javacody

There used to be a guy who sold flame maple pickguards (he's since gone out of business). I purchased one of his strat guards and I was pretty happy with it. It was thicker than a regular pickguard.

He does relief cuts on the back side first, and then probably wets the area. I'm certain I've seen photos of relief cuts on his site.

Albert King

Freddy King

Buddy Guy

Otis Rush is pretty cool too. And don't forget Magic Sam.

It's very hard to judge from photos. I think that if you can shoot some outdoor sunlight photos, that the top would really pop. I love the wood and hardware choices. Pretty cool.

I think an inlaid top should be doable with a router and templates, but that could be my lack of experience talking. I'd imagine that if you spent your time getting the templates perfect and used a brand new, high quality bit, you could pull it off. You could also hide any slight cracks by inlaying purfling around the inlaid top. If you attempt this, please post lots of photos.

I can stand it. Don't worry about it. It was very cool of you to offer. Enjoy your spring break, hopefully you get some.

jnewman my friend, I've got the money in hand, any chance of those pics?

Aren't there some products that are supposed to help even out the way wood absorbs stain and dye?

I just got the microplane rotary shapers and also bought their template set for the shapers. Wow. Great little tool. I also saw the two handed shaper that johnsilver was raving about. It's only $12! I'm picking one up next payday.

I had one of each, and tonewise, they weren't that much different. I would add that quality has slowly improved over the years on the MIM standard line.

One thing, practice drilling the string/ferrule holes in scrap wood until you get the hang of it.

ferrule hole tutorial

Crysto, got pics?

jnewman, that would be extremely kind of you. That is probably the next best thing to trying it out myself.

I'm not looking for perfectly square (but I wouldn't be upset if it were possible). With my cheap black and decker, its very, very bad on the curves.

chibi, I tried to go the cheap route (no pun intended) on this and had very, very poor results. I decided to go with a bearing bit. I want something I can be proud of, you know?

I also tried to go cheap with my router. I'm throwing that piece of crap away. I've been saving up for a bosch router for about 6 months now. I should have it soon!

OK then, have any suggestions on blades to use with the Bosch? How many teeth per inch should I be looking at?

By the way, I've decided to go with the microplane rotary shaper for cleaning up my cuts with the jigsaw (along with a template). That should make short work of any squaring up the body.

jnewman, I had the chance to pick up and handle (but not use) the Bosch 1590 today. It definitely feels very solid.

Would the Bosch handle curves on guitar bodies any better then the $20 jigsaw my wife bought me? I was hand sanding that body for a weeks to get it squared up.

You can buy that liquid stuff for dipping tool handles in and dip the copper in that to give it a nice, soft, rubbery coating. Of course, maybe some duct tape or electrical tape could serve the same purpose?

I like the idea of using this, if it is as good as it says. That way I don't have to take up basically permanent space with a bandsaw, and I like the portability. I could take it outside on a nice day and do my cutting in fresh air. I don't do a lot of work, and I think for the amount of work I'd be doing (maybe 2 guitars a year), that this tool would fit my budget much better. I've seen what Hyunsu can do with a good jigsaw. Hmm...

What do you guys think of this little guy?

Festool Trion Jigsaw

That is some nice looking walnut and that is really cool of you to surface it and everything!

My first guitar teacher had a late 50's les paul special. What a sweet, sweet guitar. There is definitely voodoo in those late 50's gibsons.

I've got zero experience in this area, but the saying goes "measure twice, cut once". I would draw it out first.

I agree. Depending on what tuners you had in before, they may just drop right in. If not, get yourself a tapered reamer and ream the holes larger (enlarge a little at a time from BOTH sides of the headstock).

More mass definitely adds up. Take a vintage les paul for instance, you've got a lightweight trussrod, lightweight tuners, and a lightweight bridge (aluminum). I think this all adds up to impact the tone in a way that one can hear. Now, replace these things one at a time and listen, and the differences will probably be subtle (with the bridge probably being the most notable tonal change), but they will all add up. We're talking a vintage les paul here and not a squier bullet.

I personally prefer to stick to the vintage formula as much as possible, but I highly doubt that all things being equal that going to a double exanding truss rod will impact the tone of the instrument in a negative way.

I've never built a guitar neck from scratch, but I'm seriously thinking about going with a Hot Rod for my first couple of necks until I get the hang of it. Using a single action truss rod and having to route that curved channel seems like a little too much for a beginner to deal with.

Also, Gibson's 50's explorers and v's are made out of all Korina and use single action truss rods. I've never heard of them having ANY neck problems.

I would appreciate your opinions, as its time for me to buy a small saw of some type. I don't care for the results of my jigsaw for sawing bodies (waaaay too much sanding).

Sorry for the typo above, that should be band saw.