ScottR Posted December 16, 2021 Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 8 minutes ago, mistermikev said: well it is certainly an experience - having your work under a microscope. I think... just hearing "it's good" really tells you nothing because, of course someone would say that. having someone dig in and be critical is an opportunity to get better and much more useful... but admittedly not exactly easy to take... but an opportunity all the sm. Welcome to the joys of building for a customer.....an astute and critical one at that. Ideally, when that happens he is relatively local and you can get checks and resolutions as you build. Most of the way across the country is a whole nuther thing. Building to spec can make you crazy. SR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted December 16, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2021 53 minutes ago, ScottR said: Welcome to the joys of building for a customer.....an astute and critical one at that. Ideally, when that happens he is relatively local and you can get checks and resolutions as you build. Most of the way across the country is a whole nuther thing. Building to spec can make you crazy. SR Hehe... well I don't think anything here is quite a catastrophe... all pretty minor stuff really, but I hear ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted December 17, 2021 Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 10 hours ago, mistermikev said: admittedly I think I was saying it for my own benefit! IMO it's important to at least hint to all of the things you'd have to take into account when adjusting the action. Following that principle, a rarely mentioned thing is to carve the fretboard concave from the nut to about 10th fret, the deepest spot (~0.5mm) being around the 5th. That will give the string more space to vibrate at the extents of the first harmonic. Assisted with some relief it helps getting the action as low as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted December 17, 2021 Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 (edited) . Edited December 17, 2021 by Bizman62 Quadruple post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted December 17, 2021 Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Prostheta Posted December 17, 2021 Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 36 minutes ago, Bizman62 said: IMO it's important to at least hint to all of the things you'd have to take into account when adjusting the action. Following that principle, a rarely mentioned thing is to carve the fretboard concave from the nut to about 10th fret, the deepest spot (~0.5mm) being around the 5th. That will give the string more space to vibrate at the extents of the first harmonic. Assisted with some relief it helps getting the action as low as possible. Unless somebody is deeply familiar with fretwork, I don't think it's wise to recommend more advanced treatments. The simplest is to capo 5th, set action over 1st at the nut. With a straight edge over the frets under string tension, dial in a slight concavity using the truss rod, measuring at 12th. Then set the saddles properly and pickup heights. That's my lazy approach anyway! A bit of fall off to the frets above 12th is useful, but can throw off measurements using a straight edge. Anybody not familiar with methodology might easily dial in more problems than they are attempting to solve. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted December 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 2 hours ago, Bizman62 said: IMO it's important to at least hint to all of the things you'd have to take into account when adjusting the action. Following that principle, a rarely mentioned thing is to carve the fretboard concave from the nut to about 10th fret, the deepest spot (~0.5mm) being around the 5th. That will give the string more space to vibrate at the extents of the first harmonic. Assisted with some relief it helps getting the action as low as possible. well that is certainly an interesting idea. Was recently talking with the gents over at mylespaul and one of the construction techniques considered is to use a caul with a very slight relief in it - when clamping the fretboard to the neck. the older les pauls used a straight compression rod, set at a slight angle in the truss channel that fades 1/8" over the length... and then you use the caul to "build in" a little back relief so that the rod is under tension. kind of the opposite of what you are talking about if I understand correct. that said... most les pauls have the truss burried so deep in the heel that naturally there ends up being less of a curve/relief towards the body... essentially the body side of the truss ends up sort of straight while it progressively curves towards the nut. I believe that would sort of mirror the vibration pattern of the strings moreso than a truss set less deep... where it ends up more of an actual curve towards the 22nd fret... and hence requires more fall away. as with anything else guitar... so much alchemy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted December 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 2 hours ago, Prostheta said: Unless somebody is deeply familiar with fretwork, I don't think it's wise to recommend more advanced treatments. The simplest is to capo 5th, set action over 1st at the nut. With a straight edge over the frets under string tension, dial in a slight concavity using the truss rod, measuring at 12th. Then set the saddles properly and pickup heights. That's my lazy approach anyway! A bit of fall off to the frets above 12th is useful, but can throw off measurements using a straight edge. Anybody not familiar with methodology might easily dial in more problems than they are attempting to solve. so true - easy to cause problems there! is an interesting idea with the capo. have not heard that trick before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted December 17, 2021 Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 The capo is purely a tool to isolate the nut from the fretwork so you can measure relief. There's a few places you can capo the neck to get a read on what needs adjusting, but mostly importantly why. Some things end up being adjusted for the wrong reasons or at the wrong time during setup, meaning you often end up back at square one none the wiser. