robbie_rnfr

The easiest and, in my opinion, the most attractive way to finish a "flamed" wood is with clear coats of semi-gloss lacquer. The trick is to properly sand the wood. I hope this body is unfinished to begin with and uncontaminated with other finishes. Anywho... Block sand the body through all the proper grits; 120, 180, 240, 320. By the time you hit 320 the flame should pop on it's own. I like to seal with a coat or two of shellac. Burnish the sealer coat with some 0000 steel wool. Top coat with two or three coats of a semi-gloss lacquer. Both the shellac and lacquer come in aerosol cans. I like the WATCO lacquer. If you are finishing for the first time, this will work great. Since it is semi-gloss because you don't need to rub it with a compound. Tung oil is...a commitment. It looks nice but it takes awhile for the oil to polymerize. It smells funny and can provide some problems if you change your mind at some later point, like if you want to stain. For a first time finisher, don't monkey with stains unless you are willing to accept screwing up. Once you apply stain to a figured wood, there is no turning back. It soaks down and will require a great deal of sanding to remove the color. If you haven't sanded properly, stain will make every scratch pop. But if your heart is set on applying a stain, get yrself some alcohol soluble aniline dye. You can get it in the purple you are looking for. Carefully apply it after you have sanded to 320. Apply the shellac/lacquer spray and you will be happy with the results if you don't rush the process. What can help is if you apply a very dilluted stain to the wood before you sand, it will show all the scratches you missed. But if you stick with the clear, it will all work great.

Any info on the "low tech" ones made out of plywood, as seen in Tony Bacon's "The Ultimate Guitar Book"?

I have seen electric induction "heat guns" start fires and burn wood. Even at low settings. Heat causes things to burn, not just open flame.

Much is I hate to say it, find a kit. It will get you physically familiar with what goes into putting a guitar together. Plus it is a nice baby step that will give you a faster result rather than constantly looking at the chunk of wood sitting in the corner that on day is supposed to one day be a guitar but is just beyond your skill. Read, read read. Get currious. Make friends with yr local guitar repairman. And be the best wood shop student in the world. If you can't make a simple bookcase, you will never make a guitar. And as for the $$$$ issue, all the time you put into an instrument plus cheap parts, like tuners, rarely make for a good instrument that you will end up happy with. You don't need the gold plated, locking tuners, but the difference between a $12 set and a $30 set is huge.

I am seeing a lot people talking in this section about refinishing and heat guns. Especially with heavier poly-based finishes. Reading this has left me almost wanting to use the shocked looking emotocon! Several of these postings have left me scared. Unless you don't care about the instrument, safety or health, go on, torch that axe! Leave a couple burn marks just to show all how hot your fret work is. From a health point of view, you are burning some very, very nasty plastic. The fumes from that are much more toxic and lingering than the solvents of strippers and lacquers. I would take a chemical burn from a caustic that I can wash off after contact than a heat blister any day! A heat gun around finishing supplies is just flat out dangerous! Let alone seasoned wood, sawdust and plastics. I have yet to see an open, well ventilated guitar repair shop/space for doing good, safe refinish work. And for an object that you are bothering to put the time into refinishing, the idea of putting anything related to fire near it's surface seems really bad. Fire can have a mind of its own. I would never think that just because I put the burn in the wood means that I can remove it. Doing good finishing/refinishing is worth taking time and care not just for the instrument, but for those doing the work. Slow and steady is always gonna win this race.

I have busted the shaft/motor connection on several dremel tools. I am of the opinion that they are only good for weeked HO railroaders. They have their place, but there are really only good for light carving and grinding work. If you are planning to do any sort of routing, I would suggest a laminate trimmer. Preferably the Porter/Cable Professional. The scale is perfect or guitar work and much easier to use than a standard router. There are tons of useful bits that use the standard 1/4" shaft. You can abuse these in ways that would make a dremel shatter in your hand. And these have the hp and rmp to actually cut rather than burn and burnish your wood. Plus you can very easily cut your own base plates. And you can get 1/8" collets so you can use all those dremel/stew-mac bit if you must.

Sanding will be your best bet, especially if you will just be sanding the raised area. EDIT!!! up with a chemical stripper where you don't want it will turn your slight hangover into a migrane. Same said of a heat gun. Paitence, a flat block and going 100 grit to 240 grit paper will present the best results. Although to do the initial finish removal, careful use of a random orbit sander can speed things up. But you would have to go back to that flat block for the rest. Then you'd just have to mask off that area for finish. Although the Mahogany veneer would make it seamless. Poly has been used since the 60's. Lacquer is mostly only for high end work from most maunfactures. It takes less work to get a high gloss out of a poly than a lacquer. And you can be kinda lazy, apply poly thick and get your gloss on the buffing wheel. being new is no excuse for ignoring the rules on foul language

I have hear it said that there are no stupid questions.... From a wood finishing point of view, if you can, get finish over every bit of raw wood! Another point, get finish in your cavities because if you are using copper tape to shield, it will stick better to a finished surface than to raw wood.

Ok, metalic inlays. 1. This is my easy aluminum dot inlay for fret boards. Using aluminum rods and a corresponding diameter brad point or forestner bit. Cut your hole to a depth of a 1/16" for a fret marker, 1/8" for side marker. Using a jeweler's fret saw, cut a little more than you need off the rod. A little drop of yellow glue does work with excelent result on most fret board woods to hold the aluminum. And it is less mess. Don't kill yourself using an epoxy or super glue. The marker should fit nice and tight. You may need to tap the round into the hole. Once you have wiped the excess glue, and there will be regardless of how little glue you do use, let it sit for 10 minutes. The excess metal can be filed flush and taken through to a 400 or 600 grit paper and polished along with the wood using 0000 steel wool. A near mirror finish an be acheived. For an historical example of this technique, look at the markers on Danelectro made Silvertones.