Ilikes2shred

Maybe a flames, skulls, or some sort of diamond plate design? I also saw some iridescent fabric (changes colors at different angles) that would look absolutely amazing on a guitar. Try a quick search on ebay; you might be able to find something better.

Haha... When I first read the title I thought you were some kid grounded from making guitars because you did something bad... Anyway, if it's string through, I'd just drill from one of the ferrule holes and solder the grounding wire to a ferrule before you put it in. That's how I did it, and it worked just fine. If it's not string through, I'm not sure the proper way to do it, but if nothing else, you could just drill a hole connecting the control cavity to the space under the bridge, then solder the ground wire to the bottom of the bridge before you mount it. Best of luck!

I'd probably go for the LP or the EMG Telecaster. Normally I don't like teles, but with an ebony fretboard, TOM bridge, EMGs, and the finish the way you have it drawn, it looks great. I found that building a neck is not all that hard, mine turned out just fine.... Just be sure to pick out good wood (I've had a bad experience, just check out my threads). Also, Mahogany and maple prices aren't too bad. I buy my wood from a store called rockler;you should see if you have one near you. I could get enough genuine mahogany for a body black for less than 50 bucks. It would be even cheaper with African mahogany, which was recently on sale for 4 bucks a board foot. Maple there is about 2-3 dollars a board foot, and they have some nice pieces for laminates that are perfect sized. If your talking figured maple, yeah, prices are high. But you could still make a killer LP with a top made from something else... maybe bloodwood, bubinga, or wenge-- some of my favorites. Last time I was there they also had some beautiful pieces of kingwood (perfect size for necks) and Argentinean Lignum vitae (heaviest wood on earth, but *probably* a good fretboard material). I personally am obsessed with pretty exotic woods, and I think any would make a great top, maybe even better than figured maple. But regardless of what you decide on, Happy Guitarbuilding!

Wow those gunstock things look amazing. They kinda remind me of this thing I used to do with crayons when I was little. You would take a page and color it all rainbow-like, then go over the top with black. Then you could scratch through the black with your fingernail to expose the colors and make drawings and patterns. I think someone would have an amazing result if they piled the veneers on top of each other, Then carved out patterns and accent lines for their guitar, much like you can with the crayons. They could even add multiple veneers to the headstock, then carve through them to make their logo. Maybe someday...

Here's a tutorial on my method to get perfect action. This should be especially good for beginners. Enjoy: I had some pics that help a little, but I can't upload them. If someone can figure out how to upload a word document, then I can post a link. Hi everybody! The reason that I am writing this tutorial is to give a guide to get perfect set-ups. I have seen many set-up tutorials, and they all give a set number or range of numbers for things such as action and relief. Not only are these things extremely hard to measure, but also there is not a perfect number that works for all guitars, as the relief and action hugely depend on playing style and string gauge. When I did my first few set-ups, I found it very difficult to even get remotely good action using the “recommended ranges” given by other tutorials. I eventually got frustrated and found a method that will give you the best possible action, without buzz, for your playing style and string gauge preference. On my seven string I set up using this method, I was able to get less than 1 millimeter action on my high E (it was actually the thickness of a .88mm pick at the 24th fret) to less than 2 millimeters on my low B, and a little more than 1.5 millimeters on my low E with an 11-56 gauge string set. BEFORE STARTING, MAKE SURE ALL YOUR FRETS ARE LEVEL. (another topic) Here’s how it works: First all, you need to understand a few things about relief. Relief is the amount of forward bow in the neck. The purpose of relief is to compensate for the vibration of the string along the neck to prevent it from buzzing. The string moves back and forth more in the middle of the string, so it makes sense to have the neck dip down more in the middle. As you move up the neck, playing on higher and higher frets, the string becomes shorter, so the distance it vibrates becomes less and therefore requires less relief. By adding relief, the neck conforms to the shape of the string. So we know we want relief. But how much? That’s the big question, and I will tell you how to find exactly the right amount of relief, but first we must understand something else: When we add relief, we are actually raising the nut up, so we not only curving the neck, but we are also effectively raising the action (sting height off the fretboard). When the action is raised as we curve the neck, the low frets will buzz less because the fretboard curves down very fast, as they are on the steep part of the curve. But up high on the fretboard, such as above the twelfth fret, the action is high, but it will still buzz. This is because the curve toward the end of the neck is now almost flat, so although we have high action, the string is still very close to the frets, which will result in buzzing. So, if we have too little relief, the low frets will buzz. If we have too much relief, the high frets will buzz. What we need to do is find a happy medium. My objective with my method is to find the perfect relief for a player by finding the amount of relief that makes the string buzz equally on the high and low side of the fret board, then raise the bridge height a tiny bit so it doesn’t buzz anywhere. I will now begin to use the terms “up high on the fretboard” and “down low on the fretboard”. Anything “up high on the fretboard” is in the 12-24 fret range. Anything “down low on the fretboard” is in the 0-12 fret range. When I say either “side” of the fretboard, I mean either up high on the fretboard or down low on the fretboard. When adjusting, use whatever strings you plan to keep on the guitar (a fresh set), and pick however hard you normally pick. Yes, this means you will end up with lower action if you pick lighter. To start, adjust the truss rod until the neck is reasonably straight. Use the high E for your reference. You can check how straight the neck is by holding down the string on the first and 24th frets, then seeing if there is a space in the middle (around the eight fret). You should adjust the truss rod so there is a barely noticeable space. Then we need to adjust the bridge height until either side of the fretboard buzzes. If you keep lowering it, you will find a spot where it either buzzes only on the high frets, or only on the low frets, unless of course it’s already perfect. Depending on which it is, we will adjust the truss rod accordingly. If the string is only buzzing up towards the high frets, we want to take out relief. On most truss rods, this means turning it clockwise, normally about an eight turn. If the string is only buzzing down on the low frets, we need more relief. On most truss rods this means turning it counter-clockwise, normally about an eight turn. After adjusting the truss rod, lower the bridge height a small amount until one side of the fret board buzzes. Now all you have to do is keep repeating this process (i.e. adjust truss rod, then lower the bridge). Eventually, we will be able to tell that we’re getting close because we have to repeatedly turn the truss rod one way, then the other. This means that the “sweet spot” is somewhere in this small range of turning. From here on out, we will just make finer and finer adjustments (1/16th, 1/32nd of a turn) until when we lower the bridge, both “sides” of the fretboard start buzzing at the exact same time. This is the sweet spot. Now all you have to do is raise the bridge until it doesn’t buzz. This is the best action you can get. It doesn’t get any better, and assuming your frets are level, you should have amazing action. Good Luck!

