rhoads56

Derek, if these are your sale prices, what are they normally going to be??

Yes, and they still need to be re-cut, shaped, trimmed lengthways, etc etc etc unless you have a brand new, original Gibson or Fender, or perfect copy. And even then, they dont fit. I fitted 12 new nuts last week to gibsons and fenders, using the graphtec nuts, and not a single one was worth paying the extra for the pre-slotted type. Not to mention the spacings were wrong. There is literally only a few minutes work between a blank, and a preslotted.

To buy a pre-slotted nut, the company making them would have to: a.) know the fret board with at the nut, of your custom made guitar, b.) know what radius youve sanded your custom made fretboard to, c.) know what height your frets are, eg: out of 20 or 30 different types of fretwire, d.) know how deep you cut your nut channel, e.) know how wide you cut your nut channel, f.) what spacings you like between the strings, g.) know what size strings you are fitting, h.) and, finally, what height action at the first fret, you would like... OR, they would make a generic piece of crap out of plastic, that needs to be final fitted anyway... Ive NEVER fitted a preslotted nut that a.) fitted correctly, b.) wasnt plastic, c.) didnt need to be re-cut for each string. If you cant afford the nut files, take your guitar to a music store or luthier who can cut the slots for you. It is a lot cheaper.

OMG, your going to get frustrated using that! Thats a bowl making plane.

What he said. It can be done, but its an absolute pain in the butt to continually turn the work piece around, and come from different angles. Rasp > file > 120 grit You want a half round rasp and file

Yep, i have cut about eight necks for him, and have seen the samples. He is back home now (not in Australia), but i expect to see him again soon. He was bringing some fret wire and sample boards (mini guitar neck, with 8 different fret sizes) for me. No $$$ yet though.

Patience young Jedi.... The last neck was mahogany. Add two or three minutes extra for maple.

Hmmm, i timed myself today. Eight minutes to carve a neck to sanding stage, using a $30 spokeshave, a half round rasp, and a half round file. If id done it with a router, id have to buy the bit ($40-70??), set up the router each time (5-10 minutes), possibly make a jig (one for each different neck length/width/shape), make or buy a router table, fit the router to the table (unless it is dedicated to that one job = more $$$). Then, rout the neck = four minutes, and THEN, get out the spokeshave (because you bought a generic round over bit, and not a $150 custom made jobbie), and finish the shaping..... All in all, how much time is saved?? LESS TIME. Chances of chip out using a router? LOTS Chances of chip out using spokeshave? Very little For the people on this forum, who are making less than five guitars at a time, it would be less cost effective, and more time consuming to use a router. And a damn site more dangerous. Luckily, i was taugh well during my apprenticeship, and that it isnt always easier, cheaper, more accurate, or faster to use machinery or powertools.

Midnight by Joe Satriani is good. Certainly spins people out when i play it in the breaks between songs with my band.] Get powertab, or guitar pro 3 or 4 for tablature.

No, because the veneer will soak up the moisture, expand, and distort, making it virtually impossible to lay it down flat on your guitar without (and even with) the use of a industrial vacuum press or proper veneer press. Get a bottle of stain, get a clean dry rag, fold the rag up until its about three inches square, and put the rag over the top of the open bottle of stain. Turn the bottle upside down for one second... Thats enough stain for at least half the face of the guitar.

It will only lift if you: a: are totally incompetent, b: use WAY WAY to much water based, or thinners based stains (see point A) c: Dont use enough glue (see point A) Ive never seen veneer lift after staining or polishing, and i work with fancy veneers for a living.

Im in Australia, and i get my packages from Stewmac in three days. But, i have to request fast shipping for that, which, is between $5 more and $10 LESS than the slower shipping (which takes three weeks)

A guitar made without glue, and now a guitar with pickups placed perfectly under a node?? Think about this: If the string vibrates with the vibrations "pivotting" at a certain point of the string length (as a percentage), what happens to that "node" or harmonic if you SHORTEN THE STRING LENGTH BY FRETTING A NOTE!!

Draw your guitar out in full size, as a side on view, and all will be revealed. This is the most accurate way of getting the fretboard vs body vs hardware layout. Start with the body, then draw in the thickness of the fretboard and desired action at the body/neck join, then draw in the bridge (recessed if you want), and "join the dots"

Were you going WITH, AGAINST, or ACROSS the grain?? Never had a spokeshave "chatter" unless it was going against the grain. You need very little blade exposed.

Nuts are often supplied oversize. What size is the neck??? 1mm off centre for the truss rod?? Wouldnt worry about it.

As much as i love "V's", i went with Jehle's creation this time. Sorry Wes.

Sully, ive been making necks for a few people over here that dont have the time/tools/confidence to make their own. Shoot me an email if you want, we could possibly work something out.

Interesting idea, but how do we email you?

Stuff the waterslide decals.... use abalone

I'll have to remember that line next time i trade in my car... Ed sells them for $139, $6 postage US wide. I did find a place on the web doing them for $119 USD for an OFR, but ive been unable to find the store since (6 months ago).

editted

Very Cool

Thanks for your support Dave. Looks like you've updated the front page Brian, notice how i made my guitar to match your colour scheme?? Let me guess, a $1000 voucher for StewMac?? thanks for the competition Brian.

You'll need to find the right type depending on what you do. Carved tops, and the more "difficult" designs will require a 3 axis CNC as a minimum. These are VERY expensive (no change from $100,000). Angled neck pocket?? You'll need a four axis machine.... You dont even want to know what they cost, and they are rare to find. There is only ONE in my home state, and we have over 700 cabinet making businesses...