guitar101

Nice job that's beautiful. Simple and elegant.

Its mahogany and ash on the body the neck is mahogany. It's got a GFS mini humbucker. The volume control is a push pull wired to put the pickup in series or parallel. It sounds good better than the lap steel my father in law was using (a Nationl). I think it's called a New Yorker. The scale length is 25.5 inches and the fretboard is maple. The National has a much shorter scale I think about 20 inches. My father inlaw remarked that the bass responce on this is much nicer. But there may be something wrong with the humbucker I had to raise the screw on the pole piece for the high E string quite a bit to get a balanced sound. The string is about 1/8 of an inch to the side of the center of the pole screw. That may be why it's output is weak but I thing the pickup itself is at fault. If I had to do it over I would of bought a better pick up probably a Bill Lawrence rail.

Its mahogany and ash on the body, the neck is mahogany. It's got a GFS mini humbucker. The volume control is a push pull wired to put the pickup in series or parallel. It sounds good better than the lap steel my father in law was using (a Nationl). I think it's called a New Yorker. The scale length is 25.5 inches and the fretboard is maple. The National has a much shorter scale I think about 20 inches. My father inlaw remarked that the bass response on this is much nicer. But there may be something wrong with the humbucker I had to raise the screw on the pole piece for the high E string quite a bit to get a balanced sound. The string is about 1/8 of an inch to the side of the center of the pole screw. That may be why it's output is weak but I thing the pickup itself is at fault. If I had to do it over I would of bought a better pick up probably a Bill Lawrence rail.

Just to practice I've only built one guitar from scratch before so I need the practice. Plus I like the look of frets.

This is a lap steel I built for my Father in Law. He's helped my out a lot over the years so I wanted to do something for him 25.5 inch scale with Guitar Fetish mini humbucker. http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/First%20Scratch%20Build/Lap%20Steel/063.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/First%20Scratch%20Build/Lap%20Steel/078.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/First%20Scratch%20Build/Lap%20Steel/018.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/First%20Scratch%20Build/Lap%20Steel/536095_10151603512105565_653490564_24515157_1151388396_n.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/First%20Scratch%20Build/Lap%20Steel/069.jpg

Thanks

It's a Stewmac fingerboard 24.5 inches. The highs are clear and the bass is firm so over all I am happy. I am going to reassemble the Yamaha AEX520 that I used as a guide so I will compare them The Yamaha also has mini humbuckers. This guitar is scaled down slightly thickness width and length. I tell you one thing it's extremely light. Way lighter than a Strat.

No I haven't finished the cavity covers yet still trying to figure out how to do them. I will post pictures when I'm done.

Built this (first build) out of a 2x10 spruce from Home Depot. It's a semi hollow body with a spruce top 1/8 of an inch thick. The neck is Padauk. I was using this for practice before I started on some expensive wood. I ended up staining it and putting a clear coat on it. There are many mistakes but I learned a lot. I decided to keep it at least for now. I still have to make cavity covers etc but it is playable. I used MinWax water based finish it's easy to apply but seems on the soft side. I don't think I would use it again. http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/First%20Scratch%20Build/IMG_3995.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/First%20Scratch%20Build/IMG_3996.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/First%20Scratch%20Build/IMG_3997.jpg http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/bugla/First%20Scratch%20Build/IMG_3998.jpg It's pretty rough but I'm happy..

Why 3/4 you can use a shorter bit and the newly routed cavity will serve as a guide. Anyway Whiteside should have what you want.. http://www.whitesiderouterbits.com/

Well I decided to bind the body after cutting the neck pocket but I ran into another problem I used Weldbond to secure the binding in the channel. The directions said sets in one hour so I removed the tape several hours later and the binding came off. Any suggestions.

What do you think about binding the entire guitar then routing the neck pocket to get a tight fit on the neck when it's installed. first build.

Where we live there isn't much choise in different brands. My son is looking to buy a new acoustic electric. Does anyone have any experience with the Yamaha L series guitars, specificically the LLX16 and the LLX26 compared to the Martin Performing Artist series guitars.He was also looking at some Breedloves but I wasn't impressed.

Try this link but I don't know how much shipping would be.. http://www.curlykoa.com/mangoguitarsets I bought a Mango veneered body from Warmoth several years ago and finished it. The wood took stain very well.. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=29815&st=0&p=328702&hl=mango&fromsearch=1&#entry328702

Came across this and thought I would share it. http://www.guitarwiz.net/lucciano-pizzichini-this-kid-can-play-guitar/

I use a binding bit to cut the recess I use the smallest ball bearing: Binding Router Bit Set This way I'm hitting the cavity and the result will be a nice and even recess all arround that cavity I took a good look at them and I can see with your photo how to go about it.. Thanks. What kind of wood is that??? Looks great..

Not sure the guitar I am copying is about 1/2 inch but I have to check. That brings up a good point the thickness of the sides and body. I think 1/2 inch but I am not sure if this is OK.

Thanks that was very helpful.

I use a binding bit to cut the recess I use the smallest ball bearing: Binding Router Bit Set This way I'm hitting the cavity and the result will be a nice and even recess all arround that cavity I took a good look at them and I can see with your photo how to go about it.. Thanks.

Building a semi hollow guitar. I have the body routed out and the neck angle glued. I was wondering how to route out the control cavities so the cover fits flush with the surface of the body. There is a small step around the main cavity allow the cover to sit lower that the body.I bought the StewMac template but is the routing done freehand or is there a router attachment to help make it easier. I'm not comfortable routing freehand.

I use a natural gas heater suspended fron the ceiling. I leave the shop at about 50 degrees Farenheit and turn it up when I need to. Works great in Northern Ontario. My walls and ceiling are insulated.

Clear Gloss Topcoat is a crystal-clear acrylic waterbase lacquer that has 100% burn-in between coats, without a time limit. That makes it repairable, much like nitrocellulose lacquer. It is a thermoplastic resin and will shrink and move around with the heat of buffing. 25-30% of the final finish thickness should be lacquer topcoats. It sands and buffs well to a high gloss, with good hardness and durability. Full chemical cure occurs in 150 hours. Waterbase Retarder or WATER can be added to reduce viscosity. When hot/dry conditions cause the finish to dry too fast, thin with 5%-15% Waterbase Retarder. http://www.stewmac.com item number 5570 also didn't say anything about NEEDING any other product for curing either on the company website or the label. Some time ago I researched this and the StewMac stuff is made by Target Coatings. Here is a link to their web page. http://www.targetcoatings.com/emtech-6000.html

The smaller capacitors will be non electrolytic. The ones labeled (n) which is nano farads. You won't find any electrolytic capacitors that small. Even the one labeled .5 uf (.5 micofarads) will be non electrolytic. The capacitor symbol with the two straight palates indicates non electrolytic capacitors.

The smaller capacitors will be non electrolytic. The ones labeled (n) which is nano farads. You won't find any electrolytic capacitors that small. Even the one labeled .5 uf (.5 micofarads) will be non electrolytic. The capacitor symbol with the two straight plates indicates non electrolytic capacitors.