TGwaH

I'm actually working on a guitar heavily influenced by Ric. The Rickenbacker webpage is a huge resource. They have model measurements there. Here is the link to the Ric 360.

I feel kind of redundant posting these pics, especially after thegarehanman is keeping us all up to date on his neck through semi-hollow. But, I promised pics and here is what I've got thus far. I'm working on this guitar through Lee Valley a course taught by Rob Taylor of Gilpin guitars -- an acquaintence of Perry I believe. Specs - which are bound to change - modified ES-335 body - figured maple top, hard maple back - mahogany/maple/mahogany neck (mpl/mgy/mpl/mgy/mpl in the body) - mahogany wings - ebony fretboard - custom carved ebony tailpiece - cream ABS binding - two Rickenbacker vintage hi-gain toaster top pick ups - all chrome hardware - tune-o-matic bridge - french polish finish Thus far I've only got pictures of the neck assembly. Shots of the epoxy drying, and then before and after pictures after the neck took a trip through the thickness sander. Man, how I love that machine. I will keep you updated as things progress. Cheers, Jonathan

Polls indicate that they do see themselves as Quebeckers first, and Canadians second, but Canadians none the less. However, one can only aid the seperatists movement by agreeing and fostering this point of view. This is my last comment on the subject, as politics has no place in guitars. Cheers, Jonathan

Without starting a whole political debate, if one is a resident of Quebec, they are also residents of Canada ipso facto Quebecois are Canadians. Cheers, Jonathan

Not sure if this is been mentioned, but it provide the specs for dozens of different tools and comparisons of same. It's from American Woodworker. Hope this helps. Cheers, Jonathan

By all means do, I'll even buy ya a beer Cheers, Jonathan

Just wanted to drop a line to say hi, and let people know I'm back. I faded into the background after I finished my Saga kit -- no pictures, it's nothing to brag about trust me. I just didn't feel as if I had enough knowledge to be a worth while contributer to the board. I've since signed up for a guitar building course with Rob Taylor of Gilpin Guitars, so hopefully within a week I'll have so progress pictures posted for all y'all. Cheers, Jonathan

They are in Cambridge, about an hour outside of Toronto. If you live in that general area drop me a PM and I'll give you the number of a guy in London where I get my wood. Prices are better than A&M and the owner and his wife are two of the friendliest, most helpful people you'll meet.

I've made my own guitar strap in the past and will be making another one in the not too distant future. You can get a pre-cut blank here. It's a pretty decent kit. It holds up well,and stains rather nicely. If you have some around, the black finger board stain will work nicely as a stain as it is a leather dye.

I'm a fan of the so called "oldies progression" G-Em-C-D. It'll cover about million and one different songs depending on the strum pattern. 4 beats per chord and you've got "Last Kiss" a song everyone (but my girlfriend) loves

They appear to be the Saga Kits. Multiple piece bass wood bodies... they dont' actually sound too bad. I like mine. You will want to swap out the tuners on them though.

It does exist, but the metal flakes aren't anything particularly special. While waiting for my nitro to clear, my brother has asked me to paint his guitar for him. I'm using a light green w/metal flake from Canadian Tire -- MotoMaster Nearmatch auto paint. The flakes in the paint appear to be something akin to craft sparkles. I don't know if it's because of the metal flake in the paint, or if there is a larger spray nozzle needed to accomodate the flake but it is really easy to over spray and get massive drips.

Well, after everything was mocked up -- minus the strings-- there were two rather long screws left over, that just happen to nicely into the mounting ring of the pick-up. So, I gather this was the intention of the makers of the kit for the pup. I guess I should go as far as I can before asking silly questions

While waiting for my nitro to cure fully I was doing a dry run of assembly on my body. Mounting the neck pick up I noticed... well, there is no way to mount the neck pick up. The cavity appears to be *just* a little bit too big, and that foam "spring" they use on the pick up pushes the pup way above the neck. Now, the idea I was toying with was to take some 3/4" screws and actually screw the pick up so that the screws reside inside the cavity. Is this normal practice for telecasters or am I just insane?

