wardd

Ok, that's one vote for Less Filling. d ward

I've seen many posts and guitar designs that center on keeping the instrument as light as possible or at least lighter than it would be if everything was left solid. My player guru has a theory that the optimum weight of a solid body electric would be 7 1/2 pounds. I'd be interested in other opinions on this idea. Be Cool, d ward

Here's a link to some stuff I found where they are talking about "velocity of sound" for different kinds of wood and other general tonal properties. http://www.sweetwater.com/shop/guitars/ele...uying-guide.php Be Cool, d ward

In 1972 I worked in a music store and the owner was somewhat of an inventor. He had the same idea for a fully adjustable nut. He came up with a design and had a patent lawyer do the patent search and found that there were already 5 or 6 patents for a similar device. I'm sure I've seen "compensated" nuts somewhere. Be Cool, d ward

Andy, First of all, welcome to the group, you will find a lot of good info and help here. I'm a math teacher so I'm glad to see your teacher giving you a challenge project. One thing I've been working on for the group is to develop a way to introduce new members in an effort to help them find the info they need. Follow the link below and it will guide you to the tutorial sections etc. where you can find lots of good info. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=22201 I think a telecaster would be a good starting project since they have a "flat" body that doesn't require carving. And if you made it a single pickup version you wouldn't need fancy wiring. Good Luck, d ward

First your picture needs to be hosted somewhere. Then add tag after, I can't show it here as it thinks its an image reference and won't show it. Use the square brackets [] not the usual <> brackets used with html. There is a picture button (the little tree), but it won't work in older browsers. The button does the same thing as the above, it just adds the tags for you. Good luck, d ward

I found this picture of a mahogany PRS for you. I have a mahogany '65 SG Junior I refinished to natual and I think it looks fine. Good Luck, d ward

Another good trick is to use an aligator clip as a heat sink when soldering small components like capacitors. Clip it between the solder joint and the capacitor to bleed off heat. Good Luck, d ward

ol kp, Here is a link to some stuff I'm trying to develop to help new members to find the info they need. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=22201 You will find answers to many of your questions in the tutorial sections. Good Luck, d ward

I made my first guitar out of a figured maple table my mom picked up at an auction or rummage sale. It looked like some kid had made it in shop class maybe. But, the wood was nice. The hardest part as I recall (did this in 1978) was working around all the screw holes. The other big problem was of course keeping the legs from poking you when you strapped it on. Good luck, d ward

Why not make yourself one of these. Be Cool, d ward

Dragos, First of all welcome aboard, there is a wealth of info on guitar making you can find here. I've been working on a way to introduce new members to the site, follow the link below to get at least some help on using the site. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=22201 As to your plans for a guitar building project. I would first start looking at pictures of guitars that you find here or elsewhere on the net. Once you focus in on something, then start looking for the details like templates etc. Another thing that would be helpful in getting advice on a first project would be for you to tell us a little bit about your "potential" as a builder. What kind of tools do you have or have access to? How much woodworking experience do you have? How much money can you afford to spend on a project? Do you want a "copy" of an existing guitar or something custom / unique? etc. One thing I would at least mention is that there are lots of places where you can get bodies, necks etc. already made. The neck / fretboard building is by far the most complicated and critical and many builders use premade necks. This might be a good way to begin you first building project. That way you can get a feel for the process, learn more about how the guitar goes together, try your hand at finishing etc. and still have a really good chance of making a nice instrument. Then on future projects you can build more of the guitar yourself. Good Luck, d ward

I made myself a permanant template for this one, I hope to repeat it. I inherited some 5/16 plexiglass, ok I fished it out of the trash at work, seemed like it would work well. I added some 1/4 alignment holes that go through the center of the pickups. I plan on using dowels to hold the top and center in alignment when clamping. I'm going to rout the channels for the wiring in the top so they won't be too deep. Be Cool, d ward

I have seen bending tool made with a torch pointing into a piece of steel pipe. I'm thinking that if you play with the distance between the end of the pipe and the torch you could adjust the temp to a certain extent. Then if you put a cap on the other end you could drill holes to let some heat escape and adjust that way too. Between the two you could play with the above until you get the temp right. Just thinking out loud. Good Luck, d ward

GregP, You're right, it sound like a real pain all the way around. If I were you, I'd take a close look at that sweet lap steel in the April GOTM and make the guy an offer he just can't turn down. Be Cool, d ward

