jmrentis

Wow, everything you've gotten so far looks really good! And it seems like you have mostly all the tools involved. Are you going to angle the headstock, or are you going to recess it and put the carbon rods all the way through the headstock? Also have you decided what the orientation of your tuners, 6 inline, 3x3, 4x2 or will that be decided after you find out what shape you will use? Good luck and keep up with the progress pictures! Jason

I can't imagine how good that would feel, thats mostly everyones dream in life to do what they love most and make a living doing it! How long have you guys been at this? Also how many years were you building before you started selling custom guitars? And one last question is did you guys have a base model like one similar to a jem, tele, LP or any common shape that you started with or did you completely leave it up to the customer and just bought or made a template for each project? Thanks for posting what you guys make and all the tutorials you do, I know you guys don't have much time on your hands and that makes what you guys do even more special, thanks for lookin out for us new and hopeful builders! Jason

I was just trying to throw some ideas at him, since he just wanted to do bodies and rhodes made a good point of people screwing up on the most difficult part of the guitar, so if he did the hardest part for them there really wouldn't be much to screw up and he wouldn't have to finish the rest. I know that a finished guitar would be the best idea by far, but I since he didn't want to that at first, I thought that this would have been a compromise. But yes you are right might as well finish the guitars, it just seemed a better idea than giving up. Jason

Drak Holmes!

Really, thats too bad I think it would look excellent naturally finished. Maybe if you get the chance look at some more guitars that are naturally finished with padauk, they look so good. Also maybe you could try what Maiden said, and work on getting the color to your liking. The stuff can really blow your mind if properly done and I think natural finished guitars somewhat show off more of your woodworking skills than if you just painted over everything, and honestly you've done a really impressive job so far it would be so sad to see it covered like every other guitar. Good luck either way you go and make sure you post pics as you go. Jaosn

I was thinking of going the route of an fret pressing arbor for a drill press for now. And I was wondering would the cauls for the arbor press work any good for making your own radiused sanding blocks? Any thoughts on this, it could kill two birds with one stone. Also does anyone have opinions on the fret pressing arbor from stew mac? Thanks for the help! Jason

Thank you rhodes for the post, I understand why you let him know of your experiences and what to avoid. You indeed are wise in the ways of luthiery and business. One question I have though, what if he kept his idea of selling his product but decided to add the neck and bridge. That way the only thing that the customer would need to do is the electronics, add strings, and tuners. The hardest part of scales, neck pocket routing, pickup cavities, necks would all be taken care of and the customer would still be able to personalize it with their own tuners, pickups, strings, and if they want do some finishing. They would get the feeling of a do it yourself kit and it would be difficult to make a negative from it, you can't really say that since he doesn't install the electronics that he has terrible workmanship, thats just the whole idea from him, he'll give you the basics and you can finish it. Your point was well taken though, I can see where things like that happen, but if he only did bodies then noone could screw it up and complain because he wouldn't be selling guitars, just bodies. But if he did bodies then decided to upgrade to finished guitars then there is a possibility of this happening. So maybe Matt you should hold up for a little while until you have the finances to haves necks, bridges and all the routing done. I know that kits are sold everywhere and they seem to do a good business and they are basic, boring, and very common. If Matt did something similar with the hard stuff taken care the rest would be up to the customer, which would make it fun to finish and completely original. Again thank you rhodes for your advice, and letting me know what the deal was. Maybe you should give Matt some ideas on how to make it work, because he does nice work and it is original which is rare, to have both of those qualities and to be able to keep them up is a winning combination. I'm glad that there are people such as yourself that have great knowledge and experience and are willing to help out people that are learning and progressing. It make me feel safer that if I make a bad move that there are folks here that will clue me in on what to do and not to do! I hope Matt, you can figure a way to build yourself a business as I think it would work with your stuff, maybe work with rhodes and rich to find a way to do it! Good Luck with everything! Jason

Bappy Hirthday!

Is it a LTD(luthiery transmitted disease)?

