BigM555

I've never done it but I seem to remember hearing about melting wax and dripping it into the channel from an open end. Most likely from the end that seems to be rattling if possible. Seems like it should work. Just a thought.

Don't just wrap the rubber. Remove it! If you just cover the rubber up it is likely to continue to "off gas" which could still damage an NC finish. Better safe than sorry.

That trem post looks like the issue with the original JEM555's. Mine was sent back for repairs 3 times under warranty because the soft basswood actually broke and split. When the guitar played properly I fell in love with it. After the warranty was done I finally took it to a reputable luthier (wasn't into doing it myself back then) and they routed out the basswood, dropped in an ebony block and remounted the trem. It's been rock solid ever since. Ebony might now be what you're looking for on a white guitar but maybe a good chunk of maple and some paint?? BigM555

Wow! That Explorer is sexy as hell. Looks like pretty nice work all around. ...but that Explorer......just WOW! BigM555

...and UPS will report them all as "delivered".

I just thought about micing that abomination (though it looks cool) and my head exploded.

Like drak and Digi2t I won't ship anything across the border with UPS either. Same reasons. USPS has been cheap and reliable. I"m with Digi2t all the way when it comes to UPS. If the seller won't ship with someone else I don't buy it. Stay militant brother!

I like it. A classic with a twist. The headstock design looks very familiar to Awilcox's early builds. Not sure if that was intentional. The neck looks like it will be a bolt on. For this design a set neck would be my preference. Nice work though. I'm not up on solidworks I've done much the same thing in Sketchup. ;-)

Awww man! That's gotta suck! So how long did you stand there in disbelief trying to hold back the tears? It was looking fantastic too. Hope you can still salvage it for a solid finish or something.

Your comment about the 12th fret inlay got me to thinking about a series of scattered faux "bullet hits" down the fretboard. Might be a little cliche since all the tweakers started sticking them on their cars but if it's done right I think it would look awesome.

Nice stuff! The Tele pickguard looks awesome.

Thanks Xanthus! LOL. I didn't bother to look at the Stew Mac fret calculator because I've seen a hundred of them and didn't realize this one included exactly what I was looking for. DOH! Never underestimate the extras from Stew Mac, I guess is the lesson here!

Okay, I'm sure I'm going to feel stupid for asking this because the answer is probably staring me in the face. I've searched all over and I can't find it. I'm planning a LP style build and will be using the typical TOM bridge. I've got full scale plans all drawn up but I'm struggling with how to properly locate the bridge mounting holes. I was planning the "typical" 24.75 scale length but see the Stew Mac site shows that their Gibson fretboards are "a compensated length based on a true scale of about 24-9/16". Perhaps it doesn't matter because I plan to cut my own fret slots based on 24.75. I know that the bass side is typically longer than the treble side to compensate for intonation. How do I determine where to drill the holes in the body? I've got Hiscock's book and have been through it twice. Perhaps I've read it too quickly because I've seen on-line reference to it being covered.

Slightly OT but if someone gave you enough mahogany for 4 bodies and necks you should be thanking them enthusiastically. I bought enough Mahogany for a bit more than one body and it was almost $80. You scored big if it was gratis!

I fought a similar issue on my JEM555 until it ran out of warranty. I had sent it back to Ibanez twice to have it repaired and it came back alright but shortly afterward it would let loose again. I hazard to guess they used the CA or epoxy fix. I really loved the way the guitar played when it was working properly so after the warranty ran out I took it to my trusted luthier and told them to do whatever it took to fix it properly. They routed out a pocket and dropped in a slab of ebony to mount the pivot screw inserts into. It's been great ever since. If you want to fix it once and fix it right I'd recommend the ebony block. PS - The Lo-TRS finally gave out so I had it replaced with a Lo-Pro. I now essentially have a full JEM. Honestly, aside from the trem problems I'm not sure why these guitars get such a bad rap.