Dugz Ink

Your right... that's a completely different material... like concrete and plastic... so any comments about using tung oil on Ash should be completely ignored because they don't offer any information that will ever be useful to you. You are so right... I am just a hot-head loser who deserves to be beaten for telling yet another person to use the search button. I should be tortured for responding to your long terse diatribe. You are a perfect god and I am not worthy. D~s

Then let me quote a thread that you linked to earlier: Please note the bold type. That was your answer. But you missed it because you were on a rant. D~s

No, I just can't believe he went on such a rant because I told him to do a search. Sometimes I wonder why I spend so many hours a day trying to help strangers. Of course, I know why I do it; it's because other strangers have helped me. Some of those strangers went on to be great friends, but others just gave me advice before drifting off. So I try to pass along the favor. But some people don't want help; they just want you to give the answers to the latest test. And... it's "slim"... not "shorty"... not that being short would be a bad thing... D~s

I just had to come back and add an extra note: A really BIG pet peeve of mine is people who come to a forum like this and say "just answer my questions"... then get pissed off just because somebody told them to click on the Search button. How much could that possibly hurt you? Were you beaten with a Search button when you were growing up? Or are you just to ________ lazy to even click on a virtual-button? You have a problem. Get over it or die from it. D~s

Dude... its' perfect for the Trailer Park Concert Tour. YEEEEE-HAAAAW! (My prototype was made out of $6 of Pine... which clogged up tons of sandpaper.) D~s

And, as a moderator on another forum (as well as an active contributor in this forum) it's one of my pet peeves when people ask the same question that keeps getting asked over and over and over... especially when a simple search WIll turn up the answer... like you proved here. I didn't feel like typing out the entire answer... again. By the way... now that you've searched and read, do you know the answer? D~s

Here we go again... "The Chinese used tung oil to seal boats. It doesn't need sealers." "Do you use pure Chinese tung oil? No. You use stuff with finish in it." "Yeah, well finish AND tung oil is a double-good sealer, you ditz." "Your mother was the ditz, you son-of-a-ditz." ... or something like that. D~s

It depends on how much of which part you're cutting, and the wood grain. A lot of Fender style heads have a lot of wood that is doing nothing... especially that round part at the very top. It isn't doing anything. You can cut off the far side of that and it will not affect the structural integrity. As for the lower curve, a lot depends on the wood grain. Most of those do nothing for the strength because 1) their grain runs parallel to the stress lines of the head, and 2) the top and bottom of that grain is cut off. In thoses cases, that fat curve is good for nothing more than holding the Fender logo. D~s

In a word: NO. Search this forum for the numerous threads (and rants) concerning tung oil. D~s

I still don't think the arse is too big... but I like 'em that way.

Flat black with gold accenting the edges? It could look killer. D~s

I don't think the arse is too big... but that's just my opinion. I also don't think that there's anything wrong with the fact that the bevelled edges don't meet in the middle. If you hadn't said anything, then I would have thought that you planned it that way. Always make it appear as if you meant to do that. People will think you know what you're doing... and they may even call you an artist... even when you just had to come up a creative way to cover up the spot where an altenator you were fixing fell over and dented the top of the coffee table you were building right beside the workbench. D~s

You made a hat rack for her? You're such a sweet boy! As for the contours... be patient. The wood will still be there after you do the rest. Start drawing out your neck pocket, bridge, pickups, and controls. Since you're going to shape and sand it later, you can draw right on the wood with a pencil... just do it lightly because you'll want erase various lines and re-draw them at least 3 times. Then cut out your neck pocket. After you have all of that sorted out, you will have a better idea of where the contours have to go to avoid hardware, and where they ought to go to compliment the complete design. D~s

Okay... so I flipped out over the AES-800 I played... then realized that it was more money and wiring than I need to get into on my first project. K.I.S.S. So here' what I have in mind: 2 humbuckers, each wired in series. The neck pup is then wired to a 2-position switch, so I can reverse the phasing. Both are then wired to a blend pot, instead of a 3-position (selector) switch. I prefer the idea of a blend pot because I have never liked having a switch that tells ME how much of each pickup I get to hear. Also, I think the blend pot and the phase-reverse combination might create a neat sound as you sweep through. Tell me if this is a good idea or a waste of solder. D~s

You mean something like THIS?

