doug

You'll need 1-1/2* or 2* of angle. It will depend on how low you set the neck into the body. Basically the closer the last fret is top the top of the body, the more angle required. However, the difference should be small. Be sure to measure the space where the bridge will be to make sure there's enough room to lower the bridge a little. Use a straight edge resting on the fingerboard. -Doug

Use as few teeth per inch as possible. Then consider the smallest radius you have to follow, but exclude the horns. I use a 3/4" 3tpi because it's a good all around size, but I have to make a lot of relief cuts for tight areas. For the most part a 1/2" 3tpi blade should be good to easily cut out a body. -Doug

If you've got some leftover ebony you can use that too. It's an age old nut material. Aluminum and brass are both used for nuts too. -Doug

The router would make a real nice clean job, and that "chunk" near the nut could be worked rather quickly using the methods already discussed. You need only a standard straight type bit. You could try one of THESE in your drill press. I have one for the occasional odd job. It can be kinda handy sometimes. -Doug

Coping saw for sure! -Doug

Fretting after finishing is how I do it. I've found this to be the easiest way to go when building the whole guitar. It's much easier to get all that tape goo and excess finish build up out of the way. As mentioned, you do have to be careful about chipping the finish at the fret ends, however good preparation of the tip will eliminate most problems. Steps I use to make the neck: Completely shape the neck shaft Slot the fingerboard Taper the fingerboard Attach the fingerboard Radius and level fingerboard True up the neck profile with curved sanding block Finish the volute Dots Fine tune the raduis and level Fret (I use a press) Level, dress, and polish the frets There are 3 reasons I leave the fingerboard flat: I prestress the necks and the jig works best with a flat fingerboard. Even clamping pressure for a consistent glue joint. Radiusing and leveling afterwards creates a very consistent foundation for the frets. I suppose attaching the fingerboard to the shaft first has it's advantages to some, however I've found it to be sort of 'odd'. Maybe it's because I'm so used to makeing them the other way. What it comes down to, Mickguard, is whatever you're comfortable with. -Doug

I'm not sure I've seen an uglier instrument in quite a while.

I actually carve the spalt in it's raw state. However, it goes way better if special sanding tools are made for the job. Sanding by hand using your fingers only on the sandpaper will trash it. System 3 water clear epoxy works very well for hardening as well as the CA trick. However, CA can cause some clear coats to lift after a spell. Epoxy is not without pitfalls either. Improper mixing ratio will prevent it from hardening. You can also mix up a real thin mixture of lacquer, and retarder, then flood the surface several times. It soaks in really good then hardens the fibers. This can shrink after a while so it would have to cure for some time. Like the others have said, spalt is really a pain to work with so be careful.... -Doug

"Broken knee" that's great Setch! He's right keldog. You could do like some of my customers have and use a saws-all, hack the crap out of it then look for someone to fix the damage then put a neck in! LOL Well, I'm no neck removal specialist, but there's bound to be someone with a better idea pokin' around this forum. Patience and steam work, from what I hear. -Doug

I use a template with a 1/2" slot cut in it a little longer than the truss rod. The router (this one is dedicated to truss rod slot cutting only) is set up with a 1/2" guide bushing and a 1/4" spiral carbide cutter. I used to use my router table and fence, but in the end I like the template deal better. Set up whatever works good for you, so long as it's straight. Oh, don't rout it too deep! Measure that last few thousandths to make sure you have a snug fit. -Doug

I'm with setch on the safe edge... -Doug

CA is a decent for those little drop fills, but epoxy is harder in the end and will stand up should the body ever be wiped with a solvent that reacts with CA. No matter what you opt for, it will need to be carefully leveled and buffed. -Doug

When you say "touch up" what are you referring to? Dings? Chips? Large areas? Polyester and the Urethanes referred to here are finishes that do not combine with any other. I'm not sure how to describe it really, but I'll compare it to nitro. When nitro is applied to nitro will 'melt' a little into the surface of the previous layer. Poly and Urethane do not. They will only 'bond' with the surface if it is rough sanded. This makes spot repairs a little more difficult as it will not blend really, and surface repairs ahve the potential to just fall off. I use a production polyester on my guitars. However, I have plans to use the same urethane product Fender applies to their American Strats this year as a proof of concept. Neither product 'melts' any layers underneath when the next is applied. Both of these are a mixture of 3 components, plus a thining agent if desired. If your plan is to recoat that PRS then you should sand it well, especially in the really hard to get to places, using a fairly course grit paper. This is especially important because you don't want the new finish to flake off if the body gets bumped down the road some time. In my shop we use 180 grit between layers. I don't know what other readers think, but the thought of using household coatings on a PRS sorta makes my hair stand on end. Are you sure you can't just fill the the bad spots and buff it out again? For dings and such use System 3, T-88 or other high strength epoxy. DO NOT USE HARDWARE STORE EPOXY AS IT DOES NOT HARDEN - EVER!! That means stuff from Home Depot, or Lowes, or wherever. I think this is information overload, but I hope you find it usefull just the same. -Doug

