ToneMonkey

I think your doing the right thing by asking for recommendations. CNC's can be a bit of a mine field. I would try to talk to as many companies as possible that make parts out of a similar material and size as you will be. See if they can recommend (or even more importantly - tell you not to buy from) any manufactureres or agents. Keep your eye on the retooling costs too as you're pretty much bound to bust a few bits when your debugging the programme. Have a look for good technical support too, as personally I would say it'll pay back itself for when things go a bit tits up. Well, I suppose that this was a bit of a useless post. I've read your posts before and I doubt if I've put anything that you haven't already thought of. Good luck dude and send me a cheap guitar....... ........Oh and your .co.uk wont load on my computer

There are quite a few places that will mix paint to any colour that you want, providing that you have a something for them to sample/scan. Have a look at some good Automotive shops.

I think (if I remember correctly - which I rearly do) it originally came up when someone was doing a carved top with spalted maple. The different densities make it a bit precarious. Not really finshing - my mistake. I think the method that they used for finishing was CA glue (I think) to seal it all and make it a bit less soft. Like I said, I've never worked with it before, so it's probably a good time to bow out of this thread gracefully

Buy Melvin Hiscocks book and . Mine has a permanent position next to the bog BE WARNED - Building guitars is not cheap, especially when you need to get hold of tools, I wouldn't like to know how much I've spent (I wouldn't like the missus to know either as it's a fair bit). I think the cheepest way of getting into it is to go to the pawn brokers and buy an old knackered guitar with all the bit's and pieces on. You can do pretty much anything you like to it...look at idch's Bocaster for a very good example. But read first and good luck.

I know that spalted maple is supposed to be a bit of a bitch when it comes to finishing. Mainly due to the different densities. So I would think that spalted birch is a bitch too. BTW, this is second hand info that I've picked up from the boards, I've never worked with the stuff myself.

Read it the other day, those things look gorgeous, especially the tricone. They sound awesome too. I'm no resonator coinnoseour, but those give me GAS ← TBH, I prefer the single cone. Watch this space for a couple of projects that I'm helping him with. We've been planning something very special over a couple of beers. I can guaranty that no-one will have seen anything like it ← The tricone got the geek in me going - the styling looks like one of the old transformers logos. ← Never thougt of that but i can see where you're comming from

Read it the other day, those things look gorgeous, especially the tricone. They sound awesome too. I'm no resonator coinnoseour, but those give me GAS ← TBH, I prefer the single cone. Watch this space for a couple of projects that I'm helping him with. We've been planning something very special over a couple of beers. I can guaranty that no-one will have seen anything like it

That's the one. I'll go off and have a look. Cheers Setch, another pint I owe you

Alright guys, this is a long shot but here goes anyway. On the steel National resonators made way back around the 30's and 40's they had a finish on them that's kind of like crystals growing under the laquer. In fact as far as I can tell, it's exactly that. Does anyone know how they did this? I've been having a look at Sodium Thiosulphate but I don't think that's it. Cheers guys Kaj EDIT - I've just noticed that I put Dobro in the title - what a muppet

If I got one of those guitars out of it, then yes it would

like normal. I want one.

Bump I supposed I should have waited until the magazine was actually out before asking the question. So then, anyone seen it yet?

BINGO - It's been a long day, I really couldn't remember the name of it Now where's my coffee?

I'd use the white plasticy tape that has no glue on it. You use it for plumbing (go and have a look a the joints at the bottom of your radiators and you'll probably see some white stuff at the joins with the valves). Easy and mess free (and cheap too)

Give me a few minutes and then check your email. This is the double cutaway plans that I have been using. Check them against yours for any differences if you've already started. Kaj EDIT: Can't find your email address, do you want to post it here or PM it to me and I'll send them right over.

Cool, I've always loved these. Tell your mate that if there is anything he needs doing in the UK (shipping around etc), then I'll be happy to help as I can use the new works store and it's MASSIVE....... ........For the small price of one of those guitars of course

Well, my rather uninformed opinion is based on my conversation with a luthier last night. This is what he said about his spray equipment: "It might be crap, but I only use it once a month. If I was using it every day then it would be worth spending more money" This was shortly followed by "Ooo, nice jointer, can I borrow it?" I think that about sums up his view.

