bluesy

I had thought of that too. Do you think it would look OK - having the back a different wood? I thought it might look a little upside down - most people being used to seeing the back and sides the same, with a different top. But as I type this I just thought, why not make the sides and back, very dark stained, or even black? Might even be time I tried to do a sunburst on the front. Still, I haven't actually got the N.G. Rosewood yet - and if it's only plain looking, I might do a solid colour all over - then it won't matter if I chamber it from the back and use something cheap - like the ply, as a back plate. Thanks for helping!

I have started a new build, my second. I had my practice build, now I want to get serious I want an ES-335 shape with a bolt on neck. I have made the templates and even scarfed and cut the headstock (see picture). The only thing I haven't decided is whether to make it a solid, or semi-solid (chambered) body. A solid body is easier, and I don't have a nice piece of wood to use for a top anyway. The body will be New Guinea Rosewood which I expect would look nice as a one piece solid body, maybe carved slightly on the top, with white/cream binding on front and back edges. If I chamber it, maybe a contrasting colour wood on top would look good. I could use ply for the top to avoid the extra expense and difficulty of getting some top wood from a luthier's supplier. Some ply has very nice figured grain if you choose a nice piece from the stack.

Neck angle isn't that hard. Try making a flat neck, then make a wedge shaped shim, same size as the neck heel, with holes for the neck screws. Adjust the shim, trying it until the neck will bolt on at a good angle for the bridge (you can calculate the rough angle first so not much fine tuning is needed), and when you are happy, glue the shim onto the neck (or just leave it under the neck heel - it isn't going to fall out).

Ah, that confirms my thinking. Thanks

Well, not having a drill press myself... 1. I have been drilling 10mm holes for tuners with a hand electric drill using a brad point drill and centre punching the location for the point. Holes turned out very neat (after I remembered to clamp wood against the rear side to prevent splintering on breakthrough ) 2. I think you are right, you need a drill press if you're not using the router for the whole thing 3. I drilled the post holes for my stop tail piece with a hand drill. Haven't tried a bridge that needs post holes yet. 4. They are only small holes aren't they? I would try a hand drill. 5. I did small dots in rosewood using a brad point drill. Had to real careful to only just let the full diameter start cutting, then stop immediately. Worked well though. One that I cut a bit deep, I just didn't push the dot all the way in, let the glue set well before sanding. No probs. One last thing, for very light work (like 4. above) you can buy a cheap "drill press" frame that clamps a hand electric drill into the frame and let's you lower it with a lever just like a real drill press. I am not suggesting it as a real substitute, but maybe something to help until you get one. I have one, but haven't needed to use it yet on a guitar. But then, I am only a beginner.

I have the idea that it might be better to bias the saddles towards the nut end of the guitar. My thinking is that, due to the small amount that a string must stretch when fretted at the 12th fret, thus sharpening the note slightly, that the bridge will need to be just a little further away from the nut than the true scale length in order to drop the pitch back to be exactly one octave above the open string. Is my logic right? If so, then chances are that most length adjustments via the saddle will be to increase the distance from true scale length slightly, therefore putting them at the nut end of their adjustment when measuring the scale length for bridge placement, will allow maximum adjustability. That said, Tele bridges have so much adjustment, I can't imagine it really being a problem if they were near the centre of their adjustment when you measured. Just trying to be careful. Hope I am right - can someone verify?

You have to end up in a position such that the adjustability of the bridge saddles allows you to set intonation, which means the scale length must lie approx somewhere within the travel of the adjustment of these saddles. Knowing that, and having the bridge, you should be able to measure the distance from the pickup hole in the metal of the bridge to it's saddles, and hence work out where you want to put the cavity on the guitar.

Did you retune when you de-tensioned the neck for more relief? The strings will all need tightening back to pitch. If they aren't they might buzz because the string tension is too low. Basically it's simple physics. A string need space to vibrate, and it needs more space, the further you go from the fret being held down (up to halfway along the string to the bridge). Adding relief will get more space under the string on the nearby frets. When you say "if I capo at 7 the g-string now the led shows contact at every fret up until the 19th." Do you mean without plucking the string? If so that seems very odd. I can't imagine achieving that without an almost dead flat neck in that region, and the bridge set to low at the same time.

