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.

Looks fantastic. I'd have to concur with DrummerDude though that it looked really awesome in natural......though I wouldn't have been against just a hint of yellow.....blondes are more fun. One question, you've used the curly maple on a few necks now. I've been hearing curly maple can lead to some strange behavior from the neck in the long run. Have you had any issues with not being able to keep the necks true? I pondered a curly maple/walnut laminate for my LP build but have shied away because of the warnings. What truss rod have you been using?

Very Sexy!!

I have one on an old 70's era Mann. Sustain is great. Tone tends to be fairly bright compared to other materials. No tuning issues. It tarnishes up badly but comes back with a bit of elbow grease. Not sure what else you want/need to know. Give it a shot. I'm currently prepping for a LP build and plan to utilize a left over piece of brass to fashion the nut.

I think it looks fantastic! ....and the screws don't bother me at all.

About $4.75/bf USD ($5 CDN) in my area. Had to pay $11/bf CDN for 8/4 mahogany though. Though it was a nice piece.

Hmm, someone with more experience is sure to give a solid opinion but my own opinion would be I'm not sure a scarf joint would do it. You might want to consider a finger joint. WAY more glue surface. That said, as brian pointed out it may be easier to make a new neck than to make a decent joint.

Thanks Mattia. About what my thoughts were too. A little brighter and tighter won't necessarily be a bad thing. I tend to favor strat/super strat tones but love the sustain and growl of a LP. Any thoughts on the walnut center strip with the curly maple neck? Should certainly be strong enough, eh?

Just picked up a Samona 50" clamp on straightedge for $20 CDN. Samona is a Canadian distributor but I'm sure they're available in the US and abroad too. Haven't really had a chance to use it much yet so cant' really report on it. It was cheap though. Samona Web Site

I don't post much but I've been reading the forum for the past few months gathering insights before I embark on my first build. I have always wanted a flame maple top rootbeer Les Paul but can't bring myself to part with the money they go for (though I see they're getting more reasonable). I've also always wanted to build my own guitar from scratch. I'm heading the good advice of others and putting together a full scale drawing before I go to far (I feel like I've already built the guitar about 10 times in CAD). My plan thus far is to keep reasonably close to the classic. So far, I've acquired a 4/4"x8"x48" piece of curly maple with a bit of spalt, and an 8/4"x8"x48" piece of nice mahogany for the body (both need to be jointed). It took me some time to find a local supply of mahogany. I'm pretty sure I don't have enough mahogany to get a neck blank out of my piece as well as the body. It would be easy enough to get another piece but I've been pondering a change in direction for the neck. There should be enough of the flamed maple to get two quarter sawn strips, and I have some nice walnut left over from another project. I'm debating on whether to go with a three piece laminate with the curly maple on the outsides and a walnut strip up the middle (btw, I intend to use a scarf joint). I think this will look slick and give a little more flair. I'm wondering what the tonal and sustain implications will be with a diversion from the standard mahogany LP neck? I assume it may be a tad brighter than mahogany. I don't anticipate much change in sustain. Any insights? BTW - I'm planning on an ebony FB but have also been pondering cocobolo, not sure how much that will impact things either.

I have a guitar signed by Steve Vai. When a friend and I had it done we did some research and the consensus was a paint marker, but that was on top of the paint/laquer. I've heard that you can apply laquer over signatures to preserve them so I'm not sure why it wouldn't work. You might just want to check your particular marker with your laquer first to make sure the laquer won't make the ink run before you put it on one of your fine instruments. BigM555