NotYou

I agree with lightninmike. Acclimation is the key. Make sure they're totally dry and stable and you should have minimal movement. The hard part is going to be sanding, as the woods will likely wear away at different rates.

How about "Now that I've paid you and we've agreed on the specs, can you install differet hardware that will cost $800 more for free?" Or "Can you make this dream guitar that will look X but play like X, but the 1981 version, not the modern ones. I also like the look of humbuckers, but really want a strat sound, can you make those for me? Alternatively, here is a pickup design I've created. You'll need to make all the parts yourself and they won't do anything special, by I spent a lot of time on it and they look badass, right? And a shape I designed that looks like a cows head. And all black wood, but it needs to weigh less than 7lbs. And here is a diagram of the electronics I want, the computer parts shouldn't be hard to find. I know they don't do anything normal wiring won't do, but it's really cool. Also, I'm pretty broke, so I can only pay you about 1/2 your normal price." That's all sarcasm, but it's all things I've been asked at least once and normally on the same guitar.

I agree with this. I've seen this conversation a lot. A lot of people want to put a special, almost mythical meaning on the word. A luthier is just somebody who makes string instruments. If you have advanced enough to make a good instrument that can be worth something to somebody, you're a luthier. If you're a good builder, you'll always be learning and improving, so it's not like you can set up some marker of greatness before the term applies. Writers call themselves writers even if they're not published. Why should this craft be any different? I believe it's not a title to achieve, rather it's just a name for what we do. If it's your profession, then you're a professional. Your level of skill and dedication will determine if that happens. I think that's pretty straight forward.

I agree about the glue. I wrote a whole post about it when this thread first popped up, but apparently didn't hit "post" when I was done :/ Titebond 1 is great glue for guitars. I used to love LMI's glue, but I've been finding it to not hold nearly as well as Titbond. Something to consider for glueing a neck into place. Titbond will form a joint stronger than the wood. LMI's glue, not so much. It's suitable, but Titebond is still my go-to.

I've had pieces I wanted to use for fretboards then decided against. They almost always become part of a neck as a laminant. Keep your creative brain chugging and you'll find alternate ways to use things like that.

Still worth it!

$1300?! If these actually sound good, that'd be a worthwhile investment for sure. I'm always interested in materials for guitars other than wood. Nothing seems to sound as good or as natural, though.

The idea of a modern Moderne sounds great to me! I think the design is pretty damn sexy and I'm always for improving old designs. I think if you're going to do it, you should make it better. Evolve that b*tch! FWIW, this is coming from somebody with no interest in replicas.

I also just use angle grinders. For tighter areas, I use a Dremel with a carbide carving bit. Once it's roughed out, some sandpaper and muscle will take care of the rest.

Contacting Gotoh is a pretty safe bet. In my experience, most tuner and bridge companies are very accommodating to builders. If you need a spare part of any kind, they'll generally work with you. I've gotten numerous free replacement parts from Sperzel and Hipshot (not whole tuners, just parts). I've never had to contact Gotoh, but I'm sure they're no different. FWIW, Gotoh 510's are the best tuners I've ever used. It'd be worth buying a whole new set if you have to... but, I'm sure you won't.

Damn, Chris! Your work gets consistantly better all the time.

The first thing I do when I get new wood in my shop is cut off any checking and cracking. That's the only sure way to stop it. Then, like everybody else said, I paint the ends. I used a piece that was checked once because I wanted a certain style (still in progress). To stop the checking I saturated the cracks with thin CA and inserted dowels in the back to block their progress. It's then going onto a solid piece to further stabilize it. It's been stable since I did that. I'm taking my time with it, just to be extra safe. If the checks spread even a hair, I'm tossing it.

Id have to agree with you there. But repatition of the same process day in day out soon hones your skills. If you got 20 of the better builders on here & stuck us in a workshop, within a year we would be churning out serious quality instruments this fast & accuratly. I was going to say the same thing. I'm a very, very slow builder (one reason my prices keep going up). I was impressed with how efficiently those guys seem to work. Whoever manages that, clearly does a great job! I can barely manage myself. But, like you said, doing the same task over and over again would make all the difference. They all seem skilled in general, but I bet if they had each instrument assigned to one guy, they'd move at an extremely slow pace. It's the whole Ford, assembly line concept. It really does speed things up, especially with this kind of thing where each person needs to be skilled. The more they do that task, the more skilled they get and the faster they work.

That big machine at 6:50

Do you have any idea why it did that? If the grain swelled when you put the epoxy on, you could try putting a thin layer on the wood first to seal it, then putting the fabric on after it's dried. That's what I would try at least.

