Official Luthiers Forum!

This is still in design, but it's getting really cool... So I figured I might as well start sharing from it's inception in SolidWorks. Here are the specs as they currently stand:

(1-1/2") Alder Body with (1/4") Quilted Maple top to be stained red with black bevels, the alder will take black stain as well.
Laminated quartersawn Maple/Bloodwood neck, deep set (tenon extends to about 1/2" from the bridge) with 16" radius ebony fretboard and jumbo frets.
8-string tune o matic bridge (probably going to need to machine this myself), locking tuners, single volume control, and Gibson style 3-way toggle switch wired up to a pair of EMG 808 pickups.

Some of the first real pictures I will have to post will be small mock up sections that are being used to demonstrate a few stain/finish options for the client.

Front View



Side View, showing off the heel free neck profile.



When I said the tenon was huge I really wasn't kidding. Pickups are being mounted directly to the body. I haven't drawn up all the details of the contour, dual truss rod, and laminations... It's one of the next steps for me to work on.


Questions, comments, and criticism are all welcome. It's a very unique build and is proving to be a ton of fun to design.

That's cool!

The external details are all approved by the client at this point. I still need to make some mock up body cross sections for him to look at the stain'finish combinations I have in mind... But with that aside, I can finally turn my focus inward. This design is reminding me why I love maple tops so much, sure they look great-- but they also make it delightfully easy to plan wire routes and other cavities that will be completely hidden. There's nothing groundbreaking about this design, it's 1-1/2" of alder capped with 1/4" of maple. Perhaps the most interesting aspect to note is the size of the neck tenon route, which goes from the 18th fret to within 1/2" of the bridge at a depth of 1-1/16". Since I'm designing my own tune-o-matic variant, my intent is to give it a flat bottom and for it to rest on the body with complete surface contact. If it wasn't for the fact that height adjustment may be desired at some point in the future I would glue that sucker down with some TB II and really make it solid (it's a wood glue, but the polymer has high affinity for aluminum.) This also allows for a design that avoids need for any neck angle. The protrusions within the control cavity are there for magnets. I'm up in the air over how I want to construct the control cavity cover. It will definitely use alder to match the back, but I'm not crazy about just using a finished piece of wood. The main idea I'm toying with is to laminate a thin piece of steel between two pieces of alder so the magnets in the body can do what they need to do with no concern for alignment with other magnets in the cover. It also creates a nice balanced laminated construction that should never warp. One major change in these cavities still needs to be worked out in order to accommodate the fiber optic side dots. The fiber lines will most likely run all the way back into the control cavity for ease of access and maintenance of the LED.


Exploded view of the top and back. I thought it was an interesting shot that happened to come about while I was mating the assembly in SolidWorks.


Big enough tenon for you? This also shows off the wiring paths nicely, which are being made as smooth as possible because EMG's solderless system is being used. Those harnesses love to hang up on anything they can, so I'm doing my best to save myself the hassle and doing a favor for anyone who works on it in the future.


A useful view of the control cavity and mating surfaces for the cover plate. If you look closely you can see where the input jack comes in (from the upper side of the lower horn of the V.) The concept here is to create geometry that will be highly unfavorable for a cord to pop out during live performances. A right angle jack will be used to give it a low profile, and I've brought up potentially adding a strip of velcro to loop around it as well.


I hope people are finding this interesting on some level. I haven't seen much on this board that follows the entire process including design, and even fewer detailing all the fun CAD stuff that can be involved.

Can we PLEASE get rid of this dipshit spammer?

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I second that!
Sweet looking V.
It reminds me of the Randy Rhodes model.
I made a Gibson V for my daughter.
Kind funny playing it seated: you have to straddle one of the legs in your crotch.

_________________
wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

exactly! thats why i'd never have a V. i do recall liking that "ledge" on the explorer to rest your right forearm on, though. SGs are awkward seated because the frets are shifted way left. Pauls try to crash the headstock into the ground. the best seated electric? the strat, of course!