chops1983

well i got a 80 dollar craftsman carbide bearing guide template bit so i know its good, i think thats good right?. but youre saying as long as i sand it down pretty close to the template line it will route out nice and smooth? oh and thanks, im really glad my scrap build came out nice too Yep the less the better. Less chance of a tear out. I always try to cut within 2mm of the outline on the bandsaw and then route to the template. and learn from me when you aren't routing with the grain. Myka put up a really good link about routing in my thread. Here is the link to my thread Have a read it is well worth it. The router bit sounds fine by the way but if your cutting the whole depth of the guitar make sure your feed rate isn't to fast. Chad.

Flush cut router bits. Try MLCS bits. I got a shipment from them and they seem really good. But before you use the router take more off the body so you only have like 1.5-2mm to take off with the router to avoid tear outs! By the way looking great! Good job on the scrap build aswell. Chad.

String guage should not matter. Do you know the original scale length? If not i think the first thing for you to do is work out what guitar the neck came off and the scale length. Then i would advise you to goto stewmac's website and print off all the info on that scale length. It will give you a table with a nut to each fret measurement and a fret to fret measurement.I suggest you do a check of each fret to the nut just to be sure everything is ok. Fret scale calc It will also give you the bridge position from the nut to the treble side post. Then you usually have a tolerance of 1.5mm-3mm back on the bass side post. I set my TOM by working out on the body where the 22nd or last fret will line up when the neck is seated properly in the pocket and then measure back from that. So i find the nut to 22nd or last fret distance and take that from the nut to treble side post distance and mark these down the centreline. Use a flat square to draw your lines out past half the width of your bridge. Then mark anywhere between 1.5-3mm away from the nut on the centreline for your bass side post. Square out again. Use a rule and mark the width of your posts making sure you centre the bridge with the centreline. Finally with the neck in the pocket take a measurement from the nut to your treble side post and make sure it is the same as your overall measurement you got from stewmac. Hope this helps and the only real way to know it is correct is by measurement. Doublecheck before drilling Chad.

I use my tone and vol all the time. Roll the vol back a whisker to clean up the signal and take my tone down to half when playing some good rock in the bridge position. Like someone said before there is so many tones at your fingertips. Just look at any great guitarist, they're always fiddling with their knobs!

This was like nearly exactly a year ago! I wonder if it was ever finished? Nice job regardless. The guitar looks great. Retro 70's comes to mind!

One of the main things i feel with a guitar is that it stays in tune and the intonation is spot on right down the fretboard. On my guitars i tune them once at the start of a set and then if i have a lead part in a song ill do a quick check and make sure its in tune(usually spot on and no adjustment has to be made). The last thing you want is for people to think you are hitting the wrong notes because your intonation is out. Im interested in the width of your neck at the nut and at the last fret. Why? Because if its a standard TOM bridge im not sure why the strings would run off the neck? So maybe it could be your neck taper. I think a pretty standard neck measurement is 43mm at the nut and 57mm at the last fret. All my guitars(Ibanez, washburn and a cheap strat copy neck has this taper) and is the taper i use on my personal necks. The other thing is maybe the actual spacings on the bridges saddles were filed to incorrect spacings. I buy the nashville TOM from stewmac so i can file my own spacings so that the strings run parallel right down the edge of the fretboard. Sthell maybe you could take a couple of close snaps of the bridge with the strings in so we can get a better idea of whats happening. Chad.

Hey, Yeah i agree with mexican on the middle one aswell. Its like a mellowed out LP. I use aus luthier supplies for anything urgent and i also use another guy off ebay called Rammstein8888 for all my pickups.He is a great bloke and i have never ever had any problems with him. I just got a set of golden age classic buckers off him for cheaper than stewmac! When he bought them the dollar was almost equal, but now its gone back to 60 something cents so he was cheaper. Im really impressed with them too for a cheaper alternative in this economic crisis Rammstein8888 on ebay Ill also do a big order with stewmac but they're abit expensive now once you add freight etc. Goodluck on the decision making!

Sounds good FSG. I was thinking about using some ironbark for a fretboard on a guitar. Ill be watching this build to see how it goes. Post up some drawings of the shapes your thinking about so we have a better idea, and its good to see another aussie on here aswell! Chad.

