doug

You certainly make nice looking stuff so whoever gets one of those beauties should be very happy. Like the others have said, be prepared to sell them at a discount just to begin building a customer base. Hobby or full time doen't matter (well some people are jerks and they might take issue with part time) when you're creating works of art people want. Use the $$ for tools. All of it.

It took me a while to figure out what to charge for necks. After a while I just settled on something and called it good. I just want to make a great product at an affordable price.

-Doug

Hard maple has significantly different figure. Properly constructed either soft or hard maple will make a fine neck.

Ok, so what exactly is the general range for pricing a guitar these days?

For real? Been shopping for a car lately? What's the going rate for one of those?

The reason I prefer the preshaped fret file is because each fret is exact to shape as the others, whereas freehand, I don't care how much of a fret guru anyone pretends to be - they are not as exact as if they were done using preshaped.

Exactly!

Glad to know I'm not alone... The only option after that is pulling the frets and pressing new ones in. What a pain....

The freehand method must be somewhat tricky.

BTW, I bought the StewMac fret bevelling file with the slippery plastic body & it trashed my fret tops. The small metal particles get stuck in the plastic & scratch the frets...I only needed minor levelling before that but had to take quite a bit off afterwards to remove the grooves.

I'm curious about this... the metal filings are pretty small and the same composition as the frets, how badly did it scratch the frets? After you did your initial fret end bevel then proceeded to level the fret tops, a light leveling was not enough to remove the scratches? It's just that I've beveled hundreds of necks and never had scratches on the fret wire so big that the leveling didn't remove them.

The only time I've ever nicked the fret tops so bad that leveling doesn't remove them is if I slip with the beveler and run the file across a few fret tops (this is very bad).

-Doug

It would seem as though you might want to let the first round harden before sanding it for the next series of coats. Lacquer of that type takes a long, long time to harden.

Also, what did you seal the body with? Has it cured? You need time for the solvents to escape.

Since you asked what we think here's my 2 cents: All good things come in time.... take your time and do it right, or rush it and do it again....

-Doug

Maybe use the right bit on the "real" one? Just a thought...

-Doug

Doug from Soulmate Guitars. He's a member of this board.

wow!!! :D

those are some gorgeous necks!!

Glad you approve!

-Doug

If the main length of the truss rod fits fine and only the ends are tight, then slightly widen the ends with a chisel. You'll only have to remove a few thousandths to get it to go in nicely. I suspect that the fit issue is from the welds. I've seen this many times.

-Doug

I get it locally when needed.

I've taken to shooting maple fingerboards with polyester prior to fretting these days. Man, that works so sweet! I rub it down with 0000 steel wool after sanding to 1500 which makes a wonderful feeling fingerboard.

That IS interesting..I guess you shoot the fretboard thin?film thickness I mean?And there are not problems with fret seating?I may try that next time i finish a fretboard.

Oh...the catalyzed varnish was sherwinn williams sher-wood water white conversion varnish.

Yes, thin. It has to be. I actually thin it with MEK 50/50 instead of straight like when I shoot guitar bodies. It has to be sanded level again because surface tension makes it build heavily on the edges of the fret slots. After leveling I go through each slot with the hand slot saw to make sure they are still the correct depth and free of 'goop' that may have run down them.

The finish ends up being very thin, then when I press the frets in I just be careful not to use so much pressure. This eliminates the possibility of 'denting' the surface and popping the finish loose either side of the fret slots.

By the way...Deft is really soft, then turns brittle. Use McFadden or Behlen Stringed Instrument lacquer. McFadden being the top choice.

-Doug

Well I'm glad you liked that fingerboard!! Curly like that is getting harder to come by...for a reasonable price that is.

How did the catalyzed varnish work out? What kind was it?

I've taken to shooting maple fingerboards with polyester prior to fretting these days. Man, that works so sweet! I rub it down with 0000 steel wool after sanding to 1500 which makes a wonderful feeling fingerboard.

-Doug

Basically use 'enough'. If it's a pint, a quart, or a gallon. If you spray you will use more. If you brush the surface will take a lot more work to level and you might damage the white layer. Don't constrain yourself to a certain volume. Put on however much or little you think is enough.

-Doug

Gallery Hardwoods... Larry will make them any size, and if you want to laminate he even runs them through the thickness sander. Whenever I need something really special.

-Doug

I don't make a habit of actively promoting my work in the forum here, but I what you seek is exactly what I do. You'll see my web site listed in with the suppliers link from the PG home page. You can get a neck made your way.

-Doug

Anyway, since it is so much like the Ibanez RG I think you have to ask yourself why you want to build this guitar.

I have to agree with Wats... Why not use the RG measurements as a guideline for creating your own design? You're going through all the steps of making one from scratch anyway so why not add your own 'flair' as a way to be unique?

Reading the books mentioned will answer many technical questions and may even spark new ideas. Then creating templates will make your project even more accurate. Be careful and use the right tools for the job.

An online search will reveal several companies that specialize in inlay work, so you shouldn't have too much problem finding one to inlay your fingerboard. Of course you could always try it yourself...

-Doug

Way to go!

+1 for a standard neck through... call the heel to body joint whatever you want to. Sure looks nice too....

I'm in with the "I like it folks" The color...well it could be more exciting, but I the guy has made a guitar for a specific theme and it's rather unique.

1-7/8" nut and 2-1/2" @ the 24th seems to be a common size customers ask for. Unfortunately I don't always know what bridge they might be using, because they usually just give me the string spread. I'd suggest drawing it out full scale to figure out what works for you since the nut width can vary quite a bit. I've done 5 strings where the nut with is between 1-5/8" and 2" depending on customer preference. I tend to like the narrower widths, but that's just me.

Hope this helps.

-Doug

I agree with Rich.

A neck is the sum of it's parts. Wood acts like wood. Flat or quartered, both have their own characteristics to deal with. In my experience a thick board will warp more during the shaping process than a thin board. That's not to say every thick board warps, it's just more likely. Hence, using the lamination concept decreases that chance more than a one piece neck. It's kinda like driving, sure you could roll through stop signs but that might increase your chances of an accident as compared to routinely making a complete stop.

Something to consider here: Fender, Gibson, etc. buy HUGE quantities of stock. With that comes the power to dictate just what sort of stock they receive. There is no doubt that they are selective with the lot.

-Doug

Lubricate the steel wool with naptha. That will stop the gumming.

Sandpaper works good to level the surface. Use progressively finer grit to maybe 1500 or more. Then use the steel wool to scuff it up. This produces a very nice playing surface as stated before.

-Doug

So what happens after let's say 6 months? Does the French polish shrink into the grain? FP is an age old highly regarded method of instument finishing so it must be good. Some day I'm going to have to give it a shot.

-Doug

Interesting point about the shellac and dampening. I might have to give it a try too one of these days. Not to keen on grain filling though, but a wash coat sounds good. Something about having the grain feel, I just like it.

What type/brand of shellac do you like Mattia? Do you use the flakes, or pre-mixed stuff? Blonde or amber?

-Doug