stereordinary

So, I guess you can set specific angles with shapers? I wouldn't know I've never used one and they look frightening.

That's probably the nicest carving machine I've ever seen. Wow. Seriously. I'm jealous.

I noticed this thread when it first appeared, but I couldn't see the pictures. Now that I can see it it reminds me a lot of a certain Supro guitar.

Very cool, I'll be subscribing to this one.

I'm not intentionally trying to be vague, but admittedly it does involve an idea that I would like to keep proprietary. It's just a very minor detail. One of those things that only super-vintage-geeks would notice.

I've looked at raised panel bits a lot. I own three now and still they are all too "steep". Plus, it doesn't need to be so big. I only need a tiny cutting length.

Yeah, I think I saw where someone on this forum had some custom-made router bits that he got for doing the radiusing on his fingerboards, an he said they were about $200 a piece. I'm considering going that route, but I don't know of any place that does them.

Thanks for taking the time to explain all that!

Though that bit is still my best bet so far, I think that it's probablty too steep for my purpose. I'll probably get it anyway, but I'm afraid it's going to be identical to the Craftsman bit I already have.

See, that's exactly why this is confusing.

Dang it.

Still looking...

Hmm. Only $28 not bad. Might do the trick. I'm gonna wait a bit and see if there's still one out there with the bearing, but otherwise, that just might be the one to order. Thanks!

I just noticed something. Don't know why I didn't think of it at first. In the Infinity Tool diagram (below) they measure 30° as being less steep than 45°. It's entirely possible that I got things mixed up when I was talking about the Craftsman bit that I have, but I'm looking to go the other way. So what Infinity calls 30° is less steep (in my terminology) than 45°, and I am therefore looking for something more steep than 45°. Am I making any sense?

So I guess I'm looking for something 50° or therabouts.

Hmm, that Infinity Tool link is helpful. I may be able to use those bits for something else.

Unfortunately the dovetail bit idea won't work. I thought of that, turning a bit sideways and using it sort of reverse of the way it would normally go, but I don't think it would work. At least not without some major jig being built and possibly some loss of fingertips.

Still looking...

I'm trying to find a router bit that apparently doesn't exist. You know those 45° chamfer bits with the ball bearing on the end? It would be like that, but with a steeper angle. I already found one with a 30° chamfer. It was a Craftsman "raised panel" bit that actually didn't have the ball bearing, but I set it up in a pin router. But 30° is apparently too steep. I'm not actually sure what angle I'm looking for, but if I can find some place that sells chamfer bits in a variety of angles between 30° and 45°, then I can order a variety and try them out until I get just the right one.

Anybody know where I can find something like that?

I agree with J. Pierce about getting the higher quality Jazzmaster/Jaguar tremolo. Either an American-made Fender one, or perhaps the WD Music one. I haven't tried that one out yet either, but I plan to on my next build.

Have you heard of Hallmark guitars? They make a great-looking Mosrite style tremolo and bridge, and I think the bridge has a cover. Don't get much more surf than that!

There's a cover for the bridge, but not the trem.

Fender Jazzmaster/Jaguar tremolo and bridge.

SoapbarStrat, I think you may have misunderstood me. I am in the print industry. I don't make or distribute any kind of form, I just see a lot of them because I'm printing them. And I don't think I said anything to imply that I am "full of doubt" on how to use them. Convincing someone that they need to sign a form before work can commence is a pretty straightforward concept that is obviously very common. What I'm looking for is the verbage. I'm trying to find someone who has already consulted a lawyer or taken business classes and who has then taken the time to write out a contract that has all of the necessary elements to provide some amount of protection in the event of a legal dispute.

As I said, I can and will write one myself if I have to. It would save me time though if I didn't have to.

And yes, I am always up front when it comes to something I've never done before. Honesty is an absolute in all aspects of my life. I thought I made that clear.

Bosch makes routers for Craftsman? I didn't know that. I'm gonna have to see if my Craftsman router (which is my first router, my workhorse and just generally awesome) is one of them.

I have one. I've hardly used it though since I bought it exclusively for my truss rod channel routing jig and I haven't finished that yet.

Amen to that brother. I too would much rather build the guitars that I want to build. But of course I have mouths to feed and customers are my bread and butter. As much as is possible I won't send a potential client away, but I am always up front about my abilites and limitations.

I told a guy recently that I can do anything under the sun, but that it just might take awhile. Which is an understatement.

I'm sure I will write my own "legal forms" if there's none already available, for free or otherwise. Just thought I should mention that. Perhaps others might be willing to help out and we could all have something to show for it?

Post #11, zyonsdream. That's exactly what I'm talking about. Seems to me that anybody trying to make it in this business should have all of those forms handy. So, back to my original question: Does anybody already have those forms written up and willing to share them? Perhaps for a price?

Thanks guys, this is helpful.

As far as confidence in my work goes, I am 100% positive that I did exactly what he asked me to do for a fair price and within the time limit he gave me. However, I am ultra-critical of my own work and if I don't get to do things my way, I'm not necessarily happy with it. I told him that I absolutely guarantee my work and that if there's any problems or further work needed that he just had to contact me.

I made sure that he was well aware of all of his options before I even took the job and he finally came back and knew specifically what he wanted. He gave me a limited amount of time and I got it done within that limit. As it is right now, I'm a beginner thirsty for work, so I don't charge much. I don't think he could have gone anywhere else to get the same high-quality work for that good of a price.

It's true that I'm not as good as many others out there, and my work is not always flawless, but I back it up, even if it costs me and I believe that everyone has to start somewhere.

So, I did a modification to a guys guitar yesterday and he was happy with it and gave me the money we agreed upon for it, but I felt very unprofessional taking his money without giving him some sort of receipt. And even more unprofessional taking his guitar before that without some sort of work order form filled out and carbonless copied with some little stub or something for him to take. Perhaps it's because I work in the print industry for my day job, but I see those sorts of forms come through all the time and I was thinking that somebody has to have written one specifically for guitar repairs and mods.

So my question is, do any of you guys have one that you are willing to share? Just like a generic Word or PDF file that anybody can fill in their company name and print a dozen copies, so that we have something to give our customers and look all professional. I can offer my services in graphics design to make it look pretty and make it a fillable-field PDF file for your customers to download or something like that. Perhaps it could be a forum project?

My concern is that even though he might be happy with the mod now, what if he wants to say that I ruined his guitar later? Legally I would have nothing I can do. And I'm sure others here may have similar concerns.

Good to know. Thanks!

Looks really cool. I'm a big fan of baritones, so I'll keep an eye on this one. *Subscribed*

One quick question: I'm not very familiar with the science, development and execution of a multi-scale fretboard. Is there a particular reason why you've chosen to have the 7th fret be the centre of fanning? Is it more or less aesthetic, or is there some functional reason?

I'm a big fan of Jazzmasters and Bass VIs and I think the best bridge/tailpiece system is the stock ones. They're not popular because they are without a doubt more difficult to set up, but they can be made to work really well.