The more I look around, the more I realize this wood does have nice grain contrast. The stuff I had was very bland visually. I got it from a guy who bought it for a particular project and wanted it all uniform. That would probably explain it. It looked more like this, which is a lot like some ipe (this image is still olneya): But, some of it also looked a lot like this, which is ipe:

Thanks, everyone. I'll keep an eye on Gilmer. I probably even give them a call tomorrow. Not quite. I think ipe is considered ironwood, though. The kind I'm looking for comes specifically from the American Southwest, mostly Arizona. It's normally called desert ironwood or olneya. I've never worked with ipe before, but I think they look very similar and have some similar qualities. The main difference seems to be that olneya trees twist a lot, so the wood is often hard to find in long lengths, and the smell. I've heard ipe smells like vanilla and cinnamon. Olneya smells strongly like cheap perfume and cat pee.

I might look into that in general. If I can find something tonally similar, I'd be willing to consider it. It's mostly for the neck. I think I have enough left for neck lams (I'm at home, so I can't check atm). Fretboard wood is my main concern. Finding it that wide and long is difficult. Most of the Mexican culture in Denver is very Americanized (they're mostly a few generations detached), so there isn't a lot of that kind of thing around here. It's worth looking into, though. A search on craigslist only turned up a few results and all were for really expensive furniture.

Does anybody know of a supplier that has or can get desert ironwood? I've used it a few times before and I'm blown away by the tonal qualities. The ironwood I had kind of fell into my lap, but I ran out and now I can't find anymore. I just received a custom order requesting it and I need to track this stuff down, so I don't lose it. The wood is rare, expensive, very toxic (splinters are like bee stings and the dust makes you sick), extremely difficult to work with, HEAVY, it dulls tools, smells awful (and burns your nose, throat, and lungs), it's pretty bland looking; the trees are small, twist a lot, and grow in the ****ing desert. So, needless to say, not many places go out of their way to sell it. It's out there, though. But, with all that negative comes some extreme positives. It's practically as stable as steel and it sounds beautiful. Very, very warm and rings like crystal. I've found places that sell small pieces for knife handles and such, but that's it. There seem to be places in Arizona, where it grows, that sell it, but nobody seems to have any right now. It's not exactly a hot commodity, so that's understandable. If anybody can point me in some direction, I'd really appreciate it.

I know craigslist is the place to go for power tools. There are a lot of guys who buy nice tools because of a midlife crisis, retirement project, or just a general itch to be a woodworker, then use them once and sell them online for like half the price. I'm sure hand tools are the same way. Craigslist is how I afforded my big bandsaw, jointer, workbenches, compressor, etc, etc, etc, etc..

Tool snobbery is totally justifiable, especially with hand tools, IMO. I used to think the guys who got all crazed about their chisels and planes were just cork sniffers and wanted something to obsess over. Once you learn how to use those tools and get into finer work with them, you really start see how much quality matters. I never thought I'd spend that much on a plane, but I think it was worth every cent now. And I didn't buy it for any kind of enjoyment. It's a workhorse. I'd happily buy another for just as much if I saw a need for it. I think my next big purchase will be some nice chisels. I have cheaper ones now that I use for rough work and beating with hammers, but some nice, sharp ones for slicing away wood would be totally worth the money (when I have the money, that is).

You've been bitten by it now. Next on your list if you haven't already got one is a low angle block plane. Veritas make some beautiful examples, however if I can master making Norris style adjusters I will likely make my own dovetailed brass/steel block plane with a Ziricote infill :-D Beautiful. Yeah, I've definitely been bitten. I'm jonsing to make a table now. I've been eyeballing some other small planes, mostly luthier specific stuff like what LMI sells, but that'll have to wait. I thought of getting a Veritas this time around, but this one is perfect for me. I did plenty research first. I was also able to buy it right down the street from my place. Make sure to post the progress if you make one. I'd love to see that!

I finally got to use it today. It's amazing. I had a stupid smile on my face every time I pushed it through the wood. LONG ribbons of wood were everywhere. It was plenty sharp out of the box to plane most woods, but I tried it on a big piece of figured bubinga and it wasn't quite enough. I got it flattened, but it was rough. I did expect it to be even that sharp, so I was still impressed. I'll sharpen it tomorrow and I'm sure it'll eat right through it. I'm very, very pleased. It was worth every cent. I do know the on/off switch is on the handle. Push for on

Yea, it rocks. I have a planer thicknesser that will handle 14 inch wide billets & a small CNC coming later this year. might have to extend the workshop But man, I remember when I had no bandsaw. Bookmatching was an absolute bstrd. Arms n shoulders like a Greek God from all the bow saw work. Now im a normal sized, fat-ish, unfit, squidgy weakling !! ha ha ha ha ha I remember having to do that a few years ago. Not fun. I use hand tools as much as possible to stay in shape. It beats actually working out

It's a done deal. Once I figure out how to plug it in, I'll be all set.