cherokee6

On Setch's jig: would it pay to thickness a larger piece and then cut the headstock shape? This may ensure that the edges don't get ruined.

You can use lemon oil also, but the stink between the two may be too much. I played a Ric recently and noticed the rosewood fingerboard was finished. Almost seemed a polymer as the fingerboard almost felt it was urethaned, but not lacquered like a maple fb..

Besides, won't that stuff scratch the hell out of your hand?

Here we go again with this topic!

I don't entirely agree. The disclaimer is a new addition to his site, therefore he knew, or should have known about the mods/ errors or whatever you want to call them. His disclaimer should have been there long ago. However, I may still purchase plates from him with the NEW knowledge that I will have to double check them for accuracy of hardware placements and not take them for face value; after all, that's what your drawings are for! And to GregP.: Tell Grimace to stop throwing me the bird!

Well, they call me one, amongst other things. I'm an attorney that represents the local county, so that makes me a government attorney in the State of New York. I've worked with this judge on a continual basis for the last- gulp!- 15 years. I was going to saw up the wood and stick it to air dry. I have seen articles in Fine Woodworking on solar kilns, but I don't have the space for one. I do have a shed that probably gets pretty warm/ hot in the summer. I suppose I can vent it and try stacking the wood in there??? any suggestions?

Due to the damage from the Nor'Easter here in NY, I've been looking for some knocked down trees. Turns out the judge I appear in front of on a constant basis cut up an ash tree at his place and offered me some of the logs. They seem to be about 12" or more in diameter and about 20 - 24" in length. Maybe I'll have some useable stuff in a few years. Start up the bandsaw!

It's not encouraging when the "manufacturer" won't properly respond. Maybe an e-mail of how this may effect sales from PG members might bring him around!! Thanks for alerting us to the error!

One of my 80's Strats has the Floyd Rose Licensed trem. It is stamped "Fender" as required by FR at that time. It also has the locking nut which seems fairly effective. Tuning is a pain in the rump as I find I have to tune a bit on the flat side prior to locking the nut. One has to watch for adjustment at the bridge as too much throws your tone off the tonal qualities and you'll notice odd sounding notes, difficulty in getting the note, etc. This is obviously similar to not having your bridge mounted improperly. So, I hate to change strings on it. Other that that, it will stay in tune. I've never had a problem with strings breaking. I'm switching out the bridge pup with a Tex special, replacing the pick guard with a tortoise one (git is Dakota red), and replacing some of the switches so I can have about 10 selections. It has the flatter 12" radius and seems to be boxwood. Sound isn't bad. I may switch the neck at some point. My white one, on the other hand, with the 9.5" radius maple neck, definitely not boxwood, and better pickups is the fave and seems to be the one that I need to keep an eye on when someone plays it. That one has the normal trem for those years, as do the others I have.

Outstanding!!

I set up a radial arm saw that I once had to do a bridle joint. I flipped the motor and blade to cut horizontally and had to take the guard off. I had this archaic method of clamping the wood in place and knew it wasn't safe, yet I went with it. Needless to say, I did have a small bit of sense to wear a face guard/ goggles as the ensuing explosion of wood would've made some serious damage. Another time I was doing a complete brake job on my car (I think I was around 18; a few years ago ) They were brake shoes and not pads! Not having the right tools didn't stop me; I pulled out my "everything tool": a cheap pair of channel lock pliers, and pulled on the spring to dislodge it. The crappy pliers lost their grip and I hit myself squarely if the face and drew blood. Still have the small scar! Needless to say, I went out and bought the proper tool. Then there was the time........

Too tired and woodworking is not a good mix. I don't do it since I came close to getting injured with a radial arm saw. And I've screwed up many a project working on it when I'm tired. Don't be too hard on yourself.

Count me in for very impressive but gaudy; too much of a good thing.

+1 for Marzocchi's suggestion.

The lighter fluid or naptha method as suggested seems to work the best. You can get a large amount at a camping store as naptha is used in camp stoves and lanterns. You can pre soak the bridge in a bottle (glass only) for awhile, then take out and use a toothbrush to clean. Then re-soak with a little oil in the naptha to help lubricate the parts, then you can try taking all the parts off and clean them. (I'm assuming you may have rusted and corroded parts that won't budge). after you're done, put it back together and lubricate. WD-40 works well on it (just a little).

The Art of Inlay is supposed to be a great book. I just ordered a copy from Amazon on sale for about $18.00 US. For building may I suggest the following (assuming electrics): Building Electric Guitars by Martin Koch Guitars - Design, Production and Repair by Jim Donahue (He worked with Ibanez) Make Your Own Electric Guitar by (PG'S own VIP) Melvin Hiscock Build your Own Electric Guitar by Mark Oakham (has a set of plans, too) Buy a few books as each one has its own take on building and concentration on building, such as, making templates, wood choices, neck building, etc. You may also want a copy of Brosnan's Guitar Electronics and a copy of Dan Erlwine's Guitar Repair book. These are just suggestions. There are other books out there, along with web sites and PG's own tutorial sections with some great advice you probably won't find in the books. Good luck with your adventure.

