doug

One advantage of a set neck in this case would be the option of building a mock-up. You could use something like cheap basswood to make a test body, including the neck pocket, and test the bridge rout too. Hold the neck in place with a clamp because you only need the 2 outside strings anyway. If you screw up, well you have $15 firewood, instead of risking a neck through blank. Something to consider anyway. -Doug

You might be able to get away with using a Pigtail, as it has a little more saddle adustment. There's an added bonus too...the mounting posts can be adjusted so you could add some angle if need be. -Doug

Yeah, he'd inquired about a neck some time ago. I was under the assumption he wanted to build the guitar himself though, and like others on this thread I think it's a fine idea as well. Maybe, Nick, you could get the guitar partially made too. -Doug

CFM is most important. The tank size will change accordingly. It is surprising how many so called 20 gallon compressors have poor CFM output at their rated pressure. So don't be looking at just tank size, because it is misleading. Another thing to consider is what ELSE you might want compressed air for. Truthfully, I could not imagine life without an air compressor. My current one, very old though, does 14CFM @ 120PSI which is plenty for paint work, but for DA or jitterbug sanding it is not enough. Even the air router runs it out fast. So if you plan to utilize air tools think about getting a compressor that is bigger right from the start. It's sort of like planning for the future. -Doug

Setch hit the nail on the head. Dried and stabilized wood will yield the best results. Air drying is dependant on the temperature and humidity of the area it's sored in too. After years of building furniture and periodically experimenting with woods that I air dried, and was very carefull about it too, it always surprised me how much some pieces shifted, cracked or shrunk during the next 3 or 4 years. For safety sake I stick with methodically dried stock for necks. That link showing how to glue bent boards is a really good rule of thumb by the way. -Doug

Something to consider though is the fact that it will darken to a nice deep brown after a while. It can be treated with a UV protective oil finish to prolong the purple. Either way it is really nice wood. Yeah, it's hard as rock and watch for slivers. I disagree with a fine tooth bandsaw blade though... Experience from using purpleheart regularly in guitar necks (it's very popular for stripes) has demonstrated the advantages of 3 TPI blades that are at least 3/4" wide. Purpleheart burnishes easily, and a fine tooth blade will actually make it harder to cut. Pick the right feed speed and it will cut just like any other hard wood. -Doug

There are many types of explosion proof fans available, but Grainger is likely your best source. I got mine from them too. They are kinda pickey about who they will allow to set up an account though. Even on line you have to establish an account which gets reviewed before they send you login information. That's how it worked at the time my account was created anyway, it could be different now though. You'll need a bank of filters in the air stream too or you'll get a ton of buildup on the blades. -Doug

I've got a LP Jr style guitar being made for a customer right now that is symetrical. Nice look really. Though the offset of the actual LP Jr is pretty slight, my preference would be the symetrical shape overall. -Doug

Try this: 1. let it dry 2. sand it carefully 3. fill remaining defects 4. sand a little more 5. seal it - (vinyl sealer, or thinned lacquer) 6. spray your black paint - just enough to cover the body and make it black 7. let the paint dry a day or two (do not sand it) - a dull base coat works best 8. spray several coats of clear lacquer over the paint 9. let that dry for 1 month 10. wet sand and polish What's compatible? Don't use enamel and lacquer on the same project. Just for the record, I use only comercial instrument finishes, and have never used lacquer out of a spray can for a guitar so I might not be the definative source. The steps above listed are for reference, but do represent the reality of your situation. Hope that helps... -Doug

Wow, bummer. In an earlier post I mentioned letting that harden for a week... Before you go all crazy with thinner, let it set for a few days (week) then sand it again. The bumps and all the other ugly stuff will sand nicely. Try sanding by hand at first to see how it goes, because heat is a major problem with power sanders. 2 or 3 years ago I bought a can of that Rustoleum black lacquer for my son so he could spray something he made. It took f o r e v e r to harden, and it was on new wood. -Doug

You need only sand the clear flat, then apply the grain filler. No need to remove it completely as it will help in this case. Because you already put the clear on just continue with that, it'll be fine. Spray it lightly at first to see how your base surface is. An important thing to note is that sealer is not finish. It is to be used in a single coat to seal the wood and get rid of the "fuzzies" associated with sanding wood. So don't apply any more sealer until you're done with grain filling. -Doug

There are those who don't like sealer. I happen to be one of those who do. There are certain properties associated with a good sealer including fast dry. Too late for that now kinda, but that's okay. You're going want the surface very smoothe for the final coats to go onto so you don't see grain when it dries in a year. Since it will be solid colored then you can use a grain filler, which is not expensive. (it's way cheaper than the piles of lacquer you might have to buy to fill all the grain) Follow the directions on the container and it will work fine. Then sand it some more to flat. You might do well to use flat paint as your color coat. This gives the lacquer more surface to bite into. Also, be sure to let the paint dry for like a week or it will turn all rubbery when clear coated. It will anyway, but not as much and your final finish will be more level making it easier to sand and buff. With grain filler and sanding the parts you patched will vanish. Remember, if you see the patched areas in the paint coat, you'll see it under the clear too. Hey, low budget is okay! -Doug

If you have fret cutter, either the Stewqmac version or end nippers flattened off, you can easily clip the tang way and use your Dremel with a 3/4" stone to grind the excess away. You need only take the remaining stubble of the tang off so it takes just a few seconds with the Dremel. Besides, I can hardly imagine building a guitar or doing neck work without one. So if you're wondering what to spend money on... well the Dremel is a great tool. -Doug

