mushy the shroom

Wait, so the Stew Mac Dies have to be sprayed? NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Can I just apply 'em with a rag or sponge?

Mushroom Mushroom! Lol.. someone should try a mushroom on a headstock.. or as fret markers!

Yo no tengo la minor idea. Try that mint mouthwash though! lol

OK, new question. I have a hard figured maple top. I want a clear satin finish over stained wood. Here's what I think: I sand the body smooth (400 grit or something) I stain using the waterbase Stew Mac kind I spray with that waterbase Stew Mac sanding sealer (then maybe sand- fine grit) Then I spray a few coats of Stew Mac satin waterbase laquer (maybe sanding between each coat). Now, a few questions: 1. Would this process work? 2. Do I really need sanding sealer?

That's an 8 string. Pretty cool too! But I don't see how you could reach the bottom 4 strings.. the one you're supposed to play! Ahhhh-- after reading this forum, I REALLY want to do a carrieburst... but I need some tutorialage. I get the part about the dies, but do you put those straight on the wood? Or on sanding sealer? And once you have the dies on do you lacquer it? Sorry about being n00bish.. Thanks for any help

That was fast.. Yeah, most pickups average about 3/4" deep. So, with 1/8" minimum on top and bottom of the pickup, I have another 1/8" to spare if the pickup proves to be thicker. Anyway, the arm contour isn't compound, and I wouldn't make it deep enough to go all the way through to the spruce. The guitar would be so thin that it doesn't really need contours anyway. Plus, I could always carve it.. so...

Sorry, I am a COMPLETE finishing n00b. Ok, so my question is: I want a finish that is dark blue/black on the outside, then blue, then light blue in the middle. I have a highly figured maple cap, and I want to accent the grooves. I can't afford an airbrush, or anything fancy. I was planning on putting a fine satin finish over that, but I don't know if a gloss finish would look better. So here's what I think: I sand it down finely, then apply sanding sealer. Next, I would rub (can I use a rag?) the entire thing with light black die (if I use the water-based kind, can I just dillute it in water?), and sand deepest in the center and out. Next I would rub the entire thing with blue die (dilluted in water), and sand until it's very light blue in the middle, and blends outward to a dark blue/black. Would this method work? And do I actually need sanding sealer? Now, for the actual finish, I would spray that aerosal stew-mac satin laquer on it. How many cans of that would I need? HELP!!!! Thanks for your help, Ryan

So I'm thinking of building a guitar with a bookmatched 3/8" thick figured hard maple cap, and a 3/4" thick sitka spruce body. It's a neck-thru (the piece that runs through the body is hard maple, and the fretboard is ebony), so the spruce would be in the wings. Don't ask me why it's so thin.. I like 'em like that. Anyway, I was thinking of chambering the spruce, and maybe a little of the bottom of the maple, and in the neck-thru. Now, tell me how this is going to sound. For a pickup (yes, only one pickup... but I need suggestions on the model), I was thinking a VERY HOT pickup with searing lead tone, but that also works for rhythem, and can clean up if need be. Here's the catch: The pickup is embedded under the maple so that there is 1/8" of maple avove it, and 1/8" between the maple and the strings. So active is out of the question. But also, where should I put it (neck/middle/bridge)? Oh, and do you guys know anyone who sells a push-pull pot that can have volume in, and tone out (or vide versa, I guess) My last question is: is it possible to carve the maple top (remember- 3/8" thick), with a spokeshave and sandpaper? Would this ruin the figure? If it does, would a shoulder-contour ruin the figure? Thanks for the help!!! -Ryan

Yeah, pickups arent really that hard to make, but difficult to make and sounds as good as a brand name pickup. I did a science report similar to the one I posted on pickups last year, so I learned a whole lot. I'm still not sure if I want to go into the business of being a luthier, because I would rather be rockin out then building tools to do so. I think that I may just make an amp from scratch and a distortion pedal from scratch to complete my home made lineup, but I think it may sound really crappy.

Maybe... I'm not sure if it is worth it/ unless you have a lot of money, it is difficult to build an awesome guitar from scratch, and I feel that it really isnt worth it unless you do that. I'd rather build the whole thing, then just assemble it. Normal pickups are difficult to make, so I would buy them.

I meant a pic to the entire body. Anyway, the guitar kinda looks like crap because my digital camera is messed. I just cracked Photoshop, so I'm going to take a new pic and edit it better.

Hey I'm the kid that built that....Thanks for all the coments and feedback. First, it looks like I edited the image from somethign else, because I did. I used some cheap editor to edit out the background. The waists are messed, because I had to use a circle thing to make a line, but that is basically how it is. I wrote a paper about it for a science project. It is extremely corny, but.. what the hey!! I may win money. Here's the link to the paper: http://apex.drastic-creations.com/Report.doc. If you want a complete picture, just tell me.