joej

Lol -- clamps! Somedays, I believe that all I do is clamp and glue. Good answer! -- joe

Summary ... I have a test of my veneering ability (see link). Edges are uneven, slight gaps filled with shellac are visible between some pieces. Veneer Test Guitar Take a look and offer me your opinion: 1- inlay brass strips (on end) along the edges of the veneers 2- rip it all off, lay down a nice Nigerian Satinwood veneer on it 3- do whatever, but throw some thick glassy poly on it and call it a win 4- leave it alone & move on to the other projects piling up 5- other -- joe Backstory ... I found a Silverton SFB1 body on eBay a while back for very little $$. ( silvertone fastback pic from their website = http://www.silvertoneguitar.com/sv/images/sfb1.jpg ) The blue/black stained veneer top was cracked, missing a spot, and the guitar had been dropped on its end (crunched up the binding a bit). So -- test guitar time! I worked out a pattern, worked out the sequence of veneers (from the pile I had) and went to work. I left the binding in place and cut veneer against paper templates, then cut+fit it on the body. All less-than-efficient moves, looking back. Lots of mistakes - (long list, will post lessoned learned someday). I then spent a lot of time shellac'ing (rubbing, brushing, sanding, etc.) And -- then I got to thinking, so I posted here.

I don't know about most useful -- but the japanese draw saws I have make me very happy. I don't have a band saw, so the table saw & router are most useful to me now. Sorry I can't help with a "what is third on the list?" :-) -- joe

I use a nut spacing piece of paper -- printed from a PDF file. The PDF looked something like the diagram at this site: Nut spacing Here is it --- MIMF has it on their Catalog and plans page. -- joe

OLD WAY I used to hand saw the scarf with a dozuki saw -- it takes a while, and you have to - mark the cutting line well on all sides - saw following the marks it straight & true (no yaw or roll) - slow and steady Once cut, use your straight edge to watch progress as you sand down the cut face so that its flat/level Flip, place, clamp and glue -- hope you have flat surfaces mating and hope you've clamped well enough for a thin/nice joint. NEW WAY I spent an afternoon building a jig for the table saw. It slides along the channel and allows me to push a neck blank across the blade at about 14 deg angle. That first hand-saw set of steps now takes about 2 minutes and leaves the piece needing nearly no sanding at all. -- joe

When I buy nuts (micarta, corian, whatever), I end up cutting and shaping it anyway. So, buy the closest fit and cut away ... Length, for me, is easiest to cut -- dremel with a cutting disk. So I'd get that 0210 nut, if it were me. The height EASILY can be brought down while shaping/sanding and before cutting slots. Dremel w/cutting disk brings the height where I need it ... if the height is way high. Otherwise, I just sand it down the few 16ths that are needed. Sand paper, palm sander, or dremel with sanding tip helps shape the back-curve of the nut. My sucky files and slotting skill do a bad job at cutting slots. But, it all works out. I always end up with some sanding paper on my workbench and running the nut to smooth/polish it when done. Maybe ... buy 2 just in case :-) -- joe

guitarbuild.com has templates in CAD format. So, I pulled down the SG .dxf file ... and downloaded a free CAD .dxf viewer to view/print it. MIMF also has SG plans ... I may buy them, also. -- joe

Isn't someone going to jump in about using Titebond II and Titebond Liquid Hide Glue? I'll jump in -- correct me if I'm wrong: I've heard NO on these 2 glues for millions of times (literally) over the years. So much so that I've only used Titebond original and real hide glue. Therefore, I cannot comment on personal experience as to WHY NOT. The standard answers to WHY NOT are: - Titebond II is for external and/or does not every dry sufficiently/completely (i.e., always stays *slightly* plastic --- not good for instrument work - Titebond Liquid Hide glue has so many additives to keep shelf life, etc that it is a very bad form of hide glue for instruments The answers don't sound like "purists" answers, but always seem to come from real experience and explanation -- so I listen. -- joe

