unclej

thank you both for the info. i'm actually going to be inlaying it on a small bandsaw box as opposed to a neck. i've found some that is fairly flat and won't need too much sanding so i should be fine. thanks again unclej

well..they will probably change the sound of your guitar for sure but whether or not they'll "worsen" your guitar? i couldn't say. what i can say is they are not PAF. PAF's do not "peel paint" nor are they hot. none of dimarzio's PAFs have a resistance over 8.5 ohms. PAF's are low output, mellow, bluesey sounding pups. that being said..the pups in that ad are nice looking, have a descent output and may be just what you're looking for. but i've never bought any so i can't say what they sound like and since i haven't played your guitar i don't know what it sounds like either. flip a coin?

i use a good bit of abalone for jewelry making but have never used it for inlays..which i'm thinking of doing. while cutting and shaping abalone with my diamond bits i have noticed that it will chip a bit..and when i say chip i mean the top layer flaking off a bit and leaving a somewhat duller layer below it. question..if you inlay a slightly curved piece of abalone and leave it a bit proud and then sand it down flat will it be dull or bring up another layer of the full color and pattern of the top layer? thanks unclej

great big ditto on the masking tape. i've installed countless acoustic pickups in guitars without them and to install the end pin jack i have to drill a half inch hole where the end pin usually is. with masking tape i've never had a chipping problem. another little trick to use when installing a pot is to mark your hole with a small finish nail before applying the masking tape so that you can tell exactly where you wanted it after you do apply the tape. good luck.

if you're asking if it can be buffed to a high gloss like lacquer i couldn't say. one thing about tung oil or the hand made finish that i use is that the more coats you apply the higher the gloss. i usually stop when it gets a nice semi-gloss patina to it...that's the look i like for my guitars and my sculptures. the natural feel of the grain still comes through at this point. my only experience with tru oil was on the stock of an old double thumb buster shot gun and the final finish on it was extremely high gloss...not the deep, thick look of lacquer but high gloss just the same. so if you're looking for a really high gloss look without the buffing needed with lacquer i'd say that tru oil would be the way to go.

i've been involved in woodworking one way or another for the last 20+ years and have been well aware of the dangers of power tools. over the years i always try to stop and think before i crank up any power tool. plan the cut or the route, figure out how the wood is going to react, etc. this morning i had five or six band saw boxes to cut out. i use my band saw nearly every day and am super cautious with it. that thing can cut fingers off, ya know? anyway, on the second cut i experienced one of the scariest and luckiest things ever to happen to me. somehow i wasn't paying attention to where my ring finger on my right hand was and as i guided the wood through the cut i cut the fingernail right off my finger without drawing blood. hard to believe but it cut it just like you would with a pair of clippers. no blood...all digits still attached. lucky...very lucky. anyway, just a reminder that no matter how much experience you have..be careful. if it can cut wood it can damn sure cut off fingers and i'd really like to have all of mine when i die.

good advice..i wish everyone understood that if wood warps one way it can be warped the other. years ago before i really knew anything about repairing guitars i fixed a bowed neck by laying the guitar face down between two chairs and putting four or five encyclopedias on the body for several weeks until it straightened out. by the way frasmotic..good luck with your fix.

that's a couple of nice looking projects...good luck with them.

I'm wondering what kind of material you use for applying the oil? I've used cotton mesh, and I've also used piece of old tee shirt. But I'm wondering if there's something better to use? i know this question wasn't directed at me but i use cheap disposable brushes to apply the oil and then old tshirts to wipe it off. when i get down to the last coat or two i actually apply very thin coats with my fingers...rubbing it in until i feel some friction heat to burnish it. i generally don't wipe off the last coat..it's very thin..i just let it cure until i can't smell it any more and then apply minwax wood floor paste wax on top of it and buff it out. before someone flames me for using my fingers..i'm aware that it might be bad advice..you know, that oil might soak into your skin and then all your kids would be born naked or something. but i'm old and so far none of my fingers have fallen off.

a few weeks ago my little cordless drill that i use at the store all the time gave up the ghost. i went to ace the next morning prepared to buy a makita or something of that nature but found that they had a house brand 17.5v keyless chuck cordless for $29.95. bought it..love it. a few days later the hook and loop pad on my random orbital sander disentegrated so i bought the same brand as the cordless..again $29.95 and it's great..in fact it's almost too aggressive for some of the smaller things that i make. yesterday i walked into ace and found a one day special..a dremel type rotary tool made by the same company as the sander and drill with a few basic things with it..sanding drum, buffing pad, cutoff wheel etc. the price? a whoppin' big $9.99 and when i paid for it they gave me a rebate card. the rebate was $9.99. basically a free variable speed rotary tool. the point of this thread? don't have a clue. maybe just braggin' about my shopping prowress.

the first thing that comes to my mind is that glass breaks. the other is that you would need diamond grinding tools to cut it to size, to cut the string slots and to polish it. after you've gone to all that trouble i'm not sure that it would make the guitar sound any different than a good bone nut would sound. both are hard, dense material so other than just being able to say that you had something unique i'm not sure that there would be any advantage. don't mean to be a downer 'cause a glass nut might be pretty cool. just my two cents worth.