I was in my local shop the other day and tried out a Ric 330. I was wondering: are there any plans or templates out there for one? I noticed that the fingerboard on the 330 was lacquered over rosewood. I thought that was heresy! Why is it done? It does seem to work; the feel is reminiscent of an all maple neck Strat.

Thanks. One of these days you'll have to check it out!

I was thinking I had to go to the $1200 or so range, but something made me pick up this guitar sitting almost buried, on the back end of the rack. At this point I had almost ruled out Larrivees. I guess this is the one with the right wood. I imagined getting something a bit fancier in inlay work, but this git seemed to outshine the others. (They did have a Martin 12 string for about $990 that had a smooth, phenomenal sound. HMM, maybe next year). Anyway, I'm ecstatic about it as all my gits, with the exception of the rebuilt Les Paul, have all been used (but great players). It sounds great and I don't sound too crappy on it - just semi-crappy!! By the way, I put Elixirs on it and they are fantastic; 12's feel like 11's or even 10's! My understanding is the shop I bought it from sells quite a bit of them. They seem pretty consistent and everyone seems to love the sound of these models; works for me!

Thanks. I hope my git doesn't end up like the one in Southpa's pic!

OK. I called a buddy of mind about the choices of acoustics, and his advice was the same as by the members in my recent quest for a decent acoustic. He said " sounds like you made up your mind! If it feels good it IS good! (- Duke Ellington). As I had taken the day off, I had an errand to do and on the way back checked out the local shop again and found 3 I liked (Larrivee, Taylor and Martin). Problem was, why spend $150 - $350 more for guitars that sound almost the same, and feel almost the same except for a little (very little) inlay work and a different finish? I drove back in the afternoon after calling my friend, and grabbed the Larrivee D-3! It sounded better than the D-5 and a bit better than the L-3. The sound was cleaner and more robust than the Taylors and Martins in the same and higher range. In fact, unless I spent roughly $500 more I wasn't getting what I expected from the competition. Besides it felt "just right" and that's the important thing! There was another in the stockroom and it wasn't the same: the frets weren't filed enough! Took the advice from you guys checked the action/ buzzing (It needed a very slight neck adjustment). It'll need a bit more care as it has the satin finish and an ebony board, but I'm no pro, so I won't be gigging with it; just got me a fancy humidifier with it. (yes, there were one or 2 Seagulls in stock and they were pretty good, too; but this was the one that caught my ear) Thanks for the advice!!

Thanks for all the input. It's helped me make up my mind!

Count me in. Your book is the Bible of guitar building. Thank you for writing it. I, too, keep it near my nightstand for reading! PS: Thanks for the tutorial on lap steel making.

I had a blackwood larrive that I sold, I never used it. (play my Tacoma DM9, a $500.00 all solid wood) Had some string buzz the shop would not address, the neck seemed too small. Just looked at a $900.00 Larivee yesterday, may have been the same model. Really punchy, sensitive, it was nice I like the mahogany over rosewood still. Taylor has an 1100.00 model that is comprable. For the price it seems ok. Thats why Im building my own though. I also agree, some of the higher end $2-3000.00 guitars dont sound as nice.???? Looked at the low end taylor, it doesnt even have back braces! (They usually sound good in person, terrible when recorded.) 0 Make sure there is no string buzz. Take a few days to think about it also. I took back an $1800.00 martin after I recorded it. It wasnt the sound I wanted. My Tacoma has hung in there for a while. You might also try looking at used guitars, you might get a broken in one for a good price. Craigslist is usually loaded with good one, depending on where you live. I've been hunting for a good used git and found a few Martins, but they didn't thrill me as a "gotta have it". I'll check again on the back bracing. I have noticed the polished ones do have a bit of sound damping compared to the satin one. Thanks for the info.

I've been in the market for awhile for a new acoustic. Having had Lyme disease for awhile, I couldn't play at all as my hands would get arthritic. As I got better in the past year, as I tried out different guitars, I was confused as to which model felt or played better as my hands would be better one day vs. another. Things have stabilized now and I walked into my neighborhood music store that has quite a collection of acoustics. After trying Taylors, Guilds, Larrivees, Seagulls, and Martins (I wanted to get something a little higher end), I found that they were a bit "muddy" for me. Part of the problem is going from electric to acoustic and as a result, the sound is not as clear (another problem is that I'm a lousy player!). However, this past week I stopped in on the way home from work and tried them out again. I pulled a more economical D-3 Larrivee to try, and the git was fantastic. The sound was bright and clear. Notes were easy to play. Neck was comfortable and it seems to be well made. I was a bit concerned as the headstock has not been scarf cut vs. some of the other brands so I question the strength of it and ability to take a bit of abuse. A friend of mine who worked for the company at one time told me that the headstock was weak on these guitars, I don't recall a volute on it. I really like the guitar better than the other brands I tried in fact, even better than a pricier Larrivee model! Any opinions, experiences or suggestions? Thanks to all in advance!