RestorationAD

Piling on to highjacked thread... So the time our roady made flash pots out of Pepsi bottles. When they went off they exploded and glass went everywhere... good thing it was practice, lots of blood. The best live one was after slamming my finger in the truck door at work on Thursday I had to drill a hole in the nail and CA the gap to stop the bleeding and play that Saturday... Of course the CA was scrapped off during the show and I bleed everywhere...

I am not trying to highjack the thread just wanted to point something that I feel.... <highjack> So scale length has great effect on sound. Maybe more than most would know. The length of scale controls string tension. A 24.75 scale will seem slinkier with the same gauge strings and have more midrange. A 25.5 scale will have a tighter feel to the strings and the deep bass and clarity of a strat. I have played short scale strats and they usually lack the clarity of a 25.5. IF you detune a nice 26.7 or 27"+ scale is better for dynamic lows. </highjack>

You don't really need a complete set of files. You can roll the file for larger slots. You really only need a couple of double sided files. I found a needle file at my local wood workers shop that was small enough to do .010 slots. Warmoth caries the double sided file set for $41.00. As a one time purchase it is worth it... http://www.warmoth.com/hardware/parts/part...ude_string_nuts

On the web: search for Wypo Tip Cleaner or Radnor Tip Cleaner AirGas has all you could ever need in torch files http://www.airgas.com/browse/product_list....hField=Category Locally it looks like Tractor Supply has a set...

+1 It takes me forever....

I would cut on each side of the trussrod. Hence 2 stingers. However, I see your point as it is not what you were after... Keep us posted on how you handle it. Good Luck!

Headless... do I hear a Headless Guitar? Next Build should be a Headless Guitar. I got a Floyd Rose Thing on Ebay for CHEAP! And we are going to do mean things to it.... I have a really cool idea for the floyd rose string problem <not being able to use regular strings>. Stay Tuned.

If you have a table saw I would go with Setch's idea except that I would cut it into 3 strips. Buy a set of second unbent acoustic sides and glue in 2 nice Rosewood stingers. Heck I would let them run all the way through the fingerboard and everything. You can always use StewMac Fretboard dye if you didn't like the stingers showing through. Don't trash it though. I am sure one of us would pay the shipping to have it and fix it. BTW Your work looks good, don't be so hard on yourself. I keep one of the first necks I built in the closet <a real POS>... it reminds me how much better I am at this now. lastly Xanthus is the only one who really cares about my builds....

Live King Live! King V is basically done. I have some minor things to fix like backplates, etc.... So how does it play? FAST. I was able to set the action so low it is uncomfortable. I had to raise it. The Jackson neck is WIDE and FLAT with a composite radius. I am really glad I used the JT580 tremolo instead of a standard Floyd as it matches up to the neck perfectly. The frets are BIG, makes the neck almost scalloped in feel. Without an amp the guitar is pretty loud and resonant. Not as loud as my Gibson V but much clearer in tone. Almost bell like. This thing rings like an D28 acoustic on the low E. It is on... I think the maple top on the padauk is much brighter and tight <ash like> sound than a maple on mahogany body. The JB Seymour sounds like Dave Mustaine big time. It is articulate and resonant and sounds good tapped with the push/pull Volume knob. It is clear on the low end and growls like a demon when pushed yet backs off nicely when needed. In general this sounds different than everything else I own... it is going to be a great addition to the arsenal. as always pics and blog...

I have yet to play one but switch makes a vibrocell foam guitars http://www.switchmusic.com/ I thought it would be cool to create a mold, fill it with expanding insulator foam, then vacuum bag some carbon graphite cloth + epoxy to it, bake it, and have fun. However everyone else had the same idea....

I have used the Tom Anderson H3s before and they rock.... Hard edge controllable distortion. I usually get them locally. I have never bought them from here so you are warned. http://www.gtrheaven.com/pickups/pickups.a...nderson+Pickups I have a set of Ultrasonics. They reproduce with true clarity the sound of the guitar and amp. They are impossible to find since they went out of business in 1991 but if you can score a set they are great! Not sure how to get them in the US... but Bare Knuckle are some I want to try http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/ The other is Lindy Fralin http://www.fralinpickups.com/ Lastly from what I understand the Rockfield are good cheap pickups...

Ok pictures are in the albums. Blog is updated. King V is still curing... and it looks like it is dirty. I am not happy with the finish at all. I hope hardware makes it look better. Beater: Great News: I fixed the Ultrasonics>>> They were severely out of phase. I spent an hour with banana clips and a soldering iron till it was fixed. Bad News:I have to move the Kahler back about 1/8-3/16", The damn intonation is right at the end of the adjustment for the Low E. Also am going to move it to 10s as the Kahler springs do not handle the tension of the 11s well at all. Pictures - http://public.fotki.com/restorationad/ Blog - http://smithlx.blogspot.com/

Beater Update: I actually like the Relic paint job on it. I thought I wouldn't. Wired up all the electronics and did a full assembly last night. The W. German made Ultrasonics are a no go.... I think they are toast. Anyone got a wiring diagram? I will put the JS30 Jackson pickups in it for a while <no need to waste good pickups on it until it proves worhty>. . The Kahler has to come out and I need to look at the route for it. It seems to be rubbing or it really does not like the 11s I put on it. The neck is straight and plays pretty well. However the R3 Floyd nut is really high making it feel like the action is bad. I am not going to lower it though as I am planning a refret for the neck. King V update: I now have 3 coats of High Gloss Tung oil on it. I will let it cure until next week.... What is the best way to polish out Tung Oil?

