VanKirk

Funny. I bought my first electric guitar from Music Machine in Kennewick back in...'89? Got my first guitar lessons there to.

I'm too new at this to have an opinion with much weight but the shape of your tele body looks excellent to me You definately look like your improving more and more. I like it and am looking forward to seeing it done.

Oh OK, I gotcha. I'll tint some shellac and apply with a rag on some scrap next. Thanks for the info wes & drak.

not really...dyes are commonly used in a glaze coat(translucent color coat)of whatever finish you choose. My stain vs dye info is aimed more at applying an oil finish without spray equipment. When you say "not really" it seems that you mean stain enhances the grain when applied directly to would better than dye? Keep in mind someone without spray equipment. I wanna keep all this straight since there seems to be so many opinions on this subject. Should I mix dye in shellac and then clear coat with tru-oil? I thought it was more common to wipe on the dye or stain directly to wood then top coat with tru-oil? I'm confused (I know, no surprise there)

At the bottom of this thread you can see what a scrap piece of flamed maple looks like on top of a walnut stain. Tru-oil thread Here's the pic. You can kinda see my reflection holding the camera. This pic shows unstained, tru-oiled maple on the left. Unfinished maple in the middle and a light walnut stain under tru-oil on the right. It's hard to find the truth behind what DYE can be used with tru-oil because so many people call stain, dye and dye, stain so it gets confusing. I think that water-based anyline dyes will work with tru-oil and water-based stain I know will but it's my understanding that dyes enhance the grain better when applied directly to the wood before oiling than a stain will. Sorry, a little info over-kill on the stain vs dye since I think you just want the wood look with no color.

IMHO; 1) I find tru-oil to be the easiest and most durable oil finish. I think that's what you mean when you refer to 'gun oil' although it's more of a varnish than an oil. (polymerized linseed oil) 2) Tutorial for Tru-oil finish 3) Tru-oil distributor 4) I would use Tru-oil on the neck as well because it feels nice and slick not sticky like laquer when your hands get sweaty. There is also another guitar building forum that has alot of good info on how to use Tru-oil. Musical Instrument Makers Forum Go here and sign up for free and use the search function for "Tru-oil" Tru-oil, like many oils, gives the wood a slight amber glow and enhances the 3-D look of the grain very well. With enough coats you can get a finish that is almost as high-gloss as laquer or poly. (even though the tutorial states only 3-4 coats). It's also available in an aerosol and it's my understanding that the aerosol is thinned to allow it to be sprayed. I used the bottled kind and wiped it on with a lint-free rag and noticed a few brush marks so I used the spray. After spraying, I still didn't like the effect so I used the rag to wipe it when it was still wet. I think since the aerosol was thinned it allowed the oil to flow out better and gave my flamed maple scrap piece a glass finish. BTW, always test a finish on scrap or in an inconspicuous area to avoid any unwanted results. Good Luck!

Those are pretty average price-wise buit not sure about quality. I like SKB cases. They have held up well for me and cost about the same as those ones.

Did you use a wammy bar or your fingers for the vibrato on the last note of the first song? Either way I liked the vibrato. I wished mine was slower and deeper but it's pretty hard for me to change at this point.

Looks good! I really like the color....and the keyboardist plays a Kurzweil, cool

If doing it by hand with a radiused sanding block I would sand the entire length of the fret board with the larger radius then continue with the smaller one. I think it would make things harder to stop halfway down and then do the rest with the smaller radius. So, radius the entire thing to a 16" then continue down to a 9" radius.

Welcome! and good luck on your build Post pics when you can. I love seein 'em

That sounds like a good idea, thx. I'll use a straight edge to run the knife against until the line is deep enough to not wander. I can just see myself....scrape, scrape, scrape GOUGE across the top ahhh $#@%!!!

