Custom Guitar Build || An Orbital Guitars T-Type || Part 1: The Neck

[@luthiferbuilds]

the inlays look awesome

[@jpguitar34]

That fretboard grain is beautiful. And I've made the same mistake of not leaving enough wood on the headstock for the scoop. Learn from our mistakes is how we get better.

[@chingletree5397]

Oh yes, here we go. Perfect for a snowy winter evening. I'm going to line this one up for later with a hot drink. More excellence from Dan is always a treat.

[@chogumchonsa]

Fantastic as always. Loved the headstock.

[@madeofnapalm]

You always have some great looking exotic woods. But from what I read, dust from those is quite nasty, especially rosewood. P.S. Talking about what you're doing in the video is cool, even if it's a repeat of a repeat :)

[@Metalbass10000]

Yes, ventilation. And wearing, oh no, a mask is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Some of these woods can cause irritation, inflammation, injury, can lead to susceptibility to infection or development of REALLY NASTY problems in the future. Yes, I do know about the topic, but you're free to do whatever you choose.

[@shauncurtis4398]

I honestly don’t mind the talking. I’m only subscribed to a few luthiers and a few of the others typically don’t talk at all. I like hearing your thought process and where you feel like you did well or made a mistake (like in this one). I’ll eventually get the courage to try making something myself so the more I learn through videos like yours the better!

[@Metalbass10000]

You could discuss your views on various hardwood species for different applications, on the workability of those woods in different operations, or how badly that material caused rapid tool wear (or even tool failure), on what tools, from what manufacturers, as well as specifications, sizes, materials, etc., and you could let everyone know about any specific tools, vendors, or operations/uses, were particularly catastrophic or difficult, or which were especially great. Also, I don't intend to be at all sexist, or offensive to anyone, but I would assume a majority of viewers are men, and generally men are OK if you're not talking for the entire time. If you do repeat information it's OK, as not everyone has seen all or any of your other videos. Good question, I'll be interested to see the answers also.

[@Dewgma]

YES.

[@chingletree5397]

Fantastic work as always. The attention to detail is what always gets me. And I love how the headstock has come out- the veneer looks great and the rosewood on the back is stunning. You never build a just 'normal' guitar, do you? They're always the luthiery equivalent of a pool trickshot done from the back of a moving car. Personally I don't mind that you repeat yourself at all- it's less repetetive than you think, because as here you very often try different techniques or orders of operation and explain the reasoning behind them. If you talked about the qualitites of the various woods you use and how that impacts working with them, I'd be happy to hear it. I think the same applies to tools- I'd be keen to hear why a rasp might be used for one thing and the oscillating sander for another. Just so long as you keep making the videos, I'll be pretty happy regardless.

[@steveroberts]

There are dot inlays and there are your dot inlays. Dan I've been watching this channel for quite a while and your knowledge and application always come to the for. Whatever you want to talk about, go for it. Ty

[@jatna77]

I don't find your commentary repetitive at all, even if it is. I watch a ton of build videos and they do repeat many of the same steps but that is fine, it is still fascinating to watch. Also, someone learning may only watch this one video of yours and want to know what is going on. If the commentary you are doing is too repetitive for you and therefore boring you, you could always just use screen text. Anyway, thanks for the vids, I hope you keep making them!

[@E-BikingAdventures]

I would like to hear about where you got the wood, how much you paid for it. Maybe talk about the tools youre using, model, brand, amp/power ratings. What tools you recommend. Maybe get a cat that walks all over your work area and gets in the way.

[@BadTasteStudio]

that is cool

[@rauschguitars]

Beautiful work! I'll need to try replicating those inlays in a future build.

[@karthain5742]

I appreciate the commentary because I am blind and the only way I can get the information from the video is through narration.

[@jeffreytgilbert]

I was looking into using synthetic opal for inlays and saw some guitars have it in them. Never seen crushed stone opal inlays though. Cool to see you can do it with just some ca glue and careful placement. I started watching this because i’m trying to study up on how to best do inlays. Never seen anyone use a precision router before. You like that method better than a jewelers saw?

[@OrbitalGuitars]

I think there are pros and cons to both methods. I think cutting out a solid inlay piece with a jewelers saw gets a better final result, but it's significantly more work, and the materials available in large enough pieces for that are both limited and much more expensive. Crushed stone is much more flexible in terms of the spaces it can fill, and crushed stone is available in a huge variety of colors, and is relatively inexpensive. The downside is that there are visual flaws that are unavoidable, like small gaps between the pieces that you won't even know are there until they have all been level sanded. I wouldn't say either option is objectively better or worse, it just depends on what result you want. I think solid inlay pieces are classier/ more high-end, but if your inlay *needs* to be a specific color, crushed stone may be a better option. That being said, a combination of both can get some interesting results. I've tried a combo of crushed stone and cut mother of pearl that turned out very nicely.

[@jeffreytgilbert]

@@OrbitalGuitars totally get that. What about the cutting out of the inlay pattern on the fingerboard or veneered headstock? Also, is that precision router good for routing for bindings? If so, I think I need one of those!

[@OrbitalGuitars]

@@jeffreytgilbert That's just a Dremel with a 3/32 router bit (and a 3/64 bit) and a router base attachment from Stew Mac. Both are specifically made for inlay work, and they're great for that, but I wouldn't use them for binding; I would want a different bit with a guide bearing, or a different base for binding work.

[@jeffreytgilbert]

@@OrbitalGuitars that’s cool. Didn’t know i could do that with a dremel. Will have to see if they have binding bits for them or if that’s specifically a big bit thing. They probably do. They make everything for dremels