avengers63

Wel, poop. This clearly isn't going to work the way I want it to w/o spendinf a couple hundred on equipment. To heck with it. I'm sanding the whole thing down and counting this as valuable experience. I'm going to paint the whole thing purple.

Yes, I did a search. No, I couldn't find the answer. Traditionally, the grain on the body runs North/South. I understand why it runs that way on the neck: strength. Is that the same reason for it on the body? I was considering the possibility of either horizontal or diagonal grain for a body. If it's structurally a bad idea, can y'all tell me why? Another thought is a back going horizontal with the top going vertical. This might have a stabalizing effect similar to plywood.

Anyone else? (crickets chirping) Bueller? Bueller?

You can do the whole thing a lot easier. On the 5-way, run a jumper from the main contact on the bridge pup to the main contact on the neck pup with a simple on/off toggle. You'll need to arbitrarily designate one as the "control" pup. When it's on (in any position), throw the switch to "power up" the other. Maybe you don't think this is easier. I suppose either way would work.

I think it'd be easiest to recess the posts. This could be done with a wide bit and a drill press. Whatever you do, ya GOTTA be extra super-duper mondo-supremo careful NOT to hose up the finish. Whenever you're drilling into the finish, run the drill SLOWLY backwards on the spot before drilling the actual hole. It helps prevent burning & cracking the finish. Besides friction, I can't define exactly why this works (I'm at work/away from my books), but it does. When you go forward, run the drill slowly then as well. Lastly, it'd be a good idea to mask the area off before doing any drilling/routing/whatever. This will help reduce the possibility of tearout & chipping. None of the measures that have been mentioned will prevent the possibility, but they will all reduce the risk. Combining the measures where possible will further decrease the risk. Good luck, and I'm glad I'm not in your shoes.

+1 +2 If you later add time-delay effects (delay, chorus, flanger, reverb), put them after the Distortion but before the Noise Supressor.

Ah... This is bringing back fond memories of Hair Metal. Someone covered their ax in python skin. Suddenly, all the smaller companies were offering it as a custom upgrade. Why don't you go talk to an upholstery shop about how to get it stretched flat and adhered solidly to the body - especially around the curves & edges. Surely they'll have some valuable advice to offer.

Could you rig up a dovetail bit? I don't know what the available degree angles are on them, but it's a thought.

I was watching Perry's build diary on YouTube and saw him using something to carve the top, forearm bevel, and the belly cut. It LOOKED like an angle grinder, so I went shopping. I couldn't find any heads/disks/whatever that said they were for wood; everything was for metal. So.... 1) If it wasn't an angle grinder, what is it? 2) If it was, which head would be used? I'd think the ones designed for metal would take off wood way too fast. 3) What power tool do YOU use to make said cuts? I'm not interested in doing the heavy work by hand.

+1. I absolutely love mine. +1 again. $150 for a 22 fret maple neck with an ebony f/b & tiltback headstock, ot $210 for a 24 fret neck-through, both are optionable with a paddle headstock & no inlays so you can do your own at no additional cost. The prices are really good.

If not, it's a little too late to do anything about it now without major surgury!

Pretty!

This just isn't going according to plan. The crackle isn't working over the regular paint. What a P.O.S. product! I believe I shall write a strongly worded letter to their Department Of Ignoring Customer Complaints. So... here's what I have so far. http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/av...nt/painted3.jpg http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff15/av...nt/painted1.jpg The yellow isn't as intense in real life as it is in the pics. The flash is washing it out quite a bit. Also, there was a dusting of overspray that went under the templates that tones it down a bit. It seems that witout proper spray wquipment, I'm never going to get a crackle finish on it. I'd like your input on the whole thing. Do I finish up the paint scheme as is, or do I sand it all off and make it a solid color? Also, just to gloat a bit, all of the pics were taken with the ax lying on my free pool table!!!! I got it from someone who just didn't want it anymore, but couldn't sell it because it was in her basement and hard to get out. She finally got to the point of "just take it", which I did. It isn't in it's final resting spot and isn't leveled yet, so it's currently serving as my staging area. Free pool table baby!

Only one pup? No biggie, but why so close to the neck?

I like the accent lines and the headstock details. It's the extra details like that which elevate a piece from average to great.