I use triangle files because I don't have a crowning file. It works great for me though and I can get my frets very round in a short amount of time.

A while back I bought some flush ground cutters from LMI (Channel-lock) and they didn't even hold up for 1 neck using 6000 gauge nickel-silver.... The metal just peeled back, so I returned them... Also, If the cutters were held a certain way, they would make little crescent shapes on all the fret ends, which couldn't be filed away... Then I got some stock channel lock diagonal cutters for ~$20 which held up to an entire neck of 110 gauge (almost as big as 6000) stainless steel. It cut nicely, and no signs of damage to the tool. However, they did not cut flush so I had to do about 5 min of filing across the whole neck with a course bastard file to bring them flush. I recommend this method. Also, while I was buying the channel locks, I saw some big bolt cutters....

Yes, that board does look great!! Related to Jammy's question, is it thick enough to apply like a normal finish (like tru-oil) so it sill stick to vertical surfaces, or will it just run off of everything? I previously assumed it could be applied to vertical surfaces, but I want to make sure.

I've never done it, but maybe you could take a jig like erik's and make it be able to move up and down, so the router base would sit flat on the body and follow any contours by moving up and down, adjusting the depth of cut? The base of the router may actually ride on the flat part of the body though, so this may be ineffective....

If you go with a single radius , there is a noticeable difference in thickness on the edges of the fretboard at the nut end and heel end, but by no more than 1 mm (that's how much it is on my first build). I wouldn't notice it if no one pointed it out, so I don't think it really matters. I always buy my fretboards slotted and radiused, so the board is radiused before it is tapered. However, my technique on my current build was to glue the single radius, already tapered board to the neck, and then take sandpaper and attach it to an aluminum (I-beam) level, and level the board by sanding with the tapered edges. If I'm thinking straight, this will actually produce a slight compound radius, which will provide better action than a board with a single radius. Take your time with your neck, and best of luck!

Would it be reasonable to try to build up a factory-thick finish with a poly applied with a brush? The only finish I've ever done is tru-oil, and even after 20 coats it was still paper thin. Also, is everyone sure that all epoxies (mirrorcoat) would end up sticky? I can't imagine wanting a sticky fretless bass fingerboard... I see what you all are saying about stickyness, but I just want to make absolutely sure about mirrorcoat, so please don't take any offense.

Thanks for all the help! Wes, what epoxy did you use? Do you think all epoxies would end up feeling sticky? Did you use more than one coat? How thick did you get the finish to become? After further reading, it seems that the "two-part poly" used by factories may actually be this "LPU" . Am I correct? I would still like to use epoxy to build up a nice thick finish with minimal coats, even if I have to topcoat it. However, if you think a similarly thick and hard finish could be achieved with a standard brush-on solvent based poly, or something like the previously mentioned "LPU", with less effort, then that's what I will use.

If you watch the video they have (link-> mirrorcoat video ), they don't really create a pool. They just pour it on, brush it even, and the surface tension apparently keeps a thin layer on. This is still a reasonable concern though, as the guitar that I will be finishing is a carved top. I do not find this concern to be more so than with any other finish which would be applied to a guitar (by hand), as most finishes are very low viscosity, and would therefore also run if applied too thickly. Any other reasons why this wouldn't be suitable?

