joej

So I bid on this Ebay Mighty Mite maple satin finish licensed Strat neck for my new Partsocaster project, and it showed up yesterday. It has a lot of grain pattern in it, which I like, but I see quite a bit of faint flame in the back and the headstock. Is there something I can do to bring out the flame a little bit?

I haven't done nearly as much as you guys and that's why I'm here. I want to learn.

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BLO -- boiled linseed oil

Most woodworkers use this. I've done BLO and shellac before. Careful with disposing the rags, though. (drying BLO gives off heat, can catch trashbin on fire sometimes)

Otherwise, any oil finish should bring out the grain a bit more. There should be lots of posts here about popping grain with an oil finish.

A quick google of "boiled linseed oil" and guitar shows some 'how-to' info

--joe

i just took a guitar apart, and noticed the whole thing was covered in silver paint.

i noticed it before lining the inside if the (electronics compartment) of an ibanez, and figured that it was conductive, something to do with the grounding or something.

then i took apart another guitar, and realised that the whole body is covered inderneath the white finish. even in the neck pocket.

is this something important? some fundamental that i have missed? or am i being stupid?

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Shielding ...should have a ground wire connected to it somewhere, too.

--joe

Does anyone know how to get in touch with a Luthier by the name of "Steve McClard"? I saw one of his basses, and may want him to design one for me also.. Thanks for any help offered!   

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I like his basses ... nice organic shapes.

Website with some McClard info:

http://www.pianodesk.com/xyaxis.htm

There is a 'contact' link on the left.

--joe

Hey guys, I have just put a deposit on a customised ibanez RG here

Does the body look one peice mahagony to you guys? i cant tell.

rob

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Destring, unscrew a pickup ... peek down into the cavity.

You will get some insight into the wood makeup by checking the cavity.

--joe

minor hijack alert...

i've come to the conclusion that people who shop e-bay aren't willing to plop down $1200 to $1500 for a brand, "texas naturals", that they've never heard of. 

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This is repeated by many art/craft folks: eBay'rs are primarily there to look for bargains.

An instrument, where part of the selling is to hold + hear it + see that finish, will not command what its worth on eBay --> unless its got a brand name on it (maybe then).

But, I'm with you. To recover JUST parts cost in these early years, I'll think I'd do it.

--joe

-end-hijack-

Question 2: Since I don't need full guitar sized blocks, where can I get scrap tonewood for this project and others?

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Find a lumber yard, ask if they have shorts or cutoffs you can dig through.

Some do this ... a few don't. Some real lumber years have good hardwood, a lot often just have some extra maple/mahogany/nothing-else

I found some nice 2" thick cherry for cheap in a shorts bin. They had poplar, misc types of maple, white oak, etc too

One place sold me a number of LONG mahogany 1x4 boards for ~$23

(left overs, had crunched up edges in some places, etc.)

-- joe

im just wondering if anyone has sold or does sell their guitars or basses they have made.

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I don't sell what I make ... yet.

This is because:

(1) I've not built a volume of guitars to actually believe I've got it down well & correct enough. Enough for the proper level of quality, as well as enough for the ability to be creative as I'd like;

(2) I've not built enough over a period of time to see some outcomes of my decisions (finish, woods, workmanship, etc.)

But having said that, I am hard pressed to start recovering $$$ from the rediculous amount of guitars around my house. (says the wife).

So, to help defray costs of this obsession, I will either (a) sell for cheap, some of the finer proejcts --OR-- ( tear some projects down and sell the parts

-- joe

My question is, what is used (if anything) to fortify the wood where the string petrudes from the body?  Is anything routed thru the body or around the exit to ensure the string doesn't dig into the wood?

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There are ferrules (back/bottom and top types of ferrules), some folks fortify the area with an inlaid, very dense wood or metal.

A while back, folks were discussing alternative ferrules -- eyelets (either craft eyelets, or those used in leather punches), grommets of somet type, used ball ends from guitar strings, etc.

Hit the 'search' link above -- good discussions on ferrules.

-- joe

I've used red oak for a laminated neck on a personal guitar project (electric, Washburn Tabu-like thing). It worked out well for me ... but I won't be using it again.

1- it has pores so large, you can park a truck in them

So, you spend a lot of time trying to sand smooth, seal, etc.

2- Its red oak and looks a bit dirty compared to white oak and other woods.

Otherwise, it cut well and I'm not sophisticated enough to tell a tonal difference w/o spending some time making alternate necks and comparing.

-- joe

I have a friend asking about making his guitar sound like a piano.