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted December 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2021 21 minutes ago, Prostheta said: The capo is purely a tool to isolate the nut from the fretwork so you can measure relief. There's a few places you can capo the neck to get a read on what needs adjusting, but mostly importantly why. Some things end up being adjusted for the wrong reasons or at the wrong time during setup, meaning you often end up back at square one none the wiser. right on, thanks for the reply. I think in the begining I chased my tail a lot... and if you don't get things flat at the start... some tail chasing is almost inevitable at the end. for me... to see relief... I've always just held down at 1 and held down where body meets neck and look halfway between. I know I should see about enough space there to slip a thin fender pick in. Not very scientific... but I have been doing it for 25+ years and time has dialed in that process. I no longer 'just' look halfway between...that's where you take your ultimate measurement but looking up down the neck with my 'finger capos' in place... you get a good feel for what sort of arc you have. that said... having an alternative trick is never a bad thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted March 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2022 has been a brutal start to the year for me... things just not going as planned. lots of work stress... several cat deaths, got covid and it put me down pretty good... other health issues... but that is life. one day you wake up dead. so just quit bitching and get on with it is all one can do. so... here's one thing that brings me happiness. even tho I fought for it. I had originally put a lovely birdseye maple veneer over the headstock to cover up what I think is a bark incursion I uncovered? then made a rookie mistake and burned through at the edge. well sir... make lemonaid. Still have to do some filler and unfortunately got some black ca bleed around my scroll... but we'll get her... eventually. admittedly have been spending a lot of time making drum beats and kontakt drum kits... total waste of time but it makes me smile. this is my lemonaid: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 6, 2022 Report Share Posted March 6, 2022 That scroll was ambitious as hell, and nicely done. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted March 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2022 1 hour ago, ScottR said: That scroll was ambitious as hell, and nicely done. SR thank you sir... i def worked for it. that is about as small as one can go (apparently) w my skill/machine/lack-there-of! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted March 7, 2022 Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 There's been no questioning about your building skills, outstanding work as usual. What makes me happy is to see your photographic skills have improved! Especially in the headstock photo you've managed to get the focus and aperture right to blur the carpet below. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted March 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 3 hours ago, Bizman62 said: There's been no questioning about your building skills, outstanding work as usual. What makes me happy is to see your photographic skills have improved! Especially in the headstock photo you've managed to get the focus and aperture right to blur the carpet below. well thank you biz... wish it was skill and not dumb luck! Y'all have me looking at it more tho! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted April 25, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2022 running in slow motion o'er here... this picture is pretty much the fruit of a 4 day weekend - as sad as that is. I apparently didn't learn my lesson with small letters and and have gone even smaller on a new label ring for my 5 way rotary. when will I ever learn... probably never. All that said I've got my neck blank all ready for frets... as soon as I can get through these detail pieces... or I get disgusted with them for a bit... will be fretting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted May 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2022 so... one of the things I wanted to focus and improve upon was my fret dressing. I've got the leveling down pat... but making them look pretty is a place I figure I can improve so... this was my attempt at that - how'd I do? and just a shot of the headstock here: on my final approach here... got some tru oil on the neck... and 2 coats of whipe on poly. got my electronics pretty much sorted: and will be applying a waterslide for serial no. next... hope to get my neck mounted tomorrow, then take it off and start wet sanding my body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted May 15, 2022 Report Share Posted May 15, 2022 Hey! Your photography has improved! The fret end images are almost perfect! The fret ends look polished and comfortable enough. Old skool instead of the currently popular dome ends. If they pass the stocking test they're fine! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 15, 2022 Report Share Posted May 15, 2022 That's it entirely. Can you feel the fret ends during dry weather, do the fret ends impede playing, are they all consistent and smooth, etc. All that they truly require. Everything beyond that is cosmetic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted May 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2022 4 hours ago, Bizman62 said: Hey! Your photography has improved! The fret end images are almost perfect! The fret ends look polished and comfortable enough. Old skool instead of the currently popular dome ends. If they pass the stocking test they're fine! thank you biz! thanks for noticing. I did use manual focus on those shots and am getting used to that a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted May 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2022 4 hours ago, Prostheta said: That's it entirely. Can you feel the fret ends during dry weather, do the fret ends impede playing, are they all consistent and smooth, etc. All that they truly require. Everything beyond that is cosmetic. well... at some point i'll have to dry the dome end thing... but i imagine it would stop me from doing that steve vai thing where you purposely push the string over the fret end and get that wierd birch chirp! not sure I want to live w/o that lol! thanks for the reply! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted May 17, 2022 Report Share Posted May 17, 2022 On 5/14/2022 at 3:43 PM, mistermikev said: hope to get my neck mounted tomorrow, then take it off and start wet sanding my body. Context. Context is everything. SR 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted May 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2022 36 minutes ago, ScottR said: Context. Context is everything. SR jokes on y'all cause now yer imagining me wet sanding my body! "my eyes!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted May 17, 2022 Report Share Posted May 17, 2022 4 minutes ago, mistermikev said: now yer imagining me wet sanding my body! Not to mention having your neck mounted... A certain Dr. Victor Frankenstein comes into my mind. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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