Project Description
After all of my parts arrived, I began building the guitar according to the step-by-step process below:
1. Foursquare the wood beam 2. Cut the wood beam such that the length is halved 3. Glue the wood beam halves together 4. Create a CAD model of the electric guitar using guitar part dimensions and guitar standards 5. Write the CAM for the CAD model 6. Input the CAM into the CNC machine to create the overall shape and grooves for guitar parts 7. Sand grooves such that their corresponding guitar parts will fit 8. Sand star pattern (from CAD model) on the guitar up to 400 grit sandpaper 9. Mix glow-in-the-dark powder with epoxy resin 10. Fill in stars with powder-resin mixture 11. Heat gun the stars mixture to get rid of air bubbles 12. Sand entire guitar up to 400 grit 13. Put at least 2 coats of finish on guitar 14. Drill holes for audio jack wires to connect to pickguard electronics 15. Drill hole for ground wire from pickguard electronics to reach spring clip 16. Mark where neckplate holes are in neck 17. Drill holes in neck 18. Put 2 pieces of paper in neck pocket near center of guitar body (for shim 1-2degree angle) 19. Drill screws into neck (with paper staying there) 20. Find center line of guitar using neck 21. Align tremolo bridge with center line 22. Ensure the tremolo bridge adheres to the neck’s scale length (distance from the 0th fret to the 12th fret should be the same as the distance from the 12th fret to the leading edge of the syringe hinges on tremolo bridge) 23. Mark where tremolo bridge screws go 24. Drill holes for tremolo bridge screws 25. Drill in screws for tremolo bridge 26. Mark where spring clip screws go 27. Drill hole for spring clip screws with long drillbit 28. Drill in screws for spring clip 29. Attach springs to spring clip and underside of tremolo bridge 30. With neck and tremolo bridge in place, ensure the pickguard fits into the space between and dremmel down pickguard if needed 31. Mark where each screw for pickguard goes 32. Drill holes for pickguard 33. Put 2 wires (1 hot and 1 ground) through hole to audio jack 34. Put 1 ground wire through hole to spring clip 35. Solder black wire to spring clip 36. Drill screws for pickguard 37. Drill holes for audio jack 38. Solder 2 audio jack wires (1 red and 1 black) to audio jack 39. Drill screws for audio jack 40. Mark where guitar strap button screws go 41. Drill holes for guitar strap button screws 42. Drill in screws for guitar strap buttons 43. Attach guitar strap to guitar strap buttons 44. Attach tuning machines 45. Attach strings |
Skills Learned & Improved during Process
Firstly, I learned how to use the wood CNC. I had never utilized the wood CNC before, and I enjoyed learning the in's and out's of the machine.
Secondly, I had never worked with epoxy resin before. Mixing the resin with the hardner took a significant amount of concentration, and I ran several experiments to see how it would interact with varying amounts of additional glow-in-the-dark powder.
Third, my general woodworking skills improved. I continuously lined up pilot holes and added wood screws to attach all components.
Lastly, I practiced my soldering skills, which were needed to hook up the audio jack and ground the spring clip.
Secondly, I had never worked with epoxy resin before. Mixing the resin with the hardner took a significant amount of concentration, and I ran several experiments to see how it would interact with varying amounts of additional glow-in-the-dark powder.
Third, my general woodworking skills improved. I continuously lined up pilot holes and added wood screws to attach all components.
Lastly, I practiced my soldering skills, which were needed to hook up the audio jack and ground the spring clip.
Reflection on Project
A large challenge I faced was preparing for and using the wood CNC. I had never written CAM before, and a large portion of time I spent on this project was me working with the metal CNC master Hilmy to understand the CNC. Additionally, running the CNC was challenging as well. Performing a 2-sided operation on the CNC was difficult, and positioning the top and bottom of the stock wood such that the cuts aligned properly was precarious.
Another challenge I faced was time management. The epoxy resin and coats of finish needed time to cure. However, the wood room was about to undergo renovations, which made the timeline to complete the project after the CNC cut minimal.
Another challenge I faced was time management. The epoxy resin and coats of finish needed time to cure. However, the wood room was about to undergo renovations, which made the timeline to complete the project after the CNC cut minimal.