asm

skibum, i dont think the stuff im talking about dries very fast. so you could just tape mask the body wings off, put down the middle part that needs to be filled, then just pull up the tape for a sharp line. then let it dry and sand down everything flat so neck and wings are both flat

stewmac and lmii even sell grainfillers for the specific purpose. and you can choose clear or black for the type of wood your using

thats not my cup of tea but that is VERY nice. alot of work right there. ive never seen that finish/wood combo back of headstock is amazing. nice work!

not many people sell plans. this guy does: http://www.crankorgan.com/7thsojourn.htm but i think the area is to small for a guitar. think its not very big.

not many people sell plans. this guy does: http://www.crankorgan.com/7thsojourn.htm but i think the area is to small for a guitar. think its not very big.

www.stepperworld.com has some controllers and stepper motor kits for good prices. i would still advise against a cnc for guitar applications. its accuracy is just totally not needed. and the only reason people like PRS have them is cause anybody can set a piece of wood in a mill and hit a couple of buttons. its just easier and faster. so unless your making 100+ a day then its not justifiable. best bet would be copy carver, seriously, guitar frenzy carved the back of a neck, so it gets good detail. probably to hundreths and a cnc is only gonna give you thousandths. not worth 1500+ more.

you may find a hand mill for 500, used. but def not a cnc. heck, the stepper motors alone cost near that. much less the whole machine. ive got availability to alot of metal working tools, and a medium amount of welding and other experiences. and i kind of fell on my face when i was getting ready to make one. the problem is definately experience, so if you dont know what couplers, stepper motors, g-code, collets, what kind of end mills for different feed rates and materials, ect. are, then i hate to say it but your about 1+ years of researching before you lay your hands on making one. sorry. easiest and closest thing to do would be this.... make a copy carver. guitar frenzy had a pic of one when he had his 'make a strat' tutorial. i would build one of those. not to hard but still a good bit of work. THEN, learn a little bit of CAD, and take a 2-D autocad prs, lp, strat body template and convert it to 3d, so you have your carved top dimensions. THEN take them to a machine shop (that will even think about doing wood) and get them to mill them out of solid maple or a good reliable wood using your 3d cad file you made. so then you have some 3d templates of different bodies you can use on your copy carver. sounds like a plan to me. seriously dont waste your money+time on trying to make a cnc to start off with.

ball screws are 100x more expensive than acme threaded rod. and bad thing about ebay is finding matched parts, and waiting for them to come up.

4x6 is HUGE in cnc terms. i seriously doubt your going to be able to get any kind of accuracy to be able to do inlays with a table that big, keep in mind the induced flex, backlash, and more play where stuff can go wrong in a table that big. aim for something like 2x2 and you might can do it. also, your going to have to run a HUGE threaded rod for axis lengths that long. at least 1, maybe 2", good lucky paying serveral HUNDRED dollars for a 2" stainless threaded rod thats 6' long. each. i think you should tame it down a little. what are you making thats 6' anyway?

the ones ive seen meet at the nut, and are on the same level. i dont know any other way to do it *but* that. if you lowered it, it would look like you put a slice of veneer over the top of the headstock after you bound it. prolly not to great either.

yeh, it is relatively expensive. the main cost is in how many axes you do, the expensive stainless 1" threaded rod, and the stepper motors and controllers. cheapest ive seen a set of 3 stepper motors and a controller card was about 400$.

also, http://www.taigtools.com/ has starter cnc's, but they are in the 1500$ range i think, and dont have the large dimensions like what your looking for. you have to think that someone making a cnc does it to usually make *small* things at a *high* degree of accuracy (.001"). for a guitar you need *large* at a *medium* accuracy. almost easier to build a copycarver or a ghetto router-mill setup. all the money in a cnc is being automated and accurate. kind of a waste for what were doing

http://www.buildyouridea.com/cnc/tk-421/cncrouter.html nice, but you need ALOT of tools. best to have a tig setup, metal bandsaw, tons of skill, and a thick wallet.

how are you guys getting flat edges? with a big hand plane or do you go out and buy a jointer? frickin thing is such a one-job oriented tool i cant make myself go drop all the cash on it. ive been taking my wood to get jointed, at a cost tho

does the flash make it look 'milky' or is that the look your going for? nice flame/grain combo.

probably all "work" the same. looks depend on you. check out www.stewmac.com , they have tons of bindings. id just go with a plain cream plastic one, or a fancy one would be cream/black/cream laminated. flat tops are easier to apply binding to, if you have a carved top, you'll need to make/buy a shorter guide for the router to use so it wont hit the carve top and throw your angle off. can also be found at stewmac. make sure to practice alot on scrap first too. i would say no on the refretting a carvin neck. 1. you'll never get it as good as what they will send you 2. alot of work for nothing 3. dont have the tools. also, alot of guitars have binded headstocks/bodies and not necks and they dont look weird or anything. not as bad as you think it would.

also, do you even know what one sounds like? by the name "metal matt" i would guess you like metal. and all the fretless stuff ive heard doesnt sound anything like it. fretless is also extremely hard to play and is made for more of individual notes rather than chords. just something to think about...

to me the firebrid version body makes the body look really small and weird. others look fine though.

i think a string thru tom would look pretty good. since the body is 3/4" smaller id go with the smallest bridge/tail combo to not draw attention to hardware.

come on. they wouldnt make a product that crappy. it may be a little different, but ive talked to a couple of woodworkers and they said they have been using it for years and never had a problem with it. and they do that for a job. so just think abou that

i just realised brian is 30 min. north of me. lol. i thought he was way up north fl. btw-thx for all the thoughts guys. ill make sure to catch some waves for ya.

that sounds pretty reasonable. but think about all that expensive ebony i'll be routing away. i dont think i could do it maybe a cavity or two for this one though

sounds good. make sure you get a pic of the wood first. ive seen some people trying to sell the cheap redish EI rosewood full of sap for high prices. what you want is the stuff that looks like ebony! bigD, when you make a chamber do you chamber both body and top or would just the body chambered be thick enough? also, how much should be chambered and in any specific placing? Please keep an eye on the back to back posting

i think there is a possibility. how much would it affect it you think? yeh, it weighs a ton allready. the body and neck blank, NOT the top, hardware, ect ect ect. weighs a bit more than my 78' ibanez LP copy. thats 1" thick back and neck wood only. should be interesting

hmmm only way your gonna get a bookmatched cap thats like 14" wide + is to have it that thin. slight chance with a 1" board if your lucky. what species of rosewood do you plan on using?. brazillian rosewood is the most sought after but good luck on finding anything like that in a large width.