Maybe try what Wes said about putting a clear over it and then use it as a sanding block! LOL Jason

Blasphamy I tell you, Blasphemy!! Alright Matt it's time to grab your weapon, THE IMPALER and help him change his mind, hopefully he doesn't bleed out before he changes his mind! LOL Jason

Hey guys, I was just curious what this is all about! A while back I started seeing a few of Matts designs and I thought they were good and original, and I suggested maybe he should come up with a name so he could sign his products. I think what he is doing is exciting and he is brave for venturing out on his own to build a name for himself. I have had many friends that started out with way more simple ideas than this and ended making a good living working for themselves! Like I said I am just curious about the meaning if anyone could let me know via pm or just post unless it is too secretive. By the way rhodes I have been advised by some experienced people that you are very good at what you do and you have some great advice, so if I made a mistake in my post somewhere let me know I was only trying to give Matt my vote of confidence as I think he builds bodies very well. I have seen some of your work and it is exceptional and I can only hope to become half as good as you! Good luck with everything and if you think I should edit my previous post in attempt to help Matt out in someway I would be more than happy to do so. Thanks for posting your work as it is useful for me to learn from. Jason

Project Guitar Scalloping Project Guitar Full Scallop They allow the note to ring better, because it's not sandwiched between your finger and the fretboard, someone with more experience might be able to answer that better but check out the links if you haven't seen them before they will be of some help. There are two links to see scalloping in action. First one is for frets 21-24 and the second one is for a full scalloping job. Excellent tutorials, they will explain it and show you exactly how to do it. Jason

Whats with this, is there a way to fix this problem? It seems that the only relief is within the first 5 frets. The frets themselves seem even but I might smooth them out a little. I just can't figure out how to fix this problem, it's an ibanez, what you guys do to fix the other problem in this post won't work for this will it? Thanks and hope you can help? Jason

Finally, I'm glad you decided to give the luthiery business a try! I was sure it would work out for you after I saw a lot of your designs and how the bodies turned out perfectly. You have quite a few really nice original designs and I know a lot of people will jump at the opportunity to own a METAL MATTS Original body. Also once you've sold a few bodies, you could make extra cash building bodies that are common to most guitarists. Like LPs, Jems, Vs, Teles and others of course you might have to make a minor change somewhere or get permission, but either way with the way you put great woods together to make bodies I think you will be successful. Have you designed a logo or company name? I think you will have a good thing going especially with Rich(fryovanni). With the wood supply from him and your designs I don't see where it could go wrong. Just be patient, most businesses start kinda slow. Also if you still have some of your bodies, try to get some good pics of them all in the same spot, try and find a primo spot and use it for all your pics, it might look really professional. Hell Ya I'm stoked for you and Rich, I think only goods things are to come! If there is anything I can help with please let me know. I live in San Diego CA and I've met a lot of people in the 10+ years I've worked here, I actually have been here all my life! I wouldn't mind doing some advertising for you, maybe you could design an advertisment, I could take it to the local shops like Guitar Center and post it up, I know a few people there that might let me. Anyways just a thought, good luck and I hope it takes off for you! Jason

That bridge looks sweet! Definately something I would be interested in. I'm glad you introduced me to my future bridge. Thanks. I didn't think it would be a problem, the current bridge I have is a traditional tremelo, the kinda with a 6 point fulcrum. It seems that the hole for the tremelo is small and a regular sized fixed bridge would fit over it, the screws might not line up, but I wouldn't mind some modification, I have already done a few things like drill the headstock for sperzels and changed wiring, pickups and some other minor mods. So I am just not sure and your probably right, but I can only hope! Thanks for the info! Jason

Hey Wes, So floyd is ging to make a fixed bridge speedloader! Man I can't wait for that, are there any other brands that make this or will be making this? When I first started thinking about replacing my bridge on my ibanez I had thought about the speedloader, but I was under the impression that they already had a fixed bridge version, so when I found out they didn't I was totally bummed. I still haven't changed my bridge, all I did was shape a block of wood to stop the tremelo. If you have any info on when the bridge might come out, that would be great! BTW you guitar looks better and better everytime I come back to this post. I bet you are super excited to finish it! Also I think the way you shaped the neck joint was not only original but very nice looking, the ones that are so smoothed that you can't tell where the joint is I don't like at all, they look funny to me. Your has all the function of a smooth one, but way better looking IMO! Keep up the great work and if you have any more progress pictures that are not secret, post them when you can. Jason

