Making The Flying M Guitar For Metallica

Follow along as I make the Flying M guitar for Metallica. From now until March 15, 2023, you can enter the sweepstakes to win this guitar, signed by James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, and Robert Trujillo: fandiem.com/sweeps/metallica-...
The money raised by this sweepstakes will be donated to the Metallica Scholars, an initiative that is part of Metallica's All Within My Hands Foundation, a charity established by the band to give back to the community.

[@HighlineGuitars]

If you would like to meet the gentleman who won this guitar and hear how it sounds, check out this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZLMi4Fuib2tkJIsi=7pAgFgI162iR6pQP

[@sevenity2677]

It is a kickass god dam guitar!

[@rikknight8145]

Cool guitar for sure but the winner needs to play it through something better. His cover of For Whom The Bell Tolls has a terrible tone and I'm sure it's not the guitar's fault.

[@dalgguitars]

What a feather in your cap professionally and personally. Congratulations! You can't get more "guitar" than Metallica. You must be really proud. Just fantastic!

[@HighlineGuitars]

Wow, thanks!

[@GabrielGzz]

Just wow! I almost get a tattoo of this guitar 😅🔥🔥🤘 congrats for your creation !

[@Razrback]

I would love to own that guitar so rad

[@roshaff]

OMG, I swear I have designed exactly the same thing around 15 years ago. I must still keep the drawings somewhere. The thing is that I never started to build guitars. Well done, great job 👏🏻🤘🤘

[@jamiekrautkremer9962]

I had no clue you were the one that made that guitar! So awesome knowing it’s from a quality builder (whom I’ve learned so much from over the years). Just makes it all the cooler when I win the guitar 🤣

[@HighlineGuitars]

Thanks you the kind words, Jamie, they are very much appreciated.

[@ChrisStevenscsdesign73]

I got to watch the whole video and I absolutely loved seeing you work on the guitar. It reminds me of something. My dad would love to watch what you passed away a few years ago. He used to do things with me with woodworking when I was younger. I got a thousand entries I think for the guitar itself. Definitely a masterpiece. Loved it

[@mysticphilosopher7777]

Congratulations, Man! That guitar is awesome. I think you've earned special master status when it comes to being a Guitar Maker.

[@michaelveits3011]

Congratulations Chris ! The dream of every Guitar Builder is now real for you. I wish you many VIP - Orders in the following time ! Be proud of you!

[@zeffneeson5214]

Fantastic content and what a buzz that must be to build a guitar for your musical inspirations 👊🏻 I use stripped up inner tubes for cramping bindings on etc . But the way you used it with the f cramps to pull the back of the guitar tight was genius love seeing inventive ways of getting over cramping problem . It’s amazing how much pressure to can get with inner tubes pulled across a joint . Thankyou for sharing I appreciated the insight 👊🏻👊🏻

[@jasonsheets2694]

Only creating a guitar for one of the most popular metal bands on the planet. No pressure! lol That turned out awesome. Very cool. Luthiers are woodworking artists.

[@DanielRodriguez-eh1qd]

They couldn’t have picked a better person to make this. I love your work and it’s helped along the way with refinishing guitars. Awesome work as always.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Wow, thank you!

[@johnskerlec9663]

Absolutely amazing work on this. I'm blown away.

[@JayKughan]

That's awesome! Love the case. Looks great 🤘

[@danthegeetarman]

Wow, this was amazing to watch. I forget all the little details that go into building a guitar by scratch. Very cool that you got to do this for Metallica too! Such an accomplishment🤘

[@dimetime333]

Man that is awesome! Not just the guitar but the whole package.

[@piptyson5512]

Loved all the unique aspects of this build even that amazing case! This is very, very cool. And the "All Within My Hands" cause is something that I think is pretty important from my work experiences.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Glad you like it!

