CGHbuilder86

Can anyone here provide some info or point me to a website or video that shows a good way to install a locking nut? I’m starting a build with a neck that I have an 11 degree angled headstock. At first I thought I would just leave a space on the neck blank between the fretboard and headstock veneer like I would with a normal nut but then I saw the nut would be sitting to low. So I can either make a maple shim to go there, or what might look better would be to leave enough fretboard for the nut to seat on but I’d need to rout a groove so that I’m just leaving a thin bit on the bottom while making sure that the front edge is at the perfect spot. I’m confused as to the best way to do this. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks. I probably will just use those.

Hi, I have been ordering the materials for my next build. It will be an Ibanez rg/jem style guitar. I ordered the neck screws and ferrules from stew Mac. When they came in they are a smaller diameter than I expected. My Ibanez has much bigger screws. Should I plan to use them? It seems a bigger screw could be tightened down harder and be a lot stronger with less chance of ever stripping. What do y’all think, are these screws plenty for holding on a neck? Stew Mac says 11/64" (4.2mm) dia. x 1-1/2" (38mm) long

Yes! Thank you!

I am getting ready to start my first electric guitar. ( I built acoustics years ago but have never dealt with the electronics on an electric. It is an Ibanez rg/jem pickup config. HSH. One volume one tone. I’ve been looking at the wiring diagram for the mega switch on the schaller website. They have a diagram for this pickup configuration, but honestly I am very confused and have no idea how to do this. All these intersections where the wires are joined together etc. can anyone recommend a video, book, or anything that clearly explains and shows how to correctly follow a schematic and wire this stuff up? Any info appreciated.

I want to make an Ibanez rg style guitar with a flame maple top and no pickguard. I need a routing template that just has the pickups and Floyd rose on the top and the pots cavity on the back. Anyone have any suggestions. I may have to mix and match templates….I’m just trying to avoid a screw up

I've been building acoustic guitars for some years and recently I'm wanting to build something like an es-175. I'd like to you laminated plates. It seems most of the sound with be coming for the electronic and there is no need to go to the trouble and expense of carving solid wood. I could probably make my own laminates, but would need to build forms...does anybody know of anywhere I could buy arched laminated top and back/side sets?

I figured since I am an all acoustic man I would chime in on this one. If I had a few more years experience I would offer to build to build you one, but I don’t want to take and order on something quite so complicated right now. It will probably be hard to get something to your specs for 2,000, but for 3,000 you might be in business. Going handmade is the only option you have for getting everything you want, besides a good luthier can always create a better sounding guitar than a factory. I also wanted to say that it was NOT dumb of you to want the one perfect guitar and never need to buy another one. If a good handbuilder builds you a guitar with all the wood and binding combinations you want, incredible tone, killer looks, your not likely to ever run across another guitar in a store that you like as much. Here are some websites to a few friends of mine, I’m not sure if they will build a guitar with everything you want or not but you can look into it. They will probably give you some of the best prices out there. Just some more options. Dickey guitars John How guitars Wren Guitars Kragenbrink Guitars Paul Woolson Guitars Patriot Guitars

The braces on the inside of the back are not carved, and since the frets are not crowned it’s going to play crappy. My advice is for him to get a good book like: A Guitarmakers Manuel by Jim Williams, and his next guitar will be much better.

Get the book, Tradition and technology, by William Cumpiano and some other guy. You can get it from any luthier supply house like stew mac or luthiers mercantile international. It is worth your money, and yes building an acoustic is much harder than building an electric of any kind. You must pay special attention to acoustics and voicing for it to sound good. Also, to make an acoustic that is truly better than the thousand dollar guitars on the market on your first try is probably not impossible, but it might be, I don’t know how much actual experience you have had building guitars. There’s no other way to find out than to just dig in, so good luck!

If I were you I would start out with a kit, It will save you soooo much work and time. I would get the stew-mac kit. You can download and print of there kit instructions online, and they have a list of basic tools for building there acoustic. If you start out like I did, from scratch, you better have your money ready because you will spend a fortune. If I am remembering right after I had purchased all the basic tools to build an acoustic from scratch I spent about a thousand dollars. That does not include any power tools except for a dremel, the rest are all hand tools like saws, planes, chisels, scrapers, lots of expensive files, bending iron, calipers, rasps, spokeshave, lots of bits just to name a few things. Anyway that’s my advice. Good luck!

That is some good work. It was also very generous of you, It looks like you have a good bit of cost in materials too.

I have a friend that had this same problem. He said what you do to solve the problem is to lay the drill press down on it’s side and fully support the spindle shaft with a hardwood block or something. Then you take a metal chisel and hammer in tiny cuts around the shaft this gives the chuck something to grip. He said his hasn’t come off since.

Thanks for sharing your story LGM. It was a great inspiration to me. I couldn’t believe that you have only been building guitars for that long, I would have guessed about 15 years anyway. I think you have given me more overall help than anyone else on the forum, and I know you have on finishing. Thanks!

The top is solid sitka spruce. The back and side are curly figured bubinga. It has maple wood bindings, they have a slight bit of curly figure to them. It has a paua abalone soundhole rossette. Ebony bridge and fingerboard, the PHV is also ebony. Lacquer finish buffed to very high gloss. The sound is great, it has really good volume (the first thing I look for in a good acoustic), nice bottom end, with crisp, but not overpowering trebles. This is a great acoustic guitar.