RDub

I used to use Z-poxy straight from the bottle, mixed 50/50 by eye and never had trouble. I say used to, because this build will be my last with it. After sanding it back on this one I developed an itchy rash on my face and neck(the only exposed skin) I've seen over on the OLF, someone with a severe reaction to the epoxy, and think I'll stop using it and hopefully avoid a more severe allergic reaction in the future. From what I understan, epoxy is a sensitizer, and can cause allergic reactions in a large nimber of people. It also might not bother you the first 100 times, but then it can hit severely the next time you use it. Since I had the rash, I think better safe than sorry. I've used it one 3 builds, and no probs at all on the first 2. Just wanted to let people know, to wear a mask and watch for signs.

Silly question, but... You said you used Minwax BRUSHING laquer for the first few coats, and then switched to Minwax SPRAY Laquer next. Are the two compatible? I think sometimes what's labeled brushing laquers are not really laquers at all. Believe I read some that were varnishes. Not certain on that though...

That page from Wood Essence describing the USL said: So even though it doesn't show any bluishness (is that a word) it will give white bindings an aged/golden appearance. That might be fine for some, even desirable but it is not suitable for top coats on a white guitar or something similar. Just something to be aware of... I'm using Targets new Emtech series, and I don't see and coloration at all. The white bindings are just as white as before any finish went on them. Pretty sure Targets site claims it to be water clear. On another note, I tried to level yesterday, and sanded through in a couple of spots. I guess with the brush, you need more than 6 oats of clear over the color coats. So, It'll be at least another week for me to get this one done.

I grew up making things in my dad's woodshop. When I started to play guitar, I thought it would be cool to make one. Finally like 15 years later, I got around to tryung it out. Now when people ask, I just tell them it's because I sure can't play the stupid things, so I gotta find some way to have fun with them.

if you google for dyes, you'll be surprised by what types of wood dust they used to make dyes with. Pretty sure I saw they used redwood for dyes on rugs and other things. Pretty interesting. OP, sorry for the hijack.

NO, I don't see any tint what so ever in the finish over the bindings. One tip I have for brushing is to use a good brush. I got mine from Target whne I ordered the laquer. you need really fine natural(I believe) bistle. Hold the brush almost vertical to the piece, and only use the very tip of the brush. Seemed to have worked for me.

I just finished one using Targets new Emtech 6000 water-based laquer. It's similar to USL, but Target says it has a slipperier feel. Thought that sounded ok, so I tried it out. It's still curing now, so don't know what the end result will be. So far it looks great and has no bluish tint that some people have seen. I actually got Stew Macs black pigment and it worked like a charm for the back and sides. The top is quilt Maple with grey dye, aplied directly to the wood, then clear over it. Can't recommend Target enough. The forum over there is good, and a rep from the company will usually answer any questions you have pretty quickly. By this weekend I hope to have this one wet sanded and polished. I'll be sure to post how it goes. One twist though, I applied this finish with a brush. You can use Targets reducer to make their spray laquers suitable for brushing, and it seemed to have worked great for me. If your carefull to not go over the same spots with the brush, it flows out prety well. There are a few brush marks, but I'm hopeing when I wet sand to get them level. I leveled after the first 6 coats I put on and it went well, so I think I should be good. My condo just doesn't have anywhere to set up for spraying, so I thought I'd try this method out, because I'm not crazy about tru-oil or wipe on poly. I'll report back this weekend after I finish up.

Ive read in the stew mac finish book(I think) to carefully scrape the color coats off the inlay, then clear coat. Not sure how well that will work for you. I'm gonna give it a go on the build I'm getting ready to start finishing. It also has some fairly narrow inlays. Here it is.

Those are awesome! How about a close up?

the Oakham book has a really good page that shows how to do the math for accurate nut spacing

I think if you're using a double acting rod, you can get away with just leaving the 3'8" for the thickness of the "fingerboard." With a flat bottom rout. With your 1.5" neck blank you should be able to rout the slot 1 1/8" deep. With a traditional fender style rod you need to rout the slot with a high point around the 9th fret if I remember correctly. The ends would be 3/8" from the top of the fretboard, while the middle would be3/4"? This is because a fender rod doesn't actually do the bending, it pulls straight, therefore the slot needs to be higher in the middle to get the neck to bend when the rod is tightened. With a double acting rod, the rod actually bends, so you don't need a curved slot. Make sense?? I just finished a tele build wuth a fender style rod. The slot doesn't go all the way to the nut. You need to drill out from the nut end and body end to install. Not really sure how you would do this with a double acting rod. I suppose you could rout all the way to the nut end, and then fill it with your strip, but that would leave the strip visible all the way to the headstock?? Go luck, and lets see some pics when you get it done.

How about just buying the ferrules without the lip? Thats what I did on my Tele build. Think I found them at Stew Mac...or was it LMI???

