SawDust_Junkie

When building a guitar neck, what type of glue do you guys use to glue the fret-board to the neck. I would think that it would be advisable to use a glue that can be steamed to allow the fret board to be removed if neccessary (in the case of problems with the truss rod or a damaged). What glue would everyone recommend. On my two projects so far, I have used TiteBond III. I have had good results with it, but according to the packaging it is made for use in marine applications to a degree, so I believe it is at least semi-waterproof. This would make it almost impossible to remove the fret board at a later time if neccessary. I am aware that alot of luthiers use hide glue, but that seems to be very labor intensive, as you have heat the glue to apply it, and I also don't have a glue pot or anything like that. I have seen some bottled hide glue that does not reuire heating, but have read unfavorable comments about it. So, I was just curious as what type of glue everyone here would recommend.

I haven't actually finished the nut yet idch. I have done all of the preperation except for bleaching it in peroxide. I have shaped a couple of blanks, and they have been soaked in ammonia to de-grease them. It turned out very well. I think they will make fine nut material.

That's exactly what I discovered when I tried to cut a neck blank for a scarf joint in my compound miter saw jer. The only way to set the saw to the desired angle was to place the blank perpindicular to the fence and this could only be done with some kind fo bracing or clamping. i decided against it and instead I made a scarf joint cutting jig for my table saw. Here is a link to a site that has plans for building a jig to cut scarf joints. These are the plans I used to make my jig: http://pweb.jps.net/~kmatsu/htmlpages/scarfjig.html

Aren't the Stew-Mac fret boards spaced to accomodate the compensated Gibson 24 3/4" scale length. I think that is actually frets spaced according the scale length if the high E (treble) saddle of the bridge is set at the scale length of 24 9/16", and offsetting the low E (bass) saddle at approximately 24 3/4" ?

Thanks for the birthday wishes Maiden ! You know I have never owned a Gibson guitar or really played one that much. That is one resaon I wanted to build a copy. Do the humbuckers in a Gibson actually mount tothe PUP ring, which is then mounted to the body of the guitar, and the adjustment just moves the PUP up and down in the mounting ring ? In other words, the pickup adjustment screws just raise and lower the PUP up and down in relation to the ring ? The is no actual contact between the PUP and the cavity or the body of the guitar ? I would think that a depth of 3/4" of an inch would be sufficient to allow enough up and down travel in the cavity for the PUP ? Student, I do feel young at heart, like you said, but as I get older, the spirit is willing but the flesh doesn't always cooperate any more !

Thanks kaj ! And to think you were the one who sent me the CADs ! I would have thought you would know what the depth was. You guys take it easy on me today. Today is the big "40" . Man I'm gettin' old

Hey guys ! I am in the process of building a LP DC copy. I have CAD drawings that give me most of the dimensions I need, but one thing it doesn't provide is the depth of the pickup cavities. Can anyone tell me what the standard depth for humbucker pickups in a LP is ?

First of all Cyclone, "Congatulations on the birth of your son !" I hope mother and son are both doing well. Secondly, its looking very clean so far. Did you do a wood binding on the sides of the fret board ? Or is that just a trick of the light/camera angle ? I can't tell from the pics. I like the look of it. It is a nice contrast to the blond Maple fingerboard. (on edit) I went back and looked at your last post and I see you said it was a Mahogany binding. Looks good !

According to the e-mail I received from Grizzly, the sale is for one week only, and once the remaining stock is gone, they are gone forever ! They are discontinuing this model.

I just did my first scarf joint (for the second time actually) on the project I am working on. It is a LP DC copy that I am building with a set neck. The first time I did the scarf joint on this neck, I discovered that I had cut the joint from the wrong point and the angle of the headstock started abot 2 " further from the heel than I had planned. I didn't catch this until I had already glued the thing together. Oh well, at least the joint was further out rather than closer in to the heel. I was able to re-cut the joint and do it over again. The thing I had the most trouble with was clamping the joint together. The joint will clamp together great dry, but when you add the glue, it acts as a lubricant and the joint wants to slip as soon as you put clamp pressure on it. The solution I came up with probably wasn't the best, but it worked for me. I clamped the joint together dry, and since the neck blank is wider than my neck will be, by about 5/8" at the nut, I drilled a hole on each side of where the edge of the neck will be when I cut it down to final shape. I drilled a 3/16" hole all the way through both pieces of the scarf joint and then when I glued it together, I placed a dowell rod through the two holes to keep the joint aligned. The holes will cut away when I cut the neck down and the dowels worked great and held the joint in place while clamping it. How does everyone here clamp their scarf joints ? I know there has to be a better solution, but mine seemd to work pretty well., but you do have to be careful when drilling the holes !

