RDub

If you set the saddles at the same height as the frets, the strings will angle down from the nut to the saddle, being closer to the last fret than the first. I'm fairly certain if you try this the strings will buzz in open positions and get progressively worse as you go up the neck. Don't forget to factor in the path of the vibrating string when you ponder this. But what the heck, try it out and see how you make out!

Did a refinish and changed pickguards on a couple of Ibanez RG's not to long ago. When I inquired about gettin them made from one of the internet custom pickguard suppliers, they told me RG pickguards can vary depending on which factory they were made in and would only make them if you supply the original or a tracing of it to them. My suggestion, since you'll be making your own, is to use it for a template. You'll have to figure out the pickup locations on your own, but with your background in machining, I think you should be able to handle it. Just center the SC up on the humbucker location and you're good to go.

all depends on body size and stiffness of the wood. I usually start flexing and feeling things around .125" with Sitka for an SJ or OM. The last 2 I did ended up at .120" and the other top I had went to .110 for an OM. Usually I see people recommend .125" for spruce. When you've done a few you develop a sense for the stiffness and can feel and hear when it's where you want it.

Just learned something. I just read, and can't verify the accuracy of this, but... Thining will make laquer dry quicker, and be worse than brushing straight. You use retarder instead, because it slows drying time allowing the product to flow out better. Makes sense. Also makes sense to add a little time to your cure time before leveling than with straight laquer.

And I agree with Avenger's earlier post sayin a quality fine bristle brush isn't neccesary. If you don't use one though, you'll be more prone to bubbles and brush marks and spend more time level sanding....

I can't answer your question. I'd suggest going over to Target Coatings website and asking it on the forum there. Jeff Weiss from Target is great to deal with and will be able to tell you the hows and whys.( or why nots) And if you're gonna do tests, you shouldn't have results by midweek. You should test the full finish schedule, includeing all the coats and a full cure time....

OK, First go on over to kit guitar forum or the OLF and search water based lacquers. And search here too, I've posted on them, and a lot of good stuff on the other boards. Hate to plug the other sites, but that's where the info is. Second, I have no experience with Stew Mac's product, but I use Target coatings EM-6000, which is a replacement for Their USL, which is what Stew Mac relabels and sells. Third, you can brush water based lacquer. But, you don't THIN it. You need to add RETARDER, 15-20% by volume. It, does burn in so no witness lines. You want to use a very fine bristled brush, and put on very thin coats to keep brush marks to a minimum. I recomend the Davinci brushes Target sells in their website. I found that NOT loading the brush helps get a smoother coat. And keep the brush nearly perpendicular to the surface to avoid bubbles. I like to put on @ 6 coats then level, then @ 6 more level again, and if I get no sand through, I'll put on 3 more, let cure a week, level, micro mesh to 2000, then hand buff with Mequirs products. You can even use TransTint or Mixol pigments to create toners and shaders, although you don't need retarded if you use pigments. Make sure you get the ones for Waterbased.

It depends on the type of neck you're making. If you're planning a one piece neck, with the fretboard being the same material as the neck, you'll need to rout from behind, and do the curved rout and a one way traditional rod.. Hiscock's book details this style neck very well. If you want a seperate fretboard, you can use a truss rod like the Stew Mac or Martin, and put in a straight rout.

did you clean all the old glue out before regluing??? If not I'd bet it'll come apart again sometime soon. Glue doesn't stick to old glue .

All depends on your string diameters... Look at the pakage of strings and get the right files.

Avenger, you've got skills. I'm sure if you can make the rest of an acoustic, you can handle the bridge. Definately not harder than making necks...

I'll go with the possibility of plywood. But even at that, how thick was the top layer? .020"-.030" That's pretty significant amount of wood taken off a structurally critcal area of the top. Who knows? profile the bridge to match the top and slap it on there. Worse thing that can happen is it'll deform badly, leaving the action horrible, and then you'll know you should have retopped it. Could be a fun project...

Looks like someone sanded all the way through the top to the bridge plate???? If' that's the case I'd say new top time.

Kinda hard to see from the pic. Is the wood chipped? Just dented? Is it just the finish chipped off??

I use a Plane to carefully approach the radius, then finish off with the blocks and 100 grit. Real quick if you pay attention with the plane.

Thanks for all the props guys. I'm surprised though. I must be getting better. Nobody even mentioned the missing truss rod cover yet Just noticed it myself... Great work by everyone this month. Especially the Raven and the Drifter. Such a toss up between those two, I couldn't pick, so I voted for myself. I'm really liking all the new body shapes out there. Most aren't my personal taste, but it's great seeing people not just making copies. Keep up the good work

Straight up rock? Hard to beat Slash's sound on appetite for me.

Does the basswood LP have a maple top?? The new EVH Wolfgang has a basswood body with a maple top and neck, and while it's a different body shape, I wouldn't describe its tone as muddy. Of course EVH spent alot of time selecting pickups for his new guitar, so I assume some pickups work better than others with this combo.

I'll add to watch the way you glue up the pieces. If you take the bottom 2" of then turn it 90 degrees and glue it to the sides, you'll end up with the end grain being the glue joint, and that's a weak way to do it. End grain will soak up alot of the glue and you could end up with a poor joint. Kinda seems to me you're a little short on Material with that board. If you have a way to resaw the wood, and can take the thickness down to 1.5" and end up with a piece @1" thick, you could cut that to strips1"x1.5" and add that to the sides to get your width so you don't use endgrain. Hope that makes some sense to you

For the fret slots, download program called wfret. You should be able to find it with a quick search. It will allow you to decide scale length and # of frets, then print a template and a chart of the fret positions. I've used the template before by taping it to the fretboard, scoring along the lines with a knife and straightedge, then cutting the slots on a miterbox. You want your fret slots in the .023" range, depending on your wire. If you could get a hacksaw blade that cuts that width, no reason it won't work. I did my first with a japanese pull saw I picked up at a local tool store. It has pretty small teeth, and cut the right width slots right out of the package. Look around, I'm sure you'll be able to find something.

Ok I'll start it off, my latest acoustic,we'll call it the Lone Wolf Specs: OLF-SJ 14 fret to body 25.5 scale length Top: Engleman Spruce Back and sides and Headplate: Zebrawood Binding: Koa Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard and Bridge: Pau Ferro Tuners: Gotoh Open Back Finish: Target Emtech 6000

Comiccaster hands down for me this month. Not a comic fan, but I love the look of the chrome edging. Lots of great and different stuff this month. Thanks for posting up everyone.

+1 for the line 6 stuff. I've got the Toneport, probably too big for travel, but I know they have smaller options. For recording, most come with demo software like Live Light. Most of the feature of the full DAW, but in a 4-track setup. Probably perfect for what you want. If you want ability to do more, look at Reaper, free download but they ask you to pay for it if you like it.

With acoustics, it's all about the sound...

Yeah, Ive got diagrams for bothof those configs. Just looking for options with the 5way/p-p. You've sparked an idea though. I'll probably pick up onother p-p pot, and do the the first setup, with p-p being phase switches. Thanks for the inspiration.