Maiden69

yes it is, , I'm only seeing what I can do and how... I don't have a work area like I said, only a small area in the back and inside the house, and I am confined to a very small area inside thats why you see everything all cluter up. I'm working this week end in Ft Meade from 1100-1100 so I ain't got time to do much, hopefully on monday I will be able to do somenthing... I wasn't planning on painting it but this will be spot painted only in the back just to get that ugly plywood out of sight. I went and checked some 8/4 wood that was brought to the on-post wood shop and the only thing they got is mahogany, I will wait until getting the funds for the neck (carvins) to do the guitar...

Ok, I finaly got my guitars that were collecting dust in Iraq and I started gutting the Squier. after the first cut I can show you the heart of almost all of them, plywood , Well what can I say, thats why it's my TEST guitar! I opted for trying something like the Ibanez contour back and theh new American Fender in one... and this is what came up also I wanted to scallop the neck having done my LP but , this maple is hard as rock, I have filed, sanded, dremeled, drilled. And it still looks crooked to me, a;lso the 12 fret lost it's inlays , since I didn't notice how deep I was going. On this Squiers and I guess most of the black dot inlays, be carefull, they are extremely thin, I discovered that because I tried to set one in it's place and it whent down about 3/32", so I pushed all of them down but still manage to go thru the 12th's. O well, got to go do more sanding to try to finish this today, It wont be painted nice, since it will be the donor of the components for my first made from scratch guitar, or if I get PSst I will by one and put the pickups on it...

I will agree with all, Sweet Bass...

What color is this, I want to paint mine an this is close to the blue that I want... I don't know if it will look good with the cherry color in the back but I think the top will look great.

Brian, did you checked the site that I posted. Each sheet is enough for 2 bodies... But like you said, I don't know the quality. I like Gilmer's, since I found them I go over there just to see the grain in some of their stuff, the burls he have are incredible, and the fact that you can see the piece of wood that you are buying is a plus...

I can't see the pics or the URLs to open them...

It looks great from the waist down, but Idon't like the horns... but, beauty is on the eye of the beholder, so if you like it, go for it.

I know you are joking but it is good to know. My neighbohr is at this moment walking with a cane, after 20 yrs from lead poisoning from paint, he decided to paint his room and after he finished he went to bed... inside the room, he didn't got up the next day and when they founf him he had to be rushed to the ER... Be carefull with that paint! And in the case of shielding, I see most of the people here using EMG's, if you do you don't need the shielding... Unless you live or gig about 400 meters from a radio station, airport or military base...

This is the first hit that I got from Google. It is pretty much what yo want to look for were you are. the home depot and other stores will charge you more and the amount that they sell is not enough to make a mold...

Home Depot, ACE, Car Quest any place were they manufacture pools is the best place, both for price and quantity. I used a place back home that manufactured pools and dune buggies.

Take the white wires from the switch, the one in the middle will be on one of the toggle switch and then jumped to the other toggle switch. Now the top wire will be on the other blade or connector of the toggle and the white wire from the bottom will be on the other toggle. Now you will solder the black wire to the chassis of the first toggle and jumped to the chassis on the second one... I will like to post a drawing but don't have one now... If you have more doubt just use the like that BLS posted...

This is true, but unless you have the cheap dremel this tool is high and low speed. I use it all the time to cut plastic, just keep the rpm low. And unless you have a VARIAC or a variable speed routed keep it away from the plexi. A jigsaw with a fine tooth blade like the one for smooth cut on metals or a palstic blade will be better.. If you have access to a scroll saw and the speed is variable this will be your best bet.

www.stewmac.com

Here I found some quilted veneer. No nescesary cheap but if you look at the quantity you can sell it on e-bay and make your money back... I think Brian would have some but I just ckecked and there is only flamed. Hint, Hint...