I am pretty sure I agree. Thanks for the link. It was handy because I was thinking I needed round curves, but of course, for chambers, that segmented approximation is fine.

I want to try a semi-solid chambered body, and I was wondering if people route by hand (sounds dangerous) or whether you spend the time to make an internal-type template for each chamber?

It's meant to fit into a hole in the panel that it's mounted on. It's purpose is to prevent the pot turning and shorting something out, even if the main nut get's a bit loose. It can be cut off or just bent out of the way if you don't want to use it.

I like to think so

There's so many things different about it, I don't know what to attribute to the pickup The swap from a tele maple neck, to my own made of Tasmanian Oak, as I said, has produced a darker sound, but I have not had a solid body with floating rosewood bridge on pine body before. I put the humbucker in neck position, because that's the one I use the most on a ES-175 hollow body copy I have. I didn't want that trebly bite that a bridge position can give.

I am thinking of getting some QLD maple Seems it is useful for necks and bodies. On the subject of other Aussie woods, I have tried Tassie oak for a neck and it was good to work with, and sounds a bit darker than the maple (not QLD) neck that I had on the guitar earlier. Here's an interesting list from a wood supplier (the url should take you to a list of aussie timbers filtered for the ones useful for musical instruments) http://www.lazaridestimberagencies.com/austimber.php?S=1

That is the thing about nut files, a set of 6 (3 double sided) is very expensive, close to a hundred dollars here, and still there are not enough sizes for all possible string gauges. In other words you'd need multiple sets, and it would cost hundreds of dollars. Jewellers saw blades come in a range of sizes, so between them and the torch cleaners, I think you'd have most what you need.

I have to be honest - up close, there are some things that could be better. For example, I slipped while filing the fret ends, and roughed up a few fret tops. [learning - make a better block to hold the file so it can't slip out] Also the pegboard shape is not perfect. [learning - use a template] I also had a disaster while spraying the finish - my wire hook let go, and the neck plummeted a metre or so onto it's heel on concrete causing some damage that I had to repair (the truss rod punched out a small piece of wood in the end - easy to glue back though) [learning - make sure guitars and necks are secure while drying] There, that's better - confession time over

This is my first guitar. It was started as a project to learn how to use the tools and techniques, but has become a playable instrument. Of course I am happy about that . I posted here about a month ago when I finished the body and I had bolted on an old Telecaster neck. Now I have made my own neck to go with it. The neck is Tasmanian Oak with Rosewood fingerboard and small abalone dots and has a double action truss rod in it. I am amazed that it plays so well with good intonation. I didn't even have to level the frets much. I made a few mistakes while doing all this - none fatal to the guitar luckily. I am now ready to tackle something better - maybe a thinline tele, or something with an ES-335 type of shape. Haven't decided.

I was always confused about the difference between lacquer, varnish, and polyurethane. I found this link http://nz.answers.yahoo.com/question/index...17074005AAoCi4n which answers a lot of my questions, and the main cause of confusion is revealed in the first paragraph - USA and UK define it a bit differently!

That's what I did, but it was very tight. I think, in harder woods at least, it needs to be a bit looser than than.

I just did something similar to myself on an electric bolt-on neck. So a question for the more experienced. When choosing a drill bit to drill a hole in wood, into which a wood screw must be inserted, how to you choose the size of the drill bit? Like geo, I chose to match the diameter of the "centre" of the screw, resulting in a very tight fit, and lot's of effort to get the screws in. I am worrying that if the bit is too large, then the threads won't have enough wood to bite into.

Apparently screwdrivers are a bit soft. yes a high speed drill might be better, or, it has been suggested that the smooth part of a round rat-tail file is good.

I haven't used a hand plane much since high school. Just wondering, how did you use the template to guide the plane? Or did you just plane it slowly and periodically compare to the template?

I bought a scraper and tried it. Yes, it needs to be practiced. Also, I read that most new scrapers are not prepared, i.e. the edge is not burnished over, so I need to do that and try again.

Not according to lot's of instructions I have read. People use it like a drawknife all the time. When I use it 2 handed, I wrap my fingers around the handles and my thumbs sit on the front of the middle bit to guide it. Very controllable that way.

I carve from the heel towards the head as well. I just like to sit down while I'm doing it and rest the heel on the floor.