I came across this article today in Canada's The Globe and Mail and after re-reading some of LGM's posts on guitar finishing and safety, I figured this article might be of interest to some. I'll post the whole article because the link will not last long. Suffering for art? Read this Artists who think safety rules don't apply to them are learning that toxic materials damage their health and threaten their careers, writes JOHN ALLEMANG By JOHN ALLEMANG Monday, March 7, 2005 Finding the perfect goggles and respirator weren't top priorities for sculptor Erika James when she attended art college in Vancouver a decade ago. But after just a few years of working with polyurethane resins in her home studio, she has been made dramatically aware that the creative impulse comes with toxic risks. "I'm losing my eyesight," James says in a calm voice that belies her urgent concerns. "I want to have a long career as an artist, but I already know my health is deteriorating." That combination of hope and anxiety led her to Toronto's Western Hospital recently, where she and dozens of other artists assembled for a seminar titled "How to Be an Artist -- and Not Kill Yourself in the Process." Art is a risky enough way to make a living -- add in the solvents, acids, heavy metals and dust particles that are a standard part of the artist's work and you have a lifestyle that can be extremely hazardous to your health. What makes this day-to-day exposure even worse is the widespread ignorance or indifference of many working artists, and that's what led glassworker Mimi Gellman to help organize the seminar, in conjunction with the Artists' Health Centre Foundation and the visual-artists association CARFAC . "Artists don't believe they're ever going to get old," she says, "and they don't believe anything can harm them." Having herself endured the agonies of a hydrofluoric-acid burn while etching glass, she's keen to make her fellow artists at least acknowledge the dangers that lurk in the studio. "If you don't have an awareness of the risks in your creative practice," she told her hospital audience, while a chorus of ambulance sirens wailed ominously in the background, "you're not going to have a very long career. I meet all kinds of artists who use solvents and can't figure out why they have bad eczema. Or people who work in a studio beside their bedroom and never have a break from their materials, and then can't understand why they feel bad." And it's not just rashes and morning-after nausea -- visual artists appear to be more susceptible to lung disease, lead poisoning and bladder cancer. "The criminal thing about all this," said guest speaker Ted Rickard, manager of health and safety at the Ontario College of Art and Design, "is that people allow themselves to get into this situation without knowing the risks." There's a long tradition of suffering for art, of course, but not all of the agonies are deliberately chosen. Rubens and Renoir were crippled by rheumatoid arthritis, and Paul Klee endured scleroderma. Researchers believe all three artists were exposed to extreme amounts of toxic heavy metals because their bright, bold paintings relied on pigments made with the likes of mercury sulphide, cadmium sulphide, lead, cobalt and manganese. (Duller earth tones are based on iron or carbon compounds and are much less harmful.) Then there's van Gogh, whose unbalanced visions are not just the product of an artistic temperament. Rickard showed a detail of a van Gogh sky and pointed out the way the artist's light sources are surrounded by haloes. This is usually seen as the artistic effect that Japanese corporations pay many millions for, but it could also be the consequence of optic-nerve damage -- van Gogh was notoriously sloppy with his paints and used to eat paint, savouring its lead-based sweetness. The eccentric van Gogh was not alone in ingesting paint -- many artists like to suck on their brushes to get a finer point for more detailed work. "You mustn't put your tools in your mouth," said Rickard, almost like he was talking to a kindergarten class. But the artists took his admonishments well -- bad personal habits, like eating in a workplace that happens to be filled with lead dust or storing nitric acid in old juice bottles, remain all too common in this largely unregulated profession. "We now have a rule at the college," said Rickard, who almost lost a faculty member to a quenching sip of ferric nitrate. "If you're going to recycle a bottle, you have to strip off the original label, re-label it and, if necessary, add a skull and crossbones." Artists aren't by nature fastidious rule-followers -- "anarchists" was one word Gellman used to describe her colleagues. "They think rules don't apply." Nonetheless, Rickard offered a few tips for a longer and healthier creative career: Aerosol sprays are extremely flammable -- don't use them with a cigarette hanging out of the corner of your mouth. If you work around dust, wear a good two-strap disposable mask -- otherwise it will get into your lungs and turn into cement. Have your blood tested for lead if you find you're chronically depressed, irritable, dizzy, fatigued or suffering from aches in the stomach and throat. At OCAD, students who get pregnant are encouraged to take time off school so that their fetus isn't harmed by the lead in the workshops and studios. Linseed oil can spontaneously combust -- if you're cleaning up a spill, wash out the rag afterward, or hang it up for a full week to dry rather than balling it up in the garbage where it could burst into flames. A mouthful of turpentine can kill a child. Don't use it unless you're determined to emulate a 15th-century master. If you're using rotary tools, beware of long hair, dangling sleeves, ties and hanging jewellery. "I've seen students wearing pendants who lean forward to do their welding," said Rickard. "They don't realize how hot the pendant has become until they stand straight up. But thank God the bare-midriff look is out -- we're not getting nearly as many tummy burns." After listening to Rickard's health and safety ideals, James decided she wasn't doing too badly. "I'm doing the best I can according to my finances," she said. "I can't go out and buy a $2,500 air purifier, but I have hooked up a bathroom fan in my studio." With hopes of extending her career, she's now planning to shift from the more toxic resins toward more natural materials. But that's where she comes up against the artist's age-old problem. "I'm known for doing these big plastic installations. That's where my expertise lies, and it's difficult to move away from it."

Thanks, that's what I thought.

Project Guitar

As I move further along in the painting process and getting rather close to applying the clear, I was wondering... do I need to wet sand before applying the clear? I promise, once I know what I'm doing in regards to guitar building I'll give back as much to this forum as I've recieved.

I'll second... erm... third? eleventh? the nomination for Lovekraft. And I'd be all for Setch if he decides to accept a nomination.

Geez, now I feel like a pansy... my tattoo is a map of Canada on my right shoulder blade with the Canadian Flag filling it in.

To me guitar have always been beautiful pieces of art. From the curves to the notes produced guitars are the perfect piece of art, you know, it's like Stephen Jenkins sang "the four right chords can make me cry." Just felt like finally giving something back to the world of music... er, I need to do something to save my masculinity... I've gotta go widdle a tooth pick from a log and spit on things, yeah those are manly things.

I've been toying with the idea of getting another tattoo, and since tattoos and rock and roll go together so well I was just wondering if anyone else out there has any.

Thanks guys, I think I will be going with the nitro. I'll post the guitar once I'm done in a few weeks. BTW, that $9 was Canadian dollars Maiden, it looks like in USD the Deft nitro is about $5.95 for what it's worth. Though I now can't help get the feeling that I'm getting a bit ripped off

I need your opinions. I'm taking a trip up to Lee Valley tomorrow and I'm torn between nitro and this poly. I'm torn, I'm deferring to the expert opions on here.

First off... idch, your Bocaster... killer. Does this mean that a pink fur covered Gretsch is next? Doc, thanks for the help, but ultimately it was a no go. I waited about a four days or so beore attempting with the X-Acto knife, and the paint still lifted. Sadly the paint peeled like a bananna -- it came off in about 5 large pieces. But I was able to start over, and and this point I am about half way to where I was before I had to strip and every thing is sticking nice to the guitar (different primer) and it is coming out much, much nicer than before. Thanks for the advice Doc, and definately keep all your points in mind when it comes time to paint my next guitar.