I've seen a post here about it before and someone (sorry, forgot who) mentioned to measure approximately where the neck holes will be then drill the body holes a bit oversized. Your neck plate or ferrules will still hold the neck in the pocket just fine but you'll have a little more room to get the screws through the body and into the neck. Always make sure when putting screws in the neck that you've measured everything so that the screw doesn't go through the fretboard or into the truss rod.

I love my Sperzel tuners. Never had any problems with them.

Probably because the knowledge he gained disassembling it and the skills he already has he could build many of them with better quality than Ibanez and customized to his high standards. Very impressive again Hyunsu! Even more impressive because you truly build by hand. Not like it was your Jem. Chill out, damn.

Good choice. I agree. That's a great guitar for the money. It's comparable to guitars that are $100 or more over the DM9 price. I played a few of them, one when I visited the factory. (job interview but they pay crap)

Once I had a photo of a guitar body I wanted to make, I blew up the photo on a copier until the humbucker was of proper dimension. I was limited to the size of paper so I had to print it out in sections and then tape them all together to get the full view. I actually printed it out just slightly larger to account for sanding and shaping of the body before final assembly. Once you begin designing after this stage you will probably be able to ask some more specific questions if the search function doesn't give you what your after. Good luck on our project!

This would be original wouldn't it? Ok, I know I'm a smart ass Everytime someone asks about an original design I can't help but think about this e-bay guitar that was made by a 'luthier' with a scroll that took 4 months to carve. BTW...no slam meant to your neck at all smurf. Just a little too bored tonight.

I would suggest raising the saddle on the buzzing string and then checking the intonation if the buzz is on all frets of one string. In my experiences I haven't had a nut wear down but I've had saddles that have. Did it just all of the sudden start this buzz or has it always been that way?

ABS = acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers. ABS is an easily machined, tough, low cost rigid thermoplastic material. One of many uses is on counterweights under the keys for piano keyboards and synths. Kurzweil switched to this material when the original run of plastic would get brittle and crack after prolonged use. It stands up to temperature changes and abuse much better than most plastic material but is still easy to work with.

I like tru-oil but I find it just a bit stickier than tung-oil. Specifically, I would use Formby's tung-oil. It feels very smooth and would be perfect for the neck. Just give it a wipe down with lemon oil every once in awhile and it should stay pretty clean. If it starts to build up dirt, lightly rub it down with 0000 steel wool and put anoter coat on.

I totally agree and unfortunately, because of what you just explained, many manufacturers gear towards making it look good instead of focusing more attention to how it should function. Products such as guitars manufactured overseas are made to catch the eye of the first-time buyer or student not the experienced players. Why? because that's where the money is. If it sounds and feels like crap the beginner most likely won't even know it. Pump out as many as possible and don't worry so much about quality. Then the major manufacturers can look at the bottom line at the end of the month or quarter and pat themselves on the back for seeing how many 'units' of a product were sold. It frustrates me but business is about making money. To make money you need to know how and where the market is. High-end products are great but they just don't have enough market-share. So the market gets flooded with crap while alot of high quality innovative designs never get made because they cost too much to make or won't sell fast enough. To compensate, a company has to charge out the yin-yang to make up for lost revenue. Anyways....sorry I went on a rant Move along people, nothing to see here Oh Yeah! aw lawk shonny geetars!

I'd rather have a high gloss pickup truck that knows how to get the job done. Then I would know how each and every scratch was made and what I was doing at the time to get the scratch. I love my main guitar more now than when I first got it 12 years ago because I have put every scratch on it while learning and growing as a guitar player. The more fretboard wear and scratches on the body I get on this guitar the harder it is for me to think that relicing is cool. Why not just play the thing until it's worn? Anyways, I want my project to look and sound good. Then I will be sassified that the job was done to the best of my abilities with attention to all the details.

It's always in Tacoma and is held every 3 years.

I agree to call or e-mail Bill and Becky. They'd be happy to verify it since they've had so many troubles with fake BL's on the market with Stew-Mac being the #1 distributor of the knock offs. You could also ask at the Bill Lawrence Forum.