I would suggest using fiberglass for a mold better than plaster cast. Just like he said, get a body the shape you want, get some vaseline (if mold release agent is not available and apply a very thin coat on the body. I have used WD40 gut I don't know how it will work with wood. Now get a fiberglass kit, I use the weaved one better than the matt. 1. If you want a smooth mold first do a coat of gel coat, if not available do a thick coat of resin let it sit for a while as it will begin to cure. 2. after its almost fully cured get the fiberglass and start laying it on the back of the guitar, I suggest doing the back so that you can rout for whatever combination of pickup or controls. once the resin has fully cured... 3. Start carefully prying the corners as this will release the guitar (you did use the mold realeasing agent, vaseline right?) now you should end with a mold to make a guitar out of Acrylic, Fiberglass, carbon fiber or whatever you want... Just mix the acrylic and pour over your mold, after adding the realease agent ( again) and once it is cured just pry it out like you did the guitar body. Now you are ready to rout the controls and pickup cavities. You will need a variable speed router, or use a viriac to slow down yours since the fast speed of wood routed will melt the acrylic. Acrylic just like plexiglass can be polished smooth. It will take sanding to 2000 and then using several other polishig compounds (formulated for acrylic) to bring it to a nice shine..( just like polishing a clear coat). you can use a heat gun, but you have to practice a lot, the heat gun will melt the surface hence bringing it back to a shinny surface, I will suggest you only do this inside the cavities and if brave enough in the top. I have done this before but for paper weights and stuff like that, and fiberglass molds for autosound speaker kick panels and subwoofer enclosure. If you have any other question on this, If you are going to do it let me know. PS. the fumes from Acrylic are highly toxic just like the urethane paints so use it in well ventilated areas and if possible use a respirator. PPS before doing this go to a Guitar Store and pick up a BC Rich acrylic guitar and play it, I have and I can tell you that it sound like ****....

Ok, I finally got to my house and can look at this better... yeap it look like holes! It really looked like bubbles on the cheap ss-a monitor at work. And they way the over imposse the guitar over the black made the illussion of ball shape more since if the back ground was black it would had shown thru the holes. I DON"T LIKE IT.... Looks way cheap.

I don't know if I got the same picture but I don't think they are holes... it looks like a carved top with bubbles coming out of it! they can't be holes because the guitar is being pictured in a black backgroung and there is light on the "holes" when it should be blacked out. It is the reflection of the light being used to light up the studio for the shot, like a flash. Like this dragon, only that it's bubbles or balls.

If you are refinishing it for a swirl nope! just make sure that it's smooth and that all the gloss is gone before applying the base coat or primer what ever you are using.

^^^^ same thing, the wiring there detracts from the guitar appearance.

Post a Pic of the guitar t oknow the conditions it is in. If the paint ain't to bad, just sand it with 400-600, get all the imperfection out and then prime and paint. This was te advice I got last time I asked and is what i'm doing probably this weekend.

Southpa, is it a black one like a soft rubber? I got them in a auto paint supply like Car Quest. They are the best ones, and they are 3M also (no grit on this one, smooth as a babys butt)

I will have to say that it might have been cheaper, (not an ATA) but it still cost me $70. I try to find one that will look alike and haven't. It's the regular ABS rectangualr one. That's tha only one that they had at Mars when I went. And I take good care of my guitars and cases, but when you are in the military, you move a lot and the moving people sometimes care less for your stuff ... From now on no more ABS stuff, I don't know about the the one here but I will definately get an Epi or this ones .

Don't get the TKL they do suck, for the price you can get this one. I had a TKL for my Squier and it got dropped from about 3' off the ground and it broke!!! I will post pics as soon as I get to my house, I still got the one that I used to claim the moving company. Also you can get a Coffin case, depending on the kind of LP that might be a better resting place for it.

Ok, I calm him down... ^^^ they sponge works great, it won't get those nasty finger grooves that you will get if you use the sandpaper by itself. Als o3M makes a wet/dry sponge that is already coated with abrassive material, this is what I'm using when I'm refinishing bikes and stuff that have rounded contours. And it's reusable, that stuff will last for ever,

It would work but you have to sand before doing the next coats, the next coat would not adehere if you don't sand... Also the main reason to sand is to take all the imperfections out... the smother the coats look the easier to polish and the better the depht and shine you will get.