six_stringer

As long as you only spray the waterbase lacquer (non-flammable) you should be okay. The dried over spray is flammable so keep that in mind. Also, wear the appropriate respirator for your protection. Make sure that your spray area is as clean as possible from any dirt, dust or other particulate that could get on your finish. With temp type spray booths some people lightly wet mop the spraying area to help keep dust down to a minimum. My booth is on a table in the basement and is a three section wood frame with hinges on it so I can fold it up and get it out of the way. It is covered in plastic and has a box fan with a filter on the front of it. However, I am thinking of doing the same kind of setup as you are with the tubing and shower curtains. Don't forget to have something like plastic above your booth to keep dust from falling into it. I couldn't believe the amount of dust that is on top of the piece of plastic I used for my booth. I recently saw this portable greenhouse that I thought might work out okay for outside spraying or if you have the room maybe even inside. http://www.target.com/Dream-House-Portable...5905531-4261458 Good Luck, Jeff

If you intend to really get into building then I would suggest that you buy a copy of Melvyn Hiscock's book "Make Your Own Electric Guitar". However, if you do some searching of this forum you will find answers to most of the guitar building questions you might have. I don't know all of the details of your build but this topic has come up several times before. Measure your neck from the fretboard side of the nut to the twelth fret wire, double this figure to get your scale length. If you measure 12.5" the scale length is 25". If you measure 12.75" the scale length is 25.5" etc.. Now measure from the fretboard side of the nut out to the scale length that you determined from above (25", 25.5" etc.) and that is the point where the strings will go over the saddles. Then you measure from the twelth fret wire to that point where the saddles go to verify that it is half of the scale length. Good Luck, Jeff

I have been thinking of making a drum sander also and although what I found is not cheap it looks like it would work well. Here is what I'm talking about. http://www.stockroomsupply.com/V_Drum_Sander.php Good Luck, Jeff

Here are some of the pictures of the guitar's that I used the Spray Max 2k clear aerosol on. In the future I will hopefully show more of these in the In Progress section. This one needs more clear for sure. http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c352/six...yMax2kclear.jpg This one is nearly done. Sorry for the blurry picture. http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c352/six.../DSC00238-1.jpg This one is really close to being done. http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c352/six...er/DSC00237.jpg This was the last to be sprayed before the first can ran out so it needs more clear also. http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c352/six...er/DSC00239.jpg I thought that I would throw this one in even though it's Stew Mac waterbase only. http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c352/six...75scalebari.jpg With luck I will be able to use the second can before the weekend. Jeff

Use caution and take the necessary steps to protect yourself when using any paint. Even waterbase can be dangerous. I realize that this is an older post but I thought I would share my recent experience with this product. I just finished using one of my two cans of Spray Max 2k aerosol clear and it seems to work well. I sprayed one coat on a Basswood Strat style body, an Ash PRS style body, a Poplar Ibanez PR1660 style body (Randy Rhoads V) and a Carvin neck-through ESP/SG style guitar with Poplar wings. All of these were allowed to cure a minimum of 200 hours before applying the Spray Max 2k clear. The Strat has Stew Mac waterbase yellow lacquer on it as a primer with Auto Air Colors metallic gold over that. It was then cleared with Stew Mac waterbase lacquer. I level sanded before applying the Spray Max 2k clear on it. I didn't pore fill the PRS and it was sprayed with an unlikely paint. Behr Metallic waterbase interior paint. I tinted it with various TransTint dyes and added some water to thin it out and it sprayed well. Next time I use it I will spray the silver metallic thinned and then tint some clear coat to change the color. I used Stew Mac waterbase clear lacquer with some Silver PolyFlake mixed in to give it a little sparkle. Also, I sprayed a few coats without the flake to help build up the layers. I sprayed the Spray Max 2k clear on it but it still needs more to bury the flakes the rest of the way. The Ibanez has some automotive 2k left on it as a primer from a previous paint job by a friend. I sprayed Stew Mac waterbase lacquer over that and I level sanded before applying the Spray Max 2k clear on it. The Carvin neck-through kit was sprayed with Stew Mac waterbase gray as a primer and then white for the base coat. I then used my airbrush to dust on some Auto Air Colors Interference gold to give it a little pearl effect. I then used Stew Mac waterbase clear over that and I level sanded before applying the Spray Max 2k clear on it. I have been waiting for a cooler, dryer and lower humidity day so I could use these Spray Max 2k aerosols and finally got my chance. I lucked out with little to no wind, bugs or debris while spraying outside. Also, for safety I wore gloves, a long sleeve shirt, eye protection and the all important respirator while spraying the 2k outside. All of the waterbase paint was sprayed in my basement with my knockdown filter/fan/booth. I also use eye protection and the respirator when downstairs using the booth and only use waterbase inside. I hope to use the second can soon and apply some more coats on those guitar's. I have finished a couple of guitar's in the past and present with all waterbase and they have turned out fine but I just wanted a little more protection than they can offer. I will try to take some pictures to post of these guitar's and two others I am working on. Good Luck, Jeff

Nice work. I will have to try that on one of my bookmatched Maple tops soon. Jeff

If tone is a major issue then you should probably go with a printed design instead of routing out so much wood for a real PC board. Unless you like really thick and heavy guitar bodies that is. Here is a link to a picture of a Tele with a board on it that I saw at Marty Bell's website. You have to scroll down a bit to find it. http://www.martybellfinishing.com/Gallery.html Jeff

I think this is the one you want. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...mp;#entry360930, or http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/Ski...e.aspx?id=30182 Jeff

Thanks for the link MiKro! I might try some pearl on my current white paint job. Jeff