I remember seeing a thread at the Epiphone site forums that listed the "upgrades" to bring a model closer to the Gibson model. I dislike altering an off-the-shelf guitar .. so I'd try the incremental approach :-) Most of the small fixes are reversible, so pickups, tuning pegs, etc may be an easy swap (to see if they improve the guitar). Then, if there still is a need to improve -- try the tailpiece/bridge, etc. --joe

All the specs are google-able, MIMF has $ SG plans but I will try the free dxf/dwg template I found. But -- Are there any particular gotchas on building an SG? My list includes: Body balance concerns The body typically is light, so be careful and consider Choose neck/body woods well dual action truss rods increase neck weight may want to increase the body thickness a bit extreme case = shift neck/bridge lower Bevels SG bevels can be troublesome. I hope my eyeballs and microplaner do well ... anything else unique to SGs? -- joe

That many knobs is just wrong ... I'm too simple for such complicated choices. --joe

I'm thinking you're asking about the routing depth shape (not cross-section shape) Caveat: I just buy dual-action truss rods, because I'm lazy. So, what I know about single-action "bowed channel" rods is based on what I read - not done. Dual action truss rods = straight channel Single action / compression truss rods = a couple choices a- I've seen them cut straight, but angled down towards the neck heel. This is so that you are "pulling" the nut end down away from the centerline of string-neck compression. I actually did this for an archtop. b- I've seen folks "bow" the channel. The channel "humps" down in the middle away from the fretboard. When you compress the rod, it will want to straighten out. So, the hump helps provide leverage to swing the ends downward and the middle upwards. -- joe

I can only add a little to this -- Godin guitars ... I just looked at and touched 2 of these at a local store. You may want to take a peek at some of these for inspiration. They do interesting things with string-thru (holes & channels-holes, staggered & not, inlayed/inserted metal piece in back to aid in holding strings) What I've read -- The angle of strings across the bridge is important, but I am not sure why I heard that. I assume a sharp angle is bad for the strings, and a too-flat angle doesn't give enough downward pressure (affecting sustain, etc.?) There are some issues around the ferrules and fitting them. Sorry its not complete thoughts, but I hope it helps somehow. -- joe

My heat gun gets to 600 deg F (I think) -- scorches wood. The problem is that its just heat, not steam + heat. Would a heat gun + soaked wood/ dipping wood in water be useful? Or is the pipe bender just so much more efficient? -- joe

I had a scarf joint looking ugly and slightly off. I knew this within 12 hours of doing it and taking clamps off. It was my morning check of the overnight clamping/gluing. So, I used my paint stripper heat gun to help loosen it ...and it came apart. I did not use water/steam (although that is best to loosen hide glue or titebond joints). I think it worked because I did not wait too long before doing this -- joe

There are tricks to tracing an outline from an existing body. Google for them -- I'm thinking its the pencil @ an angle in block of wood thing. Careful cutting a template out of MDF, it dulls saw blades. FYI - I've not made a template for a guitar body. I have used templates with my router table, though. The pattern-following bits are straight bits with a roller bearing on it. They're called flush pattern bits or something like that. See RouterBits.com bit StewMac has such things also router bit So, cut the blank down near template shape and then use the router with multiple passes to get close to & at the template. Don't try to chew off too much too fast. With the bearing at the base of the bit, I'm able to use my router table -- placing the template on the body blank bottom with double-sided carpet tape. I worry about length of bit / cutting surface -- you'd have to get a long enough bit to cut through the 1-2" body blanks. I've been eyeballing some at Woodcraft -- the price JUMPS once you get near 1 1/2" to 1 3/4" and taller. Maybe there is a way to do a 1 3/4" body with a 1" bit ? (do a pass, lower table, do remainder pass?) --joe

I've got a body and a stack of veneer right now. I plan on gluing the veneer directly to the wood. I've got hide glue and Titebond and plan to use Titebond. If I do larger sheets, then I need to go get some bags of play sand from Home Depot. Thats what will give me even pressure across the sheets. I actually plan on laying a veneer design down in pieces. But, I think I'll still do the sand thing -- place the sand in a big bag of some type so that it will lay across the whole body and have enough weight across the piece. If the pieces design screws up, then I'll heat/scrape and remove the pieces ... and go for the large, nice-looking sheet of veneer :-) -- joe

