Uncle Os

I used to slam StewMac and LMI regarding their tool prices too. I've built some things as well... Neck jig, beveling file, templates and that sorta stuff. But as time goes on, I find myself running into jobs requiring tools I can't make or find anywhere else. I've also found myself doing more and more guitar work over the past year and man... When you're doing a good bit of work, having tools at hand that will save *time* becomes more and more important too. Soo... Like it or not, I've become a StewMac stooge! Atleast where tools are concerned anyway. MLAR, Cor

For filling work on a dark wood I generally use 5 minute epoxy mixed with wood dust. You can also try burn in laquer sticks available from Stewmac and LMI. Cheers Martin Hey Kiwi! Thanks man. I have some laquer sticks. Didn't occur to me to use them for anything other than filling fret slots. Thanks, man. I'll try the wood dust/epoxy too. Thanks again... Cor Hoser! Dude! Thanks for the link, man! Great resource. I checked out the divot filling. I don't know how well that'll work due to the fact that my particular problem area rests on the edge of the fretboard, per se. I'd have to put some sort of 'form', if you will, on the side of the neck. Well... Hell... I just might have to do that. Damn. Respectfully... Cor

Hey there Brian.. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll see about giving a test run on a piece of scrap. Thanks, Brudda. Respectfully, Cor

In the first statement you said you got it dead level, then in the very next sentence you state that you almost got all the twist out... That doesn't add up.. lol If it's still got a twist in it, then it's not what you'd consider level by no means. If the fingerboard isn't level then your going to have a hard time leveling the frets without removing a lot of material. The better the job you do leveling the fingerboard, the easier it is to get the frets level later on. I'm not sure I quite understand, are you saying there is a visible gap between the fret and fingerboard? If so, then you probably didn't get the fret slots deep enough for the tang after you leveled it. I'd pull the frets and deepen the slot enough for the tang to sit in. Thanks for the response, guys! OK... Item by item... Neck Jig... I have a pseudo neck jig that I built. However, It's not as nice as the Stew Mac version. I had the neck in the jig, heated with two heat lamps and tried to adjust some of the twist out of it for wayyyy too long. There was a slight change. Accent on slight. While I was trying to do this, I read somewhere something that, based on this one job, I believe has some merit. It read something like this... "Once a piece of wood starts going where it wants to go... It ain't goin' nowhere but where it wants to go." Soo... I gave up on the neck jig/heat method. Next... Leveling and Radius... My first objective was to remove the hump. When I stated 'dead level' I was actually reading the center of the neck. The twist was still present on either side of center. to the right at the heel end and to the left and the nut end. But the hump was gone. I had to take the neck from a 16" radius to a 12" radius using that center reading as a guide. Like I said... I've never done anything this involved in the past with regard to trying to salvage a jacked up neck. I don't have the big sander that I'd've needed to make the job quick and easy either, so I had to take is one step at a time. Get rid of the hump for a straight line down the center then remove material from either side of that line to create a symetrical shape on either side of that plane. Gap... Yes. There's a gap between the underside of the fret and the and fretboard. And the fret slots are plenty deep. Ummm... How to explain??... Umm... Ok. It's almost as though the neck has a 'dent' in it between the nut and the fourth fret. If I seat the fret properly, I've gotta take way too much material off of the other frets in order to keep the fret crowns perfectly leveled. So... I raised the frets a hair and epoxied them. So, although I was unable to get the aformentioned 'dent' out of the fretboard, I was able to get the fret tops clean and true as long as there was a tiny gap there. What I'm looking for is some type of minimal 'fill' that won't look like absolute crud. Maybe something that will give it that 'eased shoulder' kinda look?! I don't know. ::: shrug ::: Respectfully... Cor

Hey All... How's t'ings? Hope all is well for you all. I don't post much here but I'm a die hard lurker who's benefitted voluminously by all of the information the experienced folks are kind enough to share. Thanks you all! Backstory... An online friend in england won an Ebay auction but the seller wouldn't ship tot he U.K. I stepped up and told him to have it shipped to me and I'd send it to him. Well... When it arrived, I gave it a quick look, let'em know I got it and tucked it away until I could get to it a week or so later. At that time I actually read the neck... It wasn't pretty. It had a gnarly backbow, a hump in the fretboard and a twist to the left (eyeballin' it from the heel). Gakk. I'd never worked on a neck that was so jacked up. I checked the tolerances and told him I'd see what I could do with no guarantees. I planed the neck and removed the hump and got that sucker dead level. I radiused the neck and got most of the twist out. The problem was just how much much material I had to remove to get it out. I had to take it almost down to the sidemarkers. ::: cringe ::: I reslotted the board and gave a bucnh of extra width so there wouldn't be any tension added by the tangs and epoxied/compressed the frets back in. I noticed there were gaps between the board and the bottom of the frets near the bad spot that I wasn't able to radius. I pulled those three frets, put some others in their place that I specifically shaped for the bad area. I installed them and tried to level them but there just wasn't enough material. So... I pulled THOSE frets and threw a few 6100s in there with the proper radius and went to town with the file. I got everything going and loookin' good with the exception of the aforementioned gap between the baord and the underside of the fret. Soo... I conclusion... Can you guys recommend any techniques or materials I might be able to use to fill that gap and improve upon the appearance of those three frets? It's a rosewood neck. I apologize for the longwindedness. Any assistance and/or guidance would be greatly appreciated. Respectfully, Cory

