orgmorg

The camera filter analogy only works perfectly for the pickup concept. But filters don't add, they filter out. Because of this I think it falls short of explaining what is going on with the string to wood relationship.

No, thedoctor is on the right track here. The wood is important because it affects the way the string vibrates. Different levels of density, oils, and other factors dampen certain frequencies, and therefore they do not show up as much in the magnetic field the pickups are reading. A lot like the passive tone control.

Other properties of the wood reinforce certain freq's as well.

Rosewood and ebony are both very dense, but rosewood is considered to be warm sounding, where ebony is bright. Why? Rosewood is also more oily, which dampens higher frequencies.

I have never seen mine go faster than 43k.

We are still using string and tin cans out here.

Some days it gets down to 28k. At that point, it is quicker to use smoke signals.

I stumbled across this a while back:

wendler guitars

Probably a bit different than the guitar you may be planning to build, but they are made of western red cedar.

I started building a body out of one piece of eastern red cedar, mostly out of curiosity. It's a lot different than western cedar, though. And spanish cedar is not a cedar at all. In fact, it is not even a conifer. It got the name because it is very aromatic.

Swweeet!

I love the way the curves of the pickguard work with the grain of the mahogany!

You might want to check to see if it's too small, though. Probably not, but many of the little benchtop models are direct drive, so the arbor doesn't get as close to the top as a belt drive saw does. Check the maximum cut height. If it is 2" with a 10" blade, the 6" blade won't even come thru the top. Also take into account the thickness of your sliding jig, if you are using one.

Sounds like a good combo, it will look great, as well.

Do you have a pic? I don't think I've ever seen a guitar made of pecan.

Doc, have you seen this before?

bridge doctor

It is designed to correct the problem you are having.

I've only messed around with acoustic guitars a little bit, but I have a feeling that even if you get the bridge put back right, it will just happen again. As far as the question of flatness goes, most guitars actually have a domed top, in a 25 or 30 foot radius-barely noticable, but gives it a bit of extra strength.

No, because when you realise that the neck needs to be 2 1/4" at the heel, you will have to buy another piece. But then, yes, you will have plenty left over.

"Pinus" is the genus of all the pine trees.

Hyunsu recently posted pics of some very handsome guitars with yellow pine bodies.

But no, I would not use it for a neck.

Can you get " spanish cedar " there? It is a lot like mahogany.

Are you sure it is heartwood? Most birdseye maple on the market is sapwood. Sometimes it has streaks of heartwood, but that tends to lower the value. Partly because the eyes are much smaller in the heartwood-they get a little bigger each year.

What color is the wood? Light brown, or mostly creamy/white?

It is actually harder than the sapwood, but it is more prone to cracking and twisting. Also has darker streaks and blotchy coloring.

I agree. Oil does NOT seal the wood to moisture. What happens then, is the wood absorbs moisture on the back of the neck, causing it to expand, just a tiny bit. But since the top of the neck is sealed with the glue that holds the fingerboard on, the neck bows. I have had this problem with oiled necks.

So, who is MAX? And does he know that top is not bookmatched?

My opinion on this is that in an electric guitar, the tone the wood makes when you rap it with your knuckles does NOT affect the tone in a way that we can discern.

How your knuckles feel afterwards DOES.

In other words, the vibrations that are reflected back to the strings are what is going to affect the vibration of the string. The ones that are carried through the wood and cause the wood to "ring" probably bleed off energy from the strings. In an acoustic instrument, this produces the instrument's sound. In an electric, the affect is much different.

This is just a half formed, half arsed theory from a half baked head, though.

Sapwood is the outer part of the tree which has not become heartwood. As the name implies, it carries sap up and down the trunk.

If you have used hard maple for a neck, you have used sapwood. In maple, the heartwood is less stable, and darker colored, so the good stuff is selected for sapwood. In woods like walnut and cherry, it is selected for heartwood, for the dark color. In these woods, the sapwood is only an inch or two thick.

It is confusing, because the term "heart" also refers to the very center of the tree which is usually very unstable and prone to cracking. In higher grade lumber, this is left out entirely. The "heartwood", between the "heart" and the sapwood is stable in most woods, maple being an exception.

Some of dual drum sanders have a separate height adjustment for the second drum, so you can keep it raised until the final pass.

You can use it for a neck, just not a wicked thin one. You said earlier that you like a fatter neck anyway, so I would say go for it! With a good truss rod, it should be fine.

The seller is a bit confused.

Red maple is a soft maple.

Eastern hardrock maple is white maple, also known as sugar maple.

Both grow in Vermont.

I am almost certain the pics show red maple. ( soft )

As Drak stated, birdseye is found in hard maple.

Hard maple gets a curl sometimes, but this type of flame is found mostly in soft maple.

I have heard very good things about the Performax sanders. I have the Delta thickness sander, and I like it, but I have heard the Performax is better. From what I can see, the drum raises and lowers, instead of the table? On the Delta, the table raises, and the mechanism is a bit rickety. And, yes, you can't hog down on a board with it- multiple light passes. I have used 36 grit and was able to take off a lot at once, but then you gotta change belts.

Have Fun!

Welcome to the board, Styles! And congrats on the new arrival

I have gotten over my reservations about the bottom half. The more I look at it, the more I like it. The f-holes are particularly sweet!

Shellac works nice for a sealer coat, especially if you are unsure of what you are putting it over, like in a refinish, or if you suspect silicone contamination in the wood. It adheres to almost anything, and most topcoats are compatible with it.

Zinsser makes a product called Seal-coat that is in a can, and is thin enough to put right in the gun. In fact if you thin it, it will run. It is also dewaxed, which is important when using it under lacquer.

Yeah, cherry is really nice. Everybody likes to stain it dark, but it really looks best when it gets to age naturally. It is also very stable.

When thedoctor says avoid the heartwood, I believe he means the wood around the very center of the tree, like the middle 4 or 5 inches, and he is right. That part cracks, checks, and twists badly. It is usually sawn up for pallets. And the rest of it IS very nice to work with, not just his opinion. I've never considered it a particularly hard wood, though. Definitely harder than walnut, but not nearly hard as rock maple.

After hours of wrestling with myself about this one, I went ahead and snagged it:

Parks jointer/planer combo

I have always been leery of combo machines, but I have also always had it hard for the old Parks planers. The 33" jointer bed seemed way too short at first, but really, the only thing I need a 12" jointer for is truing up blocks for resawing into tops, and this will do that fine. My 6" jointer will do fine for most everything else, and now I can sell my old 12" Belsaw planer/molder. ( anyone need one? ) I don't have any molding knives for it anyway, and it has a slow feed rate.

Anyone in Ohio want to put a hairy smelly luthier wannabe up for the night?

What do you think of the design? Does it work? Why or why not? Any and all feedback appreciated

It works very nicely.

The only thing that bugs me is the shape of the bottom. My eye wants to see it either rounder or bigger. If it didn't have that tailpiece, it would bug me a lot more. That tailpiece, which I should add is very nicely done, really makes the shape of the butt look right. That, and the contours of the top carve. If it were a flat top, I don't think it would look half as good. I still wanna see the ass end just a tad bigger, but that's just me.

Do you have a better pic of the end of the tailpiece? I am curious as to how it attaches. Is it all one piece of wood, or is there some hardware involved?

How 'bout " The Violator "?

I was wondering about the deadhead thing. It seemed odd- you don't strike me as being the crunchy hippie type.

Does this guitar come with a first aid kit?