has a kind of natural d-profile neck shape. I would be carefull with a rasp because the wood splinters really fast, you may want to consider working with a rough sandpaper and then work your way down to a softer sandpaper. You could also use a chisel, i have used them a alot with this build.

The bottom horn still needs to be sanded and shaped a bit, i will make sure the high frets are accesible :). I also included a picture of the milling machine.

Happy newyear to you and your family

Louis

Congrats on the progress Louis!

Looking great for a first build. 

Actually, looking great for a second, third, fourth (!) build.  Nice work. 😎 

Hi all!

I did some more work on the guitar, some sanding and stuff. I will be installing the fretboard soon. I was thinking about giving my guitar a personal touch. I would like to have my name or some sort of initials on it. I have been looking at several guitars like an sg meastro vibralo that has the big plate at the end of the tailpiece with gibson's initials on it. I was thinking of doing something similar, but maybe keep it simple like initials on the headstock or something like that. Do you guys have any ideas? Everything is welcome!

Cheers!

Btw: This is such an supportive community, when i first got here i didn't know anything about guitars and now i am building my own! Thanks for all the kind words from everyone during this proces, my admiration for music and your kind words keep me going! All the best to every single one of you, i would not be able to do this without you!

Louis

@louis-kerckhove

For me “the personal touch” is simply the name on the headstock. Pretty traditional I know but hey I’m an electric guitar player, we’re rather conservative, right?!?

Your guitar is already pretty personal if you ask me, you did a new design so that sets it apart big time as far as I’m concerned... great work!

There isn't much room on the headstock to do an inlay, also it's a bit ambitious for a first build. I think it would look good if you signed your name on the body and then sealed it with a clear coat. Famous musicians often do this so you could become an overnight rock star too. The top horn would be a good place as it shouldn't get much wear and tear and is easily visible.

Hi all

I haven't been able to work much on my guitar. But i think i have screwed up. You guys told me that if there were errors in the process i had to share it so here i go. I have been doing the inlays on my fretboard. My grandad made some wooden circular inlays to put in the fretboard. my fretboard has 24 frets, so the inlays must be small because i otherwise could not fit them. So here is what happend: my grandad drilled the holes for the inlays but they weren't centered (not very much off, like 2mm from the center) and the inlays weren't really round and the end result looks really sloppy because the inlays are not really circular and they are of center. So i am asking for you advice, redrill the holes and fit some mother of pearl inlays or leave it just be?

Greets

Louis

Louis

Think we would need a photo to be able to comment, but filling in the holes with dowel to get a new centre and drilling again bigger is a plan. Mark did a tube live recently on finding the centre for inlay dots so check it out. He uses a centre line and an X as a double check.