Wilborn Guitar Attempt

[TEETERFAN]

That guitar is looking so cool!

[scamp]

Routed the neck angle for the neck extension over the body using my modified LMI neck joint jig.
Worked well and was relatively easy to get the correct plus 1.5 degree angle and height alignment with the saddle location.
Also decided to inlay my "Scamp" S logo into the headstock.
Coming along. Now need to figure out how to do the tenon neck joint portion of the neck at the right angle and attach it to the rest of the neck.

Neck Angle Routing 1.JPEG

Neck Angle Routing 2.JPEG

Neck Angle Routing 3.JPEG

Scamp Headstock.JPEG

[scamp]

Completed the neck heal portion of the build.
Routed out the piece of the neck heal with the tenon using my LMI neck alignment jig at the correct angle and then chiseled out the cheeks to allow for the curved top of the guitar.
Then a lot of time with sand paper flossing the neck heal/body interface to get a tight fit.
After that, aligned the neck heal with the rest of the neck that supports the fret board and glued them together.
This got tricky as the part of the neck that supports the fret board also wraps around the top of the guitar and must perfectly align with the neck heal piece at the right angle etc and with no discontinuity.
The two pieces must also be glued together so the neck is centered with the guitar body.
Found it very helpful to use a laser leveler to help align the neck and body (see photo ).
Also found it helpful to use dowels to align the two pieces to help keep them in place while gluing.
Anyway... think it worked out ( see photo ).
Tomorrow trim off the excess wood on the neck, check alignment again and then on to attaching the fret board.

Neck Aligment Using Laser Level.JPEG

IMG_0640.jpeg

[scamp]

As usual, Ben Wilborn Nautilus guitars are nice to look at but hard to make.
Having the neck extend over the body and getting the joints flush against the sides and top while keeping the neck at the correct 1.5 degree angle to the saddle as well as centered relative to the body was tough.
Overall, finally happy with results. On to attaching the fret board and then carving the neck.

Neck Attached 1.JPEG

Neck Attahed 2.JPEG

Neck Attached 3.JPEG

Neck Attached 4.JPEG

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I faced the same when I built my archtop guitar only the overhang partially floats over the top but still many aspects all having to come together took lots of patience.
You've done a great job the fit looks near if not perfect!

[Tomcat]

With the end of the fingerboard so much higher above the soundboard than a standard design, does the saddle need to be higher than usual? Or is there some other modification to make the height of the action work?

[scamp]

With the end of the fingerboard so much higher above the soundboard than a standard design, does the saddle need to be higher than usual? Or is there some other modification to make the height of the action work?

Good question. In a more or less traditional acoustic guitar, with just the fret board extending over the body, the neck is typically at an angle of about minus 1.5 degrees relative to the plain of the top of the guitar at the bridge. This guitar is different. In this case, the neck is adjusted so it is plus 1.5 degrees from the plain of the top of the guitar at the bridge. The strings are coming into the bridge at a different angle. So... if you take a straight edge and put it on the neck and extend it out to the saddle location ( without the fret board attached ) it should be at about the same elevation off the guitar top as a standard guitar under the same conditions ( about 1/8 inch ). Hence, the bridge/saddle height is the same in both cases. Hopes this makes sense.

[scamp]

Thinned the neck down from 1 inch thick to approximate finished thickness.
Decided to attach the fretboard before contouring the back of the fretboard as this makes it easier to clamp the fretboard on while gluing.
After this, finish carving/sanding the neck and then on to installing the frets etc.
Getting close to starting the finishing process.

Attaching Fretboard 1.JPEG

Attaching Fretboard 2.JPEG

[scamp]

Finished carving the neck.
Made neck templates to match my Martin 28 neck at the 1st and 9th frets.
Carved the neck at these two locations to match the templates.
Marked the two locations with chalk and then took off material between the two until the chalk marks disappeared.
Just my way of doing it.

Neck Carve 3.JPEG

Neck Carve 2.JPEG

Neck Carve 1.JPEG

Neck Carve 4.JPEG

Neck Carve 5.JPEG