hendrix2430

Hi, i replaced the tuners on a strat and showing are half of the old screw holes...is it worth filling them up? If so, what should I use? Wood paste? Thanks!

It's not paint, it's " automotive clear gloss" (not nitro, poly).

Hi, I've finishing a the back of a neck (mahogany) in 3 thin coats of spray on poly (glossy). I've waited 48 hours and the neck is still a little sticky. Is this normal for Poly? Will it go away? I know Nitro takes forever for the sticky feeling to go away, but is normal for Poly to feel a bit sticky at the beginning?

Hi, I'm finishing a body made out of spruce, and I would like some kind of "burst" like finish, only with one color, being very dark on the edge to light in the center. I bought some blue automotive paint, but I'm not sure if that would work... Would paint work for that, or would dye be better? Since it's spruce my goal isn't to display the grain, although the spruce I got is very nice.

well,thanks a lot guys. And thanks Mled for the answer on the other topic too... I will just use a large sanding block and remove the slight overhang. I'll make sure the glue up portions are as flat as possible.

I picked up some spruce yesterday and proceeded to glue up the body today. When clamping, I noticed that one piece was slightly thicker than other other, leaving around 1/40" (if that) overhang on one half of the whole thing. Should I worry, or should it be an easy fix? I plan on chambering the piece, then adding a spruce top on it, for a full spruce semi hollow guitar. I tried an matched the top, and I realized that these two pieces aren't flush in thickness either...very small difference but still. I wanted to not worry about sanding again after gluing up, I guess I'll have to do that... Any suggestions welcomed. And if someone has had this issue, please share your insight!

Just curious, when gluing/claming on a 2 piuece blank, how long do you let it clamped up?

Thanks guys, the body was stained in dark brown, then red, the sealed, and finally nitro-ed. So, it's not painted, you can clearly see the grain. I went to my wood shop today and picked up some spruce, and I sort of had the same idea as Doc. He cut me 3 footlong slabs of dark walnut (about 1/5 inch), which I may use as a decorative piece on the cavity. But I'm toying with the idea of buying a cheaper p90 and just stick it in there just for the looks...I'm not gonna use it anyway... Ahhh...the looks are still important, aren't they?

Hi, I made the mistake a while back to make a cavity for a P90, which I am not gonna use...The guitar body and neck have nitro on them and both pieces are drying/curing now. FWIW, the p90 cavity is the neck and the bridge cavity is for a regular tele bridge pup. I would like to fill in that cavity so I doesn't look ugly without anything in it...anyone ever had such an issue? What would you advice me to do? I guess I could buy an esquire pickguard, but since this guitar doesn't have exact fender dimensions, it probbaly won't work. The neck is very chunky, and is a little wider at the heel than your regular fender. Plus, the space between the bridge and control cavity may not be exactly the same as regular fender, which would cause a problem when trying to fit in the pickguard. The only thing that is the fender size is the control cavity, bridge and scale length. Anyway, I could also build my own pickguard, but I don't really wanna mess with something I'm not familiar with, especially if you need special tools for that, or if it's overly tricky...etc... Thanks for you guys' advice, it means a lot!

I talked to my owner of local wood shop, who specialized in spruce, and he recommends a whole body out of spruce...however he did mention it was really soft. How about painting the guitar and adding layers of poly to strenghten it? www.bois-lutherie.com By the way, i'm considering building a PRS type guitar (semi hollow) out of it. No F holes though. I'm torn between a basswood-spruce top or spruce-spruce top...?

Hi, I was wondering if any of you made an electric out of spruce? if so, was it the whole body or just the top? What are the tonal properties of a spruce top/whole body? Thanks!

ya, the wood would look nicer...looks like Koa, indeed.

I use Fuchs ODS amps. I also have a Tone King Comet that I use for cleans strictly, or when I use pedals for dirt.

Hi I've been working on a neck, which has been a tough experience so far. Everything went smoothly from the neck back shaping, to the fingerboard and nut gluing, fret cutting to the neck carving. Now, I've hammered in all my frets, but some of them needed some serious leveling. Hammering isn't accurate at all, i'll give you that! The slots were clean, for what it's worth. Anyway, I have been using straightedge and radius sanding/leveling block to determine the overly high frets. After pinpointing them, I "sorta" successfully flatted them out using a straight file. Now, I'm stuck with frets that literally have no crown on them. Can I get the round shape back? Do square frets cause tone problems? (I imagine) Also, I'm not sure if I'll ever get all the frets exactly level. It's really tough getting them *exactly level". All I can do is take the sanding block and check all the fret tops "touch" the sanding block. That's the best I can do at this point. Also, what causes fret buzzing, as far as fretting goes? Is it when a fret is higher than a previous one? When I fret a note, the string should NOT touch (even barely) any of the following frets right? Or else that will cause buzzing? It's hard to tell whether or not the neck will cause any buzzing problems, until i hook the bridge up, adjust saddle height etc...some of the frets at the end may very well be 0.01" higher than the ones coming before. If there's a little buzz coming from it, then I won't mind, but if the note is choked completely then that's a problem! What do you think? What would cause a note (even open string) to not sustain at all? Thanks for the help, and if you have any advice to give me, I'll appreciate it greatly!

ahhh thanks so much!

