DaveK

Michigan. Just outside of Ann Arbor

I am looking for help for the pickup routing for a start. I need a single single humbucker configuration (humbucker in the bridge position). It's for a 62 strat with a pick guard . I was interested in figuring out the best place to get a template or if anyone wants to provide this service and route the body for me, that would be of interest as well Is this something you can provide? Thanks!

I am the member that powdercoats hardware I am still doing it, but I am backed up at the moment If anyone is interested, please contact me oh......and never paint! It will wear down quickly

PM Sent Dave

Stupid question of the day......I am painting a Iceman body with House of Kolor paint. Ebay is selling 4 ounce sizes. If I use a HVLP gun, do you think 4 ounces will be enough for one body? Also, how many onces of clear would you suggest? This my first stab at using an HVLP system, so any help is appreciated Thanks Dave

This may be a completely stupid question, but here it goes. If you were to put a plastic pickup cover over a sustainer, would it dramatically effect the sustainer quality? I am trying to "hide" the sustainer look & my though is if a plastic cover doesn't affect a regular pickups functionality, it may not effect the sustainer either Thoughts from the forum?

Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy......... I think we are going to have to agree to disagree about Powdercoating lasting longer than chrome. I have seen many chrome parts pit, peel and flake. I have never personaly seen this happen with powdercoated parts. That cool if you feel otherwise, different opinions are what make the world go around! I guess I am more concerned about the statement you made regarding: I think I am going to just have to buy a new digital camera & do a tutorial. I did a blue Edge trem and a yellow Jackson trem with NO issues. you just have to know where to mask with Green tape (green polyester that has a 1.5 mil silicone adhesive. It withstands temperatures up to 400 degrees) You also have to know where to use silicone caps & plugs to make sure the coating dosent get in here it should not. I think I might have to do a "snow white" hardware transformation to show my claims to be true Now I just have to make the time to do it!

LGM & Billet: I respectfully disagree on your statements on Powdercoating. If you simply buy a $100 powdercoat gun and try your hand, you will most likely run into the issues you both brought up. There are methods to applying powdercoat that will work perfectly with a Floyd type trem. I have done several and as long as the attention to detail is taken into account up front, there are NO issues at all. I may be working on a Powdercoating tutorial in the future that will lay this out in detail. I just have a few projects that I want to finish up beforehand. Dave

Powdercoat it dude! 3 steps Scuff Clean Powdercoat If done right, it willl look amazing!

WOW....a year without a topic on Powdercoating and now 2 in a row from 2 different members! Thanks for the referal Scott! I can do it, but I am VERY backed up P.M.me if you are interested

Define "expensive" I can Powdercoat, but it will take some time, as I am WAY backlogged on other projects. Powdercoating will outlast chrome when done correctly You're better off leaving it as it is. I have yet to see a paint that will hold up to that kind of application. Perhaps getting it chromed but they have a tendency to lose small parts in the vat. ←

In my opinion, it is pretty rotten to use a public forum to try and solve this problem. It's none of my business, but it appears that there were steps being made to resolve the issue. No reason to send the "don"t do business with this guy" message that a thread like this implies. It's nice that you were satisfied with the resolution, but if I were Ronny I would be upset that you brought your story here for the group to see. Bad press like this can KILL a business. I used to sell a HOW TO RELIC CD ROM guide. I stopped because a customer like this couldn't read the CD ROM. I couldn't understand WHY, because I tested all of them before I shipped them out. I sent not one but 2 replacement disks......After "don't do business with this guy" thread I got, I was able to determine that he was putting the CD in UPSIDE DOWN!!! Lesson: If you give a seller a chance to solve a problem, they usually exceed your expectations! People don't go into business to disapoint customers & don't STAY in business if they do Just my 2 cents........ 5, 12:28 AM] Sounds to me like you need to give Ronny a chance. Obviously when there was a problem he sent a new set of templates and covered shipping. If this is an honest mistake (or a possible manufacturing error, that was not noticed) well these things can happen. He has a good reputation for building nice templates, and even Heige said he is very happy with his Strat templates. I really don't think Ronny owes any public appology or admittance of anything. How he works this out with his customer is really between he and Heige. If Heige is satisfied with the arrangement thats all that matters. Peace,Rich ←

Also...a quick way to tell "authenic" relics The cracks in the finish typically go horizontally on a real vintage guitar Relics are most often vertical cracks in the finish I know it sounds silly, but do the research....you will see!

Scott: You got this method to work on a poly finish???? I know you and I were talking a long time ago about trying some relicing on your poly body. Any pics?

You can do it....but it is PAINSTAKING detail. It involves scoring horizontally with an exacto knife. It can be done, but Nitro cracking looks more authentic (and it is WAY easier). The only way you can crack Poly by freezing is to use liquid nitrogen...which is a BLAST to do, but expensive and hard to get

happy berf day tu yew!!!!

Thanks Wes: As far as Maple boards go...just mask them off & be careful & patient! No real mystery...just a steady hand & lots of care!

I did a search on this topic and can't believe it has never been brought up before. Here is my question...I have a drillpress and I am in the process of making copies of the many templates of the bodies I have been building lately. I was wondering if if I could simply use the tracing router bit in my drillpress. It would almost be like a pin router and sure would save a bunch of time... Has anyone done this?

Tim: OUTSTANDING IDEA!!!! I think your idea is the winner for me!

Big D: Thanks for the post Those were my thoughts as well on the process. I just want to see if anyone has been brave enough to do this. I am curious on how difficult the actual process is from someone that has tried it. Removing the neck makes me nervous & I want to get feedback from thos who were successful Anyone out there who has done this? Pix would be great

O.K. I know it is dangerous to ever cite Ed Roman as a referance on this site...and my post is not intended to be the starting point of another "Roman bashing" string That being said......I have always been interested in his claims of being able to "re-top" Les Pauls. I would love to hear from anyone that has actually done it & determine what steps were involved. I would think that you would have some serious work to do to accomplish this feat, but I wanted to get feedback from those who have done it , or know the process. Can anyone shed any light on this process? Dave K

Wow, there has been a LOT of interest in relicing lately! I have actually justy finished a CD Rom on relicing that I plan on selling on e-bay I have also figured out a way to relic POLY bodies!!! I don't want to give ALL my secrets away...but if there is a particular area you are interested in, i am sure I can post some tips Dave My Melody Maker turns 40 years old this year...still a beautiful guitar...tons of checking--but strangely mostly on the body, very little on the neck. Plenty of little pits and scars ...but surprisingly in good shape, considering I use to throw this guitar across the stage once in a while (the bass player used to throw my Univox Hi-flyer at me...). So yeah, if you're going to do a Gibson-style relic, you'd want to get lots of checking in there... ←

You can't ever really screw up if you remember never to cut all the way through the clear. For some reason, Gibsons tend to have crack lines closer together, so they require more work.

To each their own........ My point is not to convert those that don't like relics over to the "dark side". I am simply trying to demonstrate that the Murphy technique does, in fact, look very authentic when it comes to checking. Let me assure you that a LOT of time and dedication was put into doing this BY HAND, not machine! The topic is "how do you crack a finish".....not "do you LIKE a cracked finish"

Here is an example of the Murphy technique done on a Les Paul Headstock (Thanks to Bowser for the tip on Photobucket.com) Thoughts?