Stickmangumby

Are you having trouble taking a clear photo, or getting it on the Internet? If its the latter, just go to a free image host, such as ImageShack, upload the image using their pretty easy to understand site, and copy and paste the URL into your post. If you're having trouble getting a clear photo of the neck, take it outside into natural light, turn the flash off, and try some nice close manual focus action to get it going.

+1 What Hunter said. You can't change the scale length of the fret board without moving the bridge.

Try building a normal guitar first. There's no way in hell you'll be able to successfully make something like this on your first build. Ultimately you will waste time and effort, and possibly even be so frustrated that you will abandon all future attempts at building instruments. Without a background and skills in woodwork and metalwork this project won't even get off the ground. Sorry, I'm not meaning to be harsh, but I think that's just the plain truth.

I think the treating was to sterilise, harden, and bleach the bone. In the post I read they were using cow bones.

IMHO, in theory cutting a monkey grip into your guitar will 'damage' the guitars tone and resonance, but in practise it's not noticeably bad. It may make it sound different (but all guitars sound different), but it won't make it sound crap. Cut a monkey grip if you're going to use it or you like the look of it, leave it out if you don't care. (edited for clarity)

I read a thread on this forum a while back (but I couldn't find it when I searched) about treating your own bone to make nuts. It seemed quite comprehensive, but also a long process (ie a couple of weeks bleaching in ammonia and naptha). Anyway, bottom line is I have on idea about deer antler, but I think you'll have to treat it a lot to make it usable.

Hi guys, thanks for your ongoing ideas. I'm putting an order together right now, here's what I've got so far.... - 5432 Radius Gauges - Original (smooth), set of 2 - 5212 Luthier's Digital Caliper - 4479 Neck Support Caul - 4895 Fretting Hammer - Hammer with plastic and brass faces I think the radius gauges will be invaluable for doing setups, making nuts, and fretting with compound radiuses. The calipers should be useful for a lot of things (I was going to get some anyway, but I like the fret bead measurer and the depth gauge for fret height) including measuring fret wire, making nuts, and setting up/calibrating tools and machinery. The neck support caul and fretting hammer seem to be essential and worth the money to make sure I have the right stuff for the job. I've decided there's no way I can justify the cost of fret cutters, tang nipper, pullers, or benders though at this time... without any experience I think it's best if I try my hand with hardware store tools, then get additional tools if I need them. I've hit a little bit of a problem as well, which is deciding what size fret-wire and nuts to buy. I'm not keen to be placing orders once a fortnight for 6 foot of fretwire for each of the different guitars I'll refret (because postage is the dog!), but I don't know what I should buy now as I only have one guitar on me to refret at the moment. Is there a standard fret-wire size that is also the majority? I'll be getting no-name cheapo guitars, so I'm afraid there won't be one fretwire I can buy in bulk to do them all... has anyone got any suggestions as to what I can do? Thanks again for your time, it is much appreciated

Thanks for the input so far guys What I'm picking up is that you only have to buy guitar specific parts (ie nuts, fret wire, pots) from Stew Mac, and can improvise/hardware store all the required tools. This is good news! However, I do have some money to spend on tools, and I reckon it's worth forking out in some cases to be sure you're getting the good stuff. I'll have a bit more of a think over the next few days as to what I'm gonna definitely get then I'll check back here. Phil Mailloux - I'm in Brunswick, Melbourne Thanks guys, keep the opinions coming

Ok, here's the dealy-yoyo. I'm very keen on guitars. I love playing them, tinkering with them, and otherwise learning about them. I've invested in a number of books, including Dan Erlewine's "Guitar Player Repair Guide" and "How to make your electric guitar play great!", Hideo Kamimoto's "Complete Guitar Repair", Pieter Fillet's "DIY Guitar Repair", Martin Koch's "Building Electric Guitars", Melvyn Hisock's "Make Your Own Electric Guitar", and a couple of other books about acoustic and electric repair, setup, and construction. I've read this books, but have only been able to apply the knowledge I've learnt to a small degree. I consider myself as being able to do a decent setup on non-FR equipped guitars, but apart from that, I haven't had much to work with. However, I've just bought a new guitar, which means my 20 year old beat up Strat copy is now available for messing with It sure needs some work, but it wasn't worth paying someone to do because the guitar would cost less than the repairs needed. Now that I've got another guitar I can play, I'm free to try my hand at fixing this one up. So, I need some tools and supplies to work with. I'm thinking of ordering some basic fretting and nut making tools from Stew Mac, and getting some practise in refretting, fret dressing, making nuts, and electronics stuff. Some points I'd like to emphasise: - I have more time than money at the moment. Also, I'm just a beginner, so I'm not ready to spend big $ on professional tools. - I know the value of having the right tools for the right job (haha, learnt through good old experience ), and I'm looking for advice as to what is necessary from Stew Mac, and what I can just get from the hardware store. - I'm in Australia, so postage is a bit prohibitive. I've currently got: - Somewhere to work - Basic tools for assembling and disassembling the whole guitar (screwdrivers, drill, deep-sockets, allens keys etc) - Soldering iron, soldering iron stand, solder - Multimeter - Pliers and end-nippers - A nice long metal ruler, a short one, a tape measure - Feeler gauges - Patience - A strong interest in learning - Good resources (books, the internet, project guitar ) Here's what I'm thinking about getting at the moment: Fretting: - Fretting hammer I think it's a good idea for me to start with the basic tools. However, if people think fretting hammers are now crude or obsolete, I may be able to stretch the budget to include a Jaws fret press. - Neck support caul Seems like a very handy caul for hammering frets in. - A couple of feet of Medium fret wire - Radius gauges Some fretting questions: - Are notched radius gauges worth the extra money? They come in a set of four... is this just two identical sets of two? - Is it worth forking out the money for a Fret cutter or Fret pullers? It seems like a lot of money to spend, when I can just buy some pliers and end nippers and bench grind the jaw faces flat... what do you reckon? - Is it worth buying files for shaping and crowning the frets from Stew Mac? If I just hit the hardware store, will I unltimately end up frustrated at my poor results? - Are there any other tools you would strongly recommend I get from Stew Mac rather than buying locally/making/doing without? Nut making - A couple of assorted shaped Bone nuts - A couple of assorted shaped Graph Tech nuts - A couple of assorted shaped Slip-Stone nuts Some nut making questions: - I don't think I can justify the price of any of the Stew Mac nut files. Does anyone strongly advice I invest in the right tools, or will hardware store gear do the job? - Are there any nut related items I should get from Stew Mac that I can't make or buy? Electronics Some electronics questions: - Is there any reason to buy things like pots and caps from Stew Mac? Can the same items be purchased from local electronics suppliers? - Is the shielded wire the same as what you can buy at the hardware store? - Are there any electronics items I'll need from Stew Mac purely for rewiring? I'm greatly appreciative of any input you've got Please keep in mind I'm an amateur who is happy to make, borrow, scrounge etc. tools where necessary, and I'm looking only for the bare essentials needed to get started with fretting, nut making, and wiring. Thanks everyone

