Quarter

Test your technique on some scrap or sacrificial pine first.

You can buy or make jigs similar to this one at StewMac for drilling with a hand drill, though to make one, you would need to borrow a drill press.

Yea, if your this far in with nitro, stay the course and get more clear to finish it.

I love digging through racks of wood hunting for those hidden treasures For some nice maple, I just bought a couple 8/4 pieces from Maple Leaf Hardwoods http://www.curlymaple.com/ Have not got them yet, but he sure does have some good looking stuff, looking forward to seeing it in the flesh.

I prefer mixing my own shellac, but for an off the shelf ready to use product, the Zinser SealCoat is very good, http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=72

I think your best bet for a sealer is going to be shellac.

Sweet ... loving it

Just to add, if you are spraying in your garage, be aware that your water heater and furnace can also be a source of ignition.

Sure, routers are handy like that. With a little creative jig making, there is tons of stuff you can do with a router.

Some other random shop safety tips ... Don't wear jewelry, rings, etc around power tools Don't wear lose fitting baggy clothing around power tools Keep long hair away from rotating power tools Clamp your work down when drilling or using routers. Wear approved eye protection And one of my all time favorites, if you keep both hands on the hammer handle, you can't hit your thumb

P90's are a lot of fun, angelic cleans to raunchy bad boy attitude at the drop of the hat. I'd recommend checking out the BG-Pups offerings, hand wound, killer tone, and realistically priced http://www.bg-pups.com/p90.html

I'm not a fan of drilling a pilot hole first, if too big, it can cause the bit to wobble / chatter as you start the hole. Your best bet is to mark the center with a punch and use a sharp quality forstner bit at a slow speed.

If your looking for a sweet P90, I'd highly recommend checking out a BG-Pups Soapbar.

A big bit like that 1 1/8" x 2" is probably best used in a router table. You don't need a full 2" cutting surface to do it in one pass. A 1" bit half at a time is fine and safer in a hand held router. Edit ... jmrentis beat me to it

I've not used that minwax tung oil before. Best guess is that if its had a day or so to dry, it should not go solvent on you, but you never know. Test wet a small area and see if it softens up any.

Nice build I'm a big fan of Tru Oil and have been using a lot of it for my lapsteel builds. For more Tru Oil info, we have a good thread over in the Inlays Finishing section that may be of help to some http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=30471

Tru Oil will build a thickness and should blend the water slide just fine. I've not personally used it over a water slide, but have seen where others have done it with good results.

For a thick and creamy neck, you might like a BG-Pups Lizard Bryan also does custom winds if you have something else in mind.

I'll take #76 I don't see pics for 67 through 71 ... just me? ... I might not be done shopping

Good score on the Khaya, that will make a very nice body for you

400 is a little aggressive for leveling with just a couple coats applied, it takes quite a few coats to build body. I only use 400 for the initial grain fill stage, (when grain filling with Tru Oil), and use 1000 for any leveling, when the oil is fresh, it cuts fast. The good news that you are finding out is that its super easy to correct any flaws, mistakes, etc, Tru Oil is very forgiving.

I've used strait mineral spirits and oil thinned with spirits. The thinned oil worked fine and had the advantage of not leaving light colored dry powdery deposits in low spots. I think too that it reduced witness lines, but the way I finish off the last couple coats, witness lines are not an issue for me anyways.

Definitely check out Craigs List, there are some good deals to be had. I picked up this Ridgid oscillating sander for $40 ,

Thanks Xanthus, I'm a fan of your work also The pre cut gun cleaning patches patches are handy for sure ... I was running out of old t-shirts ... LoL

I've never tried brushing it on. It is certainly worth a try and you will know soon enough if it works for you. The good news is that there is not much you can do that can't be easily corrected. There are many ways to apply Tru Oil and you will find a system that works for you. On smudging, a thin coat gets hard enough in about an hour to handle gently. When wiping it on, I place / elevate the piece on a couple rolled up Tshirts and do the top and sides, wait an hour or so, then flip it and do the back. By the time the back is dry enough to handle, the top and sides are ready for another thin coat. Here is a steel I recently finished up. The bulk of the grain fill was done by wet sanding a slurry with 400 and Tru Oil. The bulk of the body was built up built up by wiping it on with a cotton swatch, (bulk 2x2 gun cleaning patches), and blocking out with 1000. Once I got a good level body established, I sprayed 2 coats over 2 days and then left it to cure for 4 days. The final process was to lightly wet sand with some 2000 and wipe one very thin top coat on, just enough to wet it.