brian d

Hey Bukoffsky, There was an adjustable neck joint on MIMF a while ago by Kif Wood. I can't find it in the library, but here is a quick sketch of my solid body version of it. The fulcrum is perpendicular to the midline, so the neck stays in line as you adjust whatever the shape of the heel behind the fulcrum. You adjust from the 2 heel end screws pulling the neck down, and the screw pushing up to get the desired angle. The last screw locks the end of the neck down into the desired position. Note that all the screws engage in metal inserts. It looks a bit strange with the adjusting screws only on one side, but because the neck rests on the fulcrum, there is no side-to-side tilt, and extra screws aren't necessary - the string pull is actually pulling the heel down at the end of the pocket. Hope this helps.

I'm surprised it was only double the price for a one piece. The difficulty in finding a piece appropriate timber big enough would increase the price, as would the amount of timber that would be wasted compared to a guitar built as separate body and neck. Then as Our Souls mentioned, the technical challenges building it would make it even more. That said, I wonder if you would notice the same difference in tone with a neck through compared to a bolt-on. Or if the differences can be attributed to the specific instruments - timber from the same tree can give different tone, so it may be more of an individual instrument difference than a construction difference.

Beautiful work. I'm admiring the sharp edge of the faux binding. Could you explain how you got it so sharp? Is it because the sanding sealer stops the dye getting to the timber (so the trick is in how well you put the sanding sealer on)? Or from accurate masking when you placed the dye? Scraping back any dye leakage? Combination? Or maybe trade secret? Thanks in advance.

Thanks curtisa. The saw is the OZTS600WA. It has a 16mm bore which fit the blade nicely.

Today I did the first experimental board. I stuck the new fretboard to the back of an existing 25.5" slotted board. I could have used a printout from wfret instead of a real fretboard, but I had this on hand so was easier for today. I stuck the board slightly offset, so that the existing slots which are acting as a template won't be directly over the blade. In hindsight, that was probably unnecessary. I placed the boards on the sliding table so that the area I wanted the nut to be was over the line of the blade. I then placed a piece of masking tape aligned with the zero fret slot of the reference board (could have been lined up with a printed template). Then just push the sliding table across the blade and back, move the boards so the next fret slot is aligned with the masking tape, repeat 24 times. (Actually 22 times, then I had to mark where the 23rd and 24th frets would be and then do the last 2 repeats.) At first I used this visual only method of lining up as a quick, easy way to delay making or buying templates and installing a guide pin, but after seeing how easy it was to do it this way, I don't think I'll bother with templates and guide pins at all. This picture shows the new board straight of the slotter with the template board still stuck to it. And here are the two boards side by side showing the perfect alignment, of the new slots with the old. Very satisfying. Any questions? Comments?

I was inspired by Demonx's fret slotting setup after having the displeasure of hand slotting a couple of Cooktown Ironwood boards which came out less than ideal. After a trip to Bunnings I ended up with a cheap, small table saw. It's only 600W, but that should be plenty for the light cuts of fret slotting. Another compromise with it is that there is no depth adjustment, so I had to work around that. However, it's small which helps in limited space, and at $112 not too expensive. I ordered the fret slotting blade from Stewmac - not cheap, but that's the business end of the setup, so needed to be just right. I changed the blade. , and measured the height of the blade above the table. (sorry about the poor photo). I figured that I would make a larger auxiliary table to go on top, and a sliding table above. The combined thickness of those need to be blade height minus slot depth. My careful calculations didn't work out - too much margin for error and I ended up with no blade sticking out above the sliding table. I remade the auxiliary table with offcuts of thinner plywood, and melamine coated chipboard as a frame to hold the auxiliary table to the table saw. and then made the sliding board with a fence at 90 degrees to the blade.. You can't see in these pictures, but the sliding table has runners that hug the auxiliary table and keep the movement straight. I extended the runners past the back of the table so as it gets pushed forward, the runners stay engaged. The slot for the blade in the auxiliary table was made with a router, and in the sliding table it was made by lowering the sliding table over the blade while it was running, and then enlarged with a router. The sliding table was then slid forward while the saw was running so it cut all the way through to the back of the sliding table and left a notch in the fence for blade clearance. At this stage the blade was sticking up too high, so I stuck plywood shims on the auxiliary table to raise the sliding table. . And Voila!. A few test cuts and fret placements to check the depth, and I was ready for a whole board.