Whoo baby - That would be nice. I'd lean towards a heavily flamed piece or a nice quilt. OR... a burl veneer laminated to whatever is available! Do a multi-tone stain/sand back on the burl. Actually, any of them would be more readily available (and cheaper) as a veneer than as a big piece like that. FWIW: I like the wood bridge. I'm not thinking the color works with the rest of the ax, but the idea and execution are solid. Maybe if it matched the body color...

I may not me wowed by the shape. but I DO really like the bog bound & inlaid wood "pickguard". With it being that big, I don't know if it can really be called a pickguard, bit what else are we to call it? It's a nice, unique aspect. A couple of thoughts on it: 1) I'm not sure the black body with a black stained p/g is working. Too much of the same. If you do this again, maybe try a contrasting or complimenting tone, not the same tone. 2) Consider reversing the scheme. Paint the p/g a solid color and stain the body. When we see a p/g, we expect to see a solid color (or tortoise shell), not stained wood. That doesn't make it WRONG to have the p/g as stained wood, just not what is anticipated. And I can't tell if MiKro is serious on this one or not. Usually I can spot the mood. Hmmmmm... At least he & I agree on what it's a hybrid of.

Yeppers! You even get your choice of fret wire.

Honest opinion? It doesn't strike me as anything special. It resembles a PRS/Jaguar crossbreed. I like the PRS style cutaways, but not the extended Jaguar style body shapes. Please don't take that as anything negative. At this point, it'd be dang hard for anyone to have an original body shape without being able to compare it to an existing shape or combination of shapes. All of our shapes are going to be inspired by something else. The most important thing is that YOU like it and that it feels good in YOUR arms.

http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/burst.htm I got the pin situation all figured out.

Two things: First, I agree with Mickuard. If you're going to have someone else do the body, go all the way. For a beginner, there's NO SHAME AT ALL in making a "kit" guitar. This gives you invaluable lessons in wood finishing, planning, and assembly. You can either gather the pieces & hardware separately, or get a kit with everything included. Either way is fine, though gathering all the parts yourself would teach you more. If you get a whole kit, I strongly advise the Carvin kit. I made one 10 years ago and it's absolutely great. Second, Carvin makes great necks. Be aware that they have a wide nut and a flat board. If that's not for you, look elsewhere. If you like that, however, they're beautiful. In any event, take lots of pics and post your progress often!

A major snag came up. From Flexner's book, the way to do a crackle finish is to lay a gloss coat of whatever you want, then lay the crackle lacquer on top of it. Then real-life hit. I took a test piece of poplar, did the sanding sealer thing on both sides, coated one side with lacquer, the other side with wipe-on poly on one hanf & spray can poly on the other. After it dried for a day, I took turns hitting all the areas with the crackle. I wanted to find out which clear gloss reacted to the crackle best. NO CRACKLE!!!!! It was supposed to shrink & crack. All I have is matte black over the whole thing. I went back to the store to check out the base coat the manufacturere says to put under the crackle, but it's either white or black - no clear. So now what am I supposed to do? I have the whole thing painted up great, but I'm totally stuck.

Sorry it's taken me so long to get some pics and make an update. Here's the frame I made for it and a peek at the finished product. The frame is made from flamed walnut. I brushed on a coat of sanding sealer, sanded it back, then rubbed in two coats of wipe-on poly, buffing with steel wool between coats. I'm going to leave it as is: semi-gloss. I'd like some opinions on the plaque. The lacquer sould me fully cued next week. I have two options: 1) level it out and buff it with steel wool for a matte finish, or 2) level it out, wet sand it to 3000 grit, and polish it out to a mirror finish. What do you think?

From what I've been able to tell, the route for the neck pup on a tele is almost identical to that of a strat, except for the wiring chanel. S/C pup rings aren't too hard to find if you wanted to buy one. Otherwise, it's entirely feasable to make one from some scrap. Your thickness sounds about right. I suggest making the hole for the pup before cutting out the final shape. Less margain for error that way. And, as always, post some pics of your progress.

I agree with Wez. It's your ax and you can do what you want with it, but I'd leave it as is. By 'rich' I actually meant like a big piece of chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting and chocolate pudding ripples in the cake and a big glass of chocolate milk to wash it down with. So rich you'd get a cavity by looking at it. Dark brown wood with gold hardware does it for me.