i've done a couple of the fabric guitars and while they're a bit of work they are fun. this guitar http://www.villagephotos.com/members/image...sp?id_=10402633 was done with a cotton fabric that i purchased at walmart that was approximately the same thickness of a t-shirt. the only thing that i would suggest is that you use a dark colored shirt. i think that a white shirt would become transparent when glued and show the wood and dried glue through it. be sure to get yourself something like a squeegie used to apply bondo to a car. the glue will seep through the fabric while you're applying it and the sqeegie will help smooth out the wrinkles and scrape off the exess glue. then wipe any remaining glue off with a damp cloth....have plenty of damp cloths available. anyway, it's a bit messy but fun and the end result is a unique guitar. good luck.

let me suggest that the smoother your guitar body is the smoother your poster is going to look. if you're using a really tight grained wood it may not be as important but if you're using an open grained wood that grain could very easily show through your poster once you get it glued down. putting a couple of coats of a sealer down and sanding it flat won't take that long and will insure that nothing will show through. good luck with your project.

for quite a while there was a multi-media company next door to my shop. they installed video and sound systems for business, recording studios, security systems etc. when they moved they practically filled a dumpster with left over wire...tons of wire..wire for days. i scrounged most of it. after weeding out the aluminum i was left with a lifetime supply of small gauge, multi strand wire with all kinds of entertaining colors on the insulation. if you ever work on a guitar with purple and pink wiring i probably installed them.

they do indeed stretch and wear out ocassionally though i've had my jet for about 6 years and haven't ever had that problem. if you take the blade off of the top wheel and can easily remove the top tire then it's probably time to replace it. shouldn't be too expensive and it should be readily available.

i've got two 12" bench top bandsaws sitting in my storeroom gathering dust. not enough power for most of the things that i do and not enough throat either. but if it's all you can afford right now they're better than a jig saw. just take your time with your cuts and don't try to cut any real tight curves on your body blank and you should be fine. for most guitar building applications a bench top drill press should be more than adequate. again, just don't over load them and take your time...let the machine do the work.

good morning. i did a quick google search and came up with this page of sites that seem to deal with what you're looking for. i didn't have time to read much but it looks pretty interesting. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=t...r+color+changes definitely worth looking into later.

LR Baggs and K&K Sound both make very good acoustic pickup systems. You can study up on them on their websites to decide if either of them suits your needs. I'm not as familiar with the Fishman systems but assume that they install pretty much the same. Acoustic pickups are pretty easy to install. You basically have under saddle types and the kind that you apply to the bridge plate inside the guitar. (I'm skipping over the mic type.) Generally speaking the only thing you need to install them is a drill and an end pin reamer. For the under saddle types you have to remove the saddle, drill a small hole in the saddle channel, insert the transducer and then reduce the height of the saddle to compensate for the thickness of the transducer. If the type you pick has an end pin preamp, and i'd suggest that type strongly, you have to drill a hole where your strap button is or enlarge the existing hole..generally to 1/2". For the bridge plate types you simply glue them on and enlarge the end pin hole. Some come with a small volume control that glues just inside of your sound hole and come with a small canvas bag for a nine volt battery that attaches inside the guitar with double sticky tape. simple stuff and generally no soldering. good luck.

matt..why don't you mist it a bit and then clamp the hell out of it between a couple of heavy straight pieces of something and leave it alone for a couple of months? might just straighten out.

i've used inlace and epoxy on turnings and other types of wood art and love it. what you're planning is definitely doable. just be sure to fill the voids a little proud (above the surface of the wood) and sand down to flush. if you have a few voids or bubble holes when you get it down flush just fill with the epoxy and sand again...and get plenty of sand paper..epoxy will load up you paper fairly quickly. watch carefully for swirly marks in your wood. when the epoxy sticks to your sandpaper it tends to leave sanding marks in the wood. once you've got it a smooth as possible with your sander hand sand the inlay and surrounding area with 600 grit or better. the inlay will look a bit dull but your finish will bring out the true color. have fun!

it's definitely not normal..looks like whoever installed it either used a ready made nut that wasn't exactly the right size or just set it in just a bit off. the real question is does the low e slip off the neck when you're playing? if it does you might try gently tapping the nut over a bit. if it was glued in that might not work. if it's just setting in the slot you can adjust it a bit. if it really is a problem i'd suggest you take it back to the tech and have it fixed.

thanks..i appreciate the offer but i took another look at the flex shaft yesterday and the square drive shaft is recessed so far into the housing that i don't think that i could tighten it. i might try to rig up some sort of adapter but i've kinda lost interest in the whole thing. and like i said, i've used just the dremel for so long now that i'm pretty adept at it. i was probably just trying to satisfy my ebay jones when i bought the damned thing in the first place.

thanks for the heads up. i was actually having second thoughts about using it anyway. it feels a little cumbersom just holding it and i reallly don't have a problem using the dremel by itself. i just felt like i really, really needed a new toy. anybody want to buy a cheap flex shaft?

thanks southpa..that's the info i needed. looks like the square holed nut wasn't included and the threads are definitely wrong but santa's supposed to bring me a brand new one so maybel it'll fit. might even be able to find a brass fitting at the hardware store that will work. anyway, thanks again.

i've started doing some stone and bone carving and thought i'd invest in a flex shaft for my dremel so i checked out ebay and found one that i got for about $11. it said that it went on a dremel tool but...the female threads on the shaft are a finner thread than the male threads on the dremel..the shaft itself has a square end and looking into the barrell of the dremel i don't see a square receiver. did i get bonned or is there an adapter that is available to make the conversion. i've searched the dremel sites and can't find anything like that. thanks unclej