Here is my 2 cents -- it costs WAY too much to repair something like that. (me = amateur, so take this all with grain of salt) So, try to fix it yourself. You don't have to be an expert, but you do have to fully know the issues before you do something. Being 16 just means you're more willing to learn than older folks :-) ---- So, use this forum. But first, nail the problem: - get a compact mirror (small makeup mirror a girl would have in her purse) - get a pen light - get an artists palette knife or some thin, flexible metal blade Hold the mirror inside the guitar & use the penlight to peek around. Take a careful look at where the braces are against the top soundboard. Any gaps? Try slipping the palette knife between soundboard and bracing. Any loose braces would need fixed -- like the post before this: need to figure out how to clean the gap/joint well enough, get some new Titebond original glue in there, and clamp it. Plan ahead: cut a 2x4 or some kind of wedge to push the brace up (when glued) and plan on laying something heavy on top to help push the soundboard down. ---- Back to checking -- make sure to give a good look at the neck block. Any looseness between sides and it? soundboard and it? That bracing up near the neck block (from your pict) doesn't look complete. Is there a transverse brace running across the guitar above the sound hole? Are there little "popsicle" braces between neck block and sides? If not, and there is a problem there ... I've added a little wedge connecting the neck block and soundboard (along the side of the neck block. I've done that when the soundboard cracked along the neck block (another 12-string problem in some guitars) ----- If none of those problems -- then post up what you've learned. But, I expect loose braces somewhere up near the top. -- joe

I tend not to like burned guitars -- but that looks pretty good. -- joe

I don't think I've seen detailed plans for a dual-action truss rod --only words describing it. It ends up being a folded-over 3/16" single rod of steel attached to a little metal block that has threaded holes ... or ... it is 2 rods, with metal blocks at either end: top rod anchored, the bottom rod acting like a turn-buckle with lefthand threads on one end and right-hand threads on the other end. The Cumpiano/Natelson book (or website?) explains the folded-over double-action rod construction. Also, see MIMF dicussion. mimf I am pretty sure that the MIMF (www.mimf.com) has a library of articles that cover truss rod construction. You have to register to get access to the library link. -- joe

shellac dries much quicker ... from what I've seen. Much quicker. --joe

heat the frets ... to ease the release of the tangs/frets from the wood & go slowly/carefully -- joe

If you go thinner than 1/2" (about 12-13mm), then you may find the tuners won't tighten down enough to hold against the wood. I've done that, and then had to add a headstock veneer to recover. I find that about 17mm is where I stop. But I'm no pro at this, so take this all with a grain of salt. Also, note that some folks tend to "thin" the headstock towards the top. That is, the thickness closer to the nut is more than as you get up to the tip. The reason given is for it to "flex" a bit (e.g., in case the guitar drops, its less likely to let the peghead mass just crack the neck/headstock angle/join) -- joe For me, building guitars is a series of recovering mistakes. I've simply gotten better at it :-)

I take my neck blank and make the scarf joint. While the neck is still rectangular (planed and true), I slide the neck over the router table to route the truss rod channel. I shape the headstock, and then worry about shaping the neck. Here is how I shape: - Measure the nut width and where the widest point will be (i.e., just where the heel starts) - Use straight edge and "connect the dots," drawing on the fretboard side of the neck blank - Use a micro-plane (or draw shave) to shave it down, leaving some extra past the line - Same tools, use them to shape the neck to its rounded shape (and volute). I use an outline form/template to ensure the neck shape is basically correct enough. - Then, insert truss rod ... glue on fretboard, final sanding, etc. OK -- I'm thinking 2 things these days: 1- Glue fretboard on BEFORE shaping neck (easier to clamp/glue and easier to ensure the overall neck thickness/etc is right) 2- I need to make a jig (template) to cut (route) the neck taper, instead of hand-shaping it ... like Krazyderek posted --- joe