killemall8

Its minwax poly. I have tried to tint it before, but it doesnt blend. The color just goes to the center and doesnt blend.

The thing i hate most about nitro is its cure time. It takes so dang long to dry, for it to end up not even being that durable of a finish. I have some EM7000 WB lacquer that i want to try. It says it only takes a week to fully cure.

I was thinking about that. But the finish i am using isnt tintable

hmm, i am not sure. It always has the effect like if you sprayed lacquer on top of enamel or something. It melts it. Not wanting to deal with that again, I sprayed the one with the spalt veneer clear. Leveled it back a bit, and sprayed more sealer coats now. I didnt want to do an alder bodied guitar completely clear, but it is looking nice.

Thats still a lot thicker than i originally thought. I for some reason picture a drop top or 1/2".

I have always believed its near impossible to make a real living off guitars alone. Obviously, you are one of the few exceptions. But you make a quite a few a year, and charge quite a bit to make it worth while. And have a great reputation at that. I can only think of a handful of single luthiers that make a living off just guitars, and have no problem maintaining that status. Me, there are a few factors. I would NEVER want to attempt to do this only for a living. It is too stressful as it is. And that would mean i would have to take on commissions. Which is my absolute worst nightmare, and will never go back to that again. You seemed to get out there and get pretty well known extremely fast. Never seen anybody else do that so quickly and maintain that status. That is not so common. In order to make even the poverty line, 10 guitars a year at 3,000 a piece. not that hard to make that many, but indeed hard to sell that many at that price. To me, its possible. But the odds seem to be 1 in 15,000 or something. Seems easier to become a pro athlete than to make it big time in luthiery.

Looking great Scott. I didnt realize how thick that top was.

Nitro is the worst idea of a finish ever invented, if you ask me. I have shot poly for years. I spray it though, i have never done a wiped on finish.

Holds A pretty well, huh? I'll keep that in mind. I have been meaning to make a bari in my new explorer shape. That is actually what i designed it for. You think 27 over 27.5 would be any more beneficial?

FF, That is what i used to do. But the thing is, automotive primer doesnt work on top of sealer or wood finishes. I tried it in the past, and it isnt compatible. It separates and makes goo. It surprised me that even with 4 coats of auto primer that it was still somehow able to get between the wood and the primer. I also once tried soaking the guitar in thompsons water seal before i sprayed it. That too caused compatibility issues. The finish wouldnt stick to the sealer. Automotive lacquer primer really doesnt work on top of anything but bare wood or bare metal. So i resulted to wet sanding with mineral spirits. It worked well. But it wasnt enough to save the original finish. I will however, be able to do a marble finish on it that will cover them all. Just has to be less than the 105* we have had lately to spray it. The second one got sprayed clear today. Looking pretty nice! I normally wouldnt do a natural alder finish. But this one seems to work well.

Apparently i forgot how much of a pain it was to paint a guitar. And i also forgot how sensitive alder is to water. I went to wet sand it, and used BARELY any water at all, and wiped it instantly. And yet, the slightest bit of water that got in the holes and routs caused it to freak out badly. It cracked and lifted up the paint in every single place there is a rout or hole. So much for that idea. A shame too. It looked amazing black.

I agree Chris. Fearing a tool is a bad thing. I hate when people say you need to be afraid of it. I learned at a young age, and have always felt extremely in control of my tools. I have been building 8 years non stop, and have probably cut and planed more board feet of wood than most people will in their lives. I have done all my guitar bodies with a router and bearing bit. The only time i have ever gotten tearout is when i go too fast or dont cut it close enough to the line. I havnt gotten tearout in about 3 years now. And for the record, i have never had a power tool accident. I did hit my knuckle on an upright belt sander a couple times, but that was because i was in a hurry and pushing too hard and trying to make it cut faster. But i used a router table and router on every build. And Chris is right, Respecting the tool and being in control of it is what prevents injuries.

Ouch! Glad it wasnt worse. I suggest epoxy and finger nail dust. You will never know its there!

Indeed it is. I always wondered why most name brand guitars dont even do it at all. They just bevel. Sneek peek!

Maple, Mac ebony, limba and paduak.

Haha, YOU'RE WELCOME I usually prefer it overly rolled anyway. Now that i look at it, it wasnt that i over rolled the treble side, it was more that i didnt roll the bass side enough. But that isnt too much of a problem, because most of the time your hand doesnt contact the bass side fret corners as much.

Do you roll the treble edge a little more severely than the bass side, Luis? Yes, but not entirely intentionally. I usually roll the edges a little more than normal, but that one got away from me a bit.

I am so happy with the way they have been coming out, i had to keep making them. My local supplier didnt have any good mahogany for once. I didnt want to wait over a month for them to pull out the new pallet, so i went in a different direction. I picked up some nice looking alder. It was a big board for alder, around 11" wide. I had a few ideas in my head, so i decided to do both. The first will be all black. The other has a nice spalt veneer on it and the back and sides will be black.

Now that i look at it, i am definitely not paying 200 bucks for it. There have got to be some cheaper options!

Thanks for the replies guys. I am contemplating making a guitar that will only have a a piezo. Are there schematics for the preamps and the piezos out there? Scott, That would work perfect, but i want it anything but chrome colored.

I have wanted to do a guitar with a piezo for quite some time. After Pan kara did his nylon string guitar with it, it reallyk got me excited to do it. But the thing is, i am completely clueless about them. I dont get how they work, or what i need for them. I see the ghost saddles are the most popular. Stew mac sells them. But on top of that, i am guessing i need a preamp and all that? Fill me in a bit. I just spent like 25 minutes going through every single thread that had to do with piezos, but i am still lost. I found this one, built in to the bridge: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Nickel-Piezo-Tuneomatic-Bridge-ARB-Style-Bridge-Fits-Import-Lp-Guitars-/370802376247?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item56558b3e37 How does that one work, when it only has 2 wires?

Check the jack. Usually that problem is from wiring the jack backwards.

You are the one getting angry for people responding... And your original post did NOT have that question. It was a statement that you "used" them. As pros said, make the choice based on what you have observed. It is all opinion. Not "it will or wont work". It will all "work".

Also, is the neck the same number of frets? a 24 fret neck positions it differently than a 22.