He is thinking he'd spend about $500 and do the Roland GK-2 / GK-2A pickup + synth box.

... is that a reasonable choice?

... do any of you all have some experience with that or other choices?

... what are other choices?

pre-Thanks

-- joe

ebay and allparts has been good to me for neck screws :-)

--joe

I've used 1/4"-20 recently and loved them ... since that seems to tbe the common cabinetry side. It was also the perfect fit for a Silverton archtop for which I

was building a neck.

However, I'm searching to use something smaller to try (e.g., 8-32) on some electrics I'm working on. Until then, I've gone back to using wood screws (because the 1/4-20 don't fit neck ferrules)

-- joe

To me, it seems that it'd be easier to just to make a new nut at the right height

(as opposed to thinning down the fretboard).

But thats based on my "I'd screw up thicknessing a fretboard vs. a doing a nut" experience

-- joe

craigslist.org and/or yardsales

I got a router + a portable routing table for VERY cheap at the local MIT Flea market ($65).

I accumulate all my tools this way

(waiting, watching, jumping at inexpensive used tools).

-- joe

Eyelets maybe not .. but what about those cabinet ferrules?

I've placed various eyelets in a strip of wood -- but haven't stress tested them yet.

Good point about questioning its ability to withstrand the stress.

OK, I was at Rockler today and saw those pieces you use to make cabinet shelving.

These are pins that go into the shelf and ... round ferrule-like things to which they mate.

At this point, I'm thinking the cost savings is lost :-)

-- joe

Questions --

it appears like the fabric blends out into black on the left side of the pict ... but the right side of the guitar apperars to have a hard edge between fabric & paint.

Is that the way it is?

Did you do a black gradiation along the guitar edge ? or no?

-- joe

OK -- no suggestions.

I'm going to rattle black-lacquer only to cover the heel up to where it leaves the body.

-- joe

I got a Wolfgang style body, refinished it (that veneeded guitar I posted about earlier). The body sides/back are glossy black, white/cream binding, and overly veneered top now.

I'd like to fade the neck from natural wood into glossy black -- to blend from the neck into the body in a nice transition (and to cover a mistake I had to fix down near the heel).

Rattle can spray tests on scrap give me a black to natural fade that ends up as a dotty fade. It looks like photographic grain from high speed film :-)

QUESTIONS

-- What choices to I have to do this fade that are better than rattle-can lacquer black?

-- If the only other real choice is "use airbrush," what might be the most cost effective choice (go buy badger xxx, rent, find someone who'll do it for $20, etc.)

Back story ...

I made a neck for it, but adjusted its length a wee bit -- so it'd better match the 24.75" scale (based on where the bridge exists). In doing so, I needed to "fix" where the neck meets the body.

The neck heel was not a graduation to the body, but had a small "shelf" that matched the curved neck pocket-edge. This "shelf" now sat 1mm inside the neck pocket instead of perfectly aligning with that curved neck pocket-edge.

So, I put some water putty in place, sanded, etc -- nice match now. It just needs masked.

If this fade doesn't work, then I'll just do a hard-black line right where the body join it (i.e., just cover the shelf and heel of neck with black)

-- joe

Bolt-on necks are, usually, wood-screwed necks -- yes.

A lot of folks want a stronger connection, which also allows the neck to be removed/reconnected without tearing the wood/loosening the connection over time.

So, they use "cabinetry" type hardware: knock-down bolts/nuts, machine screws/inserts, etc.

I've used the 1/4"-20 bolts with brass inserts -- this tends to be a bit larger than the neck wood screws. But for fixer-uppers from eBay, I want something that fits the existing holes/neck-grommets. So, I'm looking for something smaller (which is harder to find) -- the #6-32 inserts/bolts. The 1/4"-20 (same as #10-20?) seems to be a "standard" size.

The inserts are fitted (screwed) in a hole in the neck, epoxied/glued in place. These things have barbs or threads that hold it in the wood. However, some folks plan ahead (not me :-) and place T-nuts in from the fretboard side of the neck.

Google for T-nuts, etc ... and you'll see there is a collar on those, which forces you to put it in from the "other" side from the bolt/machine-screw.

Some folks even use small inserts/machine-screws for other places (cavity covers, etc.).

--> notice this is useful across guitar types (see

http://www.cumpiano.com/Home/Articles/Spec.../headblock.html for the acoustic folks' examples of knockdown bolts in neck heels)

-- joe

Here are a couple of my thoughts in saving money:

1- save in materials ... to a degree

Use less expensive wood & do most all the work yourself or buy a cheap fixer-upper off eBay. Save money on some woods, hardware, ... but maybe get decent enough pickups.