I've been trying to play guitar for over 20 years. I say "try" because I can't play chords; I simply am not coordinated enough to make several fingers go in several different directions at the same time. Not even after 20+ years. At the opposite end of the spectrum is my writing; I write poetry, lyrics, and short stories. I get a lot of compliments on my writing, inclusing some very nice compliments from hit-song writers. But where was I last night? At Blair School of Music (Vanderbilt University) taking another class on writing. You have to practice. Incidently, the guest speaker last night was Mike Reid, who co-wrote "I Can't Make You Love Me"... which was a huge hit for Bonnie Raitt. Mike mentioned that he's still studying and learning. You never quit practicing, even if you have natural talent. D~s

This is what I use for Cocobolo, Zebrawood, and Purpleheart on my gunstocks. Brownell's Acra-Weld It's a very strong epoxy... strong enough to withstand the recoil of magnum rifles. Or you could do what Drak recommended. If it works for him, it should work for you. D~s

That's very helpful. Thanks! D~s

I've had a couple PMs about this idea, so I thought I should post some more details. The 223 cartridge is known as a "rimless" cartridge because the rim is the same width as the base of the body... so you can't use the rim to keep the cartridge from sinking into the guitar body. However, like all modern rifle cartridgees, the 223 has a light taper (to make extraction easier) that runs the entire length of the body, then a "shoulder" that tapers quickly down to the "neck" of the cartridge. Here's a nice graphic with dimensions. You could drill holes that were .375" in diameter, then seal the cartridge in place with epoxy. That would fill the gap created by the taper in the cartridge, and hold it very secure. You could also run the cartridge all the way through the body and trim/file the neck until it is level with the face of the guitar. If you're using a string-thru bridge, the brass cartridges would press against the bridge, and never move. You could even drill the holes at an angle, with a .375" diameter hole for about 1½" and then continue the rest of the way with a .25" diameter hole. (The brass and the wood are soft enough that a .253" neck will fit into a .25" hole.) Just some ideas for all of you guitar-slingers. D~s

Oh yeah, the classic "I wanna build a wicked Goth-V and be a superstar" guitar. I'm willing to bet that there a lot of those laying around people's garages. As the saying goes, "You've come a long way, baby." D~s

Sorry I can't help. You would think that I would know at least ONE banjo player in Nashville... but everybody I know plays guitars or keyboards. So much for the stereotype that we're a bunch of banjo-pickin' Hee-Haw extras. However, I agree with SouthPa; it looks more like assembly than anything. D~s

I have to agree with previous posts: they aren't all my "style"... but they look good. But I want to see an action shot of you thrashing with one of these killer axes. ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHING FINISHED WOOD... I spent a couple years as a designer and marketing director for a company that made custom furniture for fancy hotels and corporate offices. We shot a lot of heavy finish on some heavily figured wood... and I had to catalog every piece for marketing purposes. If you want good pix of your finished wood, avoid any intense light, and try to keep any lighting to the right and left of the wood. We always used lights that were masked by opaque white panels... called "diffusers". If they are placed propelry, they will eliminate harsh highlights on the finish. Also, if you have a really nice camera (I don't), set up your lighting, set the camera on a tripod and check for glare/highlights, check your levels with a light meter, double-check for highlights, then back down the exposure 1 F-stop. A slight under-exposure will help to reduce the sheen on the finish, which will allow your wood grain to be more prominent... and if your lights are positioned properly, then they will cast some light hilights on the edges of the wood, which will show off the smoothness and depth of the finish. Here's a great example I found of a guitar that was shot with muted lighting. It looks like he only used one light source, with heavy diffusion, so I doubt that he backed down the exposure settings. D~s

I was checking out eBay and found this old (un-used) fretless neck for sale. It has an interesting heel on the neck... but it's not something that would be hard to mount. Other than that, does anybody notice or know of any reason to NOT buy this? D~s

On my first project guitar (which is nearing completion) I used two pieces of fishing line; it's a lot easier to work with than actual guitar strings. But I didn't use a template or a router; I fitted everything by hand. D~s

As I recently learned, that's the scale that Gibson uses. You can not make it work on a body that has already been routed for a Strat neck and bridge; bridges simply don't adjust far enough to make up for a ¾" difference. D~s