Houdini

Just to let everyone know, Harbor Freight Tools has a sale on their 1/2 ton arbor press until April 11. The flyer I received in the mail has them priced for $18.99 (regularly $29.99). Seems like a good deal when you consider that the stewmac version costs $89 (although I believe that the stewmac is a 1 ton press). Think about it if you need one for fret work.

Another option if you plan on building several guitars this way is to use a mortise machine. These are designed to give deep square corners (unlike the mortise/hammer tool seen above) for a mortise and tenon joint, but should work equally well for what you are doing. Go to this website http://www.rockler.com/search_results.cfm?...mortise+machine or any woodworking tool store to see what one looks like. You can get a cheap one from Harbor Freight tools at: http://order.harborfreight.com/EasyAsk/har...ght/results.jsp I'm not certain, but they may even sell mortising attachments for a drill press.

For those of you who finish your guitars in poly urethane, do you prefer the two part automotive poly, or the standard minwax type poly that you can purchase in a hardware store?

Hey, Thanks for the info. I don't think I want to use it if it looks cheap.

Just wanted to see what everyone thinks about using MOP and other shell veneers. I was thinking about getting some to make headstock logos.

After again searching through more tutorials, I still haven't had my questions answered. It seems to me that automotive paints (Duplicolor) are acrylic based and therefore not good candidates to apply polyurethane over (according to the guys at the MINWAX company and Sherwin Williams company). A lot was mentioned about using duplicolor SUV and Truck topcoat, but again this is an acrylic based finish and I am guessing does not have the hardness or durability of a poly or nitro. I believe that the solvent in polyurethane is acetone (but am unsure) and am concerned that this will react with the acrylic paint leaving the finish soft. Am I on the right track, or reading too much into this?

I have been searching through other threads, and am still confused on finishing with poly or nitro to produce a solid color. I understand that you should first fill the grain with an oil based grain filler, and then seal it with a sanding sealer. Now what I don't understand is, to apply a solid color to the guitar, do you use paint (if so, what kind/base of paint is compatable with polyurethane or nitrocellulose) or is the poly/nitro stained with a pigment to produce the solid color. If this is the case, is there any information on what kind/base of stain to use and how to mix the pigment with poly/nitro in order to produce a solid color as opposed to a see through color (i.e. I don't want the wood grain to show). From my research, I have concluded that acrylic or acrylic enamel paints are not compatable with the finishes. I appreciate the help.

I was thinking about making a fingerboard radius jig for my router. If I do this, I am concerned if it will be able to give a clean cut on Mother of Pearl. As always, I will inlay the fingerboard before I radius it, in order to give it a smooth finish. Just wondering if you can use a router on MOP, or if it will break.

I purchased some tape at Lowes used for airconditioning and heating systems. I believe it is made out of aluminum. I tested the tape in a circuit to see if electricity will flow through it and it works on a single piece of tape. If you try to complete a circuit across two pieces of tape stuck together, you cannot complete the circuit. Therefore it is not conductive on the back side of the tape. My plan is to shield a guitar with this instead of copper tape (since it is a lot cheaper) and use solder or conductive paint to connect the seams. I just wanted to see if anyone has had success doing this, or if I am running down the wrong path.

I have tried to use solder for inlays but have been unsucessful. The biggest problems are that the solder/soldering iron burns the wood and you could end up with discolorations. Also, solder doesn't like to flow easily, it tends to ball up and looks like a ball bearing instead of flowing into the cavity. Some key points to note if you do decide to try it: 1. Make sure the solder is lead free, or you may end up with lead poisoning some day. You can get lead free solder at any hardware store. 2. I have only tried rosin core solder. The rosin tends to spatter and leave hard crystals wherever it lands (it almost looks like tiny dried glue specs). I don't know about acid core or pure solder without any rosin/acid. If you try these types of solder and it works well, let me know. 3. Yes solder does sand easily, since it is so soft, because of this there may be a potential for denting it if you hit the inly fairly hard with the guitar string while playing. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info, I will try again with dry coats of lacquer and see what happens. Hopefully it will work out.

No, the paper is designed to be printed on top of. It is supposed to hold the ink without it being dissolved by the solvent.

This is my first post on the forum and would like to say that I have really learned a lot from all of the great information posted here. As for my question, I purchased some waterslide decal paper for laser printers from DecalPaper.com to use for headstock decals. In their instructions, they say all you need to do is print out your decal on a laser printer and then spray over it with an acrylic finish to protect it. I had my logos printed at Kinkos copy shop assuming that they would have good quality printers and then sprayed krylon acrylic over the image. When I did this, the ink ran and ruined the image (same with polyurethane). I came across a post in this forum (on page 28 labled "body decal") where decalshopmike talked about having to use a thermal laser printer in order to keep the ink from running as well as applying a specialist sealer. Does anyone know what type of copiers/printers are considered thermal printers and are suited for decal printing? Also what is a good specialist sealer to use so that the ink will not run when the headstock is finished with nitro or poly. I appreciate any help.