Staining ebony to bring out the grain is a good idea on anything but ambrosia. It is a good thing this is just a practice build to get the skills back in order. It swallowed the Ebony stain and turned Black. Sanding back the black was a bad idea for this project. So I did my best to salvage it. Stained it vintage amber after I sanded it back... I am not worried though as this V was for me. I didn't use any of my highly figured wood on it. Padauk is not my favorite wood to finish. It is nice to work <except for the tear out, splitting, tool burning, and chipping.> and looks good stained dark. Ok so this one is nearing completion. I have some other plans but they are simple also so it will be a while before building the real deals... neck-thru Maple/Wenge/Mahogany Vs. Pictures soon... I got tired of screwing with the Beater V so I just relic'd the black and white finish. It looks like I have owned it forever. I will put it back together when it finishes curing.

Pictures are up.... http://public.fotki.com/restorationad/ And randomness http://smithlx.blogspot.com/

One volume knob always solves the "Are my pots lined up problem..." <grin> <opinion> 5 way switches mean you have to many pickups... Use a push pull knob to wire one bucker/split or do up = neck and down = bridge. </opinion> As for how to cut the 5-way.... A dremel and a straight edge will work... drill 2 - 1/8" holes and play connect the dots. On build 3 ... So you are going to waste a lot of Mahogany? Every time I think about a semi-hollow I think "Man hate to wast good wood by routing chambers in it so maybe it would be cool to buy a back and sides for an acoustic then bend them.... then I .... well I .... ummmmm... just build another solid body. Let me know how you fare hollowing out the body. It looks like it should shred. Make sure it has a Wizard neck like my 80's RG470.

Decided not to donate a kidney. Bought the JB... if it is good enough for Dave it is good enough for me for now... I think I have a SD Jazz pickup laying around somewhere if the JB doesn't work. I used Dimarzo for years <they came stock on my Parker Fly Deluxes (94&95)> with my Boogie amps they always worked well. For the record I have filled the grain and stained it Ebony. I will be sanding it back tomorrow <I think> and finishing it with a Vintage amber. Then it gets 2 maybe 3 coats of Formby's High Gloss Tung Oil.... The beater V has received 2 coats of Flat White and a coat of flat black. I am going to sand back the black and see what I can come up with. I lowered the neck pocket by 1/16" and changed the angle to 1 Degree. The string height is now right for the Kahler... I probably won't finish this one this week as I am concentrating on the King V. post pictures soon.

Leave it. Clean it up <without changing anything>. Make it playable. Get some Seymour Duncan minihumbuckers for it if you must. And lastly, build a custom SG. Just my opine! --R

Hope your tear out sands out... mine didn't fare well. Looks good so far. Can't wait to see it finished. As for a hard clear finish.... Thinned epoxy? Super Glue? Not sure what to tell you as I am using tung oil on the King V... IF I break a point off... oh well. All I can say is Build 2 then you won't care as much. You can never have enough Vs.... I am doing the dark grain filler/ebony stain/ sanding back/amber stain in hopes of bringing out the figure in mine. The dark wood filler is a pain but it looks really good.

Fixed the trem route, sanded the final curves and edges in. Progress. Ordered some vintage amber stain from stewmac... it seemed too dull after sanding last night. Plain tung oil will not do it justice. I am going with high gloss Tung Oil. So the guy over at TK Instruments talks about polymerized Tung Oil? It sounds like he heated it in a crock pot before applying it. Anyone got any ideas? Ordered a Duncan JB for it. IF It sucks I am getting an Iommi Gibson for it. Updates later...

Ikea .... yes you too can build your guitar from an IKEA table top. Foul Language Warning! http://www.esquire.com/the-side/qa/guitar042307 Foul Language Warning! Actually reclaimed wood is a great source for guitars. I know there are members of this forum that have used reclaimed wood to build guitars. 1. It really adds character. 2. It makes it unique. 3. A guitar without a story is no fun...

King V updates: Strings and trem fitting. Also going to adjust the Locking nut as it is too high and screwing with the open string action.... overall it plays well and is loud without a pickup. Sounds very maple and hard. I am going to use a nice clear pickup like a Duncan Custom or a PAF or a Jazz. I have several Seymour Duncan Jazz pickups and enjoy the clarity... My theory is get the signal to the amp clean and true let the Boogie takes care of the rest. Tested the finish by wetting the body and taking pictures. I am thinking I will tung oil it after a vintage amber stain? I also test fitted the electronics cover. Really think I am going to use magnets instead of screws. As always the images are here http://public.fotki.com/restorationad/king-v-project/ And the blog is here http://smithlx.blogspot.com/

If I am not mistaken George Lynch had several Maple bodied strats over the years.... His first tiger stripe was supposed to be a Mighty Might Maple Body. The Kamikaze is Maple. I would say that predicting the sound is going to be tough as every electric guitar I have built is a sum of the parts with most of the control in the electronics. I recently rebuilt my Model 5 and ditched the original Jackson active pickups for a very old Seymour Duncan SH-6 and I can tell you that guitar is a different animal now.

I would not touch fret work for under 175.00 on a good straight electric neck w/no binding. With binding I would start at 225.00. On vintage machines, big hollow bodies, Acoustics I usually start at 250.00. I say start cause you never know what you will run into. Here is a good price list. http://www.guitarrepairshop.com/blu.html --RestorationAD

I used a nice Stanley #4 plane for the straight bevels on the King V I am doing. My bevels are not going to be as aggressive as a real Jackson or Alexi but getting the same results is easy. If you start at the point and cut towards the neck using heavy pressure and easing up as you reach the neck you should get the desired results and keep your fingers. With the hand planar you can control how much you cut. AND it is easier to remove more wood than it is to put back. Sometimes hand tools are just the better option. Nothing worse than destroying weeks worth of work with a slip. A router will not care if it destroys the top of your guitar. Good luck. And if you do use the jig post some pics...