I don't have a safe place to spray Nitrocellulose or two part automotive paints so I use the waterbased paints. I clean my guns after each coat waiting no more than two hours before spraying another then cleaning again. This information from Stew Mac may be of use to you just below the pictures of the spraygun. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_supp...ons/I-5436.html Good Luck, Jeff

I'm still working on my finishing skills but I can tell you that if you don't have a safe proper place to spray nitro then of the two you should stick with water based. You should use the appropiate respirator with both lacquers and having a spraybooth can only make things easier. Some people spray out their window with a fan and filter attached to it and some like me have a knockdown type booth set up in their garage, basement or other available room. If I had the money I would have a booth with an explosion proof fan and lights so I could spray nitro and other automotive type paints more safely. If you go with nitro be careful! You probably saw this post already but here it is anyhow. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=36484 Also, you should try a test sample of the way you want to do it to see if it gives you the look that you want. Good Luck, Jeff

Here are just two of the many pictures I found in the past. One looks like the real thing and the other looks like their best try at one. Print them out until you get the right size. By the way, I found these by searching for "KL Explorer". http://rockandroller.net/EXPLORER/pages/KL-orphan_019.htm http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a68/Tony8...¤t=c52f2a0f.jpg Jeff

I don't know about Minwax Poly but I have used ColorTone/TransTint dyes in General Finishes EF High Performance Poly from Rockler. I have also used ColorTone waterbased pigments (colors) in the General Finishes Poly with no problems yet. Jeff

Is the Honey Burst that you want just like the Gibson Les Paul Classic Honey Burst? If so, you will probably have to go darker with the burst around the edges to hide the area of your fix since it is a very transparent finish. However, it may not show as much as you think and it's in a less noticable area while playing. It really doesn't look that bad to me. If however it really bothers you then you could paint or stain the back and sides black or a darker honey than the top. I think that would look good as long as you are doing binding(faux, wood, plastic etc.) to seperate the two halves. Good Luck, Jeff

On guitar's with zero frets I thought that the strings rested on the zero fret and the nut was only a guide to keep them in place. That being said, if the strings are on the zero fret and completely down in the nut slot I could see the potential for tuning problems due to the strings binding in the nut slot. Here is a link about zero frets; http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/zerofret.htm Jeff

Great link Setch! It does look to be the best way to do the repair. Jeff

I own two of the Carvin neckthroughs and IMHO they are well made. I used one for a neckthrough Gibson style V and the other for a neckthrough Gibson SG/ESP Viper. If you want a custom with many choices go with Soulmate and have Doug make it the way you want. As I have said before, should I decide to buy another neck instead of going through the trouble of making one myself I will try one of Soulmate's necks. This is my opinion and I don't get anything for suggesting one or the other. Jeff

It looks like a Candy color sprayed around the edges to create the burst effect. Also, I clicked the image to see a better picture and noticed the funky finish on the back of the neck. At least I think it was a finish. Oh, it's a carbon fiber neck, sometimes I just like to look at the pictures.

It really sounded good to me whether playing open strings or not. If you take too much or too little off of the fretboard when installing it you will never get the guitar to sound right. I was lucky and got it right the first time. I believe that it was meant to be used on Strats with the basic Strat trem and that's where it should really shine. My bridge was a fixed Strat style string through body setup. I never played a Strat with an LSR Rollernut on it so I can't say for sure how it works with a trem. Also, I usually use those GraphTech Trem nuts and sometimes I use those Earvana compensated nuts. If done right those "slippery" ones work just fine. Good Luck, Jeff

I had a Fender LSR Rollernut on the first guitar I built and it worked great. To use the one I had required removing a small section of the fretboard where a regular nut goes. The LSR Rollernut came with clear instructions on how much material to remove for proper fit. I don't have those instructions anymore though and have since used all of the parts of that guitar except for the nut for other projects. Do a search on Ebay for "NEW Geuine Fender LSR Roller Nut Upgrade KIT" to see which unit I am talking about. Jeff

That link doesn't work for me so I don't know what the cost is of the neck you want from Ebay. However, you could have a custom neck done exactly the way you want. Of course it will probably cost more but you can get it the way you want it. I would take a look at Doug's website www.soulmateguitars.com as he makes some very nice looking necks. Had I known about his necks when I bought my Carvin neck through I would have got one from him instead. Also, if I decide to buy another neck I will go to him first. Jeff

Not all heels are the same. I believe Warmoth bodies are 25 1/2 scale but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be a custom. The one I got way back in 1985 was a 25 1/2 scale so I bought a Warmoth neck to go with it and it works fine. A long time ago I believe I saw a picture at the Warmoth site showing the difference between the Strat heel(rounded) and the Tele heel(squared). That should help explain the heel geometry for you. I think this link is what I saw. http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/necks/necks....fuseaction=faq2 Jeff

You need to find out what the scale length the body was prepped for in order to get the correct neck. Was the body setup for a 24 fret neck or 21 or 22 etc.? Where and who did you get the body from? What type etc. You should probably pick up a copy of "Make your own electric guitar" by Melvyn Hiscock and do a lot of research on this site for help. Jeff

This is basically how I do it also. The difference is that I made a wood tailpiece jig with the proper string spacing. I clamp it to the body in the proper position and then I line up the bridge the way Setch describes. I only use th tailpiece jig when I do through body ferrules. Jeff

Paint jobs are not cheap to be sure. It seems that the price of a solid color these days (black or white etc.) can range from $195 to $275 or more for bolt on type bodies. The price's go up even more for neck through's and set neck types if they even do them at all. If you want custom colors or "blood spatter" that just raises the prices even more. I got these price's from four different internet sites of companies in the U.S. However, I don't have any experience with any of these painter's or any others to attest to the quality of their work. Good Luck, Jeff