MiKro

Thx , I'm sorry it went Sour as well. It will rise again though. At least the remains will. mk

Okay Mattia I'll except that . I knew you knew better and BTW thanks for the kind words on the OLF about the "When its a dead project" !! and yes burnishing a scraper does take some practice Mike

So can someone explain how you sharpen a scraper? I mean the cutting edge on a scraper is a burr. It is rolled over from a clean edge. So how do you suppose to sharpen it? That's a new one me and I've been using one for more than 30 years???????? I take mine when the edge won't pull a good curl and flatten the sides, then I draw a mill file across the edge to square it up to the sides. After that I use a hardened burr tool and draw it across the edge at an 80 degree angle to the sides to draw the metal up from the edge. At which point I then begin to roll that back approximately 10 to 15 degrees toward the sides. There is NO sharpening to a scraper. What am I missing here? Are you using a different tool than I am? Must be or you are doing something wrong? Not sure? I'm not trying to B!tch anyone out here, I just want to clarify the semantics of what's being said and what's being done. As far as burl wood, or any figured wood, A good scraper with the proper burr works wonders, and is most times better than sandpaper. I personally shape my necks using a scraper. I have better control of the amount of wood I remove vs a spokeshave. I know that i will usually remove approx 1/64th of an inch on every pass that my scraper covers. I enjoy having a scotch and sitting out working a neck down to shape in the afternoon. Mike

Thanks TM, The reality of it though is a no go , so now it's history. Yes it was a nice looking piece but a wall hanger was not what I intended. so I'll see if I can raise the Phoenix in a different fashion at some later time. MK

Hello All, As you know I started what was to be a square neck dobro back in November. After MANY MANY hours of trying to play a borrowed SQNk I have found that it does'nt work for me so, I changed my build to a round neck after the mods to round neck I strung up the guitar. It had a wonderful voice. Unfortunately, I could not play it as a roundneck using the spider bridge. It sounded great using a slide only, but would not fret because the action was just to high. That being said, I thought I would destroy what would make a very nice guitar by any other actions by me of lowering the bridge,cone and cover. So I decided to remove the neck, not as much trouble as I thought but somewhat. Before doing so I measured and found that a 2 1/2 degree neck angle should solve my problems (I hoped). So I removed the neck, made some jigs and reinstalled the neck. Not much change though, the neck move improved (somewhat) the problems. But in all not worth the trouble. So I have declared this project DEAD. I have since removed the neck and the top, salvaged the fretboard, back and sides. Otherwise the rest is firewood and I will move forward with a new project at this time. Thanks for listening to my rambling and I hope your projects do not fall prey to the gremlins mine has. Mike

That was way cool, Thanks David mk

Just for everyones info the steel city is good equipment and has gotten good ratings. The problem is the service on parts and service in general. I've heard from Woodcraft that they no longer will order steel city because of the backorder and service. I hear alsoi that Steel city is working on this problem as they did not expect the initial influx of orders and hopefully will have this resolved soon. Just what I've heard through the Grapevine!!!!!!!!!1 mk Just an update, I actually ran into a problem with my Steel City Bandsaw. One side of the fences locking mehanism actually cracked, now for what it is worth a I drive that fence very hard with large lumber and stiff clamping (so I was not shocked when this happened). I picked up the phone, called customer service, they transfered me to the parts dept. The machine is under its five year warrenty. They are shipping the part today and I should have it by the end of the week. Very pleasant to deal with, very fast responce. I don't often have to deal with customer service, but Steel City seemed to perform in this area as well as could be hoped for. Thought it was worth mentioning, Rich Rich, I'm happy to hear you are getting a good response from them. Like I said at first they were having some issues with Customer service so I hope they have since fixed that issue. Good luck Mike

Murray, Actually, both can cause this problem, but the most common cause is from a surface that is not clean before spraying. Such as maybe body oils or waxes. It is more likely to be seen after the first coat and the adhesion between coats is not doing what it should. Improper sanding or sanding with too fine of paper will also cause this, again an adhesion problem. Much like water beading up on your car after waxing it. What are you spraying, what kind of gun, do you have inline moisture traps, what was the temp and humidity. All of these effect a spray finish. To say this and only this causes a specific problem will not help you get the results you are seeking as many things can cause this, as well as other problems. Mike

I'm allergic to cocobolo otherwise I'd do it for you, even though I have plenty of it in my stash . Now if only someone would make me a good offer for all of it PM me and I might be able to get a friend to do it using my tools. MK

First question, how long from the time you put shellac on until you sprayed lacquer? Did you sand before the lacquer coat? Next how thick was the shellac and what type? Waxed or dewaxed shellac. What was the temp and humidity when you sprayed and you said that you had runs? So how thick was the lacquer coat? So many variables that could cause your problem. MK

