Johnny Foreigner

Entering one of my own would do absolutely nothing to raise the overall quality. I'm not implying I could do better, just that most months I really struggle to make a decision because there are so many I like, but this month most of them didn't really do it for me. On a personal taste level. That's not to say they aren't good builds, they're just builds that didn't float my boat. Oh come on,RAD is an "up and comer"...using the same tools as everyone else but getting better results than most.That is not cause for writing him off as a shoe in,rather it should be cause for respect and inspiration.He started the same way as everyone else. It doesn't matter who you vote for IMO,but you have to give the guy his proper respect,instead of taking his good work for granted...that just devalues all of the hands on work and the hours he puts in to every build,not to mention all of the wenge dust he ate to make this particular one,which is incredibly different from his regular stuff. By the way,Chris is just as talented,so the logic applied doesn't even make any sense if you have seen Chris's other beauties. I give RAD all the respect in the world, but I just think there's something obvious about voting for the guy who posts jaw-droppingly good builds week in, week out. Chris is also super talented, but RAD is like a machine. If it's any consolation, I think RAD's V is insanely beautiful and I'd give a kidney just to touch it for an hour. I can't really justify my choice of vote, so I'm not going to. So there! Personally I prefer RAD's work to Perry's, but that's beside the point - none of them are particularly active on the site currently, which is why I say RAD's the best on the site - I'm implying the caveat "that is posting work regularly right now". Not to take anything away from Perry, David or Melvyn who are all talented beyond belief.

Not a banner month, as far as I'm concerned. I'm loathe to vote for RAD, even though it's far and away the nicest guitar, just because it seems like an unfair fight: RAD is the most talented builder on the site so of course his builds are amazing. So Chris gets my vote - love that it's something different, and the amount of thought and design going into just the bracing makes my head spin.

We won't hold either your bass playing or your being from the wrong side of the pennines against you.

This build is disgustingly good. So good it makes me want to give up.

An incredible month for graphics, but there's just something about that green zebra.... In guitars, as in life, sometimes less is more.

No. Don't. Destroy them, for they are evil.

sweeeeeeeet

why thank you! the guitar's owner tells me it's the best guitar he's ever played, so that's pleasing too!

Toughest. Month. Ever.

If you were to build an acoustic with sides that were 1/4" - 1/2" thick - but the top and back were still the normal sort of thickness - what sort of impact would you imagine that would have on sound. It's a hypothetical question - I'm not building an acoustic with thick sides.

Look out the window you might just see flying pigs. I just voted for Avenger. RAD - you would have got the vote, but I've seen better versions of this guitar from you in the past week. Exceptional work, thought, and keep the build threads coming. John - it's precisely because I usually think your work is sloppy, aesthetically questionable and ill thought-out that you got my vote. This is a beaut. Clean, shiny, tasteful, and excellent executed on almost every level. Bravo!

You are welcome sir. Remember to pop in and say a word once and a while. As long as I know people are reading I will keep posting. RAD, your threads are definitely the best on PG right now for in depth coverage of the process and I'd imagine there are many more people reading and enjoying them than chiming in.

+1 on both points. Those bridges can be had for $8 and they're structurally sound enough, but for the same price these ones: http://cgi.ebay.com/HARDTAIL-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-BRIDGE-CHROME-top-mount-/190502767699?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2c5ad98c53 look much nicer.

That's usually why I ask questions on here - not to see if something will work, but whether it can be done safely. I will approach with caution, and out of the flight path of potential missiles.

NICE!

HA HA!! I don't own a table saw so that's not even option. Plus they scare me. so we thin strips can go through the planer carpet-taped to a backing board?

i'll give that a go. Thanks RAD.

Thanks all - to clarify I understand the jointer won't give me parallel sides, but I need to at least get one side flat so I can use the planer to get the other side parallel and flat. I think I'm going to try the initial idea.

Okay, now I'm confused. Here's how my neck will end up: the center strip (padauk) and the two strips next to it (maple) are rough on the faces that will be glued to each other and to the outer pieces (bubinga) So I want to joint those faces before I can glue up the pieces to form the neck.

but if the lams are rough from ripping on the bandsaw, the edges won't glue up well... hence the need to joint in order to glue up.

Finally got my jointer and got it set up. First job is to joint a whole bunch of neck laminates. Most of them, however, are much thinner than the minimum thickness they say you should joint on the jointer - plus they have a fair bit of bend which I imagine won't do me any favors. The faces being jointed are 13/16" wide, which is fine, but then the lams are as thin as 0.25". My initial idea is simply to double-sided tape the lams to taller pieces and use those for ridigity and stability.... or is there a better way. and before anyone says it, I've just bought this jointer, so I'm not "just going to learn how to joint with a plane"!

That's just ridiculously good looking. DRROOOOL!

What exactly would unstable look/feel like?

Nope, hadn't really occured to me. I assume the best way to stabilize is flooding it with CA. To be honest, if it's fine for a while and then becomes unusable and I have to replace it with a bit of black plastic it's not going to be the end of the world.

Okay, a little progress on this. The most annoying thing is that my replacement jointer has been sitting downstairs since last Thursday. The day it arrived, the elevator broke and I think it's too heavy to lug up to the 5th floor, so it's going to have to wait until Monday when the elevator is due to get fixed. Until I have that, there will be no progress on the neck, so instead I did these bits: My control cavity cover is going to be an offcut from the top, dyed the same as the top for a little piece of contrast on the back. Need to thickness it and route the ledge, which I'll do towards the end. And likewise for the headplate.