wardd

Larry, Welcome! I'm a fairly new member here, but I have certainly learned a lot. I scanned your website link and it looks like there's some good info there. Maybe you could pass it along to one of the administrators to add to the reference section. Not sure how you would go about that though. I'm interested in scratch building, but I'm sure there will be lots of repair / restoration questions your expertise would be helpful with. Welcome again, d ward

If your making it for yourself, who cares what we think. But, you ain't drawin it up with a piece of paper and french curves, so I say your cheating. Sorry, I'm cronologically disadvantaged. d ward

This is an outside the box idea, but: Epoxy the stuff onto 1/8 in. plexiglass, then inlay that. Might work for fingerboard inlays. d ward

Just have to throw this in. Sometimes the tree makes a pretty good top all by itself. I was going to hang this one in my living room, I have the bolts, but I can't seem to find any wall nuts. d ward

Pete, Here is an idea I'm playing with. ? d ward

Julie, I have been wondering the same thing. From some of the posts I have read, I think it's some sort of electromechanical device you put in the guitar that gives vibrational feedback to keep the strings vibrating. Note: I figure if I put the above statement it will generate a bunch of posts letting me know just how much I don’t know and we both get to learn. By the way welcome, I’m new also and am trying to put together some advice for new members. Visit this post and it will give you a start. (Note: It’s not done yet.) http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=22201 Be Cool, d ward

Gman, I'm a teacher and was in my Computer Applications class, freshman working on building websites. Today I had them "internalizing" so they pretty much take care of themselves, so I had time to put the list together in between questions. Yes, lots of dead picture links, figured that, but it's interesting seeing those 2000something post #s, sure can see how much the board has grown. Be Cool, d ward

Just for fun I put together an index of links to the past GOTM's, back to Jan. 2004. d ward April 2006 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=22068 February 2006 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=21541 January 2006 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=20465 December 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=19972 November 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=19354 October 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=18764 September 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=18086 August 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=17501 July 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=16745 June 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=16123 May 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=15427 April 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=14746 March 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=14052 February 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=13294 January 2005 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=12541 December 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=11827 November 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=11254 October 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=10533 September 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=9733 August 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=8095 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=8896 July 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=8096 June 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=7334 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=7514 May 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=6494 April 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=5686 March 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=4963 February 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=4142 January 2004 http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=3634

I worked as a bowling pro shop guy for years and used an epoxy to fill the hole for redrilling. It's refered to as "ball plug", really nice to work with, cures in large amounts with no problem. It has a slow cure time, 10+ hours and is very clear. I use to mix it with cork, saw dust, all kinds of stuff with no problems. You just need to mix it carefully to avoid bubbles. You could ask at a Pro-Shop if they could order you some. Good Luck, d ward

9956, In reading your posts up to this point you pointed out that you had no experience with woodworking. Now, I don’t mess with veneer work, because it’s too much of a hassle / too difficult and I have lots of woodworking experience. Plus, veneer isn’t very forgiving, not much to work with if you do run into a problem. So, you should probably feel pretty good about yourself for getting this far. But, for what it’s worth, here’s what I’d do: 1] Pick up my LP or SG, turn the amp up loud and write a song, play a song anything other than worry about the problems with the project. 2] Once I calmed down a little, I’d go back and look at the problem again. 3] Maybe I’d decide that the best course of action would be to start over and then try to experiment with fixing the veneer knowing that I can’t really mess up any more than I already have since I still have the start over option. 4] I might try carefully and slowly sanding the present veneer until I evened out the stain / texture and try restaining. Most likely there is sealer in the grain, but who knows, it might generate a cool effect. I guess you could also add trying to strip off the sealer. 5] If I couldn’t get a result I’m satisfied with, then I’d carefully sand off the veneer and start from scratch. (Sanding would be a lot of work, but it would be pretty safe in terms of making a bigger problem.) I guess you could try heating it and try prying / scraping it off, but that would risk gouging the body. i.e. compound the problem. 6] I’d remember the mistakes I made the first time around and not repeat them. (Believe me this comes from repeated experience.) i.e. How did I get the bubbles, how can I prevent them this time. etc.. 7] After it’s all said and done, I’d sit back and look at the guitar and realize that even though it was a lot of work, I’d learned how to avoid mistakes that I will never make again. Good luck, you’ll get there, d ward

Should have read...."The person who customised this guitar has been beaten with a stick." Southpa, Beating this guy with a stick would be a waste of a perfectly good stick. d ward

