cherokee6

Check my thread regarding Mikeyguitar.com in this forum.

There's a kit you can get from woodworker's supply for about $18. It includes micromesh sandpaper of various grades up to 12000. I think that should solve your problem. Here's the site:

http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/search.exe?BP=1&RCAT=010.

Try an auto body supply shop. You may also have to use a liquid form of abrasive instead, such as pumice or a multitute of products that members recommend. A hobby shop is another good place to check for small amounts of very fine paper.

Here's a site if no one has picked it up already:

http://www.mikeyguitar.com/

Mike is a luthier in Toronto who, with an engineering friend came up with this device. With the flip of a switch you can go either fretted or non fretted. The mechanism , if you can picture, is made up of half round frets, such as a dowel cut in half from its center leaving 2 half moon pieces, and sort of rocks into place. He happens to be a friend of my buddy Dave Wildsmith

http://www.davidwildsmith.com/home.cfm Dave tells me that Mike and his partner are in the process of negotiating with some of the major manufacturers; tricky stuff as they're known to take ideas without giving compensation. I hope to be building, or rather completing a build with Mike (believe it or not I haven't met him yet), of a Strat with 3 lo-imp pups as used in the LP recording. The project was started a year ago by my late good friend Mark Severn (see Dave's site), who was the premier guitarist in Hamilton, Ontario. He was untimley killed in a car wreck on July 2nd. of 2006. Anyway, as I refurbished a LP Recording with Mark's help, I was asked by Dave to complete the job on Mark's git. I'll eventually set up a short tutorial when I gat started on it, as the git is not in my possession yet, since I live in the Hudson Valley of New York and don't get to see Dave too often. (We did take Mark's goldtop LP and had Les Paul sign it for us this past Sept). Anyway check the site it's pretty cool to see it in action.

DITTO!! Have a Happy and Healthy!

WHOA!! Nice tele. Anyway here's the thread to the last guy who asked about this. It'll also give you a link to zachary guitar, a builder who used pine for a solid body. Good luck!

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=26921

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No; here's the one you want:

http://www.monsterbass.nl/

He's got some great stuff and a tutorial.

I think Rockler or Woodcraft sells a sample kit. Try Constantine's also.

You could lower the bridge area by routing out the area for the bridge; see the Monster Bass site. The builder and his link have been on the site. I believe the builder is also a member. You could also increase the thickness of the neck heel, but it may impede playability in those upper registers. If you haven't completely sanded the body yet, it's possible to plane or sand the body to a thinner thickness. You will have to be careful not to damage rout outs. This may also cause a tonal change as the wood will be thinner. It is also possible to rout the area under the bridge AND the area between the neck and bridge. It'll be your unique design. These are just suggestions as I'm not an expert, but I've studied a lot of designs. Again the Monster Bass site has some great ideas. I'm sure the builder at that site can also give you some suggestions. You do want to have the neck as firmly against the body as possible with only a slim piece of veneer as a spacer to compensate for wood movement, otherwise you could end up with a cracked neck pocket or neck heel. I'm sure the more experienced members can address the glued-in block issue.

Use what you got. The board will be well sanded and only you'll notice the pore direction. If it feels fine in your hand it should be ok. Think you want to try an asymmetrical neck to go with that fingerboard??

OK. Here's the Home Depot dumpster special guitar guy site. He's got quite a few in his gallery. He's also a bit full of himself!

http://www.zacharyguitars.com/

Fantastic. I don't like the purple dye, either. I don't care what LMI says about the fingerboard; it's beautiful and unusual. I hope it feels as good as it looks! How did you go about building the tuners?

My $.02 on the maple neck LP's: My LP Recording in the pic is solid mahogany (I left it natural) and has a 3 piece maple neck that apparantly is quite coveted by a lot of LP players per several musicians and guitar shops. It feels great and I would never venture to put a mahogany neck on it. I guess it's there to brighten up the tone from the lo-impedance pu's.

Agreed; use the glue method and you'll be ok. There is another very recent thread about the same problem. The responders recommended Titebond and if any fill was needed, to use veneer slivers the same color/ type of wood as filler. I'm assuming your frets will hide some or all of the fret cutting issue. Check the thread out for further info.

If you plan on getting better woods a bit cheaper you want the models mentioned. This way, with the riser block you can resaw curly maple or whatever for tops. You won't need to buy your lumber completely milled if you're cutting out a body. I was told you need a minimum of 1hp for for hardwood resaw capacity. I have the same dilemma. I've decided to save up the bucks and go with a Jet or Grizzly. I am on the prowl for a used one. (I bought my Delta table saw in exc. shape with extras for 1/2 price used.) Check craig's list on the web in your area.