I've used normal, flatsawn maple boards (laminated, glued) to make necks ... instead of quartersawn maple or mahogany. I've gotten cheap hardware off ebay and dinged bodies even.

Lumberyards tend to be less expensive than the home supply store for wood.

Ash, alder and bassword are cheaper than more fancy woods. Domestic woods are better than tropical woods.

Be creative! Example: fabric stores sell eyelets, which could be used for string-through ferrules on guitars. People use plastic, picks, and other "pretty" material for inlaying instead of paying for abalone, mother of pearl, etc. I've used cheap brass tubing + cheap veneer to make some nice fretboard dots.

You don't need a fancy 2-way truss rod, you can use the single action truss rods (may not be a cost savings to make your own truss rods)

2- You don't need ALL the fancy tools

Some tools/techniques make it easier, but certain steps can be done many ways

Download free plans off the Internet, print them out full-size -- there are your templates and/or routing templates.

Don't have a router for pickup cavaties? OK, just go slow+careful and use your drill (maybe use chisels with that.

Don't have a router for rounding the body? OK, use sander, files, rasps, microplane and round the edges by hand -- be very careful to keep the radius consistent, use a cardboard template to gauge your work.

You will need clamps (and more than you think you need).

3- Get the neck/fretboard CORRECT

Neck must be straight and inline and connected/pocketed well.

If the fretboard is not correct in length, correctly fretted, glued on the neck and shaped ... then the guitar will feel "off" and not a joy to play.

So: read, read, read everything you can first (here, on MIMF.com, and books)

Also: measure measure and double check before you cut.

One more posting --- to update on what I posted earlier in this thread.

Here it goes: Listen to Drak !!!

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...ndpost&p=137104

-- joe

Darn! Cutting, fitting and recovering from screwups takes a long time when you are trying to cut, fit, and glue veneer while working on the top of a guitar

Why isn't anyone saying shellac?

I'm starting to use shellac more and more, but I have limited experience in finishing -- so I'm asking this more than I am stating this to Kurt.

Shellac seems to enhance the look of the wood.

Its easy to get "right" compared to lacquer (in my experience).

I am bad at other finishing, but can get shellac to turn out well. And, it appears to be repairable much easier than other finishes I've messed with.

You can french polish it to get a high gloss, or brush it on and still get a nice surface shine.

-- joe

I'd heard of this and seen a few picts of guitars that had this.

So, I thought I'd try it ... ringed, round dots.

This turned out much better than the "embed triangle beads" experiment on my last guitar neck.

Ignore the smudgy finger prints:

(more picts at http://personal.intrusion.org/pictures/ind...ir=./2004-10-04 )

Outer rings

I bought 1/4 inch hollow brass tubing from the hobby store (+ white styrene tubes, + aluminum tubes). Brass worked the best: aluminum was too soft, bendable and the white styrene didn't look visually well enough.

I used the dremel tool to cut out little rings from the brass tubing. It takes practice to cut straight across evenly ... and produce thin rings (approx. 1 - 2 mm tall rings)

So -- a dot of epoxy or superglue + a couple taps of my rubber mallet placed these into the fretboard holes. File these down so they are just a bit proud of the surface.

Inner dots

I cut a piece of brass tubing approximately 3 inches long and stuck it into the drill.

Spin that thing and hold it against a file to bevel the edge. Then, use a small/triangle file to notch that edge -- make some teeth for this new bit.

Now its just a matter of using this cutter to cut out pieces of veneer. I find Zebrawood to make the best dots on my brownish rosewood fretboard. Something highly figured and with high contrast, with the grain placed at an angle to the fretboard grain worked best for me.

Use your fretboard end cut-offs for testing first.

Since my drill bit was not a forstner, I filled the depression (inside the brass ring) with some wood putty, then dropped some epoxy or CA glue + then dropped the veneer on it. (let dry, layer some more epoxy or CA glue on top, let dry)

Then, just file the whole thing down flush to the fretboard surface.

NOTE -- if the brass ring is too tall, this filing will go THROUGH the veneer. Its easy to just pull out and replace, though.

Also, I assume my brass will tarnish over time. I dropped some CA glue on the veneer + rings for a little protection.

-- joe

If you have the tools, then plan-B is probably best.

I, personally, enjoy making necks.

--joe

I am also thinking the multi-veneers are a bit busy.

The gaps don't show up when you're a few feet away. But, if you're close then you'll see the places where I messed up :-)

I'm definitely trying the brass strips in between the veneer - just to see.

Worst case, its no worse off but a wee bit more "busy"

-- joe