[@wizrom3046]

I like your videos and have a great respect for your skills. 👍 I hope you dont mind me making a suggestion. On my CNC router I added a small continuous air blower, this is a cheap reciprocating type cost less than $100, very quiet and has worked tirelessly for years. Basically it means you dont need an air compressor BUT you can still get an air blower pointed at the cutting tool. That blows all the chips out of the slots so you are not re-cutting dead chips mangled down in the slots. I find that this type of air blower is much more convenient than using compressed air and of course is quiet, it can be powered from the same relay that operates the spindle driver so it comes on whenever the spindle is in use. It sits on the floor (it's only small, about 6 inch cube size) and I just run a small flex hose up to the nozzle pointing at the spindle cutting tool. Because you wont be mangling chips in the slot you get a better finish, less tear out and chipping, longer tool life, cooler wood so you get less themal issues etc etc. Also this type of reciprocating pump blows the air in little pulses 30 times a second so you get more chip clearance than a typical compressor and constant blower.

[@HighlineGuitars]

I have never felt it necessary to blow the chips. I rarely use my dust shoe either. Never had a problem.

[@pucksrage6251]

you are so awesome. thanks for sharing your awesome work with us. its a privilege.

[@HighlineGuitars]

My pleasure!

[@Imetalman2000]

That inlay work was super clean. 🙌🏼

[@nonviolentguy]

Thanks for the demo!

[@MattyIce316]

I want to see somebody make a custom Metallica guitar with all of their albums represented in some way blended in on the guitar on an Explorer that'd be dope

[@jasonparkergimplifedisable684]

Awesome 👏🏻, I’m planning on putting just one volume knob on the lower front horn of all of my guitars, any chance you could do a video on how to customise the hardware pockets and placement on the back for people who want to move their knobs around etc ??

[@richardwright345]

That is a beautiful guitar man, nice job.

[@Justins_shed]

I enjoyed every minute of that. Thanks Chris.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Awesome, thank you!

[@scoobybenguitars]

Absolutely stunning!

[@metalliholic]

Omg,So cool! Congratulations! That’s so awesome!

[@ecalzo]

Incredible build for a band i love so much thank you for your job sir .. WOW

[@maestro0428]

Wow, so much hand work. This is amazing. I would die to have a hand crafted axe.

[@murderface15g13]

I enjoyed watching your build. Looks solid and that case is sweet. I'm guessing the screws were a deliberate anesthetic choice. Would definitely recommend using a microstop for your countersink. Given that the metal M's are so sharp, it's likely the player might get cut while playing. I probably would've inlayed them into the body and beveled the edges or filled the top inside gaps with epoxy. Fantastic work! That CNC work was pretty slick.

[@thedudeabides6786]

Excellent work 👍 I just wish there was a video of the band receiving the guitar, I bet they loved it

[@HighlineGuitars]

I wish there was, but that didn't happen.

[@tonymcnamara9368]

The case alone is a work of art. The guitar looks amazing! Would loved to have heard it being played.

[@HighlineGuitars]

This video features the winner playing it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZLMi4Fuib2tkJIsi=7pAgFgI162iR6pQP

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

You definitely have some serious talent! 🤘 Incredible work!

[@mictaylor9531]

As a craftsman myself I salute you sir! Beautiful work 👌🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🍺

[@UziNineMillomeetah]

Pure craftsmanship. Well done!

[@user-ec8vw8jw6q]

This is the best Metallica tribute guitar I've ever seen in my life!

[@andrewvance4550]

Signed or not I would LOVE that guitar! Very nicely done!

[@OdinAllFather77]

Impressive work!!! Congratulations flawless skills. Abrazo Mexicano!! 🤘🏻🇲🇽🤘🏻🇲🇽🤘🏻🇲🇽🤘🏻🇲🇽

[@biggcustomz8583]

Love it! Nicely done 👍👏🤘

[@a68rebel]

VERY cool video. Thank you.

[@user-rr8oe7qx1r]

So lucky! Well done the best dream you could get, awesome work by the way

[@3ngi_n33r]

That guitar is so sick. Great video!!

