soapbarstrat

Yeah I'm quite sure he's on advanced fretting vol 2. Frank Ford's on there too , and I wonder if I'm the only one who thinks he sounds like a munchkin from the wizard of oz.

On those gun types, it creates a magnetic field inside the "loop" of the gun. You are not supposed to get it close to a pickup, so it's ok, to use it on the back side of the guitar like in that photo, and even to remove frets, as long as you don't get any closer to the pickups than around the 14th fret. Also on these guns, you can take a piece of metal, like a screwdriver and put it through the loop of the gun and it will magnetize the screwdriver, or whatever. Also, if you had a screwdriver that was magnetized and wanted it unmagnetized, you could put it through the gun loop and it will demagnetize it. This is all from what I've read, been told, as I have never owned one of these gun type irons. Rob

I get the impression that Brian Galloup has done even more fret-jobs than Dan, to the point where he seems kind of burnt-out with some of the more tedious techniques, like rotating the neck-jig into the playing position, or pressing in frets , with the guitar in the neck-jig. Probably worn out from taking out CNC cut pearl inlays He seems to know his stuff, though.

Not only is the dremel itself under-powered for heavy wood carving, but the bits it has for that really can't take much. When I use a big router, the bit has to be carbide-tipped for using on hardwood. I started out with the HSS bit that came with it, but that went dull very quick. So, with the Dremel as a router, you got these little 1/8" HSS router bits that will get killed by hardwood. And they ain't cheap. I think your "slowly machined" body is going to end up being much more expensive than you realize. Hell, have mom buy a decent jig-saw, then shovel some snow for some more bucks to get the dremel. Which makes me think again about how much I'd like a carbide tipped dremel router bit. 1/8th wide cutter or more. I haven't even looked for any yet. Now that I'm thinking of it again, does anyone know if they exists ? (I'm not talking about the carbide bits that are real small for doing fine inlay work {like dental bits}, I got a bunch of those). And I prefer carbide tipped over solid carbide. You guys that have had solid carbide bits just suddenly snap know exactly what I mean.

For YEARS, I've used a Ken Donnel fret plane I bought from stewmac in 1987. It's about 13" long, and about 3 inches wide (I'm not going into the shop right now to measure). With glass bottom that's very flat, and you can clip sandpaper on it, but i often use adhesive backed sandpaper on it, which makes it work even more precise . I also made a pile of radius sanding blocks with a special jig I made years ago. I made sure they were very flat lengthwise. But, I don't like them so much anymore, since I prefer to level the board following the path of the strings, to get a "compound" radius. The radius blocks are no good for this method. I was planning on buying one of those bars from stew-mac, but then I got the idea to use my precision straight edge as a router guide, and I made my own 18" leveling block out of a heavy piece of oak. I'ts basically like a precision machined wood block. I love how heavy it is. With the weather changes, I have to keep checking it against my straight-edge, and when I see it's gone off from being dead flat, it isn't getting used until I re-machine it again. The Donnel plane does absolutely fine, though. Doesn't matter all that much which tools you prefer, it's the final end product that counts. I play around with different methods, tools and ideas that pop into my head, but the end result must always be the same. Rob

" i see that i have been royally dissed and A$$ raped for this thread..... " Man, I hope you're joking, 'cause we're just telling you what the Dremel can and cannot do. Would ya feel better if we said, " yeah man, that's the way to go. Vintage Fender bodies were cut out of blocks of wood with nothing but a sharp dental pick " ?

You mean changing a fretted neck into a fretless neck ? If so, I sure wouldn't use it when real wood would look better and probably more reversible later, plus the filler wouldn't be that great in simulating the neck compression of fret-tangs, so I think I'd prefer aluminum about the size of the fret-slots (a couple thousandths thicker , if you want to make the neck stiffer--about a half a thousandth thinner if you want to add little, to no, stiffness). Brass might be good too. I've never done what you're talking about, so I'm just giving my opinion, based on my experience with working on fretted necks. If you mean making fret-slots more narrow, but still having fret-slots, then I'd also be against wood putty. Crimping the fret-tangs to become wider is usually the best option. Maybe a teflon sheet inserted into the slot, then filler of wood dust, then super-glue. But, the teflon might still be too hard to get out. Might be a cleaner job, to just fill the slots with wood dust ( I mean from the same kind of wood as the fret-board), super-glue, then cut a new slot. I don't like that idea very much though. Seem way overkill for any widened fret-slot situation I've seen or can imagine. I think the problem with a piece of teflon around .021" thick, is getting it to be totally straight. You'd have to attach it to something that makes it straight. Got a picture of that in my head right now, but my fingers don't want to try to explain it. Rob