Gotoh 510 is a really, really nice one. Also the GB_2575-001 from Allparts is very nice. Baddass wrap arounds are real nice too. There's one a couple of my customers have sent me to add to guitars called Pig something I think and they are aluminum. The saddles on the Gotoh and Allparts ones can be changed to Graphtech saddles for better performance. Hope that helps... -Doug

Why take the chance? Generally speaking, the right tool for the job is best. -Doug

Thanks god for Dremel tools!! Carefully with a small sanding drum (I use a 1/4" or 5/16") go around the inside edge to take some of it off. Then use the drill bit to finish it off. I used to use a reamer, but the Dremel trick doesn't chip at all. -Doug

mickguard -- Oops, long day yesterday... j. pierce -- Simply put, a bolt on heel thickness is really too thin unless there is maybe 3" of it glued into the body. That's basically the size of a typical bolt on neck pocket. So yes, you could do that. Should you decide to make your neck tenon real long it could enhance the guitar's overall sound. Without a neck pickup more of the heel would be left in tact which is even better. In the shop right now I am replacing a neck in a guitar that has a bolt on neck, however it has a heel that's about 8" long. There's no neck pickup, and it bolts in 6 places along it's length. Kind of an odd one if you ask me, but I am confident it will be quite outstanding when done. The key here is that the heel is not modified, other than bolt holes along it's length, preserving the structural intergrity of it. It could easily have been glued in instead of bolts. -Doug

What I mean is how thick the heel actualy is underneath the front pickup. Let's say the body is 1-3/4" thick, and your neck heel is 1-1/2" thick, and you cut a 3/4" pocket for the pickup, you then have 3/4" of heel under the pickup of neck tenon. However, as you described the heel being only 1" thick, then the tenon under the pickup would then be 1/4" which I think is a bit thin. Based on that picture, and where the neck joins the body it should be enough to hold the neck in there if the heel was only 1" thick. Also, since you know the guitar pictured has that kind of neck joint, and it has lasted for many years, then you should be okay. Then again, maybe that wasn't what you were asking about in the beginning then. -Doug

If you are planning to use a neck pickup then having a really thin heel might be a concern. Thing is, you'll want to have some wood under the pickup, because it's part of the whole structure. Another thing to consider is how much of the 1" thickness will be glued into the body(touching the sides) before the first pickup. The more you have the better if you're sticking with a thin heel. Let's say your neck is set into the body such that the front of the body starts at about 17th fret, then you would have more strength. Honestly, I would reconsider the heel design, however without a picture it's hard to say for sure. -Doug

Oh man... That stuff is nasty to sand off! Buy good non-loading sandpaper, you'll need lots of it. You'd better make sure it's off the surface too, because it could very well show through the finish. -Doug

Not all grain fillers are invisible under the finish either. Since we don't know what you used or what finish you're going to apply it's difficult to say if it will "hurt" the finish visibly or it's adhesion. As a rule grain filler must not be on the surface. Should you have to do this again some time, try using something stiff as an applicator. I use an old credit card, or plasic glue spreader to press it into the grain and scrape it from the surface. -Doug

Putting finish on wood which is too finely sanded will cause it not to adhere well. If you're doing an oil finish then you're okay. As for the particles, as mentioned, compressed air. Steel wool always leaves particles embedded in the wood, and a small amount of oil on the surface, so be careful with that one. This is especially true if you use a water based finish as the steel in the wool will rust. Doug

What you have is wood shrinkage. The tangs stick out because the fingerboard has shrunk at its width. A bevel file is handy should you want to hit the bevel again, however you could use a flat file along the length of the neck to take the tangs off. If there remains an unsatisfactory flat area at the end of the frets (the bevel part) you can either make the bevel tool, or use a sandpaper on an 11" block of wood. Get 320 grit emory paper and glue it on with contact cement. Be very careful and make the bevel again. It's likely there is very little fret ends to remove so this method should be pretty easy. Plus you'll be able to put that nice roll back along the edge of the fingerboard. There may be burrs at the end of the frets, so run up and down the edges with 0000 steel wool (kinda crude, but it takes sharp edges off and leaves a decent sheen) unless you have fret dressing tools. If you have those, then you know what to do. Take your time. -Doug

Measure 22 5/8" from the nut to the HIGH E saddle. Measure 22 3/4" from the nut to the LOW E saddle. What you have is a 1/8" angle -Doug

I use that bridge all the time. My templates are about 2 degrees. It's all you'll need. Keep the fingerboard close to the body at the point where it passes the front edge of the body. I do about 1/16" above. (I am referring to the BOTTOM of the fingerboard-the glue line) You'll end up with the bridge being pretty close to the body, and the strings don't stick up so high from the top of the guuitar. -Doug