Batfink

Get your jigsaw out and make one - it's fun honest ! Jem

KAHLER !

I very much doubt it's a 12" radius on a Floyd - copy or not. Chances are it's somewhere between 14 > 16".

Looking good Gian, i must try some wood inlay at some point. Take care, Jem.

Hey Gian, Thanks. For the pumpkin's i used yellow/white spinney recon stone. It's easy to work and after a few trials i found it was better to hollow out the full inlay cavity and then to use dust/glue to fill up the eyes and mouth as it turns darker (and also trying to route around the eyes and mouth on the fretboard would have been a nitemare.) How's the vine coming along, did you continue with the purpleheart stem ? Jem

Well done - looks very nicely executed. Jem

Teiscosrock - i think it's more the shape of my ass imprinted on the chair, in person the guitar isn't lumpy although the forearm contour is quite steep and it's not blended that much which may make it look a triffle odd. Jens - it's 100% playable in respect of the string positioning although, as i admitted to Alex and had admitted to myself at the time of shaping, it's close. Vibrato on the heavy E's fine but you can slip off if you go hard on the light E, mind you i've played a number of 'Pro' made guitars where this can happen if you get a bit enthusiastic, basically just another point to consider for the next build. I'll use it live over the next couple of weeks and see how it performs. Jem

Ok - number one is done, well almost. As i had a bet with my bass player that i'd have it done by Haloween yesterday i put all the hardware on and wired it up BUT i haven't levelled the frets or even tried to intonate it but it does come up to tune and sounds fine. The idea of the tuner placement came from starring at my Buell M1. The whole idea on the bike and i've carried this over to the tuner placement to have a centralised mass and hence a centralisation of resonance response - well it sounded a good idea at 3 in the morning anyway. Number two is already in the planning. Jem Headstock shot Body shot

Ok - number one is done, well almost. As i had a bet with my bass player that i'd have it done by Haloween yesterday i put all the hardware on and wired it up BUT i haven't levelled the frets or even tried to intonate it but it does come up to tune and sounds fine. The idea of the tuner placement came from starring at my Buell M1. The whole idea on the bike and i've carried this over to the tuner placement to have a centralised mass and hence a centralisation of resonance response - well it sounded a good idea at 3 in the morning anyway. Number two is already in the planning. Jem Body shot Headstock shot

Hmmmm - this all looks like too much hassle for no real gain. Am i missing something or is this just another Bond Electraglide idea ? Jem

Bushings ????? - why do you think pickup's come with springs ? If you need new screws 3/4" tends to be enough unless you've routed deep down or have a heavy carve on top. Saying this most H/B's tend to come with around 1 1/4" > 1 1/2" screws that you can always cut down. Jem

Two ways to surface mount: The Telecaster or P90 way is to use self tap screws straight into the wood, and yes, don't keep adjusting them or they'll come loose. The other way is brass insert's as used by Hamer and Jackson. You can get these in #4-40 thread (well you can't in England but can in the US) which is the thread for SD's and Dimarzio's. Jem

What exactly do you want to know about 27 fret boards ? Jem

Ciao Gun, as we spoke at the beginning of your project i've never inlaid wood, only shell, metal and recon stone, so i can't really offer a solution. My suggestion would be - quiet place, soothing music and lots of sandpaper ! Hopefully someone with more experience will have a solution for you. Jem

OK, a newbie question so i won't wade in to the normal 'USE THE SEARCH' attack but WHY look to use such things as MDF (which won't hold screws or a finish very well) or Plywood (can be very difficult to work with and of dubious consistancy) when a body blank of say Ash or Alder will only cost you around £35/$50. The cost of stock tonewoods (and we're not talking 5A Quilt's here) will be the least of your worries cost wise when considering a project so why even consider the 40% it would save you on the body (only) costs. Depending on where you are in the world there IS a hardwood timber yard somewhere near you and they WILL be able to help you. Check out some of the pinned threads concerning suitable woods (there's a number under different sections like this one http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=15379) and go talk to your local wood guy. Jem

Russ, yes you would have thought so but the cheapest i've ever found them new is in the US and that's taking into account the shipping and the tax...go figure ! Jem

Hey Gian, looks like you're making good steady progress everything looks very neat. For me i don't use epoxy around inlays as i find it's too viscous, i use water thin CA glue as you can fill the gap with dust and just drip the glue in until it won't soak any more up. You may have to repeat this process again to fill up gaps that didn't completely fill the first time but i do find this method means you don't end up in a glue'y dusty mess Jem

You mean Izzy Stradlin', the one who actually had the song writing talent !

Thanks G-F. The inlay could have been better executed, but saying that so could the whole guitar but that's the learning curve. I dare say pro people like Myka and LGM etc always look back at the end of the build and see things that they could improve on even if the great unwashed like myself couldn't find fault in a month of sunday's. I've made a number of stupid mistakes throughout the build but most of these are down to zero woodworking experience and not paying full attention to what i was doing and none were bad enough to throw the thing in the bin - just things to keep in mind for the next build. Congrats again and look forward to the finished guitar. Jem Edited for your logo: Hmmm...the meteor may have to loose some of it's detailing but the lettering's easy. One thing i've learnt is: shithot drawing = shithot inlay, pisspoor drawing = pisspoor inlay no matter how good you are at cutting. I notice you're in Cali so remember JoAnn at Rescue Pearl's in your area if you fancy having a go at it yourself.

Go for it ! I'm glad you've taken the plunge, the only things you've got to loose are your self asteem and the odd digit or two....seriously though, i was in exactly the same situation until frustration got the better of me and i just had to either do it or foget it - and i'm glad i choose to do it ! http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=19048 I fired the colour coats on the body over the weekend so it should be completed within the next week or two depending on how quick the clear cures and i'm already planning the next one ! Jem

Are you sure that is going to work with a vinyl decal? This is 100% what car graphic people do. Jem

I for one would not take a chance with mail order from CS, i've only done it once and was underwhelmed to say the least. I'm sure i saw a post from someone a year or so ago that said that the bookmatched set he got from them wasn't thickness sanded and each half was a different thickness. Personally i'd try to go somewhere where you could choose the peice or if there's no one near to you i'd trust David Dyke's for mail order - more expensive but you'll be assured of the quality. Jem

Hamer made the TLE models in '86 > '88ish and a very few of these came with OFR's and pointy headstocks. In fact there was one on UK Ebay a month or so ago that was picked up by a mate of mine. Jem

You'd have to do you angle sums as i'm sure (but don't quote me) that Strat type bridges have a max saddle height of around 1/2" whereas TOM's have something like 3/4" max height. ie: you may not be able to get enough height on the Strat bridge to compensate for the neck angle. Saying this you could always shim the bridge like Hamer used to do with it's early sustain blocks. Jem

Schaller did make the original Floyd Rose's but i can't say if they still do. To my mind just as long as it says either Schaller or Floyd Rose i know it'll work and last. Jem