Mickguard

the thing is i'm trying to figure out what scale was used with the templates. Ron already told me that it was 24.750" BUT when i measure the centerline from the side of the nut to the center treble post of the bridge, i have 25".....

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=5188

What you need to do is build the body, build the neck, route the neck pocket.

Once you have the EXACT neck (and fretboard) properly in place, you'll be able to locate your bridge position. You'll still be able to use the templates, but you'll place them in accordance to your project.

It's really the only way. Even with a Fender-scale project, where there's less variation in scale length, there are still variations (22 fret vs 21 fret, overhang or no, etc.) that need to be taken into account.

The scale measurement is to the saddle, by the way, not the center of the post. That's Stewmac's measurement, but it's only accurate if you use the exact parts they're referring too. (In which case, it's extremely accurate.)

I'd glue toothpicks in there. Line the walls with a few. They're soft enough so that you'll still be able push the bushing back in, but the glue will make them hard enough to provide resistance to the bushing from lifting. But you'll still be able to pull the bushing if ever need be.

Hi, when you spray a guitar neck with aerosol (black color from stewmac), how many layers is adequate?

THe neck width at the twelfth fret is exactly 50 mm on my guitar. Will multiple layers increase the thickness drastically and affect the speed potential?

You sure your parents won't be pissed about this part too?

Esppse, you need to cool your jets a bit and start reading up.

First thing to know: if you paint the guitar yourself, you will have to wait at least a month, and preferably two, before you'll be able to play it again. Assuming you perform the finish correctly. Depends on what you use, of course.

But since it's apparent you've never done this before, you really should spend some time learning about all of this. Go to the tutorials section, there's a whole space about finishing. Read up first, then come back with your questions.

The short answer, though, is: one.

One coat of black paint. You can't play on a painted neck without a clear coat. The number of coats of clear depend on what you use. But it's unlikely that will affect the 'speed' potential.

Your best bet is to find a friendly body shop to paint/clear the neck for you -- that way it's be ready to play in a day or so.

Unless it's a Fender in which case the extra room in the pocket allows repair guys to shim the neck into proper alignment.

I'm sure those tolerances weren't built in for that purpose however!

Yeah, I've never understood that tilting system they build into the heel....it's like they're admitting that there's a good chance the neck won't be properly aligned with the bridge....

Your measurements are going to depend on the fingerboard you use -- Gibson scale does indeed cover several measurements, since Gibson changed their scale several times over the decades (and the different owners). Different places sell different scales (LMII, for example, sells the 'vintage' Gibson scale, which was actually originally measured in millimeters...628mm to be exact).

After you've measured your fretboard, you'll be able to plug the number into StewMac's calculator to determine the placement of the TOM. This is part of the reason why many of us will often suggest gathering ALL of your parts first before starting the build.

The name thing's simple anyway -- just use the submitter's name as a default.

Multiple entries? No -- I think there should be a limit on the total number of guitars permitted to be entered each month. 10 seems to be a realistic number. More than that and it gets a little silly. Multiple entries just puts things over the line.

Although I love looking at people's finished guitars. And I like showing off my work too.

And to be honest, that's the only reason I enter a guitar in the GOTM, because it's done and I want people to see it. The "competition" part actually deters me more than it stimulates me.

So I vote for a monthly Project Guitar Gallery (PGG) -- just a place where all of us who have finished a guitar that month can put up what we've done. It'd be so cool to scroll down the page looking at the production .... Maybe a top section with the photos, and then allow a discussion below that.

And in that gallery people like Rhodes and Jelly and everyone has a place to show off as many guitars/projects as they like -- I really do get a lot of inspiration from seeing other people's work. And a lot more people would show off their work too.

I agreed with Perry about that entry --I don't care if he designed it, this is a place for personal projects -- builds, mods, whatever, your hands have to be on the actual guitar during the process. If he had just done the finish himself, that would have been enough for me.

