NotYou

That's a great idea! I need to make something like that for bodies too. I do like DPM and move a pile around all the time. I'm unorganized enough as it is and that kind of thing makes it so much worse.

Scrapers are priceless tools for guitar building. I keep an un-burred set around for when I want to do subtle shaping and smoothing, especially on belly carves and necks. When they're blunt, they're still able to scrape away wood pretty effectively when pushed instead of pulled. It's less of a "cut" than a spokeshave or a plane, but more than a properly burred scraper being pulled. It's great when you get down to the final stages of neck carving and lets you be very precise and helps keep the wood smooth and even. I even use that set for stripping finishes, excess glue, and anything messy like that.

Scrapers. http://www.rockler.com/m/product.cfm?page=4898 The alcohol works too. It can extract the color from some woods, especially rosewoods, and smear it into the light wood. I don't know if it'll do that with ebony or bacote, so it might work.

I second Titebond I. It's great for any part of the guitar. It's strong, dries brittle (good for instruments), and is removable in case of repairs. LMI's glue is good, but I've found it to be inconsistent. A bad batch can completely ruin a guitar. I say that from experience. If you glue properly, the joint will be stronger than the wood, so string tension and all that shouldn't be any concern in regard to glue.

I laughed out loud at that because I've almost done that same thing many times. Working with three dimensional objects can trick your brain sometimes.

There have been a couple times I've slotted a fretboard and thought it was perfect, then find out after glueing it all up I have one slot that's a hair off one way or another. That's disheartening to say the least, especially if you realize it when installing the frets.

I would keep trying to clean them before you do anything drastic. Keep picking at the slots while using a shop vac or blower to help get the unseen bits out. The Dremel likely added a lot of dust and tiny wood chips.

Hmmm I wasn't sure if it was oily or not, so I just went with it.

I usually rub oily woods down with 0000 steel wool really well after sanding. On anything like cocobolo, ebony, etc., it'll get a nice, smooth shine out of it, which you can't seem to get from sanding, even with high grits. You have to keep in mind you're just sanding wood and not a finish, so it's not going to act the same way. Most of those woods "finish" themselves with their own oils and waxes and will stay looking nice if you rub them down with the steel wool like that. I've never tried it on bubinga, but it's worth a shot, for sure. I've never tried Prosthetas approach, but that sounds interesting.

Oh, extremely. I hate that place. I go on there occasionally because it does get me some attention, but I really do hate it. Even though I build guitars, I'm not a gear person. There is a general mentality that just bugs me. I see a great instrument as work of art and something special somebody poured their self into. They tend to see it as something to collect, a toy, or something to idealize like a little kid drooling at a muscle car. To each his own, though. They're absolutely allowed to their see it how they will, but I don't like being there. I used to converse more on there, but I honestly think it did more harm than good, since I completely don't see eye to eye with the vast majority of those guys. Getting attention is tough on there. Almost every thread in the luthiers section is about the same handful of builders. Those guys deserve the attention, for sure, but the community manages to single them out as the only ones, just like they do with Fender and Gibson. That can be very irritating as a builder, especially since that area is meant to be a departure from that stuff. But, it is what it is. Me complaining about how the public views something won't do any good. You're not the only one who can't get comments, though. I think most of us have that same complaint. Jeeze, I guess I had some venting to do about TGP. Haha

Some one once told me this and it turned out to be true. "The best way to ruin a good hobby is to try and make a living with it" Very true. Halfway through last year I began doing other work on the side for some steady income (pedicab!) because I was tired of living like a starving artist. Once I began with that distraction, I significantly neglected my guitars until late last month. I realized that I was just burnt out on building guitars, dealing with clients, trying to make sales and get noticed, etc.. Trying to live off that for a few years wore me down and I needed a break. What used to be my obsession became something I actually tried to block from my mind. It's still my obsession and I'm back at it now. No matter how much you love your work, you can still get worn down by it and not want to even think about it. That break saved my sanity. Had I kept going, I would have probably began hating it. I wouldn't even know what to do then. Note: It's not the guitars I got tired of, but trying to make my passion a business. It can suck the life out of you if you're not careful.

Very, very cool. What's the finish going to be like? I'd definitely vote for a satin finish, but that's just my taste. Edit: Wait, I know you. You commented on my build thread on TGP.

