urbansmurf

You can repair just a small part like that, but you'll have some work to do. You'll need to feather the clear out onto the rest of the guitar and then wetsand the overspray with really high grit paper and then buff it. A better option, is to sand down the damage with high grit paper, just to get it even, not to go through the color, and then reclear the whole guitar. Either way is going to be a bit of a task but it can be done. Either way you want to go I'd help you out with advice as best I can. I painted cars for 2 and a half years so I've done my share of both methods. Hope this is helpful.

My thoughts exactly.

Pictures?

Since this is your first project, and your first guitar, I think you should go for whatever you want. 100$ isn't going to get you far enough into a full custom to justify selling your first guitar. My first is a Peavey Raptor, not a nice axe at all, but the sentimental value won't let me sell it.

Rather than spend hundreds on an entirely handmade guitar, I would just put a little money into your Squier and make it as nice as possible. That way you're starting small, project wise, and you'll get a good feel for how guitar-building is. It's easy to get in over your head by jumping into a big project. Plus, if you do end up jacking it up, it's just a 100$ Squier and not a custom that you spend weeks and hundreds of dollars on.

That's just my 2 cents though, do whatever you want, but it makes sense to me to work with the stuff you've got.

If you do end up taking my advice, I've filled Floyd cavities before and put string through T-o-M setups in, so I can give you a little advice on how to do it, and there is also a good tutorial on the Project Guitar Tutorials section on filling trem cavities.

Is that just water in the bucket? And he added enamel paint into it? Or is there some other chemical in the bucket?

Thanks to both of you.

I was actually looking at the LSR, and that's probably what I'll go with if I decide to go roller. My crappy work internet is not wanting to load eBay right now, but I'll definitely look that kit up.

Did the LSR sound good when you played the strings open? And did it really make a difference in the smoothness of tuning, or is it just one of those upgrades just for the sake of upgrading?

Hey guys,

It's been quite a while since my last post. Couple of years actually. At any rate, I'm back from overseas and ready to start jacking around on these guitars again. But I had a question or two about roller nuts, as I am considering putting one on my Explorer.

First, is anyone using one? How does it affect sound, tuning and playability? Is there really any advantage to it over a traditional style nut?

Second, this is sort of hard for me to verbalize, so bear with me. I currently have a nut like this one:

And when it's on the guitar, like this:

the strings make contact with the nut almost exactly where the fretboard starts.

Now, on a Fender-style roller nut like this:

The strings seem like they will make contact with the rollers further back, approx. somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4" behind the start of the fretboard:

Is this the case, or am I way off in imagining how the roller is set up? If so, I guess that means I'd have to route out part of the fretboard on the headstock end? Thanks in advance for the help.

Oh, and by the way, I have a roller T-o-M bridge that I plan to use without a tailpiece (String-through) and was just wanting a roller nut for the sake of aestetic consistency, so I'm not hell-bent on using a roller nut, just curious because if it will work I probably will use one. Thanks again.

congrats, you deserve the cover =)

ok ok, so this is just like a mockup to use as a template? awesome, good idea. i tend to get impatiend and just go into the final wood. keep it up though!

knox... is that mdf there? no way that'll hold up to string tension. desing is awesome though, keep the good work up

thanks, john

MKGBass: What do you mean? think you could draw it in paint or something to give me an idea as to what you're talking about?

hey jeremy, that wood look familiar?

2nd of all, while i respect everyones comments and opinions, telling me to throw it away isnt helping.

You seem to have a habit of ignoring peoples posts, so we make allowances for that, by making sure we get your attention.

understood

ok, here we go

The body with the new line drawn, but not cut:

freshly shaped neck:

The whole gang:

thanks to all who've been helping

ill start off by saying i didnt just "fly blind" into this. Although i forgot the center line, i had drawings and designs already made up.

2nd of all, while i respect everyones comments and opinions, telling me to throw it away isnt helping.

ill go get a pic of it now that ive drawn the new body line.

heh, i know

nothing against you gregp

i drew some center lines and remarked the left side, im gonna cut it againa and i think it'll come out ok, i may go get a pic here in a min.

lol im kidding

i think it looks fine, and heres why

first and formost, its mine, and as long as im happy with it there's no point in going into how its geometricly flawed

second, i know the "waist" is asymetrical, as well as the other curves. i think it makes it flow better and look more organic, if you will. symetry sucks

third: as for the pickups not lining up right (off center) i think i can fix that with some routing magic, plus it will look better with the contours there to even things out.

i apreciate all feedback, even the negative stuff. this is my first body and im proud of it for what it is

oh, and whats the story behind calling buning it "Drak-tastic"? is he pyro happy when it comes to guitars?

you're right, gregp. after reading your comment i went out and burned that body and started work on a new one. ill keep you posted

aye, i couldnt bring myself to paint it

i like the grain

that acoustic is a Kawaii acoustic, model POS

you may can not see it, but i have the body contours marked out and ready to be carved out.

ill keep you posted

all i can say is... wow

ive never seen anything that amazing

LGM, it'd be a shame to not see anymore of your work, keep it up

thank you!

i have a sanding bit for my drillpress that works well, and yes, the pickups are just roughly sketched in. i was just giving my dad a guitar anatomy lesson

im probably just gonna tung oil it down

thanks again

im finally finishing up that neck and building a body for it

thanks for all who helped when i posted my concept drawing. this is what i ended up with:

yes, my original design

i like the way it came out, although cutting the 1.5" ash was quite a job to cut. i got alot of sanding to do around the edges, and then do the contours. let me know what you think

nah, just cut out some of the pickguard, i had to notch the pickguard on my explorer as well.

gah, alright

however, i dont have a locking nut, so its a little easier

thanks all

my intonation is off on my FR II, but it seems impossible to fix! is there some trick to it, or do you just have to take the strings off, adjust it, then check it again to see if its right?