Shamrock

Skull Inlay...red LED eyes. Run wires down through truss rod channel...you'll have to rout a small channel below the truss rod to do this, then cover the wires with silicone caulk. run wires thru neck into body to a power supply (9 volt battery) in the control cavity. I've never done it but it seems like this should work. try it on a beater guitar first if you aren't sure of it.

With all the different materials available for inlay, (i.e. recon stone, shell, metallics, etc, etc,etc) you really shouln't need to dye anything. But if you are dead set on coloring your inlays, you could use thin acrylic sheeting and paint the underside. I know there is a good tutorial on this technique somewhere in the tutorial section of this site.

I would suggest hitting the pawn shops and see what you can find there. With acoustics, the more they're played the better they sound. Sooooo.....If you can find one that you like that's already broken in, you should be able to get a pretty good deal on it. Just make sure it has a solid wood soundboard and preferably a solid wood body not laminate or NATO (read: plywood) Play as many as your fingers will stand until you find the one that says BUY ME!!!!

you would be better off using small pieces to fit into the routed pockets. Also, block your fretboard/neck into a jig that will allow your router to ride level to avoid any problems with the radius.

You might want to rub it down with alcohol first to remove the gloss. Or go over it lightly with 600 grit sand paper.

If it's your bass and you want to swirl it...go for it. Don't worry what anybody thinks. Opinions are like a**holes...everybody has one and nobody should worry about anyone elses. Swirl away man.

Ed, Having begun my lutherie addiction with an acoustic kit from Stew-Mac, I would suggest that you download the free instructions from them to give you a few tips and possibly save you some time and prevent anymore mishaps. One thing that is really helpful is the instructions on making your own spool clamps I have built several acoustics using those instructions and they are pretty thorough.

Don't know if it's available in Scotland but I use a product called Citri-Strip. It's available at Home Depot in the States. It is citrus based and doesn't have any noxious fumes and is pretty gentle on the wood. Just my opinion.

I agree, a trophy shop would be your best bet. If you can't find a trophy shop, check with your local sporting goods store, they will be able to refer you to one. Be aware that the custom logo will probably carry a pretty hefty set-up fee. If you are going to need more than one of the neck plates, it would probably be cheaper to have them engrave several at one time. Just make sure to specify that you want them numbered sequentially (or however you want the numbers , I'm assuming you'll want different numbers on each one)

If you go the sanding route, you should check out jehle's tutorial in the tutorial section of the main site. It will tell you how to make your own custom headstock logo/decal. It works pretty well, I used it on my 1st build before I decided to begin using gold MOP inlay for my Headstock logo. One word of caution though, if you decide to do that, patience is one thing you will need a lot of. You can't do it in one day and expect it to look professional. You should allow yourself at least 3-5 days to build up enough coats of lacquer to hide the edges of the decal and protect it from the elements (i.e. flying beer, sweat, who knows what all else) That being said, good luck.

Stewart Macdonald sells fret slotting scale templates for all popular scales. You could check them out or try lmii.com

Mauler? Sorry I can't be more help, but I'm usually an Acoustic Country Guy. But your designs are unbelievable.

AMEN!!!

It will take the sealer off of the surface but if you want to go all the way back to square one for the best finish, I'd hit it lightly with 320 grit sand paper. Just be sure not to sand too hard or you'll mess up the shape of the body/neck. Be especially careful on the edges and around any break angles such as a forearm rest. All you really need to do is open the pores and get the wood fibers to stand up a little.

I've used Rockler for several different projects and their wood selection is unbelievable. I do custom cabinetry along with lutherie (who needs sleep, sleep when you're dead ) so they are quite familiar to me. They have several different thicknesses and species of wood available for laminating and they carry several of the "traditional" guitar building woods. (i.e. rosewood, ebony, maple, mahogany) and some exotics that would give you a very unique look.