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Well, maybe padauk is kind of like a wife.... It starts off all bright and shining, but then over time - little by little- it becomes more warm and comfortable. In my opinion the guitar gains character as you do. - but if you figure out how to combat the forces of nature, I'm listening. Nate Robinson

Cordless tools in general seem to have a cost/convenience ratio. The higher the cost the the higher the convience - and vice verse. The only down fall to that thought process is that the more often you charge and discharge the battery the longer it lasts. So pro grade tools used extensively for the purpose they were designed for last more or less as long as home owner models used within thier range of engineering. In the end cordless tools aren't exempt from the old shop axiom; Buy the best you can afford at the time. As far as the gripe about the batteries costing as much as the tools.... I dunno, it pisses me off too! Take it easy, Nate Robinson

The three large factors that affect the functionality of any shop - of nearly any size - seem to be: Ability to keep it clean Mobility of tools to accomodate affore mentioned as well as to streamline production of multiple process' at any given time Positioning of tools to facilitate immediate use, clean up, and storage - again improving productivity I run five benches in the shop and each has a purpose (generally none of them being hobby guitar building). Each bench has a storage area underneath for the tools most commonly used at that bench. This allows me to stop toting tools from one end of the shop to the other and localizes my activity, thus allowing me to increase my productivity. I should clarify that I don't own five woodworking benches; 1 torsion box for flat assembly, 1 router bench, 1 "clean" bench for fine work, (would love to turn this into a down draft!) 1 catch all bench that accumulates all the odds and ends tools 1 woodworking bench set up standard with fore vice, tail vice, bench dogs, and stop block My personal preferance is to mount my benches on castors so they can be easily moved to allow for cleaning, or simply to put them in an order that speeds up my production on any given invoice. I know this is all pretty basic, but then most of the things we do to increase profit are, so.... Take it easy, and congrats on the new digs. Nate Robinson

Here's the pic I promised, showing the grain a little better Chunkielad, I did a little checking into it and your idea looks like it will work great, Thanks! Nate Robinson

This is certainly not my area of expertise.... but my impression is that the reamers were used to fit the bridge pins. As far as the bridge being fixed to the instrument it seems that most are just glued, though some are bolted and others screwed. Hopefully someone with more direct experience will answer. Good Luck! Nate Robinson

After reading all that I just get a gut feeling that most of his BS is marketing. He makes a point of saying that every piece of wood is different and then prescribes his perfect combination... Just a little over the top for me. On topic, I think that its fair to say that flat radius' are easily played note to note while more extreme radius' are more comfortable for chords. I'm not even getting close to the, " would you prefer bend or slide " argument. I think most people have developed a style that works for them and building to that style can be a strong point - at least for the amatuer builder ( God bless the pros for having to try to read other people's minds!) At any rate, good luck with the build. I hope she turns out just as you haven't imagined yet. Nate Robinson

Your "Clicky' isn't functional, might wanna check on it. Other than that it sounds great.... unfortunately I'm a visual kinda person so if you could get your mock up going I might be enlightened. Good luck! Nate Robinson

Thank you all for the comments. I wouldn't have thought to pinstripe an instrument... but when the opportunity presented itself I thought, " Well I have plenty of sandpaper". But for whatever reason the pinstripe just does it for me. The grain isn't showing well now because it was sanded at 320 to remove the overspray of white. I'll try to get a pic of it with a little naptha to give a better idea of the finished product. Chunkielad, thanks for the idea. That may well be the direction to go, I'll investigate it further this week. Nate Robinson

I think it came out wonderfully - Mr. Kelly just has an eye for lines that I just don't posses... at least in the same time frame. Right now there are 6 coats of laquer under the pinstripe. I will have to keep shooting on laquer to level the surface, though I don't really know how many coats it will take. If i run my finger over the stripping I can barely feel it, so I don't think It'll take to much laquer to bring it all together. Say, does anybody have any thoughts about sealing the pinstripe on the pickguard? I tend to be heavy handed and I think I could ruin the paint in about 2 hours. I was thinking thinned down epoxy but don't really know. Thanks all, Nate Robinson

I've been very busy the last six months with the wife pregnant and moving and a million other things but here's the latest on this one. A neighbor had the opportunity to have an item pinstriped as part of an exhibition that Tom Kelly was a part of... Here are the results.

