Jump to content
Entry in the May 2024 Guitar of the Month contest is now open ×

guitar101

Established Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    225

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

 Content Type 

Posts posted by guitar101

  2. Lap Steel

    in In Progress and Finished Work

    Posted

    Awesome. I need to add a lapsteel to a list of things to build. I just need to get over my fear of getting my finger stuck in the slide and having to amputate it... but maybe that's just me...

    What woods? How does it sound?

    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.

  3. Lap Steel

    in In Progress and Finished Work

    Posted

    Awesome. I need to add a lapsteel to a list of things to build. I just need to get over my fear of getting my finger stuck in the slide and having to amputate it... but maybe that's just me...

    What woods? How does it sound?

    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.

  5. Lap Steel

    in In Progress and Finished Work

  7. Spruce Guitar

    in In Progress and Finished Work

    Posted

    2 questions. 1) how does a spruce les paul sound?! and 2) whats the scale length you used?

    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.

  9. Spruce Guitar

    in In Progress and Finished Work

    Posted

    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..

    • Like 1

  10. Need Some Help Sourcing Some Bits And Knobs.

    in Solidbody Guitar and Bass Chat

    Posted

    I'm almost done with my build sans the pickup cavities. On my first build I used a standard 1/2" pattern router bit but it doesnt fit into the tight corners of my template and left rounder corners then I wanted.

    It seems I need to get a 3/8ths inch pattern bit. My local rockler doesn't have em and I'm having a hell of a time finding one. I'll note that know stew mac has one but its really shallow. I want one at least 3/4 of an inch long.

    Anyone know where I can pick one up?

    The other thing I'm having trouble finding is chrome knurled barrel knobs WITHOUT those damn ugly set screws. Kind of like you'd find on an ibanez.

    Any sources or advice on the pup routes?

    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/

  16. Control Cavities

    in Solidbody Guitar and Bass Chat

    Posted

    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 binding bit to cut the recess :D

    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 :D

    Photo139.jpg

    photo231f.jpg

    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..

  19. Control Cavities

    in Solidbody Guitar and Bass Chat

    Posted

    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 binding bit to cut the recess :D

    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 :D

    Photo139.jpg

    photo231f.jpg

    I took a good look at them and I can see with your photo how to go about it.. Thanks.

  20. Control Cavities

    in Solidbody Guitar and Bass Chat

    Posted

    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.

  21. Truss Rods

    in Solidbody Guitar and Bass Chat

    Posted

    The LMI rod has been my favorite so far but they ain't the cheapest. You route a 6mm slot, either square off the small bits of the route where the metal blocks will go or round over the metal blocks with a file and gently tap into place - no muss, no fuss, no stinky coconuts.

    I don't think that it's too difficult to design a rod that fits snugly in a standard 6mm slot. Making a t/r slightly larger or slightly smaller than that serves no purpose but it does require more effort to install.

    IMHO, 99% of the time you are simply looking for a rod that works smoothly and requires the least amount of wood to be removed. If you are making thick necks where depth of route isn't much of an issue then some may prefer to use the Hot Rod for various reasons.

    Any dual action t/r missing a weld I would happily put into the 'junk' category. In my case, I emailed the seller last night asking for a credit should I order from him again and, instead, had the money credited back to my card before I went to bed. Customer service isn't being perfect, customer service is dealing with your customer in the same manner you would like to be treated!

    Cheers

    I got mine at Allied Luthier's and they look to be well made. I think the owner was once associated with LMI. They are less expensive.

    http://www.alliedlutherie.com/truss_rods.htm

  22. How Do You Heat Your Shop?

    in Tools and Shop Chat

    Posted

    I recently moved into a house that has a 1 car garage (about 250 sq feet). Its a pretty small space and is fully insulated and everything but the ceiling is sheetrocked and taped. It currently has no heat in it and i have been using a kerosene heater to keep it warm when im working in there. I want to move to a better heating system that is less toxic and can be left on low when im not using the space. I am thinking of either getting a propane tank and a vent free heater, or going with a dayton g73 electric heater. Was just looking to get some insight from everyone here. I live in NY so i have pretty cold winters, but not completely brutal. Thanks!

    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.

    :D

  23. Brushing Water Based Lacquer

    in Inlays and Finishing Chat

    Posted

    <slaps head> ...I forgot it's waterbased, cleanup's a breeze!

    But I might check into it if I were you, I'm almost certain waterbased lac is a 2-part reactive curing type of finish.

    I'm guessing there is a 'window' of re-application time, maybe a few hours?, but not like a true film finish like regular lacquer where there is NO window, it ALWAYS melts back into itself, there is no time period.

    Worth checking into.

    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

    :D

  24. Help With My Sustainer

    in Electronics Chat

    Posted

    Hi, I thought I'd post here since this thread is about help with sustainers. Right now I have my winder bobbin made and just waiting to wrap wire. I'm working on building the Fetzer-Ruby circuit but I only have electrolytic caps for it (well all except the 22nF). Now my question is will it work with the caps I have, as long as I keep the polarity correct or do I need ceramic caps for the other non-polarized caps in the circuit?

    I have circled the ones in question, red for the ones for which I only have polarized electrolytic caps.

    frcircledcaps.gif

    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.

  25. Help With My Sustainer

    in Electronics Chat

    Posted

    Hi, I thought I'd post here since this thread is about help with sustainers. Right now I have my winder bobbin made and just waiting to wrap wire. I'm working on building the Fetzer-Ruby circuit but I only have electrolytic caps for it (well all except the 22nF). Now my question is will it work with the caps I have, as long as I keep the polarity correct or do I need ceramic caps for the other non-polarized caps in the circuit?

    I have circled the ones in question, red for the ones for which I only have polarized electrolytic caps.

    frcircledcaps.gif

    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.

×
×
  • Create New...