+1 There's some velcro tape on one side of the slide and on the back of the headstock. If you watch the motion of his hand when places the slide back theret... Well... He's pushing his hand against the headstock. He's not 'sliding' it onto anything. He just pushes the velcro together and removes his finger. Voila! MLAR, Cor

Hey all... I was boppin' around on another site and I read athread in which a bunch of people were singing the praises of necks finished with super glue. What the...?!?!?! I'd never heard of this until a little while ago. Turns out folks like EBMM do it upon request and a lot of techs/luthiers will apply this sort of finish as well. I realize super glue is more or less a 'plastic' substance that is activated with exposure to... to something. Moisture? Oxygen? Anyway... Do you guys know anything about the procedures and/or materials required? I've got two projects coming up and, if it's really as cool as folks say it is, I'd like to give a go at an application of this type. Whatcha guys think? MLAR, Cor

I've used a bunch of their stuff and had ZERO trouble. The prices are a bit steep, IMHO, but the quality, staff and overall painlessness of the transactions make Warmoth top notch in my book. With regard to the neck pocket... Check the FAQs on the site for heel/pocket dimensions and see what's there. If you're going to custom order the body, have them make the neck pocket to your neck's dimensions. Have fun. MLAR, Cor

Go forth, Senor. Go forth and KICK ASS!!! Your body shape looks a bit like the Fernandez Vertigo. I'm not being critical. All of my body shapes look like Strats and Teles. MLAR, Cor

OD... I'm in the same boat. I've built a buttload of instruments and more or less given them away. After attending this past winter NAMM with a friend's 'buyer' pass on, I saw the prices folks with a 'real' business pay for stuff... I've decided to go legit. Got the fictitious business name, business license, state tax number, wholesale/retail license, etc, etc... I'm throwin' my hat in the ring just like you are. I'm not quittin' my day job though. It's a side thing. Good luck to ya, Senor! Cor P.S. Someone once told me (it might have even been on this board) "If you're thinking about building guitars for a living... Don't."

Another hand rasied in favor of the 'nail trick'. MLAR, Cor

Hey All... I'm lookin' to purchase a book or two (possibly three) of instruction for solid body electric building. All the stuff I know was learned from an apprenticeship nearly 17 years ago along with a whole heap of trial and error. I know I've missed a lot of stuff that could help me and my customers out. What I'm lookin' for is detailed stuff not only related to the actual assembly, but tip and tricks of the trade sorta stuff. I've seen a buncha the books listed in the Stew Mac catalog, but I'm trying to avoid making the purchases there because... Well... You guys know about their pricing schedule. I'm lookin' for stuff I might be able to get at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com What books would you guys recommend? Respecfully, Cor

Holy Cow! What if Floyd Rose went after all the folks on Ebay who listed 'Floyd Rose' trems on guitars that well... Just didn't have them? I hate to see those ads that list the Floyd amongst the other parts when it's really a TRS or some such. But man... If Floyd went after folks for the same thing, it'd get ugly, no? Cor

Can you give me a link? MLAR, Cor

Hey there catnine... I'm not the pro most of the folks around here are so they might be able to be more exact. However, I did a strat this past week with that measurement and things worked out fine. Most folks measure to exact specifications. Um... Not always. I set the saddles as near to the center as I can, measure 25.5" and mark the two outmost holes. Remove the bridge and make a line. Then I make my center marks and drill. Just turned out to be 25 3/8". maybe someone else can be more exacting. Respectfully... Cor

25 3/8" give or take a hair. If it's a standard trem type, it should intonate with that measurement. Respectfully, Cor

Hey All you finish gurus out there! I'm finally getting started on these projects that I've been talking about as of late. But I have a question about finishing maple/maple necks. Every guitar I've built in the past was built around a neck that had already been finished, or I went with maple/ebony, maple/rosewood or mahogony/rosewood necks requiring no finish on the 'board. Most necks with a maple board, as you guys well know, are finished with nitro. I don't really care for the way they feel and truthfully, I prefer the feeling of raw wood. But... we all know what that leads to. So... I was wondering if putting tung oil on a maple fretboard would have any detrimental effects to the board itself. Would I have to worry about swelling or anything like that since the oil is absorbed into the wood? Any comments, questions or criticisms for the good of the cause would be greatly appreciated. MLAR, Cor