Hi, I would like to take off the freboard off my project. What should I use and how should I proceed? Thanks!

Hi guys, thanks I've been working at it since I posted and I removed most of it with White spirit (I think it's Naphta in the US). I made sure not too put any inside the fretboard/neck joint. I simply too some tissues with naphta on it, then rubbed the back of the neck and the edges where the glue was. Then I just sanded the hell out of the thing until most of the wood dust/glue marks were gone. At the present time, there is some glue lines where the fretboard and neck meet, of about 1 mm (1/25"). I plan to finish the back and headstock in nitro so we'll see how that works out. But for the time being, I'll continue to sand the sides until the fretboard and neck edges form one uniform plane (it's almost there). Alright, thanks for you guys' suggestions. You're the best!

Thanks Devon, I just removed the clamps, and the glue is hard as a rock! By the way the glue is NOT tidebond. It's similar. It clearly says on the box to remove FRESH glue with water and dry glue with a solvent or diluant. I still have to trim the fingerboard to neck size, which I'm doing as we speak. However, the glue is still there and it's bothering me. It's hard to trim the board because the glue gets in the way a little... Plus, there is some glue on the back of the neck too, mixed with some rosewood wood dust... Anyway, I don't know if sanding would work, but I don't want to change the carve of the neck, which I had already done (mistake maybe...). The carve is a fatback with a full .100 across so I guess I could trim it bit, but I would rather not. Anyway, thanks for the suggestions guys, I'm dying over here LOL.

Hi, I bought some nitro based lacquer (glossy) , that I plan to use on the back of my neck + headstock when it's finished. I just want a thin finish, not a thick one. After reading some posts and tutorials, I decided that I was going to shoot 2 very light coats at once, then let dry, instead of just one wet coat each time. For what it's worth, the complete drying time indicates 15 hours on the nitro spray can. Is this normal? I have some questions though: -Should I spray the first coat vertically, then the second coat horizontally, or should I do both ways for each light coat? -How many coats (approximately) should I do for a light yet durable, and slightly glossy finish? -Depending on the # of coats I spray, how long should I let cure, per "double" coat? Thanks so much! If there's more info you want to give to a newbie about Nitro, please do! I'm all eyes!

Thanks guys, I think I will wait until I clamp the neck off. Then I will clean the mess off with some solvent.

Hi, I just clamped on an IRW fretboard on a neck for my project, and the glue just squeezed out like crazy. Some of it obviously remained right under the edge of the fingerboard, but some also dripped onto the back carve of the neck. I have wiped a tiny bit away, but decided to wait until I take off the clamps (I will keep it clamped for 2 whole days). So my question is: Do you try and clean the glue: -right after clamping when the glue is still fresh. And in this case, do you try to get it all away, or ar least the overwhelming majority of it? -While the neck is clamped and the fingerboard/neck glue bond is already very tight? -Or after you take off the clamp and trimming the edges of the fingerboard to neck size? I plan to do number 3. I'd rather just leave the neck alone until I take the clamps off. I tried to check the consistensy of the glue on the sides of the neck and in the back, and it's very thick and gooey, almost plastic like. The gluing was done about 3 hours ago. What would you clean the wood glue off with. I fear that there will be some marks, which won't go away. It's the first time I do this, so I don't know what to expect. Based on your experience, is such glue easy to take off, and goes away completely? Thanks!

thanks maiden, I'll just apply the sealer after my dyes. I would rather make a transparent finish, than a solid color. I applied a wet rag and sanded once already. The body is drying and about to be sanded one last time before dying! Argh, I'm excited to get started!

Thanks. No, it doesn't ring a bell? What is the airbrush process for dyes? What difference does it make vs. applying dye with a rag? How many coats of dye should I use IYO?

Also, since I'm not dying quilted maple, flame maple, or any highly figured wood, is it worth sanding back after the first coats of the dye?

right, it makes sense, but in the sunburst tutorial (not Dave Myka, but the once that's pinned), the poster finishes the tele by applying yellow dye, then sealer, then amber dye, then sealer, then dark brown dye and finally the last coats of sealer. According to him, it "deepens" the colors. Here is the link: http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=6194