I don't see how anyone can give you advice until you've posted pics. Not from what you describe. (edit: oops! I'm not trying to come down on people trying to help! )

Seems to me, anyone who would build a neck 'extension' to fix a scale length issue doesn't know enough to help you out. If you/he have modified the neck, then you'll definitely want to post photos of that.

In the meantime, I'd suggest you start reading up on the subject-- tons of information in this forum, especially in the tutorial section. That's going to help you figure out more about what you'll need to fix this.

If it ends up being fixable.

(double edit: rick500 --empty your inbox!)

I used 5 and 6 on the two different guitars but ONLY because the necks had long tenons and ONLY because I liked the way it looked with the extra screws. Otherwise, Fender made a lot of guitars with just three bolts. And I know I've seen photos of 50s-era guitars with just one or two bolts. If the neck pocket is perfectly tight (and it should be if a luthier is building the guitar) then it becomes less of an issue.

I find it hard to believe that a roller nut will provide any more stability than a graphite nut. Especially since I've read complaints that the rollers will tend to stick over time.

Like Greg says, there are inherent flaws in most trem designs, at least trems based on the vintage trem. Fortunately there are now a couple of alternatives, like the Trem King (which requires modifications). There's another one, I forget the name, but it's a drop-in replacement that looks like the Floyd Rose a bit and comes with a drop-in locking nut too --it's expensive though. But it's still based on moveable saddles, which I think is the inherent flaw in these trems.

I have the Trem King, and so far it really is much more stable than the vintage trem on my other guitar (which is blocked because I just don't trust it). I don't have locking tuners on the Trem King guitar yet, but I imagine it will be even more stable with those. The Trem King really does take into account all of the flaws of those other designs. It's not perfect either, but so far so good. There's a thread on the Trem King, I need to update my review there, I'm still waiting to have all the kinks worked out of the guitar first.

Hi, ive never built a guitar before.

Well, a word of warning then: once you start modifying your guitars, there's no turning back. Pretty soon you'll be chopping them up, then starting to build your own.

To answer your question (if you go along with my idea of using inserts and shifting the holes over).

You'll be able to keep the bass-side holes as is on both body and neck, since you won't need to move them.

On the treble side, you'll use small dowels and wood glue to fill the holes on both neck and body. Let that dry overnight. Then you're ready to reshape the heel.

When that's done, you position the new treble side holes and then the recess for the ferrules -- this is a little more delicate. If you don't feel comfortable working that out, find someone to help.

Once that's done, you'll use the new holes in the body to set the new holes in the neck.

Planning and research first will help you a lot -- have a look at different neck joint types (like the AANJ) to figure out what you want.

You can also approach someone you know with woodworking/guitarbuilding experience to help you out.

Alternatively, if you really hate the guitar, find one you like and sell this one.

+1 to Mickguard's suggestion. Just keep in mind that you may need shorter neck screws after the heel is thinned.

That's right, I meant to mention that --StewMac sells those too.

Titebond and epoxy will release with heat alone. Hide glue requires moisture.

Come on, Mattia. Do you really think he's working with a neck that used hide glue? Jeez. You're just being contrary. As usual.

The fact is, using steam is much more likely to damage the fretboard and definitely the neck itself. So what's the point in taking the risk if heat alone will do the job just as well, and just as quickly, and with much less mess? Why suggest to people they take more of a risk than necessary?

Now, it stands to reason that the less moisture you introduce during this process, and the less heat you use, the more likely you'll be to have salvagable parts. This is pure common sense.

Guitar2005-- have you tried both methods? When you have, you'll understand that drying glue is not an issue. At all. It literally takes five minutes to remove a neck with heat alone.

See, I've done this both ways. So I know what I'm talking about.

In fact, I've found it much easier to clean up the glue using heat alone. Most of the glue actually comes off on the knife. And if you work fast enough, you'll be able to scrape off most of the residue, since it'll still be warm. A little bit of acetone cleans up the rest. The steam method makes this much messier--the liquified glue seeps deeper into the wood and rehardens there.

