Dugz Ink

That's like asking me if I think you've sanded your guitar enough. There is no way of knowing. Even if the problem is because it's too thick, the "cloudyness" could go too deep to just buff it out. Sometimes you have to just sand it down until you get past the problem, regardless of the cause. But don't try to do something that's "just enough"... because you'll hate it later. D~s

Things will not soak into glue... that's the whole problem. It fills the wood grain, and then nothing will soak into it... not dye, stain, nor finish. However, Titebond is water soluble, so you might be able to remove the offending veneer with a steam iron... with the emphisis on the steam, not the iron. As Big D said, use as little glue as possible. A thin (but complete) coat will do the job. As for clamping, you need even pressure, not heavy pressure. For instance, a 10 pound sandbag (placed level to the ground) will actually work better than several clamps that generate a total of 20 pounds of force, because the pressure is evenly distributed and it can conform to the shape of the wood. If the plywood that you mentioned is thick enough, then you shouldn't have tight spots here and there; you might simply have one side tighter than the other. It really is next to impossible to set 2 clamps to the exact same tightness. Increase the number of clamps, and you increase the likelyhood that one is tighter than the rest. D~s

It could be two different problems that look similar from a distance. If it's something you can buff out, then it's usually caused by a thick coat; the inner finish is still trying to dry while the outer finish is trying to harden. This causes heat under the outer finish... blah blah blah. Try applying thinner coats. If it's deep in the finish, it could be moisture... high humidity, a drop of water in a mix-cup, or condensation in your compressor. You may want to add a condensation trap to your compressor, and drain it (let out all of the air and water) at the end of every day. D~s

I have used it on one of my gunstocks. It's harder than American Walnut, but not as hard as Cocobolo. The sanding dust isn't the worst that I've smelled, but it definitely qualifies as "malodorous" ... I would recommend some ventilation. Of course, I always recommend a decent mask; not the little paper thingies, but a real canister-style respirator. Your lungs will thank you in the morning. It looks orange as you're sanding it, but will develop a nice red tone after sand it down with emery cloth and apply finish. With the right finish on the right piece of Padauk, it can develop shiny bands in the wood grain... sort of like the shimmer in "fiddleback"... but it runs with the grain instead of across the grain. (I have only used tung oil, which usually enhances these types of grain-effects.) I would strongly recommend taking your time, and use good clear finish on this wood. The results can be absolutely staggering! D~s

I just received this in my monthly email from ASCAP

After a little prompting by my friends, I decided to use my woodworking tools and skills to build my own electric guitar. As always, it started out as a simple project (building a new body for my Epiphone) and turned into a full-blown project. Due to the limits of my resources and experience, I decided to build the body out of a face and a back... but that has now expanded to include a third layer of wood. By running the grain of this mid-layer piece in a different direction than the other two pieces, I will gain more strength and reduce the possibility of the body warping. Here's a side view of the design. The face and back are from a piece of Poplar that I bought at Home Depot for a whopping $14... plus tax. (The mid-layer will be Black Walnut heartwood, and should provide a nice beauty line, while enhancing the sound.) I printed the body's design onto 4 pieces of paper, and joined them at the center lines of the design... which I thought to add before printing the design. (These lines will continue to come in handy!) As you can see, the Poplar is is about 2" too narrow for this design... but that's okay. I traced the design onto the wood, walked over to the jigsaw, and cut out the top inset on each piece of wood. Remember what I said about "the limits of my resources" in the second paragraph? I couldn't have made this cut with this saw unless it was less than an inch thick. That's one of the many reasons for the face/back design. After making these cuts, I took the pieces that I had just cut, and prepared to glue them on to the lower section of the face and body. Because the parts I cut out came from the same general area where I was gluing them, the color matches nicely. However, there were some slight variations in the grain direction, so I used a file to alter the joint. Now the grain patterns appear to be going in the same direction. I set up the pieces in my trusty vice (with rubber jaw-pads) and started attaching clamps to the glued wood. In the second picture you'll see one of my favorite tools: wax paper. In this case, I'm using it to keep the glue from getting on the beautiful Jorgensen clamps that I'm using to keep the two pieces of wood aligned. The next day, I popped loose the clamps, and started cutting off the excess wood. I did this with a 1" straight-cut bit in my router table. Once again, I wouldn't be able to do this if I was building the guitar out of pieces of wood that were more than 1" thick. Also notice that the router table is mounted on a piece of plywood, which is then clamped into my Workmate. All of my "bench" equipment is set up like this, because my shop is very small (one-car garage) and I don't have room to bolt down every piece of equipment at one time. So they sit on shelves until I need them, then I pull them out and clamp them down securely. After that, I pulled out the bench sander and started cleaning up the edges. Not too much; I'm still playing with the design, and the current body parts are slightly wider at the bottom than the paper template. But that's okay, because it's about building something beautiful, not just following the lines. So now I'm waiting for the Black Walnut to arrive, as well as the neck, and various other parts. I can't wait to move to the next step; assembling the body. When that happens, I will post more details. D~s

I like the way the fretboard is cut to match that huge elipse in the body. It's a subtle detail that makes a huge difference. Good job! D~s

I just used my router table to cut the basic shape for my first project out of two pieces of wood... without a template. It was almost as easy as steering a water buffalo by twisting its horns. Thankfully, I just wanted get the general shape... not make a precise cut. D~s

Dude... I followed the link, and it asked if I wanted to work on your photo album. Let us know when the link is right; I'm looking forward to seeing your Fiver. D~s