Are you sure it's the neck joint? If not, it could be the nut slots pinching one or more of the strings, causing them to temporarily stick before you lower the string tension with the trem. Just a thought if it's not the neck joint.

Your price should be based on the time it will take, the difficulty of the job, and the cost of the materials needed. Maybe it's best if you just negotiate a price with customers until you can sort out a regular price list for different jobs.

Far out, he has some nice looking and dirt cheap guitars there! Are they the real deal? Has anyone bought one of them? It seems too good to be true, and the inlays looks bloody awesome.

I also change mine about once a month. If you play an hour or so I day, I reckon after a month they would be sounding dead. Also, look at the strings, if there is any sign of corrosion or rusting, or kinks in the strings from where you press them onto the frets, or flat spots that have been worn down on the wound strings, its time to change... it not only affects your sound, but also your tuning, the intonation will be screwed. Sorry about the incoherence Short answer = 18 months is too long, try 1 month.

It also depends on your feedback technique. It's not entirely to do with your guitar/amp, although they do influence it. I also have a Line 6 Spider amp, and the best way for me to get feedback is to get the amp off the floor for starters (usually on a chair). Then, I play around with fretting notes on different strings and using different pickups (3 single coils). I find that depending on where you play the note, and where it's fretted in relation to the pickup used, you end up with different harmonics that feed back much better than other notes. For example, when I play an F on the 10th fret of the G string, and use the neck & centre pickups together, I can get endless sustain and feedback on moderate distortion settings (the amp model set on crunch, with the drive backed off a little), standing a metre or so from the amp. Playing an F# or E on either side of the F won't feed back at all though, unless I crank up the drive (or change the amp model to insanse ). I'm not sure if what I'm saying is very clear... does you understand what I mean?

Alrighty! That makes perfect sense, thanks

For the life of me, I just can't understand fingerboard radius measurements. I mean, I know that the smaller the radius, the more curved the fingerboard is, and that there are compound radius's where the fingerboard progresses from curved near the nut to flatter on the higher frets for bending, BUT what on earth is the actual measurement of? What is 7.5" radius a measurement of? Where is the 7.5 from?? This may be quite simple, and I don't even need to know, but for the life of me I can't figure it out, and nothing I've read has explained it! Haha, thanks

How much have you got to spend? What kind of music do like listening to? What kind of music do you want to play? How serious are you about playing guitar?

Heh, I'd like to see someone make a body out of balsa wood... with a FR trem!

I have a question; could stripping the paint and refinishing it notably change the sound?

If they are really stuck and the above ideas don't work, you can try levering them up using picks... put one underneath, then two on the other side, then add two more to the first side...

How much have you been playing in the last two or three weeks? Are there any kinks in the strings or wear on the windings? If I were you I'd just wait until you put new strings on to set the intonation, it saves a lot of time and frustration.

Are they new strings? If not, they should be.

Each of the strings sits on a 'saddle'. You can move the saddle backwards and forwards, usually with a screwdriver to adjust the intonation. Have a read of the tutorials here on how to set up a guitar, especially the one here on adjusting the intonation. It's fairly easy to do (just remember to put on new strings!), and you can't really go wrong.

It would also depend on the distance between the zero fret and the end of the fretboard, as well as the back angle of the headstock as to whether this was feasible. For example, if there was only 1cm between the zero fret and the end of the fretboard, the strings would probably pop out of the slots for them in the fretboard unless the back angle of the headstock was huge.

Yeah the nuts are always high. That's because they are better too high than too low