Im moving up there in June.. SADNESS!!! Im loosing my shop space to move into a downtown apartment with my GF. I dont want to loose all the stuff, but cant keep it anywhere. I dont know who all lives in Dallas, but it would be great to find a fellow hobbyist who would be willing to share some garage space or tool time(mainly big stuff like table saw, jointer, bandsaw) I could use my router wherever as well as sand ETC at my own apartment, as well as hold all my lumber and works in progress. I would be willing to bring and share my 14" closed base 2hp Bandsaw(can have a block insert to raise it, so would be a GREAT resaw capable bandsaw) my 5HP table saw(steel top with a table router pannel attached) my little 7" Jointer and a decent older Delta 13" drill press. I would chip in for saw blades and whatnot, and be willing to pay for using the space. And it would be whenever the space was available. Plus is would be great to find someone else whos into this... EDIT: I have alot of other weird tools, and clamps, sanders, sander-press attachments etc.. the norm I guess. I live in Dallas but don't have room for more tools, but have what I need to do the job (link to my shop). When you get here contact me using my email or PM me. YOu may also want to contact Jon, he lives in Ft Worth but would have room for most of your tools in his new shop. Mike

My Friend and former down the street neighbor (until moving to Austin in the past year) Buddy Miles passed away Tuesday the 26th. He was a mild and friendly guy and will be missed, as well as his contribution to the music world. Gods speed Buddy, and please say hello to Jimi. Mike Link

Never seen it done, other than on a Lap steel where no actual contact is made with the fretboard. It's almost as hard as Maple so??? larger pores and would most likely need a finish, but maple requires one as well. Hopefully someone else will chime in if they have had experience with it? MK

First, I was not trying to be sarcastic, but with your knowledge of the basics,"I have basic electrical knowledge, amperage, resistance, voltage, wattage etc." the questions asked were somewhat odd! As far as your next question. It is grounded to the existing circuit coming from the amp in relation to the power from your Home in order to complete the circuit. As far as the bridge, it bleeds off the grounding effect of your body when touching the strings and you becoming a shorter path to ground. Your resistance is greater than the wiring, therefore the electrical path finds the least resist path. This is why people in older homes that DO NOT have grounded outlets experience more than normal electrical HUM (because the resistance is not as great). It is basically an async ground loop that gets created without it. MK

-First, when wiring your guitar are the wires from the pickups interchangable, ie do all the wires from the pickups do the samething? NO! -Can all pickups be mixed and matched? Yes sorta!! depends on your taste! -Can multiple pots have different resistances? Most definitely!!!!! -Also anyone one could just basically explain what goes where for a complete beginner (if at all possible without sending me to a schematic) how to wire my guitar (very basically). NO!

Not like him on the guitar but I'll keep up on keyboards. Yes, I'm old enough to know good Boogie when I hear it. Very nice Video, Thanks!!! MK

I prefer to clean my bits and bearings in mineral spirits and that seems to lubricate as well. MK

Maybe asking your question in the electronics section will generate a better response therefore no need to BUMP!!! Just a suggestion MK

Those are not lineout output jacks. They are for direct to the speaker cab or speaker and related to the ohms rating of said cabinet or speaker. So, unless you want to destroy your Princeton I would NOT suggest connecting a cable from the any speaker outputs of your Jr to the input of your Princeton. Just my .02 cents! MK

Welcome and may the luck of homeland be with you always! MK

First I must say this build looks AWESOME in person. Pictures do not do it justice. Jon's new shop is also looking GREAT!! Jon thanks for the kudos but that's what friends are for. I'm glad it helped. With a few more options I will tune you up on scrapers even more. I also want to say to anyone of you that gets a chance to come to the DFW area. It is a must for you to go see Jon and his Dad at Cousin's BBQ in Ft Worth. Now I have to say I smoke some Damn good ribs ( I use pecan wood) , but Jon's Dad makes some of the finest Hickory smoked Brisket and Ribs that I have eaten and I've tried BBQ all over the US. So If you get this way you MUST stop in and eat. YOU won't be sorry, trust me. note tp Jon: I have not been able to get with my machinists friend yet but hopefully before end of week. Mike

Back in the 60's MicroFrets Guitars were made from Foam and Fiberglass. Very light weight, they were a 2 piece body joined front to back. MK

Thanks everyone, I will start looking into it. I don't know anything about a ukelele, but my next search will probably keep me busy for a couple of hours. Thanks! -John Hi John, funny you should ask this question. I have been looking for a set of plans for a baritone uke. I'm not sure what the site was I found last night but will look for it again. They had a set of plans for just what you are looking for. I bookmarked it, but it is on my other computer so give some time and I'll get it for you. It was either an 18 1/2" or 20" scale. Mike edited to add: found on the MIMF plans MIMF Link to small Guitar/Baritone Uke plan

actually That's to complicated. just paint the dang thing white, then do part one of the first post but in black. LOL:) mk

Let's see, HMMM!!! I would lay down tape at the appropriate width in stripes with alternating openings. Then do the same perpendicular. shoot a clear coat to seal the edges to prevent bleed through and then shoot white. Repeat the same process perpendicular to the first and offset one square and then shoot black. Just my thought on this MK