davewarner

+1 Handplane. Very worthwhile to take the time and learn to sharpen and use a good jack plane. +1 Router Sled if you need to remove a lot of material and don't have an actual planer. Here is a pick of my setup being used to thickness some rough-sawn basswood. .

My Bender arrived today. I'm not sure what the blemish was, but unit looks to be in great shape. Thanks for the quick shipping and great deal. Dave

Have any of this quarter-sawn? I'd love to try it as a fretboard.

You have no idea ... There was an issue with one of the fretboards being out of stock and so they tried to call me, but I wasn't home. So the customer rep sent me an email to straighten it out. I got back with the order adjustments around 4:30 and they still shipped out that day. Yes, complete with email. Unreal. We are way beyond luck here. But seriously, that is how it worked for me. Maybe they are just trying to impress the newbie, but it is not like I mind. More likely is the note on the shopping cart page that indicates ASAP shipping is now standard for orders in the lower 48. Perhaps that is a recent change? Maybe the fact the order hit a snag got me an upgrade to expedited service. In any event I better head to AC this weekend before the luck wears off. Nice to meet you too. Have Fun!

I ordered from LMI (for the first time) this past monday (8/25) morning. By that evening I had a shipment notification email from Fedex complete with tracking number.

Really nice blueprint in several formats available here http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-disc...tml#post1224681 Have Fun, Dave

+1 to stewmac.com. 1/2# spools is the smallest size I've seen. You may want to check out the wire vendor links at Pickup Makers FAQ

I sent you a PM for board #59 Let me know. Thanks! Dave

Thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions. A few general replies - Yes, the grain leaves the board at much the same angle on the other end. It's a straight 45 deg along the length. - I'm planing for a scarf joint. Trying to follow along and build the guitar from Martin Koch's book. - I like the flip idea. I have both black locust and cherry that would make nice laminate pieces. - I got a whole stick 8+' so I have some room to experiment. In trying to keep this first build pretty straightforward, I had also purchased some basic Rock Maple. This board is more flat sawn and I think I'll use it instead. Here is a blank of the Rock Maple (1" thick x 5" wide): I'm not sure what to make of some of the small off color spots (in between some of the grain lines). Are those mineral pockets, light spalting, normal? - Dave

Well, I hope it sounds it great. Just picked up some 8/4 figured cherry to use for body blanks. I'm expecting a tone similar to Mahogany, but brighter. Cherry does seem to be used in acoustic guitars from time to time. I found the following description: http://www.northstarguitars.com/tonewoods.html Cherry is a different tonewood. It is medium density, and is quite strong. It has a 'dark' tone, and a strong fundamental. It is a great wood for a strumming guitar, where it's tones can really be brought out. It has a reddish brown color, which tends to darken with exposure to the air. This darkening stops when the finish is applied. This to us, is an under-utilized tonewood. We will be using this more in the future. It would also be interesting to see how Cherry would sound as a guitar top. --Dave

I don't know how long it was dried, but it was kiln-dried. On my meter the moisture content comes in at 9-10% which I think is about right for my shop (kept at 45% R.H.).

Hey, I'm still in the process of getting the wood together for my first build. I've chosen to obtain the wood rough cut from local/regional sawmills and learn the skills to process the wood and create my own blanks. Here is a picture of a maple neck blank I'm working on. The piece is 4-5" wide and about 1" thick. I'll be working it down to 3/4" thick and planning to glue a fretboard to it. What do you guys think of the grain orientation? Any reason this wouldn't make a good neck? Until I started cleaning the board up I thought it was more flat-sawn, but this board looks a lot closer to quarter-sawn. Is this an example of a rift cut? The board has some light birds eye figuring which I think might come out more as the neck is shaped. Thanks! Dave

I'm starting to lean towards the bevel-up option for a general purpose jack plane, as I've heard some of the same things regarding the flexibility they offer via swapping blades with various cutting bevels. Still trying to decide on a spokeshave. For others who come across this thread and are looking for information on planes take note of this link: http://www.cianperez.com/Wood/WoodDocs/Woo...NDEX_How_To.htm Thanks

I'm moving along with processing the lumber for my first guitar and so far have succeeded in building a darn-handy thickness planing jig for my router. In looking ahead to future steps where I'm expecting to need a spokeshave, block plane, and perhaps a smoothing plane. What I'm uncertain about is if a normal or a low-angle spokeshave/plane is better suited for typical guitar construction needs (neck shaping, fitting for glue-ups, etc.). I've searched the boards and read many posts about planes in general, merits of low-cost vs. high-cost, setup tips, etc, but have not come across a discussion comparing the advantages/disadvantages of normal vs. low-angle planes. There was a mention of low-angle planes being better suited for end-grain work ... and if that's the case what is the downside? I would really appreciate any thoughts and insight you guys can provide on the merits of normal vs. low-angle planes and spokeshaves. In the meantime I'll continue practicing with my cabinet scrapers and making lots of sawdust with the thickness planer. [update: was searching the web over the lunch hour and came upon this thread, http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php...9112#post649112 sound like you can do quite a lot with the bevel-up smoother or jack plane and a selection of blades. Still interested in the opinions from the builders here.] Thanks! Dave

Add my plug for Martin Koch's book. I got the bundled book, plans, and cd from stewmac.com. The book is great and I really, really appreciated the videos on the CD where he demonstrates the skills and process of building the guitar. Seeing how he achieves so much with just the basic tools is very instructional.