Well in the absence of answers, I'll pipe up. Be warned though, my first inlay job (Trapezoid inlays) has just met my own personal Wall of Death in a Drak style as they were.......lets just say it rhymes with "height" Logic tells me that a flat board would be better, I always work on the assumption that I should try to keep everything as square as possible until the last minute, when you can shape things. BUT you can put a rail on either side of the fret board and use that as the flat base for the router. I think it's a matter of preference. There are a few discussions about this in this section. Have a browse through, but I'm not sure if they started as this topic or not. Hope this is of some help. Like I said though, I'm useless at inlays I'm just regurgating what I've heard and what my very limited experience has told me

Alright guys, Some of you may remember a while back when I said about my friends resonators and some work that I'm doing for him. Well, the review of his resonators (with loads of pics) is in this months Guitarist magazine. They're the Delta ones. He came round last night well chuffed because the review is very good (all gutars getting 4 stars out of 5). If any of you guys read it then could you post here and tell me what you think, I'm trying to get some feedback. Cheers Kaj

If you're cutting with a jigsaw, then I would suggest a small pillar drill and some drum sanders. My drill cost me £25 and the drums cost about £10. I found it so much easier to get the edges square as I'd been trying (and ballsing up) to do it by hand. They are also good for shaping the sides of Gibson style trapezoid inlays. Also, as far as getting a good bandsaw, I've got a very cheap, old desk top one. It's not really designed for cutting thick wood but if you pass through a blank slowly and carefully it's ok. It's far from ideal but it works and only cost £15. And finally.... .... How come you have to bolt portable thicknessers to the table? Portable, my arse

You would think so, would you? I did. Thats how I want it, but the problem is that the body and neck join before the end of the fretboard. It would be absolutely fine if the body, neck and fretboard all met at the same point, but since nothing is ever easy, they don't To be honest, it will be much easier to do it your first way (which is how I'm probably going to do it). I think I'll worry about this more when the woods all here and I can lay it all together and have a play. Got my mind on snooker cues at the minute

Cheers skibum, Yeah, I've seen that method before but I wanted the neck laminates to start at the corners of the fingerboard so that all the lines converge at the same point. mmmmm, maybe I'll stick with the snooker cue

That's made my day

OK guys, I order some of the bits for my bro's Warlockesque Bass, but I've confused myself as I've never built a true neck through... ..... If you place the guitar on the table with the strings facing towards the ceiling and look straight down at the guitar, what shape is the neck. It's hard to explain in words and I haven't got a clue how to post a pic of it so bear with me on this one. As the neck becomes thicker as it travels from the nut to the body, is this line carried on through the body so that the at the bridge end of the guitar the neck through is thicker than where it joined the guitar body? I don't think that it is judging by the pics of them that I have seen. What I'm thinking is that when the neck joins the body, the outside edges of the neck become parallel with the centre line as it travels through the body. This makes sense to me. I think that this isn't quite perfect though as the fretboard extends into the body a little way and the laminates of the neckthrough will appear to be thinner (width ways - remember were looking straight down on it) than the fret board. The other option is to follow the shape of the fret board until it's end and then bring the edges of the neck parallel with the centre line. But this would be far from preferential to joining on the wings of the body. Please someone help as this is driving me crazy Oh and on two completely different and irrelevant side notes: 1) If anyone in the UK has a quilted maple headstock veneer that I could buy I would be very greatful 2) Last night when I was trying to get to sleep, I designed a jig to make a snooker cue. I don't think that a quilted maple one (with a Drak or Myka style finish) will be stable enough, but hey I might give it a try anyway. Anyone got any information on cue construction? No, I didn't think so Cheers guys Kaj EDIT: I forgot to mention perhaps the most important bit. I would like the neck though to run through the body at the same width as the fret board so it neatens up all the lines.

I've got a shaped nack that's been hanging around and moved between rooms for almost 8 months now (I can only fit in building guitars very rarely - it really is going very slow indeed). Some times the windows open, sometimes it's closed, most of the time it's raining and I still haven't had any problems....... ........However, I know that I should have put something on it to protect it from moisture, but I think the wood fairy is keeping her eye on it as it is rather GORGEOUS