Well given the endless supply of fretting type tools it comes down to "what do I really need to get the job done" right? It was a good move to get the fret cauls! The importance of a radiused sanding block can not be overlooked. I find it to be an extremely usefull tool. Though you might be getting a pre-radiused fingerboard, after gluing it on there will be some irregularity to it that should be sanded out prior to fretting. By doing that you will have a very even foundation for your frets, then there will be less leveling work to be done. Personally I like the V shaped fret files because the thin flat ones can create a slot that is kinda tight unless you rock the file side to side a bit. The V ones do it naturally so it's faster. You can easily make a nut seat file from a hard piece of wood 3/8" thick. Glue a piece of 100 grit abrasive to the thin edge and trim it off carefully. Then only one edge at a time will contact the surface you want to flatten. Another thing that's very handy is a double sided fret crowning file. You can use it to do do end dressing, and to recrown. The one Stewmac has is very shallow which helps prevent you from nicking fingerboard while dressing the ends. Make yourself a fret end beveler by using a block of wood and a flat file. Stewmac sells one, but it can be made in just a few minutes from scrap. I still use my fret hammer on every job to initially seat a small portion of each fret before putting it on the press. It's just very handy. I gues you could use some other kind of small hammer since you would only need a couple of light taps to set them, the nuse your new caul to actually do the fret install. Other misc. files can be bought from a hardware store as you need them depending on your techinque. Of course if you are going to do more than one you'll quickly figure out what tools can make each successive fret job easier. -Doug

Interestingly enough, this looks like one of my necks! Ha.... Anyway, put stripes in the main billet then use a plain piece for the headstock. When the neck is shaped it will naturally turn out just like you see it. Using a 1" thick headstock piece will provide an ample volute. If no volute is desired then use a thinner heastock and the curved ending to the stripes will be closer to the nut. -Doug

Thanks Southpa. Smashing plastic knobs like that is a great idea, and some are really cheap too! Use the right hole size and some epoxy and that should work perfectly. Sorry, I was in the solid shaft mode... it's the only kind I use. Wouldn't removing the knobs and putting them on again a few times trash the hole? I would think so. Maybe a piece of small diameter brass pipe would work? It's got 1/16" walls and I think you can get it with about a 1/4" center. With a little "cleaning out" of the hole that just might work. Hmmm... I might give it a shot. Of course there are those threaded inserts available from Woodcraft and all sorts of other woodworking supply places. They come in fine thread, and they might be easy to drill out too. -Doug

Now that we're on to the subject.... what does one use for the metal(brass) center insert? There needs to be something to hold the set screw without exploding the knob. -Doug

If you make your neck blank wide enough, using laminates or large stock, you won't even need ears depending on your headstock design too. Thanks Setch for pointing out the grain matching! The ears can nearly be invisible by using the same stock and aligning the grain. I like the under the E string suggestion Setch! I never actually gave it much thought before but it is a real handy "trick". -Doug

The scarf joint produces a much stronger neck than a one piece where you have the grain runout as mentioned. While it's quite likely that a straight headstock like Fender uses could provide an extra measure of safety in case of a mishap, it does require some method to provide downward string pressure. Veneering for the most part is for looks as it is generally very thin. If you consider adding veneer to the back of the headstock as a way to thicken it and subsequntly lower the post height on the front, why not use tuners with posts that are at the height you need? Since you're concerned about strength, make a thicker headstock and use tuners with taller posts. There are many sizes to choose from. You could do a comprimise too. Since you're not too keen on the scarf joint, you could make a headstock with a shallow angle and still use a single piece of stock. Then get a set of short tuners and eliminate the need for string trees. Just be sure to match your headstock thickness to your tuners and calculate the finish thickness in there too. -Doug

Why not just block the trem where you want it from underneath? I've even heard of people drilling the block and screwing it to the body with a shim in between. You wouldn't even need springs at all or the brass piece. That K&S brass is some kind of alloy which is really hard too, btw. -Doug

Guess it's whatever shape works for you, or even modify it to be different. One single advantage to using a set neck vs. through neck is you don't have the neck in the way the whole time you're working on the guitar. If you choose to make it through neck don't do the dowel thing as it is unnecessary for a guitar. -Doug

There are brass nuts made that way too. I would think that you could cut a groove in the tops of cut off pieces of threaded rod like you mentioned. Allparts has the brass nuts for guitar and bass, maybe you could scarf the screws from one of those. -Doug

Adding a layer to the back is great idea! That is one way to make it look like you did it on purpose. As you know, there are many guitars made that way too. That good bridge you have should really stay since like the others have pointed out it will contribute to really great tone. -Doug

You likely spent some time picking just the right top for your bass too so it might be painful to have to remove it! However, drilling holes then putting another top on might be the ticket. You could also investigate a lighter bridge while you're at it. Some of them can be quite heavy. Of course that could effect your tone in the end too. Doug

If you're going to CA your frets in then put several treatments of tung oil on first to seal the surface. Be sure it has dried overnight. Use something pointed to "wick" some CA in at the ends so it doesn't come out on the surface. If you get some on the fingerboard then use acetone to clean it up. They make CA remover, but acetone works well too. -Doug