bluesy

Wish I'd have known that trick a few days ago I now have a bit of sanding to do to remove some CA marks...

+1 You need/should only connect the shield to ground at one end. Trim the other end off neat so it can't accidentally make contact with anything. If you want, a short piece of heat shrink tubing works well to insulate it, and looks very pro.

From the first paragraph of that page "how to wire up a 2 speaker Cabinet that can have an extension speaker cabinet (usually another 2 speaker Cabinet) plugged into it when desired." You see? It's designed to let you plug yet another cabinet into it - in sort of a daisy chain.

Well thanks I can't wait to see how the grain comes up with a finish on it either. The way the patterning is showing where I curved the side of the top down looks very promising.

I put the frets in, and I fitted 2 strings and enough hardware to check the bridge placement and neck alignment. All is well. Frets seem quite level too - won't be much work to do there. I was surprised at the amount of sound I am getting. This wood, and the semi hollow design, really sings - and I don't even have a back on it yet. Next I need to shape the back of the neck, and make sure I have all the holes and routes I will need in the body to allow me to wire it up after I fit the back.

I believe those connectors would work fine. As for wire gauge, I find it's better to have the toughest stuff you can buy, because speaker leads have a hard life , and that's usually what determines the size for me. A nice cheap way is to get figure 8 cord like they use for lamps and other unearthed mains powered devices.

That's absolutely striking. A beautiful instrument. Well done.

Two 16 ohm speakers in parallel will give you an 8 ohm load. It's mono, so all you need is a mono jack and plug. There are a few different types commonly used. I have heard of 6.3mm phone, 3 pin Canon, and neutrik, all being used. For home and light use, the 6.3mm phone jack/plugs are cheap and work fairly well. However, once, on a powerful, well sealed cabinet, I had troubles where the air pressure from the speaker, on loud transients, caused the 6.3mm jack to "bounce" in it's socket and caused horrible sounds as it disconnected the signal momentarily. Not good for the amp either. So, I often use canon plugs (same as used for balance microphones), in bigger stuff.

I wanted a clear gloss. I have been experimenting with test pieces to see what I can achieve using polyurethane. My latest try has been using a wipe-on method with paper towels, but I just can't achieve the deep gloss I wanted. I think that the best has been simply brushed on. I need to try rattle cans (I've only used them for a satin finish). Also, I have a problem with dust. Seems I always get some little bits of dust in the finish, and I have no experience with polishing. Guess I need to try that out too. It's part of the game I suppose...

It's decided then, I will put them in, then remove them for the finishing.

progress report - routed humbucker cavities - drilled tailpiece holes - cleaned up edge and rerouted binding rabbet - glued in cream binding - shaped top to meet binding top edge - glued fingerboard onto neck - thinned headstock for tuners Tomorrow I might be doing some fretwork, and neck shaping. I am really happy at how it's coming along.

I don't see that it makes any difference which pot, vol or tone, is used for the switching. Electrically, the switch part is quite separate. You'd just wire it the same way, no matter which pot it's mechanically part of.

My current build is progressing nicely, and in a few days I will be ready to put a few strings on to make sure everything fits and is aligned and working nicely. The issue is whether to drive in the bushings for the tailpiece and tun-o-matic bridge for the test. If I do, I really don't want to pull them out again, but they'll be a little in the way when I do the final sand and wipe-on the finish. I could temporarily wrap tape around the tail and bridge pins and jam them in the holes for the test. What do you guys think?

"Standard" dimensions for Fender that I have been working to, are 5/8" depth for the pocket, and 3/4" for the neck wood (without fingerboard). That means 1/8" sticks up above the body. If the neck heel is already 3/4" then I'd take it off the pocket. That way the neck will be more likely to fit another "standard" body, and vice versa.

Can you route a channel, removing all of the crack, and glue in a new piece of wood?

Lovely! Coincidently very similar in some ways, to what I am attempting. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...c=37360&hl= I hope mine looks as neat when I finish

You have a 4 pole switch, and each "deck" has 2 poles. You only need one pole for your application. As psw said, the centre pin on the left hand side of the "outer deck" (looking at your drawing) needs to go to ground. These pins near the middle of the rotary switch are the common connections that connect to each of the 5 pins around the perimeter, one at a time, as you turn the switch.

I haven't decided on pickups. I don't even know that much about them yet. A local guitar parts store showed me what he said would be the minimum quailty he would use. These were two humbuckers made by Gotoh. Similar to these but including black mounting rings. I am not trying to exactly replicate an ES335. Just making something with that style and shape. For example, I am not planning to mount the controls and output jack the way Gibson do. The controls will be edge operated wheels sitting under the bottom edge of the pickguard, which I am going to custom shape myself. Just one volume and a tone. I think the uncluttered body looks better that way. I will put the output jack on the side of the guitar, as I don't like it sticking out of the top like the ES335. I don't know where I can get better ply in Australia. It's not a matter of cost so much (although I am not going to spend over $100 for a thin piece of wood from a luthier supplier such as they sell for guitar tops). I did hand pick that piece for quality and sound (tapping it), as well as looks. If it sounds bad, with the way I am making the guitar, I suppose it will be possible to remove and replace with something better, but as it's a chambered solid body not an archtop, I don't expect the sound to be that much effected by it.

Definitely not a pointless thread. I love discussing great tools. I bought a cheap spokeshave, and now I love using it so much, I think I should get a better one. I want one with micro-adjusters like yours, as it is a bit hard to set mine up. Once setup however, it's a joy to use.

generally with the average guitar neck it will be the string tension that pulls the neck into relief and the truss rod that stops that going too far.. most builders will still aim to build the board perfectly level rather than building relief into the neck although it is also not unusual for people to use the truss rod to create a slight back bow, then level perfectly flat before removing the tension on the rod to create relief. it depends on the neck materials you use... woods, truss rods and any other reinforcement you add personally i go for the perfectly flat fretboard with frets evenly installed for the minimum of levelling (rarely none though ) and i leave the relief for the truss rod to sort out I thought that was what I was saying As I read the OP, he is going to put it under tension (same curvature as if it had strings on it, not back-bow), then level it while it is in that state. I can't see it being playable (fret buzz), unless the theory about why you need relief in a neck is wrong of course

A spokeshave will let you thin and reshape it nicely.

I might be wrong, but I thought the whole point was to NOT have a flat board. You need the relief (curvature) to allow the strings to vibrate without buzzing. The truss rod just allows you to control how much relief you have.

I was hoping that, since it's only the back of the guitar that will have the ply on it, that it won't effect the sound much.

My advice would be to fix the second problem first. Hum and no sound most likely means it is wired incorrectly.

Well, I "looked under the hood" of an asian-made archtop the other day, and the neck was shimmed with a piece of binding!!