[@HighlineGuitars]

Hey, thanks!

[@donniedollarhidejr.2766]

Damn dude, that's pretty sick. Amazing job

[@user-wd3wz3pv7b]

You are an amazing Luthier,rock on brother

[@ronnie5129]

Spectacular Here, Thank You, Cousin Figel

[@rodrigosoria7199]

Congratulations!! is incredible!

[@ampiegreeff3075]

For weeks I've been watching people file, chisel, saw and sweat making their guitars. And he comes and cnc a guitar making it look effortless. And with a case. I am very impressed.

[@jesusgerada5720]

Although Heavy Metal guitars it´s no my passion, this one fits like a glove for the purpose of the project and has his own personality. Congratulations!

[@MarkGray1970]

Very cool video and even cooler guitar!

[@alejandrodelacru]

it´s interesting how long it took to someone to build this guitar model, it came to my mind since I was young, like 14 yo, but of course i didn´t know how to build a guitar in that time, even today I´m still learning abour building guitars XD

[@Anodyne505]

Amazing

[@theknowerandtheknown]

Beautiful guitar. With all that help from the machines

[@HighlineGuitars]

Nice comment with help from your internet interfacing device.

[@bigginsbeastly]

very good design very good job very intresting in watching this as well thank you

[@buzzsaw63]

you are very talented, nice work

[@boofuls]

19:15 🧂 similar to add grip to prevent the two pieces sliding around when 🗜️ perhaps 🤔.. there's some dedate on whether it can alter the composition of the glue weakening the bond ..great video btw 😊the inner tube clamp is a good idea

[@HighlineGuitars]

It’s only a problem if you dump a bunch of salt on the glue. A few grains won’t make a lick of difference.

[@johnmallette3143]

Tkzz for sharing.,.,.,peace

[@KarlKarsnark]

You never know who's watching your vids on KZbin ;) Great work. \m/

[@HighlineGuitars]

That’s true. All I can do is hope they like what they see.

[@1976oswald]

Awesome !!!

Wow, now that is a project.

[@mikefisher1629]

Awesome build, and such a great opportunity! I get great inspiration from your channel! I'm an aerospace machinist and can offer you a tip when machining countersinks that are perfectly flush and consistently the same height. Use a drill press with a stop. I'll do a few in a piece of scrap to get it perfect, then go for it on the project. Thanks again for sharing your work!

[@HighlineGuitars]

That’s an excellent tip! That is actually how I started the countersinks, but in the video, I was deepening them so the screws would be just slightly below the surface.

[@mikefisher1629]

​@@HighlineGuitars , that's why I commented. It's very difficult to have perfect consistency that way and I can see by your processes and quality of your builds that you are a perfectionist.

[@alanmooney3120]

What an absolute honor to build this amazing guitar! I love it! The only critique I would have is I'm not huge on Gold. I would have used painted white screws...But other than that, epic!

[@HighlineGuitars]

White would have looked tacky.

[@curtisogilvy2889]

I’ve seen quite a few guitar builds online now, and this one felt a little “slapped” together. Maybe it’s because you didn’t show all the intricacies and measurements. But even when things were clamped together it didn’t seem proper/precise enough to me. I can direct to other build videos that show more precision, but just wondered if it might just be what was displayed on video rather than what actually went into assembly?

[@HighlineGuitars]

I make guitars, not rocket engines. That guitar raised $140,000 for Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation.

[@applebutter4036]

Very cool!

[@justinsixx90]

Bloody amazing dude!!!

[@marcopandozziliutaio]

It's a mammoth work! sincere compliments

[@russellwhite8890]

Great job!

[@HighlineGuitars]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@PATOU4040]

Waow ! Your work ls amazing like always congratulations ! I hope their is some emg james hetfield signature pick up or emg 81 & 85 like kirk on it !

[@HighlineGuitars]

Kirk Hammett Signature EMGs.