Keith... Can you clarify this for me? I called a couple of days ago and inquired as to a 22 fret bolt-on neck with a 'non-stock' fretboard (material other than ebony) and big frets. They said "Sure thing." Did you mean to say that they won't make a "24 fret bolt on neck"? That seems more likely to me. Saying that they 'don't do custom necks anymore' makes it sound like they don't offer any options or anything. MLAR, Cor

Thanks LGM! Just looking at it, I'd have to say that I agree with ya. Whatta bitch! Fortunately for me, I've got plenty of time on my hands. I've gotta couple of bodies laying around that I use for templates that have the contoured top. I think I'll do the flat stuff and then, for the contour, just draw a line with a little jig I made to the width of the bind, then get to it with the knife. I really thought there might be an easier way to do it. But after reading your post, I think doing this 'by hand' is the only way out. Hehe. I do it on the scrap bodies first. : sigh : Thank you, Senor. MLAR, Cor

Sure there's a purpose... It looks good! :wink: My feelings are... Binding serves a purpose aound a neck. Your hands have a direct interaction with it and it gives a certain 'feel' to the neck. The body? Purely aesthetics. MLAR, Cor

Hey All... I've been building bodies with a lot of contour and then applying veneers. I've talked to a few people who tell me applying binding on a contour that isn't very router/dremel friendly is a royal pain in the astroturf. I understand why, however, I see companies like Warmoth and U.S.A Custom Guitar offering this option. Although I've seen the faux binding other folks apply by taping off the edges during the finish process, I'd prefer to apply the real thing in order to provide the illusion af a thicker top as well as add some 'class' to the instrument. In order to do this, I've put the router aside and opted to use the Dremel for the obvious reasons that I can keep things closer to the edge. Any guidance and/or assistance would be greatly appreciated. MLAR, Cor

Hey There Lamby... I suffer from the same affliction. I have massive hands/fingers. It wasn't a conscious decision, however, I opted to play on scalloped boards from the mid eighties to just recently when I switched over to standard boards with massive frets installed. The large frets don't make for as smooth of a feel, however, it it's about the closest thing I've been able to find. Like others have mentioned, it's the easiest way too keep too much of my fingertips from touching the wood on the fretboard. Suggestions... The first one would be to go with the biggest frets you can get ahold of. Dunlop 6100s are generally accepted as being the largest with a crown height between 52/1000" and 57/1000". Another thing you might wanna consider while avoiding scalloping is to use two different widths of fret wire. Years ago I played a Jake E. Lee guitar that used two different widths of fret wire... The crown on both sizes were right at 55/1000" so the height was the same. From the 1st to the 12th fret they had a wide high (100/1000" or so) and high (55/1000") while the 13th through the 22nd fret was of medium with (90/1000" or so) and a high crown (55/1000"). The only differeence is really the feel. The narrower frets seemed to offer up a little more in the way of 'grip' on the higher frets. Another is to go with a longer scale instrument. Most of us use 24 3/4", 25" or 25 1/2" scales. Check out some of the stuff with longer scales like Jim Soloway's stuff... Soloway Guitars The other thing I did to make it easier on myself was to modify the way I played on the higher frets. Playing notes one semitone apart became a rarity. I started using a lot more wide intervals so I could get some space between my fingers. I hope things work out for ya, Senor. MLAR, Cor

:::raising my hand meekly::: I'm one of those drill a big hole and smooth the edges by hand guys MLAR, Cor

Hey All... Quick Question... What kinda adhesive do you use on the radiused blocks? I just ordered a set for fretwork after using straight blocks for quite some time. Anyway... I noticed stewmac has this stikit stuff for them. But dayum!!!! It's nearly $50.00 per roll! What the?! There's gotta be an easier way. I mean... Spray adhesive would work if it wasn't too tough to get off. Any of y'all got any suggestions? MLAR, Cor

Hey All... Welp... I'm going through the details on some custom stuff on the drawing boards as I'm patiently waiting (and praying) for some money to come my way. I don't have the means to have my own logo dsigned at the moment, so thought I'd just sign the instruments headstocks. I have no idea how to create my own logo. In the past I've had two 'companies' each with different names and 'logos'. For the cabs I was building in the mid-nineties, I was buying those amp logos from carvin, reshaping the plastic and/or metal and stenciling the 'OsTone' logo onto them using gold and black before applying them. For the guitars, I had a rubber stamp with 'C. Jordan Luthiers' that I'd put in the neck pocket and I'd hand write a number for the individual instrument leaving the shop with the headstocks blank. I had an idea the other day for my current situation though... Is there a pen (or something similar) that I might be able to put my 'fancy' signature on the headstock with and then throw some clear over it without it smearning from the solvents in any particular clear coat? I think that might be kinda cool. Not as 'pro' as most folks stuff... But... You know. I was thinking of this ancient Tele I had that Phil Kubicki made. This guitar was apparently made by Phil before the Ex Factor happened and he made a name for himself. What do you guys think? Any suggestions and/or criticisms would be greatly appreaciated... MLAR, Cor