sam_c

ahhhh c'mon that bit's easy. After Judgement day there would be no written language just logos and symbols. So, it would have to be a mushroom cloud inlay with an A-bomb silhouette. I can see the poster now... Arnie with half a metal face standing on a pile of skulls, strumming a tune on one of these cool guitars

reliced?...no apocalypsed?... yes

Ok Ive been meaning to make a start on this for too long now. Got a few more parts recently and finished making templates that Im happy with. I now have neck cores, truss rods, CF rods and ebony fretboards. 3pc swamp ash body wood, 2mm black veneers, 2pc padauk top with sap wood centre and a few bits of hardware first step is to glue up the top, then the body blank. I will be routing the top to final shape first and use it as a template for the ash blank once the sandwich is glued up. Hopefully this will reduce the amount of padauk dust coming into contact with the ash.

After some careful detective work, I have managed to track down the previous owner....

Padauk has got to be my fave wood. This is looking great. Im not sure if the truss rod cover matches that well. It seems to be hiding some nice figuring and looks a little chunky compared to the rest of the headstock. Just my opinion though, and with strings on it may look very different.

maybe that would have been a better title for this thread. Seriously, Ive re-read this a few times and it compares to a bunch of f*cking 6 yr olds sitting in a treehouse deciding on the 'rules' of the club. If you dont like/agree with how GOTM works, dont enter and dont vote.

wrong. Personally, I vote for the guitar Id like to own.

I use this PET sheet stuff to make cavity covers... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2MM-THICK-BLACK-EMBO...=item53d9924121 it's a close texture match to the aluminium covers that are on a few of my guitars and it is very easy to cut and shape. Here is how they look....

build threads certainly help me decide who to vote for. It's hard enough to judge a guitar by pictures and soundclips on the internet, but trying to decide based on 4 finished pictures alone makes it even more difficult. For me, preference will always go to projects that actually shows the process and craft in more detail.

dude, Ive recently drawm up some RS plans in CAD if you want a copy? Dont know how far along you are with plans for an RS build but if it would be any use then let me know. BTW, IM the guy who fit most of your tools into the boot of a civic I would be interested in knowing what composite you go with to use in place of the blockboard.

is there no way you can get Melvyns book from a library?? I think if you read it once you may understand why so many ppl are recommending it and you might re-evaluate it's importance as a tool and reference guide. Judging by your spec / plans for the build, you are bound to come across some more problems which could easily be answered on the spot by that book. Neck angle, maple top....not to mention a neck!!

Padauk is fine for a fretboard, Ive played a few factory guitars withh Paddy FB's. I would guess the sapwood would be ok structurally, but I have not used any yet myself. I have tried finishing some sapwood and it does get a dirty kind of tint in the finish. You may want to do a test on some scrap if you have some.

I use a Dremel on a mini sled jig with the router base. just measure the distance from the base of the nut to the bottom of the string slots and then mark down from your fret height. I then shim mine using veneer as you dont want to be filing the nut shelf down after a fret dressing in the future. I vote for logo at the top aswell, I think the string paths will foul the view of the logo on the other 2 options.

I like padauk with the grain open. even as a neck wood I like the feel of it without a grain filler.

Ive been eying up some courses for around a year or so, but none of them really offer what I was after. I think it would be an easy course, for you and students, to concentrate on fender style body construction and use pre-made necks. You would still have a lot to get through with a few students. wood selection, thicknessing/jointing, basic routing. And as Wez said there is the element of design and being able to draw things/visualise them accuratley. Get them to make a strat / tele based design around a certain bridge and neck pocket config. then give them some artistic room to move with the body shape and control layout. A basic oil finish will be more than satisfying enough for a novice builder. Not to mention electronics / setup skills which you would also need to teach! How long would you have per session and how long would the course be? youd need to be quite conservative as to what they can achieve in the time available. You dont want 5-6 unfinished guitars being rushed in the last session! edit: oh, and Wez is a great teacher. He very kindly gave me some instructions on fret dressing and helped me out alot with my first fretjob.

+ 1 Ive replaced 2 or 3 L500's after giving them a fair shot, for pretty much the exact same reasons as IPA.

ahhh Wez, I was going to paint a guitar blue and get you to enter GOTM on my behalf aswell. Im bound to win then?? right?? (joking btw)

I was looking for one a while ago. I think ABM still make one, but it aint cheap. http://www.allparts.com/ABM-2412-C-12-Stri...gb-2580-010.htm

Yeah I guess so. same guitar design, just different woods. I think a paddy top would be a nice way to get the deep red colour without staining. Although I know some ppl dont like the colour after it ages to a brown/plum colour.

I like the look of option 3 the best. Although I would like to see it with a 3pc laminate mahog neck and a limba body with a padauk cap. single humbucker pickup with series/split/parallel toggle switch. ditch the tuner IMO

could you not use a mini 6pin DIN connector and socket? or does it have to be that when you insert the core to the body it's all ready to play? You may be able to mount a mini DIN plug in a recess on the end of the core and line it up with a mini DIN flush mounted socket on the body. It would all be hidden and if aligned correctly it would plug in easily enough.

you can get titebond easily in the uk..... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Titebond-Original-Wo...ng_Glue_Tape_EH http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TITEBOND-ORIGINAL-WO...ng_Glue_Tape_EH http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GLUE-TITEBOND-ORIGIN...Other_Crafts_EH or.... http://www.axminster.co.uk/titebond-titebo...glue-prod22581/

Always wanted a ric style but wasnt sure how comfy they would be to gig with. These look great! I think once that maple/white pearl neck is fretted then it will get the extra contrast it needs. If you were cutting with cnc, it might have been cool to cut a 0.5mm channel around the edge of the pearl blocks and filled with black CA, just to outline them slightly. The cherry is my favourite at the minute

http://www.theguitarworkshop.co.uk/ Dunc at guitar workshop will get any Dimarzios you want, and will ship worldwide too. He can normally get them next day in the shop. Best to give him a ring though, speak to him or Darren and they will sort you out.

to be fair, some online specs for that ION strat say it has a solid maple body. I would still prefer a Yamaha pacifica over that. I really like the Telecaster version of the pacifica. Not expensive and very good quality for the price.