CNC Guitars

[Johnny501]

I haven't posted to the CNC Zone before, but I thought this would be a good time to show y'all what I've been up to lately.

I'm currently building 6 guitars. The photos below pertain to 2 of them.





I start by making a glue-laminate block of about 15 different planks of wood.


This is how the block looks after a first roughing pass.



Here's another guitar, at about the same stage.


... after all of the finishing passes on the front side.


Another look. The white cover for the control panel is made from a rapid prototype SLS process.


The body is then flipped over, and the back is roughed. There are 2 blocks between the body and the sheet of MDF that you can't see.



... after the roughing cuts.



Another view.



The back, after all the finishing cuts. I used a .025" stepover with a .50" ball nose for this one.


This is the Arched Wave (AW6) after sanding.


AW6 back view. 4 planks of maple in the middle, ash on the outsides.


Back Bender (BB3) Front view, after sanding.


Back view. Maple in the middle, alder on the outsides.

Of the 6 guitars I intend to build, I'm going to paint half of them, and do a light stain / clear coat on the others. I hope to have the first in the series done in the beginning of May.

For more info on my process, and a look at some of the other guitars I've made, please check out the KOZM Guitars website.

BTW, I'm using a ShopSabre 3636, and I design the guitars in SolidWorks.

I'm looking forward to any and all questions, comments, critiques and suggestions.

Thanks for taking a look!

kozmguitars.com

[wbegg]

Jeff,

This is an awe-inspiring technique you have developed, and some really inventive, beautiful guitars! Kinda remind me of the Stuart Spectre basses.

These MUST feel good to play as they kinda wrap aroud the body. Keep up the good work.

[ger21]

What CAM software are you using for the Z level roughing?

[Johnny501]

What CAM software are you using for the Z level roughing?

I'm using VisualMill.

This is the first and only CAM program I've dabbled with. It seems pretty good overall, but the base package doesn't seem to offer a slick way to do "3D curves".
That is, if you're doing a 2D pocket, it's great. But if you look at my covers for the control panels, they're actually 3D surfaces, meaning that the "lip pockets" in the guitar bodies want to follow the surface geometry.




Screenshot from Solidworks





Screen-shot from VisualMill


VisualMill offers a couple of ways that "almost" get me there (spiral cuts, radial cuts), but they all have shortcomings, and require creating curves to limit the areas, etc. ...as well as a bit of sanding afterwards to account for the shortcomings.

However, overall, it's not too bad. The support has been great.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

[RomanLini]

Wow. Beautiful, original design, highly functional. Just superb.

It's also impressive to see the smoothness after the finishing cuts, it looks like it barely needs sanding!

Well done! When do we get to see the prettied up final result?

[BanduraMaker]

VisualMill offers a couple of ways that "almost" get me there (spiral cuts, radial cuts), but they all have shortcomings, and require creating curves to limit the areas, etc. ...as well as a bit of sanding afterwards to account for the shortcomings.

Hi Jeff, I saw your work on OLF as well - great work!

I've been looking at VM as well and you're right, those machining strategies aren't available with the base package. Unfortunately, you need to go all the way to the $4k version to get it

[tjskcnc]

Checked out your website.
Just beautiful work - beyond description.
Very difficult to be original in the guitar industry.

[hub]

Impressive and good design, looks really good!
How did you align it after flipping it over to machine to other side? If you don't mind me asking?
I have some guitar designs I want to make on my CNC some day. Just wondering how to accurately flip the body..
Hub

[Johnny501]

How did you align it after flipping it over to machine to other side?
Just wondering how to accurately flip the body..
Hub

Here's a couple of photos that hopefully answer your question.
Let me know if they don't.


(Actually, for this guitar, the block on the left picks up a hole under the bridge.)



In essence, the location of these 2 holes determine where the guitar body is going to be (in X and Y). The height of the mounting blocks sets the Z.




I run wood screws up through the bottom of the base plate, through the mounting block, and into the body to clamp everything together.

Hope this helps.

[hub]

Thanks a lot Johnny! Yes it did answered my question. Very much appreciated!

[Drools]

wow, again very nice designs.

[Johnny501]

Here's a progress report on the guitars I'm currently working on.
The first batch of photos is the Arched Wave (AW6), now painted and fully built-up.







You can find more info and details on this baby on the "Guitars for Sale" page at my website.

The following photos are of the third guitar I'm working on, the Mutated Tele (MT4).


After finishing the back.


It has a maple spine (the middle planks), and alder on the outers.


Front view, after sanding.





This is a CAD rendering of how I hope it looks after painting. Stay tuned.

OK, that's it for now.
All comments, questions and critiques greatly appreciated!

Thanks for watching,

Jeff

kozmguitars.com