For sure. Back when I worked retail, they said the same thing at every job I had: A happy customer *might* tell one person, but an angry one will tell everybody they know. In a business where you get limited customers and word of mouth is generally spread online and in public, one upset person when you're just starting can end it all before it really begins. I've only ever had one really upset customer and was terrified because he's *VERY* connected in the music world (professional studio guitarist and sit-in musician for a ton of huge musicians). Luckily he understood it wasn't all my fault (shipping accident) and just canceled the order and let it go. At first, he thought it was my fault and was pissed. Again, very lucky he heard me out and was rational about it. We're even still Facebook friends. If he wasn't so understanding, he could have pretty much destroyed my business all by himself. Actually, if he tried to, I bet he really could have destroyed it. It scared the sh*t out of me. I ended up losing out on $3500, but was still relieved that didn't end up worse. You have to really be on top of things to please everybody, let alone build a good reputation. Lot's of builders can stay in business, but only a handful have a known reputation because it's so hard to develop one. Every one of those guys took many years to get it and they're all outstanding builders and deserve it. You'll never see a guitar builder with a good rep who didn't earn it. This business is extremely critical.

Thanks! If anybody has an opinion or idea for the bridge, I'd love to hear it. I haven't drilled holes for it yet because I'm still mulling it over. I've made fully adjustable buffalo horn bridges for guitars like this before (made so they can swapped out with a TOM bridge, since you can't just buy a replacement) and they sounded amazing. I'm not set on doing that for this one, but it's certainly an option. Buffalo horn is black with cream streaks and adds a distinct kind of warmth to the tone. The neck will add a lot of warmth with the goncalo alves, so I don't want to overdo it, though. I want the hardware to be mostly black and natural looking. The pup covers will be copper mesh that's been blackened. Everything else is up in the air for the moment. I'm also thinking of MAYBE adding a pickguard. If I do, I'd like to make it out of metal, leave it matte, and blacken it (maybe even etch the black, now that I'm thinking about it). Given the shape of the body is reminiscent of an old-timy acoustic or archtop, I think it could add a lot of character... or it could just be too much. That's a very recent idea, so any thoughts on that would be appreciated too.

Sort of. Generally, Cliff, the owner, scouts people who he thinks are suitable and contacts them. Then he has to play a guitar first hand and decide if it's good enough. The quality standards there are as high they get. I don't send him every guitar he sells. Once you're with DAG, you're basically represented by them, again, like an agent.

People often ask me why I don't put my guitars into local stores and that's exactly my reason. We've talked a little in the past and I know my approach is different from yours. I sell more by doing non-commissioned builds and selling it as is through DAG or by having people find it posted in some forum. Normally, I can expect a new build to sell within two weeks of making the photos public. Hmmm... what's DAG? DestroyAllGuitars.com They work pretty much how an agent would work. They spread builders' work around and take a cut if they sell it. They're 1000x more connected than I am and get tons of exposure. Just being on there gives me a lot of credibility. If not for that site, I'd barely sell anything.

Me too! I had to go to great lengths to make sure I could keep them on there. I've never seen it done before and excited about it.

I'll refine the edges, so they look a little more natural. The finish I'll be using will yellow the maple and make it look aged enough. The body is bound right now, but it's hard to tell in the photos. The binding actually looks pretty cool. It has some burrow holes in it that go all the way through and thick strips of bone.

I haven't made a progress thread in quite a while, so I decided to get on it. I think I have some earlier photos somewhere. If I can find them I'll upload them, so you can see how it started. The wood knots function as sound-holes. I had to experiment and work pretty hard to get them stabalized and ensure they wouldn't check or move at all. The hardware will mostly be be made by me. The pickup covers will be blackened copper mesh. The bridge is still up in the air, but I have some ideas. The body is chambered. The top, obviously, is spalted maple. The back is wormy black walnut and womry maple. Binding is black walnut with bone details. The neck is goncalo alves and mahogany (around 60 years old). The wood will be aged to black and grey with a iron/vinegar solution I made. I did some aging for these photos, so you could sort of see how the colors will turn out. The goncalo alves on the neck and fretboard will turn a dark greenish color with bits of black. All of the wood sounds incredible. I have high hopes for this one.