I've been considering different types of finish to use on my current build, and I have found a solution that sounds good to me... Epoxy! (I am talking about an actual clear-coat, not a grain filler) After a little reading, I found out that epoxy is actually a type of polyurethane. I know the big factories spray two-part polyurethanes, so could that actually be a type of spray epoxy? I don't have spray equipment though, so I was thinking of using something like this --> mirror coat I can't find any reason why this wouldn't work for a guitar, but I searched and haven't seen anyone else use epoxy as a finish. Why wouldn't they? Am I missing something obvious? Thanks in advance!

Just interested to see how many of you have long hair. (you can judge on your own if its long)

I ended up getting a nice new spade which drilled a perfect hole. It even made shavings instead of dust... Hurray for sharp tools!! Thanks for the help everyone.

I once saw an attachment for a hand drill that allowed drilling at different angles to the drill (It was a long metal tube that could bend with a turning wire inside) at a hardware store. When I saw it I thought of using it to drill holes between cavities, but I had no use for it as I haven't forgot to put a straw in the routed channel to prevent it from filling with glue. Best of Luck!

Wow.... eight posts..... Thanks for the help. I don't have a drillpress. I'd love one but I want to save up for a good one. I looked at this bit and thought, "Ah, how bad can this bit be? It's not like it will split the guitar in half or anything *chuckles to self*" The glue has dried now and the crack is healed. So I guess I learned my lesson. On a side note, I think I must return about 50% of the items I get from home depot... That should tell me something... "Jackhole" it makes me laugh every time.

A few days ago I bought a "3/4" RIGID WOODBORING BIT DRILLS UP TO 6 TIMES FASTER THAN CONVENTIONAL SPADE BITS!" drill bit for drilling the hole for the jack as a replacement for my previous 7/8" spade (the spade somehow drilled 1 1/4" holes EVERY time.....). This bit is worse. I started drilling, and the threads on the end started to go in very slowly. As soon as the cutting part of the bit hit the guitar, the drill lurched forward and SPLIT THE GUITAR IN HALF (not in two, but a good one foot crack)! I tried more times on scrapwood, and the same thing happened every time (the drill was unable to even turn once the cutting part hit the wood). I glued the crack back together and it is drying now, so hopefully all is well... So don't buy this bit.... How do you guys drill jack holes? Forstners?

I'm not sure if anyone has found this out yet, but try putting a guitar in front of a tv, so you can see the strings and the tv in the backround, and pluck a string. It lets you see the strings vibration relative to the frequency of the tv's flashing, making it look like the strings are vibrating really slowly, almost like a worm.... It's even funner with a seven string because B flat and B go even slower.... Anyway, doesn't really require an answer but I thought some of you may find it interesting.

Well I'm certainly no expert, but I would definitely check out the tutorials on project guitar's main page as chops1983 already stated. In particular, I'd take a look at this fret buzz locating tool--> http://schrammguitars.com/buzz.html (from the tutorials section), a good straight edge, a good magnifying glass, and maybe a set of feeler gauges, if you don't have all of these already. I find all of these indispensable when setting up guitars. Best of luck!

I once saw a picture of a guitar made out of many pieces of wood (maybe 10-20, all different varieties/colors) that were all different odd shapes (but still fit together perfectly) and glued together to form a body blank. I don't know if you know what I mean or have seen the pic or anything so I can try to explain it better if you want me to.

Thanks for the reply eljib. By "proper wood bleach", I'm guessing you mean a two-part bleach (sodium hydroxide + hydrogen peroxide)? If so, I'm not sure where to get it. The only woodworking store around me (rockler) doesn't seem to sell it, and home depot and lowes or anything similar don't seem to sell it either. A much more available alternative I see is a more powerful chlorine bleach (according to http://www.woodzone.com/articles/wood_bleach.htm this can be made with the swimming pool bleach tablets they sell). Do you think that this may work? The last option would be oxalic acid, but to my knowledge, that's not generally used to make woods white. Is it? If none of these alternatives seem like they may work, I would appreciate a reference to where to find some two-part bleach, as my searches have not turned up any results so far. Thank you.

Hi again, After successfully finishing my first guitar, I decided to build another one, this time out of lacewood. I bought enough lacewood for the entire guitar (body + neck), and planned to experiment with different finishing options, which I was hoping would result in way to do a black/grey dye (green for a snakeskin look would be good to, but I only have black dye). I tried dying black, then sanding back and dying grey, but the brown lacewood color still showed through. I also tried dying black once ( without sanding back) hoping that once a clearcoat was applied, the lace pattern would become more visible, but it didn't. Last, I tried bleaching (with clorox bleach), and then dying black, but once again, the grain was not appearant. As I have no experience with dying, I am not sure what to try next. Does anyone have any experience dying lacewood, or have any suggestions? Oh yeah, I did do a thorough search. Thanks in advance!

alright, well thanx for all the help so-far. While I'm searching for a place to by waterslide sheets, I have another question. Should I apply the tru-oil over the binding (on the neck) or do I have to finish the binding using something else (shellac, nitro, urethane...)?