Thanks to all for the help. It seems Fender and Gibson shaved the nuts (get your mind out of the gutter! I didn't say their nuts! ) to get a lower action on the e and b strings. It was so well done it has you guessing about the raduis. Anyway, I found Brian's link for the gauges. Just laminate them, cut 'em out and you're ready to go! Make an extra set and put notches in them so can get your radius with the strings on.

http://www.pickguardian.com/pickguardian/I...us%20Gauges.pdf

Thanks. I just downloaded the free radius guages from Brian's old link. I'll put them together this week and try them out on the various finger boards.

Man, there are a LOT of responses to this. If no one's mentioned it, check out zachery guitar. The guy is a bit obnoxious on his site, but he has some nice gits, including what he calls his Home Depot special made out of pine that he grabbed out of a dumpster at Home Depot.

I'm new to the building aspect as much of the work I've dabbled in is in repair, soldering, set-up, etc. I have a mid-80's squier strat (Japanese made) that has a maple fingerboard. Anyone who has picked it up has offered to buy it as it's got a great feel to the neck. I finally mentioned to a friend of mine from Toronto that I would profile it and make a neck (and the body) for him. It'll take me awhile to get started. Anyway I'm doing a lot of research and noticed in siting the Strat's and my LP Recording's curvature at the nut that the nut is lower on the high e end than the bass end. My Epi es-335 seems to have an even curve. So, my question is: are the LPR's and Strat's necks compound or is the nut shaped so that the high e and b strings are closer to the board and the top of the nut at that point sits closer to the board? I would have thought in a compound, it would start off cylindrical and flatten out at the body end. More inportantly, how would I be able to copy that fretboard?

Congratulations!! I know it's been a long, involved process, it's good to hear that you finished it. Did you end up having to have anything fabricated, or did you manage to find original parts?

NOS, some new stock and original ware. I had another panel made by Chandler and I'm going to have Charles Berge (one of the Gibson graduates still in Kalamazoo who runs a shop & knows Les quite well) engrave it for me. I got the pickups thru a guy in Canada who later became a great friend of mine. He was the premier guitarist of the Toronto - Hamilton area. He also gave me the bridge and a truss cover for it. Unfortunately Mark died in a car wreck in July and never got to see the completed git except in pics. I'm going to wire up his lo-impedence 3 pickup Strat he was in the middle of before he died. A luthier in that area is going to finish the luthier work ( he goes by Mikey). I guess Mark's mates in his band and at the studio will use it. We had Les sign his '59 LP copy. I think his copy is better than the real thing! You can see Mikey's new fretted/fretless bass and guitar invention at mikeyguitar.com . Info on the late Mark Severn can be found at davidwildsmith.com I'll post a few pics and the website when my wife lets me use the computer again as she's frantically finishing her master's program.

Is part of the problem, perhaps, that you may run on a DC curcuit there instead of AC? There might be issues with customs. Just a guess!

I have recently rebuilt a Les Paul Recording model; hence the picture of Les and myself at the Iridium club in NYC. It took me about 2 1/2 years to gather the parts and finish the project. I've also had the pleasure of discussing the ins and outs of the electronics system with Tom Doyle, Les's right hand man for over 40 years and luthier with his own line of pickups. I'm happy to answer questions builders may have about the guitar. I'm not an expert, but I've gather quite a bit of info on it. By the way it's a great playing guitar!

OK. The site is www.schsons.com The laser etched panel is $25. The whole kit is on sale for about $95, but if you use regular birch plywood or mdf from your lumber yard and check some other sites such as Grizzly for the hardware you can save quite a few bucks. If you want the plans, check Wood magazine's website or you local library for that issue. I can scan the article if you'd like and send it to you when I find it in my mess of an office.

I have a set of plans on pdf if you'd like. Send me your email address and I will forward them or, if there is an easier way thru this website, let me know as I'm a bit unfamiliar with all its features. Also a number of other books out there cover some aspects of building Hiscock doesn't cover. All the books I've seen still leave you with questions, hence this fantastic website and forum, but you may also want to consider Martin Oakham's Build your own Electric Guitar , Bill Foley's book or Martin Koch's book. I also have an e book I can send you, if you wish, from a builder in the UK. I have the Hiscock book also and its great. Oakham spends a lot of time on drawings and templates which is pretty helpful and gives you a set of full size plans. Koch has a lot of tips and some jigs in his book. My point is they all have their strong points so I find myself cross referencing for techniques and other questions I have. It's probably worth your while to get a couple of books as opposed to just one. The Hiscock book is great to start with.