javacody

So this is your "easy" project, eh? LOL Well, no one can say you don't aim high my friend. I love the design. What type of wood are you going to be using? Good luck, and I hope you'll be posting build pics.

I'm still interested, I'm waiting for other Americans to jump in. It may take a couple of days, as we just got over a 3 day holiday here (Labor day).

Ahh, the joys of the web...

Well, I think that Walnut is almost as hard as Maple, if I remember correctly. You could probably do it, if you covered it with a finish (like maple).

Here, here! Good work. If you don't recover from your mistakes, how the heck do you learn from them?

Well, I'll say that I think you had a great recovery and that patch doesn't look nearly as bad as some have made it out to be. How does it sound and play? Also, Walnut? I'm lovin it!!

Its also what we did after we threw the tea in the harbor! LOL... All the good Germans who settled alongside of the English here in the new world, provided the beer.

Lookin good. Was I the only one who remembered Drak's standard control setup? We should post that at the top here so Drak doesn't have to keep answering it.

What else are you supposed to do with a guitar that you aren't happy with? Put good time and money after bad? So what happens when its finished? You've got a guitar that you aren't happy with that you probably won't be able or don't want to sell. Why do that to yourself? If I were Drak, I'd at least use the wood as firewood. That is a great use for guitar projects gone wrong, in my opinion. I'm finishing my first guitar, even though I made a big mistake. I'm trying to recover from it. I'm going to finish it for the experience of making a guitar, but if I'm not happy with it after its all done, I'm buring that sucker.

I'm intersted to hear back the tone. I'm also dying to do some kind of cool soundhole, but obviously, I can't do a steers head. That steers head and your back covers though are what inspired me to buy a scroll saw for my birthday. Only 15 days to go! I'm over the green goblin.

accidentally hit enter in the middle of a sentence? Edit: I caught this thread apparently in the middle of Drak editing it. As I think I've made perfectly clear, I love the steers head. It reminds me of Texas. Only two things come from texas though, Steers and...

I don't agree with the knock on the asian import guitars. Here are there good examples of inexpensive asian guitars with pretty good wood: 1. Agile Les Paul Copy (LP2500), flame maple veneer, 3 piece SOLID mahogany body, and maple neck. A great guitar for the $200 I paid for it. 2. SX Les Paul Special copy, two piece mahogany body and mahogany neck. Another great guitar from Rondo (by the way, the fretwork on both guitars is very, very good), I only paid $120 for it. 3. Johnson Alder tele body, definitely solid alder, cost me $50. These are three asian manufactured guitars I have direct experience with. Fender's Squiers (except for the bullets) are solid wood with the Chinese made guitars being made out of alder and the Indonesian made guitars being made out of Agathis. The Affinities sold in the US are almost always made in China with the standards being made in Indonesia. At any rate, I prefer for Custom stuff made by someone other than me to come from USA Custom Guitars. Tommy Rosamond (the owner) used to work at Warmoth and his specialties include awesome customer service, lots of options for no additional upcharge (look at his neck shapes), and great ears for tonewood. The fretwork on his necks that I've received has been flawless (I've read some less than stellar reports on Warmoth fretwork). Let me state that this is my opinion and my experience and I have no experience with Warmoth stuff, but I've no reason to go to them, as I get what I need from USA Custom Guitars. I don't want to start an argument over who's better, and I'm definitely not putting down Warmoth.

I have an epi JR from a few years ago that had a p90 and it is solid plywood. The paint has been stripped, and you can clearly see the 20 or so laminations. Sure, its plywood made out of tonewood, and it didn't sound half bad, but its still plywood. Gibson lists the Melody Maker body as Mahogany and the body as Spanish Cedar or equivalent. I've got some Spanish Cedar and it looks real close to mahogany.

Well, the ride was fun while it lasted! On the one hand, you know that you could get a guitar done in 30 days, and this thread was great edutainment. On the other hand. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! OK, I'm all better now. I'm looking forward to the next apple burst, and I agree, that back didn't turn out the way I was expecting. Also, on a separate note, poly does not melt into the previous layer. If you sand through a layer of poly, strip it and start over (unfortunately, I learned this from experience). Also, regarding the technique of layering clear coats after each color change, you can still sand just that layer off (from what I've read). I've read a lot about stuff but only done a little so far.

Hyunsu, you are very modest and that is good, but you must realize that there are many here who would love to be able to put out what you are putting out. I love the fact that you are not afraid to try different things and learn what works for you. Keep up the good work! Also, both of my children have asthma (breathing problems) and eczema (skin problems) and allergies. I think it is partially too much garbage in the diet (sugar, dyes) and exposure to chemicals and pollution. When I started making my kids drink more water, that seriously improved their condition 200%. We are taking out their favorite drinks (kool-aid and apple juice) and replacing them with water as much as possible. We've also tried to not eat any white flour if possible. Whole grains only. I'm not sure if you eat a lot of white rice, but you may want to switch to brown rice. It is healthier for you and your kids. Also remember that wood dust IS toxic. I hope you are not exposing your children to wood dust. That will make their problems worse. It is very frustrating when your children have problems like this, because we are almost powerless to help them. Their health is worth more than all the guitars in the world, isn't it?

Yeah getting those ferrules lined up is no easy task. However, its not really a tele without 'em. All the pics I've seen of vintage tele's have ferrules. I think you should go for it. Mine turned out at least as well as pictures of vintage broadcasters that I've seen. If I would have made a template out of wood first, they would have turned out perfectly. My parts tele sustains way better than my strats and my strats are premium wood and parts from USA Custom guitars, not some no-name asian mass made thing. I think its a combination of the 2 strings to a saddle tele bridge and the string through.

I think that edge is the purpleheart you are seeing. Wonder if Drak is planning on doing a faux binding. Not sure if it would match the color scheme though.

Wow, the waves of quilt look like they are going to come out of the guitar and wash over me.

To quote Dr. Frank-N-Furter, can't you see me "shiver with anticipation"?

Well, yeah, that was part of my point. But it sounds like Frank has the experience. For a beginning winder, its probably a lot more important. If you overstretch the wire or don't stretch it enough, you are going to alter the resistance (from what I've read) so you really need to wind to number of turns. Someone who has done a bunch of pickups should have the tension down I would think.

Well, to be fair, they use CNC. For a custom body its going to take a lot of programming. Its expensive and time consuming. I won't say anything about their service except that USA Custom Guitars rocks!

OMFG! That is some crazy stuff. And to think that Litch was a mod here for a short time. I seriously think that the guy is very mentally ill. But hey, who am I to judge? I'll make you guys a guitar. I'll have you popping wheelies with those guitars! Now who wants to send me money? LOL

I tried to rig up a template on my first guitar (still waiting to be re-routed after filling the holes). I won't tell you what I used, because I knew it was stupid when I did it and I'm too embarrassed to ever tell anyone. LOL I'm ordering a template for all future projects, and I'm going use a crapload of double sided tape on it when I use it.

Drak, way OT, but any idea what wood bleach would do to walnut? I've got some curly walnut that is pretty dark and I want to bring out the curl and lighten up the center a bit. Any idears?

Frank, does the "scatterwound" thing that people talk about really make that much of a difference? Have you experimented with tightness/looseness of winds at all? I want to get started in pickup making, but it seems like there is so much experimentation to be done before you figure it all out. Sounds like it could take a year or more to get pickups that you are really happy with (starting as a beginner)? I'm a tinkerer at heart too. I would experiment with every possible variation, which would take probably at least 5 years of part time winding. I'm not sure I want to start down that road, knowing how obsessed I can get with projects.