Another important thing about steam --when I removed the fretboard on a mahogany neck using steam, the moistured raised/weakened the fibers --enough so that a bad jab with the putty knife actually tore a bit of the wood away (I didn't have this problem with the maple neck I did at the same time). Luckily the worse tear was on the inside of the neck, i.e., along the truss rod channel.

Like I've said before (the last time this was discussed), the most important part of this is making sure the tool is prepared properly -- I have a putty knife here that has been flattened as thin as razor blade. Especially on the leading edge, which I continue to hone during the removal process. It would be even better to have two, but one works well for me.

I also heat the blade during the process-- just slip the tip of it under the iron while you're heating the fretboard --gets the tip nice and hot, the glue simply melts away.

In fact, I suspect if you can find a way to keep the blade heated during the process, then you wouldn't need to heat the fretboard AT ALL. Think about what you're trying to do here-- you're trying to compromise the bond formed by the glue. Wood glue produces a matrix of its own that links the fibers of the two woods. The blade severs the matrix--the heat simply makes it easier to do this.

Keep in mind that Xanthus' guitar is a neck-through, and it's purpose built this way.

You don't need such a deep carve --just a few millimeters or so will give you the access you need. But that's not the first thing I'd try.

The first would be to replace the plate with ferrules.

This will permit two things:

You'll be able to thin the heel a bit (5mm or so, you won't need more than that and the neck joint will remain just as solid), and

You'll be able to recarve the heel -- shift the treble side holes over a bit.

This mod will pretty much provide you with full access to the fretboard. But -- it'll all happen from behind the guitar, so it will be much less visible. The paint job won't show...that much.

If it's still not comfortable, then you could add a very slight carve on the wing -- really, it wouldn't take much at all. 10 mm or so.

But I'm betting the heel mod will be enough to do the job.

The thing to do is plan out carefully what you want to do.

OK Thank You

But steam does help a little. When I did it on my Ibanez, I used a damp towel over the fretboard.

No, it's completely unneccessary. It only serves to introduce moisture into the wood, presenting a greater risk of warpage or other damage.

Really, a thinned, sharpened putty knife and heat is all it takes to get through the glue.

I was planning on removing the rosewood fretboard from my stratocaster knockoff neck but I ran into a problem. My mothers iron has a busted steam function. Could I just soak a t-shirt in water and use it that way or should I just borrow one that has a working steam function

You don't need steam. The heat alone will do the job. That tutorial needs to be rewritten.

Almost all of the drawbacks of nitro are positives for me -- I like the way it ages, how it mellows, yellows, cracks and dents and basically moves with the wood over time. I like the way it feels too --has a warmth that other finishes don't. And yes, it's really easy to apply and forgiving too. Only real drawback for me is it's toxic. But then, most finishes are. The waiting time sucks, but I've got a busy life, plenty of things to do in the meantime. And I've got lots of guitars now.

I can understand that people like killemall, who prefer their guitars to look shiny and new forever, would hate nitro. But that's exactly why I don't buy new guitars--they'll never get old, never look like they've played. At least, not the way a nitro covered guitar can look.

So that part comes down to personal preference.

It took me a while to find cans here, but I eventually did. A bit pricey, but that's part of building guitars.

But my first guitar I finished with acrylic automotive lacquer....less forgiving than nitro, but it still looks good.

I found a guy in Hong Kong who'll ship 20 of them for 8 euros... I don't really need 20...but it is a fun effect to have...

You tried www.maplin.co.uk?

Might be a bit too expensive ordering from the UK though. Is there nowhere on the continent you can order from (Germany, perhaps)?

I'm trying to figure out what it might be called in French. But I can always ask my dad to pop into a Radio Shack for me! There's no rush and it wouldn't cost much to have it mailed here.

I think this might be it ....I'll have a look around -- maybe in an automotive place?

I bought a pack of these from RadioShack, but haven't wired them up yet. You can probably find them at your store-equivalent.