Good effort sthell. Must of been pretty tough without many tools! But when there is will there is a way. Im abit concerned about your TOM bridge. The angle its on in regards to the fretboard seems abit severe. How did you work out the post placings? And the age old question, Do you have any neck angle on your neck pocket? You will find the action will be really high without any. If you have any questions along the way just ask on the forums, there is plenty of great builders on here who im sure would be willing to help!

Thanks Doug! Its nice that you took some time to give me some feedback! Maybe i should have put opinions welcome. I think i will leave the Jarrah cover, I think it ties in nicely. Chad.

So the S/C is all finished Im really happy with this guitar. Its sounds much better than i anticipated to be honest and im really happy with the finish! The specs are: Body: Semi hollow Jarrah with black plastic binding. Neck: Victorian ash with Abalone Caro logo inlay.Rosewood FB. 25.125 inch scale or 641mm P/Ups: Golden age vintage output set ( Surprisingly really good tone for a cheap set of buckers!) Electronics: 1 Vol, 1 Tone and a coil tap on both neck and bridge p/ups. 3 Way selector switch. Wired through p/up and f holes (no cavity cover). Hardware: Schaller strap locks, Gibson LP jackplate, Nashville TOM with gotoh tailpiece, Wilkinson mini flatlock tuners and jumbo frets. Finish: Nitrocellulose Some Pics: Back Front close Front Reflection Fretboard Abalone inlay (mind the fingerprint!) Im still a little unsure of the Jarrah truss rod cover, im thinking of plain black but thats no big deal. Anyway off to play it Sorry about the not great quality pics, i only have a point and shoot camera!

Im no expert either but you could just get a SPDT or DPDT on/on and just put it in line with the active going to the jack. Connect the wire "in" to the switch on the middle pin and continue the wire from either side of the switch (it doesn't matter). That way its just a break in the active wire. Hope this helps.

Cool Joe! Any Pics?

So i have had a crack at a carved top yesterday. Didn't really have much of a plan other than kind of like what a PRS would look like. It sure was quite fun though Ive added some lacquer out of a can so i can see if there is any lumps to knock down and it had a quick coat before i started, that way i could keep a good eye on where i was taking off timber as the lacquered areas are darker! Some Pics: It's Not too bad for a first effort i think, although i did take too much off the top when i shaped the neck angle slope. I did have in mind a more severe carve at the waists. But you live and learn

+1 but its not my guitar. Great work though!

There you go. Cheers Lads!!!

Thanks Swedish! Im bang up for taking things apart. I just might have to do this. Ill let you know how i go.

Hey metalhead just a quick question what tool do you use to recess around your control holes? Is it a forstner(spelling?) Bit? Ive been meaning to ask this question for awhile

Toneflow this month was my choice Just liked the overall design and its original. Nice timber aswell. Big d: Great job on the LP looks tidy! The only things i didn't like was the gold hardware and the headstock is a little plain but great work! G1: Pretty crazy build you got going on there, good job on the back cover it matches really well. Jaden: Love the ghost f holes you got goin on there and really love the 80's theme! RDub: Great work on the build. You have addressed the knobs so it should finish it off nicely! Decadentjon: Like the scratchplate it looks great with the p/ups just not sure of the horns, abit bulky IMO but looks like a great build. The heal looks comfortable also. Jake: Looks like a great build. Beautiful timbers and good job on the cavity cover. I do like logos on headstocks though. Well done on your first year! Scottyd: Awesome work as usual. The only thing im not a fan of is the exposed neck in the body. But hey im not you, nor as good. Good Month again!

Also for drilling holes into timber use brad point bits. Using a small normal bit and working your way up to the size you want can ruin your day if you don't line up the larger drill bit with the whole dead centre. Trust me its easy to do.

I did find a schematic for that though! http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wirin...tic=2h2v2t3w2sp The only problem with this is golden age p/ups dont come with four wire hookups! Just a north start, a south start and the finishes joined together. How hard is it to pull apart a p/up and add 2 independent finish wires instead of the one joined one?

Thanks Swedish that is how i was originally going to wire it But those links you provided are both the same!

Thanks guys. I have a set of golden age hums and want to wire in a mini toggle for a coil cut and i was thinking the easiest way would be to wire both finish sides to the switch and then to ground when active. Therefore cancelling the coil that has both ends to ground. But im going to do it differently now so it should be fine! Chad.

+1 for the top! What is it? A rosewood of some sort? These are beautiful basses but i just cant get into the no headstock! haha it just feels lacking to me. Good work!

All merely my opinion, but when you ask for a toothpick on PG forums, you tend to get a tree limb don't you?