I recently built an Explorer for the 2x4 contest. It turned out to be a terrific guitar, so I decided to use the same build techniques for a Flying V. I decided to do the build thread in two parts, as there are lots of pictures.
I gathered up the wood to start. Two pieces of old maple flooring for the neck and fretboard, some leftover 1/4" pine tongue and groove for back and top, and a couple chunks of 2x4 spruce for the sides.
After cutting the tongues and grooves from the pine they were glued into a panel.
The next step was to start the neck. The maple was cut to 1 1/2" width and planed down to 5/8".
I cut my scarf joints on the bandsaw and clean them up on my 6" belt sander. After glueup I add the wings.
After sanding the panel to level I laid out the top and back. I just used dimensions that fit the panel and looked like a V. Cutting was done on the bandsaw and the edges were cleaned up on the beltsander.
The scrap 2x4 was cut into 1 1/2" x 1/2" strips. These are the guitar sides. I cut the angles and lengths and they were then glued to the back.
All the side pieces glued and support piece added to the neck.
Time for cutouts on the top. Lots of ways to do this but I use my scroll saw. I have a nice humbucker for this guitar. It will have a volume pot and output jack on the front.
The neck is now aligned with a bit of back angle to get good bridge height. Blocks were glued in to bring it to the right level. The top will be glued on with the neck removed.
The completion of this guitar will be in Part 2. Thanks for looking.
Comments
I try not to get stuck making the same guitar over and over, so I try different things. The reality however is that this is just a box with a stick in it.
My old bench has seen 20 plus years of projects of all sorts, so it deserves to look like it does. I like it that way.
I'm glad people are having a look at this. I just want to share some of the tricks and techniques I have learned over the years. Hopefully it will be helpful to someone.
Step-by-step photo set is great. Another iconic git brought to 3 strings. Looking forward to part two, and completion. Also, love the patina on your workbench!
yea buddy, looking forward to this one.