DC Ross

On a scale of 1-10, I'd say it's at a 9 right now. The way I remove the excess is pretty straightforward: after about 10-15 minutes, take a flexible squeegee-type thing and lightly remove the excess at a 45° angle, still leaving a bit of filler on the surface, then lightly wipe any ridges left by the squeegee (not even touching the body itself, just "brushing" the tops of the ridges away). I honestly don't think it's possible to make it any less agressive. I saw Dan Erlewine's method of using a scraper and burlap to vigorously remove the excess, I can only imagine that would drag all the filler out of the pores. He also said that he didn't like the water-based filler because it dried before he even had a chance to remove the excess. I let both the ColorTone and CrystaLac set for an hour and then they were just drying. My thoughts are that either the fillers are so thin that it just keeps seeping deeper and deeper into the pores, the pores are huge, or a combination of the two. Like I had said, after a few minutes of letting the filler sit, it was very noticable where the pores were drinking it in, so there's really no pressing it in involved.

Sure thing, here we go from a clean, freshly sanded body (to 320). These steps are basically following the instructions. 1. Blow off the body w/ compressed air 2. Wipe it down w/ Naptha & let dry 3. Liberally apply the filler to one side of the body, brushing it with the grain 4. Let it set up for a few minutes. I experimented with this step, with times ranging from a few minutes to 20 + minutes. The longer I let it sit, the more the pores were visibly drinking it in, so I would occasionally brush it back across the pores to give them more to suck in. 5. Squeegee off the excess filler at a 45° angle to the grain using a homemade version of the StewMac grain filler spreader 6. Carefully wipe off any remaining residue (like the ridges left from the squeegee) with a shop towel 7. Sand with 320, making very sure to only sand down to the level of the pores (not removing any wood at all) 8. Repeat x ∞ The instructions state to work in 6" areas or less, presumably because the filler would start to set up & harden quickly. This was certainly not my experience. I applied it liberally to a test piece and let it sit for an hour and it was still not 100% dry. I'm sure it's related to technique, because I've tried these same steps with CrystaLac with the same results (although this stuff is a bit more gelatinous). Thanks. And yes, I do pretty much hate this stuff right now

The OP is obviously not a tech. There's a bit more to diagnosing and fixing high or low frets than what is outlined here. Fretwork is a precision operation, and without knowing the cause of the buzzing, sanding the frets with reckless abandon will more than likely make things worse and probably create new problems. On the plus side, it'll take about three months of vigorous sanding with 12,000 grit to do anything

Has anyone had any luck with this stuff? This is the first time I've tried it, and I'm on the 12th (!) application on a Honduran Mahogany body and the pores are still not filled. Is there a technique that I'm missing that's not covered in the instructions? It's really thin stuff, too, which I'm sure is a big part of it. Thx, -dcr

I saw that Frank Finoccio uses Titebond, so I gave it a shot. It seems to work quite well.

Seems like it would be a PITA to work around the neck like that, but whatever works for you...

If Warmoth lists the radius of the last fret, say 10"-16" as an extreme example, what TOM (or any non-adjustable saddle bridge for that matter, like a Floyd, etc...) could you possibly use if you needed to? Actually, thinking it through, both the scale length and the number of frets would also change the bridge radius in this scenario.

Correct me if I'm wrong (never done compound radius), but as I understand it, a 10" - 16" radius, for example, would be 10" at the nut (duh), and 16" at the *bridge.* Not at the last fret. At least that's the way I'd do it.

Get yourself a contour gauge and measure your favourite neck profile, or go to Guitar Center and find one that you like and measure it.

Go to GC or Radio Shack and pick up some deoxidizing spray for electronic connections

I think he was just bragging

Are there an unnecessary amount of winds on the tuner post? Wouldn't tuning to drop C with 11s on a 24-3/4" scale be like playing wet noodles?

What wood are you using for a neck? Quartersawn or flatsawn? Check kite supply places for the CF rods.

Yup, his shop is about a mile away from me.

I'd go with the Kahler string lock like ihocky suggested. I have one on my Charvel Model 4, and it's much nicer than the Floyd locking nut.

A 3 piece neck with the grain running all in the same dimension with no voids is very different than a sheet of crappy ply from Home Depot.

#1 w/ pins

For the same price as Poplar, you can pick up some Alder, a common wood for guitar bodys. Look for a hardwood (not flooring) supplier in your area. Usually "lumber yards" just sell construction materials.

dbl post...

Thanks Hector, but it's definitely not normal plastic like what StewMac would sell as cavity cover material. My Custom 24's covers are extremely rigid and lightweight and more of a dark charcoal colour.

Maybe this is what you were thinking about? http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1339

I'm comtemplating investing in a laser cutter/engraver eventually, and I'm looking for some info that isn't skewed by marketing speak. The two companies I see most often are Epilog and Universal; are there others that I should be looking at? What wattage do you guys w/ lasers run? I'm planning on cutting and engraving up to 1/2" polycarbonate, as well as abalam, wood (of course), and marking aluminum and steel. What type of maintenance items are there on lasers (i.e. how often does the tube need to be replaced, and at what cost?) Are there any specific features that I should be looking for? Are brushless servo motors worth the extra expense? Any other additional info? Thanks!

Anyone know what PRS uses for the cavity covers? It's definitely not a normal plastic, maybe graphite-impregnated something or other?

I started with a flat soled Stanley, and they're good for the price. I recently moved up to a Veritas, and the difference is night and day.

I'm not sure of the specific specs of the guitar in question, but you can make the ratio of the thickness of body wood to top wood anything you like. Just figure out how extreme your carve is going to be and use that as a minimum thickness for the top.