I was just at Hudock's Hardwoods (just north of Pottstown) this weekend to pickup some 8/4 Basswood. I was mostly looking at domestic hardwoods, but he seems to have a good selection (including exotics). The owner/operator was very helpful and responsive to email. Hudock's Hardwoods

I really appreciated your picture in this post Fretboard Woods Pic How long does it take for the Osage to 'age' to that color? Is is just part of the drying process? Dave

the only thing that makes it a requirement is that maple is a light colored wood, and without a finish, it would get very dirty and grimy looking very fast, and you wouldnt be able to clean it all the way off. nothing more than that. Whoa, are you serious?! God, I've played guitar for over twenty years and sometimes I still feel like such a noob. When I think about it the players with the dirtiest fretboards (SRV anyone) always played on maple, so I guess the lacquer only works so well. Dave

Hi All, The conventional wisdom has always been that maple fretboards get a finish applied while wood such as rosewood and ebony typically are left natural. As a player I've always preferred rosewood, but I think this is mostly because the finished (lacquered) maple fretboards always feel a little sticky. What I don't understand is what property of hard maple wood makes finish a requirement? Density? Grain Size? Where I'm going with this is I'm preparing to build some guitars using domestic (U.S.) hardwoods. Nothing exotic. I'm lucky in being located in PA and I've got pretty good access to great Cherry, Basswood, Hard Maple, and others, but I'm unsure of wood choices for the fretboard. I'd really like to hear some opinions from other builders. Certainly be looking for something dense with a reasonably straight grain ... and after doing some reading and emailing with sawyers I've got an initial list candidates that includes Apple, Pear, Osage, Black Locust, and Hickory. In fact, I'm going to a nearby mill this weekend to pick up some basswood and the owner has Pear, and Black Locust in stock that I'll be looking at. In addition, I've seen some posts here mentioning Locust and Hickory. Any thoughts on domestic woods that make nice fretboards? Once I pick a wood, what determines if a finish is appropriate? Thanks! Dave

Just coming back around on this one... I ended splurging a bit for a Wagner MMC220 Extended Range Moisture Meter via Amazon. Perhaps a bit of overkill, but I'm quickly getting hooked on buying stock from nearby sawmills and this should come in handy. I went back and re-read the section on wood drying in Martin Koch's Building Electric Guitars book. In that section (page 19) he provides a handy chart showing the typical moisture content wood will stabilize at for a given relative humidity level. That information is consistent with the advice offered in this thread and of course I can now verify with direct observations via the Wagner MMC220. Anyway, thanks again for the replies. I'm learning lots! Oh, and I'll forgive the threadjack just this once Dave

I'll give a plug for the Building Electric Guitars multimedia set from Martin Koch available at stewmac.com. If you are new to some of the woodworking skills required for guitar construction (as I am), the video demonstrations of the construction process, on the included cd, are excellent. Have Fun, Dave

Thanks for the replies so far. This is a lot of information to 'grok', but I'm trying. I've read back in a couple of the forums and also using search ... just a lot to process. I'm getting the sense that since my wood source is harvested, milled, and dried locally there should not be be much in the way of acclimation issues. However if it was recently taken from the kiln there will be period of time where the moisture content is changing as the wood stabilizes to the surrounding environment. In talking with the operators of the mill the wood comes out of the kiln and is then stored in a pole barn (which is where I chose it). My shop is outside garage space so I guess that matches up ok. I'm probably going to go ahead and get a moisture meter (any recommendations/experiences are appreciated). I do have various pieces of wood that have been in the shop for several years. Checking the moisture content of these pieces will help to establish a baseline (yes?). So let's say the baseline is around 12%, and I have tonewood at 12%. This means the pieces are stabilized, but is there further benefit in trying to get the moisture content down in the 8% range, before building? I have a dehumidified basement where I can store the wood. Figure a small stack (with stickers) maybe with a fan blowing on the stack. I expect this would help further reduce the moisture content. Note to self, if I start collecting a tone wood stash this is probably a good long term storage solution to avoid seasonal variations in the ambient climate. Anyway, planning on solid body construction for now and I don't expect to get it perfect this time or the next, etc. I just want to maximize the chance for success. Thanks again, Dave

Greetings Everyone. So I've been bitten by the luthier bug and I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. Been fixing up and modding my own guitars and now I'm preparing for my first build. As it turns out it is a benefit living in Pennsylvania when looking for wood sources. I visited a local sawmill this weekend and came home with some rough cut lumber. The guy at the mill said the lumber was kiln dried (to what % I don't know), but I noticed the ends where not wax sealed and I have no idea how long the pieces have sat since coming out of the kiln. I've read that the wood should be dried to about 6-8% for use in a guitar project. This leads to a couple of questions I have: - Can anyone recommend a decent quality moisture meter that will work well with lumber. I'm not very trustful of the cheap meter like you can find at Harbor Freight, but I don't want to spend several hundred dollars either. Maybe something like this? Timber Checker - Should the wood be at 6-8% moisture content when starting the build? In other words, is it enough that the wood was dried to this moisture content previously so any checking etc., has already occurred? - I heard about waxing the ends of boards to keep moisture out. Anyone have links that describe the process? Does the type of wax matter (can I use parrifin for example)? Thanks a lot, I look forward to hearing from you guys. Dave