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

It looks like the patterns/colors were pasted into a guitar image, using something like Photoshop. So you would have to either A) be an incredible paint technician (a true artist), or send the pasted pattern/colors to a company that can print out decals/covers, like they do on cars and trucks that have text and images for Nextel, Red Bull, etc. all over them. The latter looks okay, but it tends to wear out too fast rubbing against it everyday. D~s

1) I have never worked with "polymerized" tung oil... only the "pure" stuff, but... 2) When I do put on tung oil, it goes on thick enough that it flows on evenly, so I rarely have to do any sanding to even it out. After it has filled up the wood grain, I only use steel wool between coats... usually 000 or 0000. (I apply the tung oil with pieces of the fake chamois material that I buy at an auto parts store.) 3) Pure tung oil has nothing in common with lacquer. I can build up a nice outer coating of tung oil, and if I decide that I don't like something about the project, I can strip the tung oil off with a little bit of hot water and an SOS cleaning pad. If you tried that with lacquer, you would probably just scuff the surface. 4) If the stuff that you're using has varnish mixed in, then you would treat it more like varnish, which also does not buff out like lacquer. D~s

Part of what made the old guitars look so different was the finish that they used. If you want that old look, you could sand off the new finish, then refinish it with a couple heavy coats of Spar Varnish... the thick stuff we use on canoe paddles. I'm not saying it will be pretty, but it will look more like a relic. D~s

I've been looking at the lute shape and thinking about brass or wrought iron... something that looks "olde". I think a darker metal would be a good accent for a light wood (like Maple) but a bright metal would look good on a dark wood (like Cocobolo). However, since I'm just getting started on my first project, I'm just doing the planning and designing on this one... so it may be several months before I start cutting wood for it. That gives me time to research and think. I'm too old to dive in before checking the water. D~s

That's what I was thinking. I just add the two arms (horns) so you could attach a strap to the top arm and play standing up, or rest the bottom arm on your leg and play sitting down. D~s

I checked out that link... it looks nice... so I'll take that as a positive response. Any other opinions/ideas? D~s

I think it has to do with how you apply it... and what they mean by "protect the wood." For instance, a small anvil slipped out of my hand and landed on one of my nearly-complete gun stocks (a beautiful Bastone Walnut) and the Tung Oil didn't protect the wood from the anvil. But I digress. Is there a reason to NOT put finish in a neck pocket? D~s

I think Strart Dude did a respectable job. But when we put the two guitars side-by-side, it makes me wonder if we need to split the "Guitar of the Month" categories... classifying builders as "Well Seasoned" or "Fresh Wood". (I would fall into the latter category, thank you.) D~s

Humidity can have a massive affect on un-finished wood. That's why I always cover every surface of my woodworking projects with some type of finish; if you block out the moisture, the wood is less unstable. Of course, I'm one of those wood-freaks who refuses to cover up beautiful wood with paint. Instead, I use Tung Oil, which does a better job of penetrating the wood fibers, thus creating an excellent shield against moisture. However, I'm new to building guitars, so I'm not sure if everything I've learned applies here. I keep seeing a lot of pictures of guitar bodies that don't have any sealant in the neck pocket, so I'm wondering if 1) that is done because of resonsonance, or 2) if it's simply left undone because the builder thinks "Nobody will see that, so there's no reason to put finish there." If somebody could answer that question, I would appreciate it. D~s

I've read about keeping enough wood around/below the bridge to provide a good sound, but what about around the neck? How does that wood affect the sound? If you built a bass like this, how might it sound? Your opinons are appreciated. D~s EDIT: Yes, I realize the neck is a little short...

Have you checked out THIS THREAD?

In this case, the outer layer of wood has been sealed with a finish. I'm not an expert, but my experience leads me to believe that you have two choices. 1) Do a lot sanding (to get to "fresh" wood that has not been affected by the finish) so you can get a decent saturation. Then go through the slow process of sanding, staining, finishing, sanding... 2) Sand it down until you get to the surface of the wood, then use a tinted finish. There are a lot of polyurethanes and varnishes out there that have pigments and dyes, and they might give you the color that you want. Just my opinion. Void where prohibited. Not suitable for children with small parts. D~s

Are you for real....that's crazy??? is it just a little static jolt or is it actual a serious issue... It depends on what type of shoes they wear. Never play drums in bare feet. Ummmm Wha??? I'll hope this was a joke... Oh no... wood is a GREAT insulator. That's why guitar players prefer wooden bodies; it protects their organs from the sonic energy. So you should never play your guitar with the strings facing towards your body. I thought that was rectified by the the 7th and 9th prongs on the VALMD port. My mistake. D~s

This is a tough one. For me, it has come down to the hand-crafted acoustic, or a cooperative effort between a mentor and his young apprentice. (This would be easier if I hadn't read the story about the Leviathan.) I'll have to think about it, and vote later. D~s EDIT: The incredibly smooth clear finish on the acoustic was the deciding factor for me; it's like perfect glass. That took a lot of work and patience.

I've used a similar technique with epoxy... but you have to put an adequate coat of wax on the surface that you do not want glue/epoxy to stick to. In this case, it would be the neck. (You can also use a commercial "release agent" that peels off afterwards.) I usually smear a liberal amount of epoxy (with dye to match the wood) then slowly insert the piece that is being fitted. This will squeeze out any excess, and provide a tight fit. Depending on the angles and facets, it may take a bit of force to pop the neck loose so you can do the final filing and sanding... but don't whack it too hard. Of course, if the sides of the base of the neck taper towards the fret board, you may never get the neck back out, so examine everything carefully before you try this. If I have other parts that I don't want the epoxy to stick to, I cover them with electrical tape and/or wax paper. D~s