Great tool Shad, turns a multi-step process into one step. Thanks for sharing it.

Elegant simplicity. What did you use to finish the body?

Any idea what it might be called in other countries? I can't find it by that name here in Oz. Brian.

How are you finding the stability/strength with 2 neck screws? Anything else there helping hold the neck in (other than great fit?)

I just started building a table saw jig for the StewMac blade yesterday. I plan to make my own templates (similar to the way David did, but maybe using a 2mm brad point drill to make the notches in the template with a 2mm dowel for the index pin). I'll get back to the shed over the weekend and take some photos to post. David, I like your jig - great use of cheap resources. I do cringe a bit when I see you reach over the blade to get to the power switch on the video. Can you move the switch to the front?

Don't know if anyone's still watching this thread....I'm looking to buy spraying equipment for RPC - I've been brushing it up to now (before that I was using Tru-Oil.) I've been looking at the entry-level Earlex, or a Wagner fine spray system OR going all the way with a compressor and spray gun. From Wez's comment above, I would assume that the Earlex and Wagner with the plastic cups may be risky. Anyone have experience with these? If I do go with a compressor/gun, what are your experiences with HVLP for RPC compared to regular spray guns? Do you need to thin it more for HVLP? And if so, does that mean you need more coats? I'm a spraying newb, so please be gentle :-)

Just found this thread - terrific build Muzz. Which timber yard was that early in the thread? BTW, I've ordered a table-saw fret slotting blade from StewMac and will build a jig for it when it arrives. (After some less than stellar slotting with a hand saw). If you want to bring some boards out to the Bentleigh area to slot the fast and easy way when it's ready, drop me a PM.

I don't think that's the only problem -since this morning the forum looks different, and I can't seem to subscribe to any topics. The e-mails I get with the new topics don't have a "subscribe to this topic" link which they used to, and nothing happens when I click on "follow this topic" at the top of the thread page.

Are those black flatwound strings? How do they sound?

I'm totally with you on that. I've installed a few of them, but the builds aren't finished yet. The welding was smoother than the LMI rods I have used previously (I had to file/sand the welding on those to get them to fit the channel), and the action was smooth. They seem to good rods, but time will tell. I was told that the width was 1/4", but measuring them, they are actually 6mm. Lucky I did a test channel with the 1/4" bit and tried the rod in before ripping into the lovingly constructed neck blank.

I've generally had good experience getting some of the smaller parts from China and Hong Kong to Oz, and one huge PITA which is currently a PayPal claim. It's a bit of a gamble, but I'm sure that some Chinese e-bay stores are good and others are not. I've had nice products from a store called "skull_music". The cost of some items with brand names here in Australia is ludicrous, and I'm sure a lot of them are made in China anyway. Haven't tried the rods you've posted...I just ordered another 6 of these korean truss rods via Canada, but I'd be interested to hear how those are if you end up getting them.

Where I come from, cricket balls are red. Sound of the pickup depend somewhat on where the pickup is relative to the vibrating length of the string....so will be different depending on which fret you're playing. I'd say that 5mm would make a theoretical difference, but not significant when everything else is taken into consideration. Beautiful designs psiko, I thought the first one had the most "wow" factor.

Thanks Wisdom- Got it in my e-bay watch list now.

Who is the e-bay seller? I tried searching for the bridge, but couldn't find it on e-bay. Thanks, Brian.

Quickly get some sawdust on it so it will really look like it's been there forever!

Aha!...so you're the guy who pushed the price up for me!!! I only bid on one, so the others are someone else's fault you didn't get them.

demonx, I got mine a few months ago now - went through the whole auction process, so the one where he pulled the auction wasn't mine. I was going to go for the Carabtec one, and actually payed about the same for a second-hand performax as a new Carbatec. Just got carried away with the bidding, but I don't regret it.

I can't see any of Crow's pics!!! Any ideas why?

Thanks for the info demonx. I'll have to take a trip out to Bunny's.