ddgman2001

SIMS IS BS! LEDS COST THE BUYER TOPS 3 bucks A LED

SIMS does charge a fortune for installing LEDs but they do need to cover much more than the cost of the parts. To take a fretboard off, mount the LEDs, ... takes quite a bit of time.

Simms doesn't remove the fingerboard, they drill in from the end and sides. But still, fussy time consuming work.

The only downside to using acrylic is it doesn't glue very well.

I used to carve necks that way. It works OK, but can cause 1/4 sawn wood to blow out in a big way. Scared the !@#$ out of me.

Nice nice nice.

How is the headstock logo done?

Where are you located?

OK - got it - thanks.

Great looking Teles by the way.

Wait a tick. Why can't you cut the slots most of the way with a regular nut file - which leave the bottom less than perfectly round - and then finish the bottom with the new tool?

bump

The oil idea is probably a better one, but we cleaned ours inside and out with alcohol. Applied a few drops of thin cyano and pressed it in. We really only use our drill presses for drilling and tapping though.

Y'know, at first glance I was put off by the size of the packages as well, but in the last month, dealing with all the Buckeye Burl stuff, I've probably gone thru 15-20 of the fat syringes, at a price of $3.00/ea.

So, it is a good deal if you have the need, but I couldn't have guessed I'd use this much, hindsight being a perfect 20/20 and all...

I've never worked with Buckeye. What are you using the epoxy for?

I can't say from direct experience, but I've sold an OBP-1 to a guy with both systems to replace the tone pump.

Bending in the direction of the fret incline towards the bridge gets you to pitch with less effort. Bending in the other direction means you have to bend a little farther. It's actually pretty subtle and if you don't think about it, you automatically correct.

Regarding the Buzz Feiten system and zero frets. I was a non-believer until I got off my arse and tried it and it is amazing. If you've got any kind of ear at all you WILL hear a difference.

I don't want to be dissagreeable or repeat myself too much but the novax system (and systems like it) address tension and harmonic content not intonation like the Feiten system does. There isn't anything to stop you from using the two systems together to produce a properly tensioned guitar that plays in tune.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think "intonation" is the right word to use when talking about the novax system.

You are correct. The Novax system is more about equalizing tone and tension among the strings.

Additionally it provides an opportunity to have the warm and creamy, easy to bend treble strings of a Les Paul and the bright, spanky and more pitch stable bass strings of a Strat on one guitar. Any other parallel fret scale length claiming to do this will be a compromise between the two.

If there is an improvement to intonation it is only if the bass strings are of a longer scale. In this case, the harmonics will be closer in tune and you will be able to more accurately set the intonation. This is completely different than the Feiten system. The Feiten system kicks ass in it's own way.

For anyone who thinks - as I once did - that the fanned fret system would be hard to get used to, don't worry, it's not. Close your eyes and play one. You will not notice anything different about the fret placement. Hard to believe but true.

Understandably, everyone who has never tried them says the same thing - "I don't know if I'd be able to play them". If you do any amount of research into the system you will find that everyone who tries them says how easy they are to play.

tdog, thanks for the reply.

I cant weld that good, and my space is limited to my garage. I am in the process of desigining and building a fold down work bench to install in my garage and mounting the drill press to it would be an option, however I would have to remove it every time I wanted to store the work bench. I had considered building a platform out of 2x4 and 3/4" plywood and and solid pine and enclosing it so that I would have some extra storage. If anyone has done anything like this please let me know.

Will it fit sideways between the studs? Maybe you could build your folding bench with a split top. The half of the top closest to the wall would be solid and just wide enough to slide your drill press onto (hopefully sideways). The rest of the top would hinge off of that. Slide the drill press out to use.

+1 I'd like to see some successful techniques too.

Try mineral spirits or paint thinner instead of water - no lifting. Wear a cartridge mask.

Tdog, are those burls that you're cutting wet or dry?

Franklin recommends somewhere around 200 psi. There's not much of a chance in getting anywhere near that with C-clamps unless your neck blank is very narrow.

We use approximately 85 psi and get nice tight glue lines.

You can test smaller clamps with a bathroom scale to get a feel for torque vs pressure.

ddg......thanks for the input. Do you have any problem with the finer work? One of the projects I would use it for would be guitar bodies and necks but I do have plans for other, more detailed work. ShopBots literature seems to indicate that fine detailed 3D sculpting is possible.. Is this "smoke and mirrors" or is it a possibility?

Thanks!

We avoid 3D sculpting, it's really slow. I'm not sure you'd be blown away by the surface finish of really detailed 3D work. As jer7440 suggests, have them do a sample.

As far as finer work goes, we routinely rout with a .033" bit in wood, plastic and aluminum.

Ripping out the side of the fretboard can be a problem so i could only shave about a 1/16" at a time.

If you climb cut the edges you will avoid tearout.

I can't remember if we've used 320 velcro or not, but we get 1200 and 1500 from an autobody supply.

We use one. It's a love hate relationship. We replaced the control box and steppers to get a higher resolution. Yeah it's rickety and under built, but they have a great forum with lots of support. My initial thoughts were it would be one way to get into CNC without the lease payments putting me out of business while I dealt with the learning curve. My personal learning curve took a year before I felt comfortable with the CAM software and the concepts of CNC (this would have been shorter if I would have stuck with 2.5 D and a single head) and another year before I felt I was really competent.

We've used it to build several hundred guitars as well as circuit boards, inlays (we don't do a lot of that), mountain bike parts, pickup parts, jigs, gears.

I looked into one of these, but when I asked the salesman at the store if it could be mounted on a wall, he said no. Space was an issue, so I couldn't go with the regular design of dust collector, even with it's small foot print.

That salesman didn't know what he was talking about. There's no reason why you couldn't mount that collector on a wall or ceiling for that matter. It's only fault is that the bag looks to be too small and likely not designed to capture the really fine dust - which is the stuff that'll hurt you.

yeah but if you only want to change the E string it would be a bit of pain. I have a guitar with a bridge thats positioned very much like that one in the picture and its frustration when I have to change just a single string. Not that its that much of a deal for me, because i generally change all my strings when I change one, but on the odd occasion I get a dud string in a new set or something it presents a small problem

It looks like there is enough travel on the E-string saddle that the bridge could be adjusted back and the saddle forward to gain more room between the pickup and bridge.

Those bridges are a bit of a pain to change strings on even at the best of times.

I did a guitar with JB style plastic number inlays. I can make you a set in red, blue, yellow and green for $150.00.

Hi guys,

Whats the go with the tuners on that thing? Even all but the very cheapest tuners are covered- these ones LOOK expensive, but dust is certain to get in them and create havoc. I mean, they look nice, but its got to cause a problem- especially over a number of years.

Anyone know what they are, or have dealt with them before?

Luke

They look like something Hipshot might come up with.

I love that board too....I bought it from ebay. If you are interested I might be able to find out from which seller I bought it....

I'd appreciate that. Thanks.

Good luck with your project. I'm looking forward to some progress shots