I'll qualify this by saying I'm no expert, but this worked for me. I made a radiused hard maple block, cut a slot across the curve and opened it so the fret wire would come in and out easily. I then place the fret in the slot, clamp it at one end, push the other end down and tap it with a hammer. Then reverse the direction and repeat. Frets come out bent about the same as the pics in the previous post. As usual, experiment first. (Especially when using my advice.) Good Luck, d ward

ooten, Looks really good, simple, clean and I dig the natural look. I've been working with finding a good way to make wooden knobs too. I ground down a 1/4 in. drill bit a little and that seems to help. On the loose ones, you might try either putting a couple drops of water in the holes to swell up the grain. Or, fill the holes with baking soda, tap it out, then put some drops of superglue on a toothpick and coat the insides to build them up. This also makes a hard coating. (Just thinking out loud here.) I remember in the '70 when I worked in a music store there where these guitars with aluminum necks that were about as close to perfect as you could get and super thin. Had the same reaction from players, they were almost too easy to play. Be Cool, d ward

H, I bought one of the StewMac cauls, put it in the drill press, works really slick. Do the inserts match the fretboard radius you are using? Good Luck, d ward

Well, I talked this over with my player guru and here's what I think a the moment. Master volume knob isolated for easy access. Two tones with push-pull switches for coil tapping. A three way, somewhere. Be Cool, d ward

Pete, Thanks, I do like the horns flowing together in a single curve. Still think I would like a thinner lower horn, will play with the drawing and see what it looks like fullsize. (I can see you like playing with graphics as much as I do.) I did some hunting on the PG reference section, but all the wiring links seem to be dead. (I'll try some other possibilities later.) The three pot system you show would be, master volume, tone, tone? Switches for coil-tap, three-way? I like the look of the three knob setup. I'm not really a guitar player so the mention of volume swells gave me a mental picture not appropriate to a "family friendly" board. But, I think I see what you mean, I'll ask my player guru to clarify. In thanks for your input here's a little story: I teach at a rural school in Iowa, we have 350 kids, Kindergarden through grade 12. We had an Australian exchange student last year. When it came time for her to go home, I took a piece of flame maple and made her a boomerang, then all the staff signed it for her. I told her that 1,000's of people may have boomerangs made in Australia, but she was now the only person on the planet with one made in Thornburg, Iowa. (pop. 84) Thanks for your input, d ward

In my initial drawings I started with a PRS outline for the cutaways and began to adjust. Agian, trying to end up with a unique shape that I felt had some flow to it. And, the shorter and thicker I made the upper horn the more I liked it. I'm going to try binding on this one also, so once I do some experiments going around those bends they may grow a bigger radius. One thing I’m wondering on the upper horn is: Is the length more of an aestetic function or for balance. Now, I know it’s both, but is there any school of thought as to how the CG relates to the strap positions. I didn’t seem to find much searching for it. Plus, I haven't spent much time exploring different electonics options. Maybe, I'll consider using a system with less than the 4 pot setup. Any suggestions. Be Cool, d ward

This thread is reminding me, didn't one of those Dan Armstrong Lucite guitars have a sliding pickup? d ward

I did some more experiments with different configurations. For me the repeated upper cutaway looks too much like a dung beetle. The repeated lower cutaway is too small and going between those would be more of a LP junior / 335 outline. Not sure about the control placements, I need to draw up the arrangement and see how the wiring would work. Plus, I want to use coil tap and 3 way switches, not sure where they should go. Thanks for your input, d ward

psw, Thanks for your input. On the knobs, if I get you correctly you mean having them all in a row following the edge contour. On my first guitar I made in '77 I did them that way: something to consider, I'll try a new drawing and see how I like it. One thing I have been wondering though, on an Australian guitar do the tuners go, you know, the other way? Be Cool, d ward

Here's a drawing of a new project I'm going to start. I've tried to come up with an outline based on guitars I like, but with at least a petina of uniqueness. Based on the upper cutaway, I thought I'd stick the name "Wave" on it for now. I've stuck on my wooden hardware for tailpiece cover and pickup rings. I'm thinking of using the same accent pattern as fret markers and center accent on the headstock. i.e. Using the pattern over the entire length of the instrument. Let me know what you think. Be Cool, d ward

Brian, Thanks for all you do here. But, I'm not going to say Happy Birthday. Heck, I'd kill to be only 47. Be Cool, d ward

I'm a little hardcore on building everything myself. Probably a couple ways to look at it. Consentrate on learning how to build the body, install the components and do the finish work and use a pre-made neck. Then tackle the neck on the next one. Or try to learn the entire process on the first one. Depends on how dedicated you are, how patient, what access to tools etc. The neck making process is much more involved, but by no means impossible. Good Luck, d ward

Probably just as strong, but more flexible and yes much nicer to work with. Unless, you have alergic reaction problems with epoxy. d ward

Are you talking inlays in an existing neck with frets or in a new fretboard? d ward