"Taylor uses a new super-hard alloy material for their frets. I forget what it's called. Their new frets will last much longer than the Dunlop nickel-silver frets that they used to use. " Guess I have to go to the Taylor website to try to see if they say what it's called

I can't give names, but have been told by someone who has sampled all the SS wires, about a wire from Japan that is too soft. I shouldn't imply that it's the same as your wire, because I just don't know. But when you said it dents *easily* with a *brass* hammer, it really made me think about that. I know pretty much the whole story about SS wire now. Where it's being made, down to country and company ( the non-Asian SS wire source), why it's currently impossible to get in small amounts, etc. I'm not going to say what I know, because I don't even know if those who told me want it to be known by all. What I know does piss me off, and I'm hoping that a particular individual will change his attitude, so we all can get the stuff. Also, I find your comment about Warmoth wire interesting because they don't level their frets, and many people find their necks play fine from the factory. When it does become available, I don't expect it to cost more than 3 times as much as regular wire, and it will also come in 2 foot lengths which is very important to me. I could never buy pre-cut lengths. As for the thumbs-up from a Steinberger player, it makes me wonder if the Phenolic fret-board is a better match with SS wire than a wood FB. I'm not buying wire from Edenhaus. Too expensive. SS having a good sound, is still up in the air, so I wouldn't want to pay an extreme amount for the bulk amount I would need, then suddenly someone comes out with a superior sounding fret wire that is about as durable as SS wire. Rob

You must mean Fordom. They make the Dremel look like a Fisher-price kids toy. Black & Decker makes a Dremel copy that some say is better than Dremel. I think Ryobi also makes one. I think even Harbor Freight tools sells a Dremel copy made by Chicago tools that's pretty darn cheap. Damn, if they're going for 30 at Depot, I should have waited. Is that the variable speed model ?

You'd have to have a screwed-up brass hammer, or really poor fret-tapping technique to put dents on SS frets using the hammer-in method. I don't hammer frets, but have watched some pros do it, and they don't even make dents in regular frets with brass hammers. What's the great price you're talking about ? $45.00, plus shipping from Asia ? Hmmm, and Warmoth only adds $20 extra. I'm holding out for either the stuff Warmoth is using, or if someone else makes something equal. I've heard bad things about a particular Japanese wire, so I'm avoiding Asian SS wire until I hear there is some that's as good, or better than the real deal. And for the guys concerned about the sound, go to Driskillguitars.com, and watch/listen to the "ABC news story" to hear what a SS fretted guitar sounds like. I won't write my opinion, because I'm wondering if anyone else will say the same thing I think. Normal frets are only about 18% nickel at best. If there are some with a higher nickel content than that, I'm not aware of it, but would surely be interested.

cuts steel---Yep, I do it all the time with those cut-off wheels, but only on small pieces of steel. You won't see me trying to cut a half-inch bolt with the Dremel. I'll go grab the hack-saw for that. If you're making a tiny little guitar that fits in the palm of your hand, the dremel can be your "body carving machine" ,etc. I think you're determined to build a guitar using a Dremel, so trying to give you advice, so you don't burn up, or wear the hell out of the Dremel's bearings, might be useless. I got my first Dremel when I was around 12. I made it do everything. Instead of rough-shaping wood shapes first with a saw, I'd just start right away with the Dremel. After a short while, the Dremel would always get real hot too fast, the chuck had a lot of play, because I put so much hard wear on the bearings. That Dremel burned up after some years, then I got one of those long models in the early 80's, which was a poor design. So about a year ago, I sold it for 30 bucks, then sent my first burned-up one to Dremel, along with a check for something like 36 bucks, and they sent me the current version with the gray rubber grip body. I'm taking good care of this one. My craftsman router takes care of most of the routing work around the shop. Dremel gets pulled out for little detail work. "cuts steel" yeah, but how much steel ? Not much, just like it's not made for cutting out a big piece of hardwood.