[@fernandogaitan2667]

Uau una hobra de arte me encanto se ve perfecto yo antes dibuje guitarras de relámpago varias clases me voy hacer un curso se diseño esta perfecto!!!

[@DanielCShomo-wo5zh]

Hey Chris same, same on the Metallica and life bit. I am a rookie Woodworker and I find your vids informative. I have a question, are those anti vibration gloves? If so what kind are they? Thanks for the informative vids.

[@enzoloveless132]

Amazing job!

[@HighlineGuitars]

Thank you!

[@luislanga]

I had to wait until I had some time to really enjoy this video. What a cool project, I'm so glad you were chosen to do this! I noticed you routed out the floyd rose nut shelf on the fretboard before it was glued on to the shaft, I guess you were using a downcut bit to prevent the bit from pulling this thin part up and chipping it?

[@HighlineGuitars]

That’s correct. Even though I used a downcut, l still had my fingers crossed 🤞!

[@luislanga]

@@HighlineGuitars that's a little nerve wracking. I have two orders for floyd rose necks coming this week and since they're both going to have spoke wheel truss rods I think it's too much work to glue the fretboard on before cutting the nut shelf (I would have to set the fretboard up twice, deal with indexing, etc), what I'm thinking about doing is to first cut the contour of the fretboard and then use an 1/8 inch bit to reduce angular velocity while using a higher rpm so the bit is almost turning the wood to dust with very slow feed rate, step over and plunge starting from the end of the board all the way to the nut line. I really hope I don't break anything!

[@petelake7373]

I thought the first trip to the moon was complex. Oh man!

[@numbersabcdefg]

Awesome video, congratulations 🎉 on the build 👍. Any way on the CNC parts to do a quick speed up? Save the nitty gritty details for Patreon or "in depth"?

[@HighlineGuitars]

No. I don’t have time to do multiple versions.

[@calvinchong2772]

James Hetfield & Kirk Hammett should be having this signature guitars

[@jcrgtattoo333]

That whole build is awesome! , curious, what size frets went on that guitar? , they were looking like railroad tracks!, also what is the guitar tuned too?, again, great build, congrats!

[@HighlineGuitars]

Jumbo frets, standard tuning.

[@ewm416]

It's great to see Metallica is nationally supporting c n c music factory.

[@justingrobner8272]

Kudos to you, jealous is me. Were you using strait flute cutters? Downcut cutters really cut down the chatter and screaming. Super cool, congrats!

[@ianyoung8392]

If you coloured the M like multicoloured burnt petrol he'd have loved it even more. Cosmic purples mixing into neon greens, everyone's seen petrol in a puddle. He's a complete petrol head James. Plus the song Fuel.

[@HighlineGuitars]

I like that idea!

[@Randall_Kildare]

Can't get past the thought that : *The bottom M should have been an A.* Anyhow, that's a magnificent Axe!

[@HighlineGuitars]

We tried that and it didn't look right. Everyone involved agreed it was a no go.

[@Randall_Kildare]

@@HighlineGuitars That's very interesting. I'd love to see a picture of the attempt, but; no matter. The finished product is truly magnificent. Those legendary buttressed letters... so stark!

[@teaganwindago3132]

I wish I could hear it!

[@HighlineGuitars]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZLMi4Fuib2tkJIsi=7pAgFgI162iR6pQP

[@johnro6659]

SWEET, I LOVE THAT GUITAR! I haven't scratch built a guitar since the the late 70s and early 80s. The few I have built since were from parts mostly I modified. I still have a few designs from back in the day I would love to build. I wish these CNC machines etc were around back then. I probably would still be building guitars. I had to stop when the cabinet shop I was allowed to use closed up and moved away. Truthfully it was a lot of work doing a majority of the work by hand. Love the design I am a sucker for pointy guitars.I have one question about the case. I saw the pink rigid foam and what looked like regular foam rubber. What adhesive are you using? I found the stuff I tried dissolved the rigid stuff and slightly the foam rubber.

[@ravenmad9225]

Cool design.