Hey emg, they are called ferrules also. Here is a link to site that sells them. As far as I know, this is the only place that I found that the ferrules for the top of the guitar. Hope it helps ! http://67.15.80.118/catalog/product_info.p...0c153c0ebb22b16

One simple technique I have seen mentioned here at PG is to take a piece of scrap hardwood and mark your holes on that and use the drill press to drill the holes straight and true. Then clamp your new "template" to the body of the guitar in the correct position and use the template as a guide to keep your hand drill perpindicular to the face of the body. I am sure there are other methods also, but this is one that I have seen talked about and it seems like it would work fine to me. I have not built a guitar yet that used a TOM or other such bridge that required that exact drilling of the holes. So far I have only built a Strat copy using a standard vintage style Strat, 6 screw tremolo bridge. I drilled the holes for that using my hand drill, as you mentioned with the bubble level, trying to stay as straight as I could. But I can see where mounting a bridge that uses stud posts may be more demanding of a true and perpindicular hole. When I cross that bridge on my current project ( LP DC) I will either borrow my neighbors 12 " floor drill press or decide the same thing you are contemplating now. I have had my eye on a couple of drill presses at Grizzly though. They have one that is a reciprocating press and would do a great job of double duty serving as both a drill press and a barrel sander. But, they also have one that is a radial arm drill press, which an adjustable swing up to 34". That one would great for avoiding this problem. Decisions, decisions...

I did not think about what type of bit you are using idch. You may have a simple straight bit. They do not usually have a very long cuting length. I use alot of pattern or template bits and most of those that I have seen have aout a 1' cutting length. Using my plunge router I am able to place a 1/2" plywood template on my body blanks and route the outline of my bodies all the way down on a Fender style 1 3/4" body. But with a Gibson style body blank, which is about 2 1/4" thick, I can only gor about the first 1 3/4" to 2", and then I remove the pattern bit and replace it with a 2" flush trim bit that I have. I have not had good results trying to do the whole routing with such a large bit as the 2" flush trim bit, so like I said, I make several passes around my body and template with the 1/2'" diameter, 1" cut length pattern bit, going down a little less than 1/4" on each pass. then when the pattern bit won't reach anymore, I was the long 2" flush trim bit to finish off. As far as the pickup cavities and control cavities and the neck pocket go, The 1/2 D 1" CL bit has worked well for me. I have no problem getting to any depth I need to using that bit in my plunge router. Certainly way more than 2-3 cm.

From what you have stated here idch, I belive you must have a fixed base router. With those the maximum depth you will be able to rout will depend on the length of the cutting surface of the bit and the length of the shaft. There is some play based upon how deep into the collette you place the bit. You can try not seating it all the way in to get a little more depth, but be careful, as you want the bit to be firmly secured in the collette of the router. You are correct also, there are different bits with different cutting lengths that will also add some depth for you, but from what I have seen, most router bits have a standard length shaft. What you really need is a plunge router. You can also get some really nice fixed base/plunge router setups from various manufactureres like Porter-Cable, Dewalt, etc....

Hey jay, have you determined yet if there is a way to know where to set the adjustable wheel for whatever particular radius you want ? Or have you just had to experiment with some scrap pieces of fret wire until you get the proper radius ? I guess you could mark the position of the adjustable wheel on the base somehow when you get it set to a particular radius and then the next time you need that radius, you wouldn't have to fiddle with it again to get it right.

What you are referring to are called ferrules TOIL. There are ferrules designed both for the rear of the body of the guitar and also for the front where the strings exit and travel to the bridge. Use the search feature and you will find many threads here that discuss them. The only problem I have seen so far with ferrules, is that the ones for the front of the body, behind the bridge are not widely manufactured. I believe I have only seen one link to a web site here at PG where you can order the front ferrules. The rear ferrules can be had just about anywhere, i.e. Stewart-Mac, Warmoth, Mity-Mite, All-Parts etc...

Take a look here perhellion: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...pic=9113&st=180 What I meant was that frenzy used epoxy as a grain filler rather than an actual commercial grain filler product. He applied the epoxy and then sanded level and then applied his color coats and clear coats. What I liked about his method was that you could customize the color of the grain filler to whatever you wanted using dyes with the epoxy. In my case, I just want a clear grain filler that won't really change the color of the wood, even if I use a light stain first to bring out the grain a little more. But, if you wanted, you mix your own color using dyes to get what you want. In frenzy's case he used a black epoxy from Stew-Mac, but he could have as easily used black dye with a clear epoxy to get the same result. what I really liked about it was after sanding level, the color in the epxoy was only retained in the gran pattern of the wood. This really made the grain "pop" and looks really nice. I am one those people that cringe at the thought of covering beautiful wood with paint. At my local woodworking shops they have all of the standard grain filler products, but all of them I have noticed have at least some tint to them. Even what they call clear is a chalky tan/biege color and I figured this might darken the wood more than I want it to. Of course take everything I say on this subject with a grain of salt, as I have only built one guitar prior to my current project. And I have not done the finish on that guitar as yet. I am waiting for better weather in the spring before I tackle that phase of my first project. So, I am really just considering options at this point and frenzy's seemed to be "newbie friendly".