"It will dent easily with a brass hammer" That sounds too soft for SS wire. I have heard about a Japanese SS wire that is way too soft.

pushing a dremel beyond it's limits. not too smart. I don't think they're so damn cheap that you can run them to death within a year. I baby mine, so the bearings stay good, and it'll keep making accurate cuts on fine precision work. It's not a tool to "rough-out" a guitar body. Even using it to rout a bridge saddle channel is pushing it pretty hard.

You should try to burnish them, pressing metal back into itself, if that makes sense to you. That might help a little, or quite a lot, but you'll still need to get rid of any gouges with whatever it takes: burnishing, filing, sanding, steel wooling. Otherwise if a string binds against a defect in a fret, string bending will quickly cause that area of the fret to wear down.

I bought a bulk amount of the same size SS screws that vintique uses. Just like vintiques, mine also have a head that is bigger than the wood screw heads, which is why you need a thicker neck-plate for them. I haven't bought the inserts yet. Rob

ok, but can we agree that it probably had something to do with "death metal " ?

Yeah, and that bottom samik guitar pic, looks like an American got ahold of it.

If there's lacquer on the nut, score all around the nut with a new, sharp x-acto, then I pull the nut out with a pair of fret-cutter 'end nippers'. sometimes, the nut cracks apart,no matter how hard you try to get it out in one piece. but I'm usually going to put a new one on anyway. You might be in for a hard ride with filing the slots in the brass one, if your nut files are not still plenty sharp (they certainly won't be nearly as sharp after using them on brass for a while). When I do metal nuts, I rough the slots in as much as I can with hacksaw blades and a japanese saw sharpening file. I've even used the thin dremel cut-off wheel. I'm finding that corian is sounding just as good as any other material I've used. You have to consider that the fretted notes have your tone deadening finger right behind them and they're not being pressed down that hard. So, to simulate that same condition at the nut, a hard "plastic" type material seems a perfectly logical choice to me. Strings bearing down pretty hard against a corian nut from the headstock string pull, produce a clear punchy sound. Do a bad job on it, and of course someone will think corian sucks. If your new to nut making, use plexi-glas to practive on, if you have some. Although you can often get pieces of Corian really cheap or free from shops that make kitchen counters. Your slot bottoms will be even more wear-resistant, if you bring the final depth by burnishing the slots, with the smooth rounded edge of feeler gauges, or whatever it takes. Rob

Don't want to change the subject, but I clicked on Hyunsu's 'www' button and came across this : http://www.my-guitar.com/album/view.php?gr...id=2&albumno=54 I'd love to hear the story behind this one.

I still think it would be a waste of my hard-earned 60 bucks. Does that price include shipping ? Probably made in China. But I'm plenty guilty of buying stuff from China (I just sent 67 bucks to Harbor Freight Tools ) Who knows, maybe you can part it out and sell the the parts on ebay: Body : $30.00 neck: $30.00 Tuners: $10.00 Pickups: $10.00 bridge: $10.00 Nah, that ain't worth the trouble.

Damn 40 bucks is tempting even for a guy like me who doesn't like new necks . But, Brian, you mean it's not big enough for the BIG GOOFY late 60's /early 70's headstock, right ?. Looks like it should work for the normal Fender headstock shape.

You wouldn't be able to get that exact shape from cutting down a regular strat head-stock. Maybe a big goofy late 60's/early 70's style. I see necks on ebay all the time that have real god damn ugly headstocks on 'em that are just begging someone to come along and do something to help make them look better. Some of 'em need the entire headstock cut off and used for some kind of steinberger type guitar. But then some idiot always comes along and bids way more than the ugly neck is worth. There's always these "triangle" shaped headstock necks there, that not only look ugly as ****, I bet they're warped and twisted as well. Probably from being made in some hot humid asian country.

I don't know why, but I think it looks better if the flames are going the other way, so it looks like your fretting hand is going to get burned, and it makes you play faster.

I made it 1/8" on a wood pickguard. No one ever thought it looked too wide.