Unless that's the one you bought, and you're having issues with it, in which case we're both screwed

Yep, that's the 'new' kind I was talking about....the thing I have came out of a modified Mattel soundfx toy from the early 80s...but I don't know where I'd find the Radio Shack kind over here, the nearest electronics shop is in Paris...

Sounds like some switch bounce is occuring, where it makes intermitent contact as its being pressed until fully depressed.

Should I separate the contacts a bit more in that case?

I installed a Buckethead-style killswitch on my guitar, but it clicks too much to be usable. Is there a way of eliminating the clicks?

The click is loudest on the first press, gets a little quieter on the subsequent presses, but never goes away completely.

Of note: it's an old mechanical momentary button --that is, when you press the button, it presses the two contacts together. The newer type I've seen appear to have a different mechanism.

Right now I have one contact wired to the hot lead on the jack, the other contact is grounded with the other grounds on a pot. Would it help any to move the ground to the jack as well?

Or should I just get one of the newer types that I've seen?

My nuts causing me problems is why i'm using zero frets on my builds. The nut then merely becomes a guide, and to tension the string over the zero fret. Somehow, they seem more "right" to me.

I tried the zero fret on my last couple of builds, but just didn't like it. Mostly for the sound -- I really like the open string sound you get with the nut, that you don't get with the zero fret. I agree though, it's easier to get the action part right.

I haven't tried cutting my own nut yet, I've only adjusted pre-slotted nuts. But I've found that's not too difficult (I borrow the files for that).

Could your necks benefit from an uneven action?

One of the things I've discovered since I started building is how even minute changes in the strings affect a guitar's playability. And how, once I figured out what makes a guitar playable for me, I actually started to play better.

And that goes for relative string heights -- last night at practice I played the new guitar, even though I haven't finished setting it up yet --haven't set the action yet for one thing, and the nut still has issues. Both are 'close enough'....but I can clearly feel the difference between this and the two guitars I play most often (both Fenders...in fact, I used the setup of my Strat as the basis of figuring out the setup that works for me). For most songs, it wasn't a big issue, but a couple of songs were really difficult to play because of that.

Another thing I've found it important to watch out for --string spacing. If even one string is just a little offline, the guitar quickly becomes unplayable.

Otherwise, yes, the bass strings tend to be a bit higher, but I think it's more subtle than you describe --the relative distance of the bottom of the bass and treble strings are about the same.

But I also feel that getting your string action and neck relief set up properly for you (and the radius) is a big part of what makes a neck feel right --probably even more than the shape of the back of the neck.

I got into building when I started taking lessons...the two kind of go hand-in-hand for me. The more I learn to play, the more I understand what works for me on a guitar. The more I understand what I like on a guitar, the better I'm able to play.

I'd go with polished steel or another kind of metal. Definitely much cooler than paint!

What if you (meaning me) want to thin the profile of a neck? I have an Agile LP copy that feels like a baseball bat and want to thin it out. Any tutorials or what to watch out for? TIA.

It's been discussed before, so you should be able to find info. I've done it a couple of times. But you'll need to refinish the neck if you reshape it.

One thing I'd suggest is first to try to identify what part of the neck feels too fat for you --it can be different things. One one neck I reshaped, all it really needed was a millimeter off the sides of the fretboard (so like, only half a millimeter on each side, if that). It then became a very comfortable neck. On another neck, I needed to do that but I also added a slight V shape to it -- that allowed me to keep away from the wood below the truss rod (which you really don't want to touch since you don't know how deep it's been routed for the truss rod).

The first neck didn't need to be refinished, since I'd only touched the (rosewood) fretboard. The second neck needed to be refinished, but I was refinishing the whole guitar anyway.

Sexybeast needs to tell us why he wants to attack the finish--if it's just a question of touch, then I'd just rough it up a bit with a little steelwool.

Not that he's going to have time to build anyway. In about five years, things will get easier. Congrats on the kids!