[@marcianchworostowski6517]

An interesting coincidence. Guitarist Ryan Waste has a guitar based on the logo of their band Municipal Waste.

[@HighlineGuitars]

I wonder who had the logo first.

[@SLiMCHiCKeN5150]

A CNC in your garage!? Nice! 🤟

[@Lekneu1]

WOW! \m/

[@mlmccollum100]

Just curious as to why you opted to not cut the tuner holes in the cnc process

[@HighlineGuitars]

It's an angled headstock which means to holes must be drilled at the same angle. A typical 3 axis CNC machine can't drill at an angle. They can only drill straight down. To drill at an angle requires a 4 or 5 axis CNC machine. It is possible to clamp the neck so that the headstock is flat to the CNC machine's waste board, but it's a time consuming process that's easy to mess up. Using a drill press is faster and much easier to do.

[@jeanmalo7173]

Amazing build!...but I'm curious, is there a video that shows the band members unboxing that guitar?...stay safe!

[@HighlineGuitars]

I wish there was. I would have loved to be there with my video camera.

[@Fabretteable]

Wonderful:)

[@burningbastardguitars]

Fantastic work!! Can you share any of your easel files?

[@HighlineGuitars]

Sorry, no can do.

[@burningbastardguitars]

@@HighlineGuitars either way. Thanks for your video. I’ve learned a lot from your videos!

[@SomeCanine]

Dang, I gotta get me one of those big old wood cnc machines so I can make guitars :)

[@lordPix3lUK]

Wow

[@JamieSlays]

this guitar is epic. iwant one haha

[@matijezus9976]

What is this black paint that he put on the guitar body?? This first coat that shows wood grain ⁉⁉

[@HighlineGuitars]

Createx. The first coats were their Autobourn Sealer and the last were their Airbrush Opaque Black.

[@TempleOfTheMartyrs]

YOU SHOULD MAKE ONE GUITAR FOR OUR BAND

[@joshuahannelly2128]

What was the particular fret nipping tool that you use? Also I think it was this video but couldn’t find the video section again but the plastic thing that clamped on the neck I think to give a centre line for the body? What was that 😊

[@HighlineGuitars]

That was a Sintoms Fret Tang Nipper. However I have switched to using the StewMac Fret Tang Nipper instead. It works better. As for the plastic thing you asked about, I'm not sure what you're referring to. Maybe it's the clamping caul I used to clamp the fretboard when I glued it to the neck? It's made out of MDF board, not plastic.

[@joshuahannelly2128]

@@HighlineGuitars thanks for the reply. Yeah I thought of getting the stew mac but thought there was a chance yours was better 😊 Yeah must have been another video I saw. Was really cool. Like a Perspex thing that would quick lock around the neck with centre lines and stuff to perfectly centre for the body as well as really accurately showing where the neck pocket would perfectly align.

[@HighlineGuitars]

@@joshuahannelly2128 That Perspex thing isn't something I did. Maybe it was someone else's video?

[@zacharycullen3677]

This guy is literally using harbor freight tooks and buikding a guitar for the biggest name in metal. This goes to show you that its not the tools that make the craftsman, its experience and attention to detail. Thanks for the video!

[@billsalvey]

🤘🤘.

[@POISON4REAL]

where can i get the cnc file please can you share it ? and btw its a great work man i love it

[@HighlineGuitars]

Sorry, those files are not available.

[@miwa4783]

Beautiful work, wonder how many hours was spent on the design and build

[@HighlineGuitars]

A lot.

[@cris_viga_loca]

WOW, what is the material you used for the inlay ?

[@HighlineGuitars]

www.canalplastic.com/products/9830-white-pearl-acrylic-sheet?variant=32913141774

[@Axiom1984]

What makes it flying?

[@alyssahudson1743]

I wish I had this kind of technology when I made my Metallica flying V in wood shop at school never made the body into a guitar didn't have the technology to make a neck I wish I did I still have the body it is one of my greatest man cave things l have to display