guitar_player

Today I experimented with bending the sides. I think I'm going to end up bending them on a pipe heated by a propane torch. Here's a test side clamped to the form.

Well I've finally been able to start working on this. Today I finished making the radius dishes and go bar deck. I glued the soundboard together. Tomorrow I have to make a mold for bending the sides and a mold for building the body and maybe get the rosette inlayed.

The better jig saws are pretty nice and would work fine compared to some of the older or cheaper ones they are like a whole different tool a bandsaw is a lot nicer though. I would suggest that anyone who needs one to check craigslist before going with a jig saw, I got my bridgewood 14" bandsaw for $80, not the greatest but it will do anything besides resawing fine and probably with a riser kit and set up good it would do resawing. I have a really old craftsman jig saw that works pretty good I barely ever use it I needed to today but can't find a blade lol.

I just make sure to have the neck angle right or no neck angle if not needed and then adjust the nut and the bridge as low as I can go without buzzing on electrics I don't mind a little bit of buzzing if it can't be heard through the amp but I like really low action. You can measure the height of strings on guitars that you like the setup of.

Don't get a craftsman: anything. Please. TTI used to be the company that made all the motors and mechanical parts for all the good craftsman tools, but recently Sears has decided to manufacture their own products. The new product from what I hear SUCKS according to TTI reps. TTI manufactures Ryobe, Milwaukee and Rigid.

That's just my opinion though.

Other than that, I would go for a plunge router, as you can set that to the correct height a lot easier, and normally plunge routers have a gauge to tell you how deep you've gone.

New craftsman stuff sucks. The old routers like pictured are decent but nothing great. A plunge router would be much better for guitar work.

In my experience craftsman routers are crap. They seem like a good deal in the beginning I bought craftsman for my first router and the height kept changing on me when I was using it. I have used it maybe 3 times and instead used my dad's old fixed base router that you have to use a hammer to tighten the wing nut on until I got my Hitachi set. As far as the cases I prefer the bags, all of mine and my dad's tools have never seen there cases since they were bought it's too hard to get them in the cases easily. The craftsman had a canvas bag as a case which is the only thing I liked about it.

It is the guitar for me so I don't really see any need in building anymore electrics for myself besides maybe one of these with a floyd rose. It is a lot better than I thought it would turn out to be.

Hehe, we´ll see about that...any builder here will tell you this is an addiction. Even if I haven´t built one myself yet I can assure you...designing, reading, searching for parts, etc...it´s already an obsession. I´m glad it worked out so great for you. It is a very interesting design which no doubt could benefit from a tremelo (yes, yes..."vibrato")], and before you know it, you´ll have convinced yourself you "need" to build another one...oh, and maybe another one just after that...

Yeah I know I'm already obsessed pretty much. Sometime I'm building a nicer one with a floyd rose. I'm starting an acoustic now, I've pretty much realized that I only enjoy the woodworking part of it.

The guitar is great, it plays perfect has really low action and no buzzing at all. The stainless steel frets feel really smooth when bending and the sperzel locking tuners are awesome. The dream 180's sound great playing anything from cleans to death metal and the single coil is great for clean. Each humbucker can be coil tapped so I can get all the strat sounds. It is the guitar for me so I don't really see any need in building anymore electrics for myself besides maybe one of these with a floyd rose. It is a lot better than I thought it would turn out to be.

I think I've decided on tru oil because it seems a lot easier than other finishes for my acoustic build. I want to know if I can get a high gloss with it using rubbing compound and how long should I let it cure. also I saw this http://www.amazon.com/Birchwood-Casey-Stoc...9998&sr=8-3 can I use that to fill the grain too and then just using tru-oil. I realise I might need to buy a couple bottles of it since it's a whole acoustic.

I wouldn't worry about it that's probably the way it needs to be to work.

Yes, the Dremel one gets bad reviews and looks predictably sloppy and cheap.

Thanks for the link. I don't know much about laminate trimmers. Do people mount them under tables like a router sometimes? I'd like to use roundover bits and whatnot, so is that best done with a table setup or can you hand-hold the thing for edge work like that?

Also, do most laminate trimmers accept template guides, and is there a "standard" for template guides (are they interchangeable between brands)?

Laminate trimmers are small low powered routers that are usually if not always used by hand. Most template guides are different between routers. It sounds like for what you need a regular router is more useful, you can do everything with them and if you can get one with 2 bases you can keep the fixed base mounted under a table. Router will do everything laminate trimmers will do but the trimmers just easier to move around sometimes when you don't need the extra power or 1/2" bits.

I would just use a scraper, I try to avoid using the router for stuff that I don't really need to use it for, it would take longer but there would be no chance of messing it up.

Hi all. I just bought this base, but I have a less positive review.

Concave-base issues notwithstanding, I found the physical construction to be solid. The tool screws firmly into the crossbar and I had little worry about slop there.

Unfortunately, the entire assembly will begin to rattle itself apart within seconds of starting the tool, even when the various adjustments are tightened with pliers. After several minutes of use, even the base was wobbling. The result is that the depth and bit angle are continually changing.

Much of the depth-adjustment range is pointless, far above the base and well out of reach of any bit. By the time you crank it down to where the bit actually protrudes below the base, the lower spring on the support pillar is crushed down almost to its limit. And, as mentioned above, nothing ensures that the bit remains perpendicular to the base.