I've been researching brushing methods and think I've found what I'm going with. I'm gonna' use a Target coatings product. Not sure which one yet, Either their Oxford USL or Emtech em6000. They're waterbased, and their website has some good info. You can mix them 15-20% with their SA5 Retarder and pad it on using T-shirt material. I asked about using pigments for an opaque color too, and they said to add pigment to the laquer witgout the retarder, as the pigment will thin the laquer enough to pad it on. I think that's the method I'm gonna try on my next project.

Hey, someone else from CT!!! Your best bet for dimensioned guitar woods is probably online. I've found a couple places that sell rough sawn lumber, but if you can't thickness it, you'll need to find someone that can. And if you're looking for anything quarter sawn, good luck. The only thing I've found locally is white oak. Use woodfinder.com, and you'll see a few places around. I just got some nice Mahogany for an LP build at Parkerville Wood Products in Manchester. They've got a great selection of woods, although I was looking for some maple to resaw for the top, and they ddn't have anything over 4/4 with any figure. Hope that helps. PM me if you want to chat about it.

The Martin Oakham book "build your own electric guitar" has some pretty good info about designing. I found it at my local big box book store. Takes you through starting with a smaller drawing, then scaling it up. I usually start my full size drawing with a full size drawing of the neck. That way I can figure out what fret I want the body join at, how many frets it will have, and then come up with the shape of the heel or tenon(be it a bolt on or set neck) Once I have that I can lay out the body. First I'll draw out the tenon or heel, then mark the scale length, then I can work out the body shape. I was playing with a V design, and man those things have some short tenons. Looks to me like they end up routing the neck pickup pocket into the tenon. Good luck with your project. Let us know how you make out.

Get the ryobi 9" bandsaw.(or Delta, or...) Mine was @$100. It's tiny. I put mine under the workbench when I don't need it. When you get it home, open the box take the blade off, and throw it out. The blade they come with is junk. Buy a good quality blade. I've got a Timberwolf on mine, and it cuts better than my dad's big expensive saw. It will do way more for you than a jig saw will, and the size shouldn't really be to bad.

Picked up a new CTS pot today at a local store. Much better feeling pot, and the volume works now. Just ordered another for the tone control. Probably won't be using the other brand again. Only problem, my knobs don't fit the new pot. Got those on order too.

So, my latest build(and first electric) has a problem with the volume pot. I installed it with the diagram and wiring kit from Stew Mac. It's a basic tele wiring job. 2 sc with 3-way switch. The diagram had me put a .001uf cap between the 1st and 2nd terms. on the volume pot. When I did this, the volume pot didn't work at all. I took the cap out, and when the volume pot is turned down halfway(I can feel an indent or something in the pot when I get there, the sound cuts out, and I get noise. Well, with a high gain sound, I get noise, with a clean sound it's really barely audible. All the other wiring is done exactly as the diagram from stew mac shows. If you look at the wilkinson tele on their catalog, they give you a diagram, that's what I used for the wiring. I think I have a pretty good understanding of how the circuit is supposed to work, but I'm not sure what's going on here. Bad pot maybe?

Actually, the back's not the worst part. It's the sides, thus no pics

oh, I forgot to say it sounds pretty killer, except the volume pot doesn't work. Gotta look into that. It's really bright, put I can get some really cool warmer sounds by rolling off the tone knob. I really warms things up. I describe it's sound as gritty, raw, and nasty. Just the sound I wanted. Oh, and it responds really well to picking dynamics.

OK, here it is. Just finished today. Man these elactrics go so much quicker than acoustics. The Stats: body- 2nd grade flamed Redwood top and back with poplar center neck-curly maple and walnut lam. done one piece Fender style pups are wilkinson Tele set From stew mac. The finish didn't come out to my liking, mostly due to me being stupid and trying to shift around the process that I knew would work because I didn't want to wait for the mailman to come. Learned my lesson, next time will be different. Anyways, I put on a base of amber with a hint of brown and sanded off to bring out the little bit of flame on the top. Then I used really dark mixed brown aniline dye to rub on the burst. The center is actually just the natural redwood with tru-oil. I sealed the burst with a couple coats of shellac FD'd on, then finished with 15 coats of tru-oil. Sorry for the poor pic quality, my camera's broken. Thanks for looking Rob

note to self: Drill jack hole after routing binding from now on so bearing doesn't fall in hole and take a big chunk out of top... Oh, and I wanted to remind everyone else of this too.

Just wanted to pop in and share my latest build. It's loosely patterned after a '69 Tele thinline. The top and back are redood, with a poplar center. Neck is maple and walnut Lam, one piece fender style.

LMI sells a solid body elactric kit. It will make a carved top LP or PRS or other carved top guitar. Although, as far as it being a kit, pretty sure it's just a box of wood. Nothing done to it at all. So, it's basically a scratch build. They do offer some services for thier acoustic kits, but I don't think I've seen anything for the electrics(eg:joining tops and backs, cutting fret slots, radiusing fretboards...) Did you try Warmoth??? Lots of parts but I don't know about kits...

Next time your in the bookstore, take a look at the book "Guitar Making" by William Cumpiano. It's all about acoustics, but shows how to accomplish what you want to do very well..