I'm finally getting back to my projects - pointy fans might like this one.

[toejam]

Paul The Builder... nice job!

[zeegler]

Paul The Builder... nice job!

Thanks Joe!!

[toejam]

I can't wait to see what these look like finished!

[zeegler]

I can't wait to see what these look like finished!

Me too!

I'm not sure how long it's going to take though. It seems most of my projects are nearing the finishing stage, which I haven't really done before. Scary!! (Then again, I have never built a neck thru guitar before, and it seems to be going pretty well)

Here's one last pic for today. Got the wings glued on and cut out. Next up is the truss rod cavity, and I need a new router bit for that, so it's time for beer.

[xenophobe]

Oh wow, that's looking good.

[paulbag]

Awesome zeegs...I like your idea on the finish too...

[sully]

Really glad to see ya back at it, sir. I'm not familiar with the urchin, but it looks cool!

Sully

[j2379]

looks great

[zeegler]

Thanks again guys. Unfortunately, I've got lots of parts on order that I'm waiting for, so I won't be able to progress any further until I get some stuff. I'm waiting for neck bolts & bushings, bridge & tailpiece, and tuners for the bolt-on. The Urchin is waiting on a truss rod, which I just ordered 5 minutes ago. Next time I need to plan ahead a little better.

[Anders]

Looking awesome!!

[shredmonster]

I like it.

[zeegler]

Carving bevels in maple is a bitch.

[zeegler]

I finally got my truss rods in, so I built a simple little jig for routing the truss rod channel.

It's about as foolproof as you can get. It attaches with 3 screws to the neck. 2 of the screws are in the excess neck material that will be cut away, the other screw goes in the neck just beyond the end of the truss rod, and the hole will be covered by the fretboard. It takes literally less than 5 minutes to route the channel.



You can see the screw hole here.


The other 2, and a real nice truss rod access hole.


Truss rod test fit. This is a Martin style truss rod. It takes up a little more room than the traditional style, but it's much stronger and is self contained, so it can not damage the neck. I just need to epoxy it in place, and then I need to start work on the fretboard. I think it's going to be pretty slow going from here.

[zeegler]

Here I've cut the neck (almost) to width, and started carving the neck profile, heel, and volute. Still a long way to go, and this is already about 45 minutes work.

A closer view of the volute.

Also note that I have glued the body back together, and this time had no problem whatsoever.

I haven't glued the truss rod in yet, and I haven't radiused the board yet. I am doing an inlay at the 12th fret, but I stupidly forgot to order any MOP for the inlay, so I now have to wait for that to come in.

[Cygnus X1]

Great job!