In use, I didn't find the edge guide to work very well. Because it has only one point of contact with the edge, nothing ensures that it remains perpendicular to a tangent as you follow a contour. Also, the maximum distance from the edge is very limited. I don't know if there are better designs out there, but this one doesn't seem precise to me.

If nothing else, I thought I might keep the base to mount upside-down in homemade mini router table like this: http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/microrouter.htm but with the way the thing rattles apart, I don't see the point. And with this base and edge guide coming in at almost $100, I think I'll return them and get a laminate trimmer. I welcome any suggestions for what to look for in those. I don't build guitars (yet, anyway), but most of my needs are similar.

Gavin

I found a good deal on a used stewmac one and everyone says it's better than the dremel one it seems really good but I haven't tried it yet. I got it just to rout for inlays with dental burrs. I see no use beyond that and maybe soundhole rosettes but a real router is probably better fprthat. The link below is a good deal on a laminate trimmer, I've been considering buying it since mine broke but I can get by with my router. If your building guitars a good plunge/fixed base router set and a dremel and base for inlays is all you will probably ever need.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores...3+5144+10401007

Yeah, they are really strong there was a video on youtube of some guy stepping on a one piece neck and a scarf jointed one. The one piece broke and the scarf joint didn't. After messing up a scarf jointed neck and stepping on it and jumping a little once or twice I was convinced. I would only do a one piece neck in an acoustic guitar, just because my electrics aren't treated so great but I treat my acoustics great and keep them in a case.

Same here guitarplayer, this is the type of jig I use most often. I do not own a wagner planer yet, but I've wanted one for a while, though I probably won't use it much. I've used the router jig thing for everything from leveling bodies, cleaning up headstocks, making laminates/veneers for cavity covers and more. I also use a 3/4" straight bit when using the jig and the same router, lol, except with the fixed base on instead, love that router. As a jig it works wonders, quick, easy, leaves a decent surface. J

Yeah, the router's great, I have the fixed base mounted in my router table. It's really quiet for a router too, the only thing I don't like is the router is hard to get out of the plunge base. I'm thinking I'll just build a jig like this with bolts so I can move the 2 pieces of wood to adjust to whatever size thing I'm routing down since I'm always trying to find scrap that will work for one.

Has anyone ever used the Wagner Safe-T Plane? I'm considering buying it to plane down Strat headstocks.

Have you considered just setting up a router jig to do it? It would be free and from the sounds of it safer if all your using it for is strat headstocks, could be a little time consuming for other stuff.

Well, I never really thought of building a jig to do it because I assumed that the plane worked quite well, but from what I'm reading it's not that great. I'll probably design some kind of jig or system to do this quickly and neatly.

I did a headstock today and took a few pics. The jig takes 3 minutes maybe to make, I'm thinking of making a permanent one though since I build one of these like once a week at least. I used to use a jointer for the headstocks but it's too easy for it to chip and this only takes a couple minutes longer. It's also great for backplates and veneers since my planer is a hand feed one it's a lot of work to use it for something this small. I use doublestick to stick the neck down and use a 3/4" bit since it's the biggest I have.

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr266/g...er/IMG_2853.jpg

Check out the waterbased laquer post below. I explain my process for making regular laquer brushable.

In your opinion do you think I'd be better off doing that or spraying it. Spraying it requires me to buy a spray gun and a water catch thing for my compressor but it's a big one and should run a gun. I know the stewmac one would work. I have this idea that spraying is really hard and I'll mes it up. Anyone's help would be appreciated. It would have to be waterbase if I'm spraying.

There great, I've had a lot of them in various guitars. The only thing is they can be a little bit more touchy to eq settings other than that I haven't noticed a difference between them and seymour duncan, dimarzio, etc.

I've got some thinline plans in pdf I could email you if you could use them. My email is guitarfrazier@ne.rr.com.

I made one out of ipe.. A very hard wood. Works great. I cut it on my bandsaw, and put a sheet of sandpaper on a screwed up fretboard and sanded it to shape by running it across the sandpaper.

I took a little file and filed a slight 'V" shape in it so the fretwire wouldn't slip around when I use it.

-J

This question is really for anyone that has made these. Can you post pictures? I would also like to see your entire system. Thank you

Here's mine, it's nothing fancy you could easily make the radius in the bottom and chisel a slot in it.

http://s490.photobucket.com/albums/rr266/g...nt=IMG_2703.jpg

I finally got my nut files today (warmoth shipping isn't the fastest). I can't find any difference between them and the first ones reviewed here, they are made in japan by Hiroshima Files. Pretty good deal for $64.

Has anyone ever used the Wagner Safe-T Plane? I'm considering buying it to plane down Strat headstocks.

Have you considered just setting up a router jig to do it? It would be free and from the sounds of it safer if all your using it for is strat headstocks, could be a little time consuming for other stuff.

Anyone have any experience with it? I'm thinking of using it to finish my acoustic

I made one of these because stewmac didn't have them in stock when I was buying stuff. All I needed was the insert a broken spade bit a nail and a block of maple. I use a router to rout a slot for the insert and I routed the other side for the spade bit and I put some cardboard shims in because it was too wide. The spade bit has a hole in it and I found a nail that would fit in it and drilled a hole for it to go through in the maple so there's enough room to pivot. It looks like crap but I've fretted 2 necks with it and am doing a 3rd tomorrow, it works great. So if anyone's trying to make one it doesn't have to be anything fancy at all.

Back from finishing, hopefully I'll get it together this weekend, I still have to get some switches and humbucker screws and springs.