Sidewinder, First of all welcome to the board. Looks like a fun project. That body seems to be solid mahogany from the pics, my feeling would be to recarve the edges removing the bevels and with them the problems. Of course now that I think of it you said "restore" so maybe you want to keep it as original as possible. I imagine you could rout out the really bad areas and glue in some mahogany pieces, I think if you took your time and made the glue lines as small as possible once you restain and finish they should blend in ok. Or you could do a "sunburst" finish and cover the repairs with a very dark color. By the way, you will most likely soon get a moderator of the board on your case for posting more than one picture. They may even redo the post by removing pics. If so, don't take it personally, they want you to follow the rules, but at the same time they don't bother to give you the rules to be followed. Here is a link to the rules for posting: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=11235 Here is a link to some things I 'm trying to develop to help new members get started. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=22201 Good Luck, d ward

Godin, I have a book on building acoustics that has a good section on an arch top builder, real famous guy just can't remember the name and I've loaned out the book. I have worked with violin making in the past and with them you need to thickness the top and back according to a pattern with the center being thicker and tapering to thinner at the edges. Again, with the violins you first bend up the sides and form them on a jig. Since the wood never bends exactly the same each time, you then form the top and back to match the way the sides came out. Not sure about an electric arch top? Anyway, with the above, thumb planes and scrapers would be important as well as a thickness guage, plus the jig / mold for making the sides. I've been wanting to try a 335ish project myself sometime in the future. Be Cool, d ward

In the video Dr. Nagyvary explained that with the wet-cured wood the pores stayed closed while with air dried wood they remained open. (Or, the other way around, I can't remember and can't put my fingers on the video at the moment.) He also demonstrated how the wet cured wood was denser than air dried. He dropped a piece of air-dried spruce in a tank of water where it floated and a piece that was wet-cured that sank like a stone. This thread has recindled my interest in the subject and I've since found some stuff on the net where Nagyvary is also talking about the effects of the chemicals they used to cure the wood and protect against insects etc.. (He is a professor of chemisty at Texas A&M) Nagyvary has publish a dozen or so academic papers on this subject that might be interesting reading for anyone out there who wants to learn more about his theorys. Be Cool, d ward

Houdini, "What is Music" (NOVA circa 89) was another show that dealt with the history of the Strad Violins. On the show Dr. Joseph Nagyvary used an electron microscope to show that Stradivarius used wood that was cured in the sea. The wet-cured wood has completely different properties than air-dried. Very interesting stuff. Be Cool, d ward

JC, I don't get to Des Moines too often, had heard about the WoodShop though. I get most of my wood supplies via. ebay, but would like to find a place to pick out material hands on. What Cheer name origin info is slightly different than the story I heard. The region was first settled because of the surface level coal that was here. Welch coal miners were the first residents and "What Cheer" was a Welch expression. But, who knows. Be Cool, d ward

BlackHawk - Thanks, I appreciate it. The Fatalities - Thanks also, When I made this guitar I hadn't seen the wooden pickup covers, I might try that in the future. But, I 've always been kind of fond of the exposed coil pickups. JavaCody - The borders of the fretboard inlays are laminated strips of white ash and walnut. I make the strips in the belt sander, glue them into a strip then onto the burl blocks. The burl pieces were 1/4 thick and I left about 1/16 at the bottom of the cavity I routed out and then sanded them flush with the fretboard. The burl was real solid so I didn't mess with trying to impregnate them with anything. The fretboard is Katalox which seems to be some really strong / stiff wood. By the way, I'm about 80 mi. east of Des Moines near What Cheer where I teach school. I'm also the tech coordinator and have some spare keyboards should you need one. Thanks again guys, d ward

imgettingcloser, I'll give you my take even though I'm no great expert. I'd think with a wood like mahogany that doesn't have a lot of wild figure you should get a good solid clear base coat then add layers of colored varnish over it. That way the grain shines through the colored layers. One theory I've seen and used with some success is to make the first coats with very little color then keep adding darker and darker coats. Then some clear again to leave a layer to sand and polish. My best suggestion is to experiment first with scrap pieces until you get the result you want. Good Luck, d ward

MP, Welcome aboard. You're not being too formal for me, I'm always happy to see people who write in complete sentences, with capitals and punctuation to boot. (A lost art in the chat room age.) You'll find lots of interesting people on this board, with equally interesting ideas to share. I'm a school teacher and have been working on a better way to show new members how to find effective ways to use the board to find what they need. Visit the link below to see some of the things I've developed so far: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=22201 (If you can, let me know if the stuff above helps you?) Be Cool, d ward

Why not take some of the cut-offs and experiment with the combinations you want. Be Cool, d ward

Apparently lobbyists who work for the wood industry are more powerful than the ones who work for the glue industry. Or at least they don't have names like Elmer. Next time it comes up, maybe the glue people should send that Gorilla. Be Cool, d ward