by Jason Rodgers » Tue Dec 23, 2014 10:42 pm
Erm... don't use poplar for a soundboard.
Where you at on the planet? Find something in the softwoods section - spruce, pine, Doug fir, hemlock... - with narrow, vertical-ish grain and take it down to 1/8" for starters.
Get ye to the hardware section and find some "knock down" bolts for your neck swapping: 1/4" bolt with wide, flat hex heads, 1-1/2" to 2" long, screwed into an insert of some sort.
Listen to Master Bear and draw things full-scale, especially the side profile (that's called the "elevation," right?). Don't f@#k around with finding your neck angle!
Google "fretfind2d" and print out a fret template (select "actual size" when you print it out). You can incorporate this into your full-scale drawing, and print out an extra to glue onto your fretboard for a cutting template. This does not diminish your creative mojo, but confirms it. As much as you are enjoying "just creating" right now, there is a point at which time + effort = firewood will actually piss you off and discourage future creation.
Oh, and by the way... those Celtic knot peg grips are WAY cool. Do more stuff like that!
-Ruining perfectly good wood, one day at a time.