Hey Neil, those are some truly spectacular tops of maple, I only hope I can find some that nice for my project. I was curious as to how much of a top do you prefer for a 1 3/4" solid body? Also would you change anything for a chambered body? BTW the wood I am using for a back is purpleheart and it is a very hard and heavy piece at 1 3/4" to start and I am going to chamber it and put a maple cap on it. I was just wondering how thin I should go on the purpleheart. I don't want it too thin because then it would cost me a fortune to find a piece of quilted maple thick enough, but I want to lower the weight as much as possible, chambering will help, but the thinner I go the less weight it will be. The light weight is necessay for my back, other wise I won't be able to lift it. Thanks for the help on the router question, I never knew that they came in 4 flute bits. Spiral seems to be a great thing as well as carbide, I'm sure it makes for a longer lasting bit, but I'm sure they make up for it in price. I think you said that the 4 flutes cannot plunge, but you could start with a forstner bit then use the 4 flute right? Thanks for the help and great pics, very nice looking bodies! Jason

Project Guitar Tutorials Have you got a chance to look at these, they might be of some help to you if you haven't seen them already! Good luck with your neck, I myself am in the process of doing my first neck. I've read a few posts on this and it seems that most of them prefer to use a rasp, a file, and sandpaper. I don't know the exact details of specific types of rasps and files, the more experienced member will have to give you those details. And I'm not sure about those measurements either, but if you know of a guitar you would like it to feel like you can borrow the specs from that. Ibanez Necks Here are some of the neck numbers, not sure if thats what you needed. Also they have a page for the AANJ on there somewhere, might be of some help. Good Luck and let us know how it works out! Jason

Damn!, Pure genius. That thing looks incredible seriously! The figure is amazing is it crotch wood? BTW that routing is exceptional, I can only hope to ever even be half as good at routing as that, nice! Also I'm not that great at identifying wood, so what is it? Do you have any shots of the headstock or is that part of the secret or unfinished? Great work man and I can't wait to see more! Jason

Thanks for the info! I had asked wes and he told me the same not to sand it just plane if needed. I have already glued up, I am waiting for it to dry, by tomorrow morning I'll unclamp and check it out, that will be over 30 hours drying time. One thing that happened was I used too much glue, I had read that you need to use plenty of glue, some on both glueing surfaces and I guess I went way overboard, but I cleaned it up and hopefully I will have a good joint to work with. And now I know how much glue is enough! Drak was right when he said that one of the best ways to learn is by doing it. I don't think there was any way to explain how much glue to use for joints, when people say cover both surfaces, it can be a big difference in amount of glue you use. Thanks for your help, What are some specs on a jointer/planer that would be able to do neck balnks and body blanks? How big and such? Jason

I agree. I think a glossary would be a fine idea. The search function helps with this a little but a glossary would be a tremendous help for everyone, sometimes there are multiple words for one meaning, like slang words and such. So if one of the mods or admin has the time maybe it could be started and pinned. We could just use this post for an outline for it just keep adding words and definitions until there is enough to build a glossary. Great idea Duff! Also does anyone have a good definition of a cap? It's basically a thinner piece of would that is added to the top of the body for looks, tone, or cover for routing pockets. I'm sure someone has a better definition, I'm not to good with stuff like that. Jason

One more question, I will be routing on some purpleheart soon after a little practice, and I am worried about the hardness of this wood. I know there are bits with different amounts of flutes which I think are the blades, so for this hard wood what would be best? I've seen single flutes, 2 flutes, and some new ones with three flutes. I just don't know if more or less will help with harder woods. So if anyone has some ideas let me know. Thanks for the help! Jason

Woodweb I just ran into this page when looking for a site explaining how to sharpen a hand planer blade. There is a whole page of guys everywhere selling wood, this page is a ton of maple blanks, a lot that would work for necks. Just thought some of you might be intersted in this. Jason Can anybody say fretboards!! Ebony

I have been reading here and asking questions and it has made my first attempts very easy and they came out very well, I haven't got too much in the way of the router experience but that is my next objective. I know there are a lot of places that sell router bits and I've read that a few people don't like the Home Depot ones, and I also read that Lowes sells some but I haven't heard if they were any good. Any opinions on these? I would like to be able to go down to a store to pick them up if possible, rather than buy from the web. The web is a great resource but I like to be able to pick it up and check it out before I buy and be able to make returns and exchanges easily and without paying for shipping, return shipping, and restocking fees when they apply. I do buy from the web when necessary though. Also another router question is what would be better for keeping tear out to a minimum a 1/4 collet or a 1/2 collet, my router came with both and I was unsure of what would be better. I see more 1/4 at the stores but I know 1/2 is very common as well and more expensive. Would the wider collet be more stable or would it cause bigger tearout? I don't have the money to buy both to compare to find out so any help would be much appreciated! Jason