Hi guru I am not interested in this footboard myself, but I have a friend who has a Line 6 Vetta amp, who might be. I don't know, will this foot board work with the Vetta line ? And if so, how much are you asking ? I will tell my friend about it and see if he might want to check it out. That is if it is compatable with his Vetta amp.

Yeah perhellion, that's what I figured with the Oak. What the heck. I have a bunch of firewood and I don't really burn it, except for atmosphere from time to time. So, since I wanted to practice on building set necks, and didn't want to waste a bunch of money on quality wood just for practice, I started cutting up the firewood to see if I could get anything useful. I am really interested to see what the guitar will sound like. The Oak seems plenty hard enough to me. I will say that Oak is a bit more difficult to work with because it seems to want to split and run if you are not careful when trying to cut and rout it. I have also read that it can be difficult to use rasps and files when going against the grain. I guess I will find out. Another issue will be trying to get the grain filled really well. But right now I am leaning toward Guitarfrenzys epoxy filler method. That seems like it will be the easiest, and on this laminated Oak/Mahogany body, I want to keep the natural grain as much as possible. I may even use a light stain to darken the grain a bit. By the way, I am located around the Garner/Clayton area. Are you in the triangle also ?

I can't vouch for what effect, if any, laminated body blanks would have on the tonal characteristics, but I'll let you know. I recently started a practice project using strips of White Oak I sawed from my firewood pile, laminated together with strips of Mahogany. I just thought what the heck, I have all this wood out there doing nothing. I might as well see if I can make something useful out of it. I couldn't get any pieces of the Oak much bigger than 1 1/2" x 2" x 18", so I cut a Mahogany plank into strips the same size and laminated them together. I also bought a piece of White Oak from a local woodworking shop and laminated three pirces together to make the back plate. I just got the body cut out and the top piece chambered, so I am not close to puting it together and finding out how its will sound. I am thinking of making a laminate neck of White Oak and Mahogany just to keep with the "theme" of the guitar. I know Oak is not supposed to desirable wood for guitars, but wanted something to work on over the winter to practice on and hone my skills. If your interested, take a look at what I have done so far. http://www.mindspring.com/~ed5/Project/

I'm bumping this to see if setch got a chance to see my questions. Are ya out there setch ?

jay is right Bill. The CAD drawing I have of a LP DC has the upper horn a bit more foward than the lower one. So I went to the Gibson web site and loked at them and sure enough, that's the way theirs are. So, I wanted to make it just like the real thing.

OK, here are some pics of my latest project. This is a Les Paul double cut away that I am working on. The wood is White Oak (from my firewood pile in the backyard. I killed my table saw milling the wood ) and some Mahogany that got from a co-worker. I figured I had all this firewood out there, why not put some of it to use ! This is just a practice project anyway, so what the heck. Most of the wood didn't cost me anything. I cut the Oak and the Mahogany into strips, because I could not get any pieces of the Oak any larger than about 2" x 1 1/2" x 18", and then I laminated them together to make the body blank. The back is a three piece White Oak laminate. I bought the Oak at a local woodworking shop and glued it together to make the back. I also chambered the laminate top piece to reduce the weight some. I figure I will probably make a laminate neck out of Oak and Mahogany to keep the overall theme of the guitar. What do you guys think so far ? http://home.mindspring.com/~ed5/Project/IMAG0183.JPG http://home.mindspring.com/~ed5/Project/IMAG0184.JPG http://home.mindspring.com/~ed5/Project/IMAG0186.JPG

I think you can make do with about whatever you have access to idch. With a jigsaw you will just have to make cuts more out outside the final size you want and then use a router and template to fiish of your bodies. I suppose you can do the same with the neck blanks if you really want to. I used a bandsaw to cut my first neck and then a belt sander and hand sanding to get it to my desired final shape. I guess my point is, proper tools will absolutely make your work easier, but you can get by without them. If you are really, really want to, but yet don't have the resources to invest in an entire work shop of tools. I have started small with a used band saw here and a a used table saw there. Picked up a cheap plunge router at Harbor Freight. A drill bit here, some router bits there. The way I look at it, I'm not into it to make a living ( although that would be great wouldn't it ?), it's a hobby and I can only afford to invest so much in a hobby. I have even learned some tricks here that require alot of extra work, but they work. Like using a flat surface of plywood or table top with sheets of rough grit sandpaper double stick taped to it, to plane and surface body blanks. Where there's a will here a way.

I got'em kaj. Thanks again. The .dxf format worked on my VoloView software, so I was able to open them this time.