Ha Ha!!!! I was under the impression we were speaking of planer knives. I guess in this instance a picture is worth a thousand words. Sorry for sending you in circles. Nate Robinson

First thing I would do is determine the angle itself then cut a shim at that angle ( If you haven't done a full scale plane of the guitar now is a good time to do it. You will immediately see what I mean) then clamp or double stick it to the top of the guitar blank. Let your router run on the shim and you have the angled pocket you wanted. On the other hand you could just shim a flat pocket..... Your call though. Nate Robinson Edit: Myka's jig (good option) Mykas Neck Pocket Jig

Try this. Scary Sharp Method You need to remove any knicks in the blade before progressing to actually sharpening it. I generally use a stationary grinder to remove large knicks or chips in the blade, but it can be done with a little elbow grease and a sharpening stone. Nate Robinson. PS for more info do a forum search on scary sharp method.

Olyen: I'm feeling that alot myself. I look at the beautiful - if not superb - instruments that seem to be childs play for other members, and think, " I can approach that". But at the end of the day I always go cheap first. In my experience the cost of a guitar isn't in the wood, but in the hardware. Obviously I haven't purchased first rate wood yet, but then my skills don't necesitate that yet. My big problem is self control. I see all these wonderful instruments being made and want to jump right to that level - after all it doesn't look that hard! But without the proper knowledge, the best tools in the world aren't going to get me any closer to that kind of craftsmanship. That's where members such as fryovanni and mattia make such an impact on me. They show that they have the ability to push my work so far into the mud it makes me fart dust balls, and at the same time encourage and propel me to ask "stupid" questions. So - first rate wood - who cares? Do what you can with what you have and keep the learning curve steep. Good Luck Nate Robinson

No doubt, you will knock em dead. Congratulations! NR

Rich, could you elaborate on the baking method you mentioned. Temperatures, times, that sort of thing would be helpfull - as well as whether or not the wood should be weighted while in the oven. Thank you. Nate Robinson

Where to start? I hadn't been interested in building acoustics until recently and have followed this thread - in particular - with much interest. I have been researching across the net for the last couple weeks and have come across alot of clear, concise information concerning acoustic top bracing. Unfortunately I have also come across alot of conflicting view points. Here are the two that are most interesting to me at this point: 1) Does anyone have information - whether it be anecdotal, printed, or otherwise acrued - concerning whether symmetrical bracing is more prone to producing nodes that interfere with individual string output at a given frequency? I have read that the reason for asymetrical bracing patterns is to reduce the likelyhood of having a node under the bridge. Conversely, I have come across luthiers that purposefully brace symetrically to achieve more fundamental tones with "delayed" overtones - supposedly resulting in a richer, more robust sound. 2) Arched bracing? Think Roman aquaduct. This type of bracing seems to span about an inch or so of the top before making contact with the top again. Supposedly this lets the top vibrate more freely due to less mass being attached to it. I haven't been able to find much at all on this, but the idea is intriguing and might be fun to do - that is if it isn't a crock. Anything you could add would be helpful, TIA. Nate Robinson

I'm at a loss. Duct tape finish? Christ, I dunno, my faith in man kind was diminished just looking at that.

Looks like the neck conversion is well on track! Nice lines there, I'm looking forward to seeing the neck mounted. Keep us posted as I would like to follow this one from a distance if nothing else. Good luck! Nate Robinson

I use mdf, as well, for my templates. I refuse to use masonite for two reasons: 1) I prefer a 1/2" template, masonite is only available locally in 1/4". 2) I don't like the way masonite cuts, it seems to chip on the harder outer surface frequently and the inner core is so soft it is easily gouged. As far as making the pattern goes, I cut with a bandsaw or jigsaw then rough in with a pattern makers rasp and finally smooth with a flexible sanding stick loaded with 80 grit sandpaper.

Congratulations, it looks to be a very nice instrument. What finish did you choose to put on it? Nate Robinson

I kinda figured he'd remove the frets completely before trimming up the fingerboard then refret after he had mounted it to the neck.

I'm not all that familiar with Jems, but your dimensions match necks made by fender and a miriad of others. As long as you are planning on 24 frets this board should work. The one potential problem I see is that the board is roughly 4mm wider at both nut and heel than the neck you are working with. I wouldn't be difficult to trim that up, except that the inlay in the fretboard appears to get fairly close to the edge of it as is. If you could trim it up without blowing up the inlay I'd say go for it. Check into it and see what you think - Good luck with the project. Nate Robinson

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That's brutal honesty if I ever heard it. The real question is are you willing to invest more time into turning your pile of parts into something more than a "pile". In your opinion is it possible to construct a body to fit your existing neck? If so, you're in business. Don't get too down on yourself, and explore the options at hand. If you have the tools/space to build a body for that neck, you might think about it. We all have these kind of setbacks, if we didn't enjoy the process we wouldn't do it - and if you don't you shouldn't. Good Luck in your endeavor. Nate Robinson