Brian May Red Special Guitar Neck Full CNC Cut
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2024
- This video illustrates the full CNC cut of my revised design Brian May Red Special guitar neck using my Stepcraft 2/840 CNC machine. The process was recorded over several sessions from 26 July 2021 to 21 August 2021 using my iPhone 11 Pro in full HD at 60 frames per second. All CAD design was done with TurboCAD 2016 Profession edition. Toolpaths were calculated in MeshCAM Version 8 for Windows. The machine control software is Stepcraft's proprietary utility "UCCNC" by Polgardi Design and has a similar control interface to the industry standard Mach 3.
The timber used was quarter sawn mahogany species tonewood (i.e. fully seasoned), dimensions 825 x 96 x 39.0 mm weighing 1,932 grams, density 0.623 g/cm3. This is a double-sided cut using a custom made "L"-shaped alignment bracket water-jet cut from 20 mm thick aluminium. Hold-down was achieved using cyanoacrylate superglue in each corner allowed to set for one hour prior to commencing the cut.
Cutters used are solid tungsten carbide 6.0 mm diameter 2 flute. Spindle speed: 10,000 rpm, XY feed rate 2,500 mm/min, Z plunge rate: 120 mm/min. 1 mm depth per pass on the roughing cuts, 0.5 mm stepover/stepdown on the finishing cuts.
The main sequences are listed below with time indexes for easy navigation. Every sequence is illustrated from several different camera angles and most are speeded up significantly for brevity:
00:05 - Start-up: control unit switch on and UCCNC control software screen
00:24 - Upper side roughing toolpath
02:53 - Upper side finishing toolpath
04:04 - Slot for the truss rod adjuster bolt plate (1.50 mm 2 flute long reach flat end mill, 0.25 mm steps)
04:21 - Main truss rod features (5 mm channel, tensioner bolt rebate, 5/16" retaining bolt head rebate)
05:17 - Manually drilling the machine head locating holes (10 mm diameter 4 flute flat end mill) using a mini drill press with an extended 19 mm plywood bed
05:55 - Manually drilling the 5/16" retaining bolt shaft hole using a mini drill press with an extended 19 mm plywood bed
06:12 - Manually drilling the tenon securing screw pilot holes and screw head countersinks
06:50 - Flipping over the stock in preparation for running the lower side toolpath
06:58 - Lower side roughing toolpath
09:55 - Lower side finishing toolpath
12:30 - Tenon underside feature: angled rebate to allow 5 mm diameter auger insertion
For full details of my Brian May Red Special replica design and build project, please visit my website:
dsgb.net
#BrianMay #RedSpecial #BrianMayRedSpecial #RedSpecialguitar #CNC #guitarneck 
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Excelent job!
Thanks. I hope it was interesting or useful. 👍🏻😀
GENIAL me encanta tus videos , estoy viendo como hacer mi red special y con tus videos m guio
Gracias por sus amables comentarios. Me alegro que mis videos te sean de utilidad.
pretty neat, I was wondering if a 4th axis would be required for the back of neck carve, just looks like it needs a couple passes with a spokeshave and its all good
I originally bought a Stepcraft 4th axis unit but as I built up more experience with TurboCAD, MeshCAM toolpaths and machining with my system, I eventually worked up a cutting sequence which didn't require it. I never uses it and subsequently sold it on eBay.
I don't even use a spokeshave. Just a few minutes with 180 grit abrasive paper to smooth the neck after machining.
Great set of videos. Question. How do you get the accurate parameters for the CNC machine. Do you laser scan an existing BMG RS? Thank you.
Hi Tim. I plan to make a RUclips video covering how I design my interpretation of Brian May's Red Special in CAD later in the year. I have never scanned any guitars, especially not a BMG Special which is too different from Brian's original Red Special on which to base an authentic replica.
I work out basic shapes and sizes from first principles, known published dimensions and reasoned judgements. This leaves room for interpretation and also personal customisation. Check out my design sketches and insights on how I do this on my website:
dsgb.net/projects/redspecial/design/
dsgb.net/faqs/plans/
Is the control unit just allowing you to manually control the spindle speed with a VFD?
Yes. Additionally, the CutCNC machine control software and VFC control unit have functionality to allow machine speed to be controlled automatically via the GCode. However, I have no use case for this functionality so have never explored it.
Where did you get the cnc files? Can’t find them anywhere ❤
I do all CAD design and CNC toolpath development work myself. Nothing is downloaded from the internet. That's why you can't find them anywhere. 😀
@@dsgb do you still have the files?
I retain all my files, yes. However, I don't publish them or give them away though.
@@dsgb completely understand but do you sell them?
No. Please read my rationale here:
dsgb.net/faqs/plans/
Selling CAD and CNC files is not something that is done in the design and manufacturing sector to the best of my knowledge and I follow the same philosophy. If you contract a company to make something for you, you pay an hourly rate for the design and development work and the files generally remain the intellectual property of the originator. If these are passed on to the client, the client generally won't sell them or publish them to protect their work and the considerable number of man hours input to research, design and development.
The intention of my website and video content is to show enthusiasts and hobbyists how to design and make an authentic Brian May Red Special replica, not unwittingly make life easy for people with commercial interests.
To be fair to me, I have already published a considerable amount more than anybody else and more than I probably should.
Consider this: if I sold my plans or CAD files to a random person, what stops them uploading said plans to a file sharing website where anybody can then access them for free and exploit all my hard work? 👍🏻😀
Is the machine head incapable of doing the manual operations for holes for some reason?
Yes. The holes are angled at five degrees to the cutting plane therefore you can't mill the full cylindrical hole from either side. It might be possible to get each hole 80-90% correct this way on a double sided cut with precise registration alignment but I considered that this would increase cutting time and yield an unsatisfactory outcome.
The first guitar neck I had made using a commercial CNC service in the U.K. cost hundreds of pounds and the tuner holes were oval, irregular and unsatisfactory. I resolved that if that was the best a professional CNC operator could do, it wasn't worth exploring it.
@@dsgb thx for the info!