People often ask me why I don't put my guitars into local stores and that's exactly my reason. We've talked a little in the past and I know my approach is different from yours. I sell more by doing non-commissioned builds and selling it as is through DAG or by having people find it posted in some forum. Normally, I can expect a new build to sell within two weeks of making the photos public. I've found custom builds slow me down drastically and don't bring much new business. This is due to the nature of my work, though. All of my guitars are completely unique and the custom work is often from guys wanting something that is only appealing to them. I even recently began turning down all commisoned builds. A have a few in the works, but they're the last ones. I'm going to be doing all my own designs and posting them for sale. Most builders would think that's crazy, but it suits my approach and my clientele and should greatly improve business. My non-commisioned work sells quickly, but I have to sell it online where a large number of people see it and someone who it clicks with and can afford it can snag it up. A store front would do me no good. For the OP, my point is, if you go into business, there isn't one successful approach, but an infinite number, each specific to each specific builder. I could never build like a lot of guys do and make general models consistently. But, at the same time, those same guys would never take my approach of making everything completely different and catered toward a very small niche market (in what is already somewhat of a niche market) with no employees, very low volume, but high price tags. When you find what approach suits you and find out exactly how you work (that takes time), you need to own it and proceed accordingly. Often what works for a particular builder will be an approach that hasn't even been done. Go with your gut, but be pragmatic. Just don't expect to make things and have it all work out by itself. I'm a terrible business person, but I can make this business work because I recognize that shortcoming. My customers see me more as an artist and less as a businessman or even craftsman. I know that and I milk it for all I can. If someone like Kauer came at their customers like that, they probably wouldn't trust him. That's because he apparoaches his work like a businessman and a craftsman. He knows that and so do his customers, so he approaches it as such and is very successful. I often use Kauer as an example when talking about the business end of things because we're friends who are both the exact same age (babies in this business), but come at this is in practically opposite ways. We're both seen as two very different types of builders, but we still maintain a lot of respect for each other. I completely acknowledge I couldn't run a business like he does and, honestly, that's not what I want to do. To be fair, he's financially far more successful than I am.

I got into business fairly young. It's tough, but not as bad as most people make it out to be. It's no different than being an artist (not that that's saying much). The thing is, it's a job you do with long term goals. You need to do it because you love it and not for the money. If money is your goal, you'll definitely get frustrated, start hating it, and will quit before it gets anywhere. It's still doable, though. If your work is unique and catches people attention, it'll get noticed. It also needs to be top knotch to gain a reputation and actually sell stuff. Just like being an artist, you'll inevitably go through a long period of being broke, in debt, etc., but if you're good enough and passionate enough, you'll succeed. Bottom line, it's a long term business. Unless you want to just sell one here and there as a hobby, you need to be completely committed and willing to suffer for a while.

CA is what I use. It's easier to use and clean up than epoxy and is very strong. The thinner kinds will also soak into the wood and dry clear. Like Workingman said, wood glue won't bond to metal, so it won't do you much good.

I immediately thought poplar at first glance. It can vary in color a lot, but that grain looks very much like poplar.

I'm about to do the same with my old Hamer from when I was a teenager. It's not a Slammer, though. It's actually a pretty nice guitar, it just suffers due to cheap Korean manufacturing. The finish is so thick it muddies everything up and the hardware and frets could be a lot better. I'm going to strip it down, blacken it, then add a thin hand rubbed satin finish. I'm also going to make pickups for it and overhaul all the hardware and everything. Basically, the wood is nice and carved very well, but everything else needs changed for it to live up to its potential. If you're going to fill in existing routes, make sure to use the same wood and prime it well before finishing. Otherwise, you risk having noticeable lines between the new wood and old. You risk that anyhow, but it's safer that way. I would really recommend giving it plenty of time after gluing in the new wood, to make sure it all acclimates and evens out properly.

I've seen a few basses made with twisted necks to get that effect. It can be done, but whether it's worth the headache and the time is your call. From what I hear, it really doesn't make that much of a difference when you're actually playing, but is more of a novelty. If you just want the challenge, I say go for it. I could see a twisted neck being more suitable for a very wide neck, like on a 8 string guitar or 6+ string bass. For a normal six string, I think it could actually hinder your playing, depending on your style. I carve my necks so they gradually become more asymmetrical on the back (the fretboard is standard). Sweetwood has his CNC machine programmed to achieve a similar effect. It makes things more comfortable, but really isn't too noticeable. Although, not being noticeable is sort of the whole point. As far as the nut and saddles go, I think it'd be best to do it on an individual string basis. Basically, cut the nut and adjust the saddles for each individual string to make sure that particular string sits correctly. If they all get set consistently, it should feel right when you play them all together.