thegarehanman

Does this thing have a carved top? If so, you will find putting a veneer top on it to be harder than you'd probably assumed. It is possible, but a bit involved. You'd at least need access to a vacuum pump meant for vacuum bagging.

So you'll have 16 strings running up the neck, is that correct? 12 of which will be under the fingerboard? What are your plans regarding the neck, piano tuners for the 12 sympathetic strings to reduce clutter? Also, what are your plans for beefing up the neck to compensate for the large amount of string tension while still keeping it reasonably thin and not neck heavy? I've actually been giving a neck with strings under the fingerboard some consideration over the last few months, mostly inspired by a violin I saw years ago. I've already designed what should be a strong, hollow, average thickness neck, but I'd be interested to hear your ideas as well.

excellent point, greg. i completely forgot about carvin selling premade neckthrough necks

Looking around this forum and using the search feature should show you enough examples of neckthru builds being built to show you what needs to be done and what methods are best. I agree with perry though, don't look in forum for builders if you want it built well. Sure, there are some success stories on this board of people coming and asking to have a git built(mini guitar, customer is still happy with the work, btw), but not many. Anyone quoting you a really low price is probably not experienced enough to know what to charge you. Make sure you see previous work of whoever you get to build it. peace, russ

There's a special type of wood glue meant for veneers. Just google "veneer glue." It greatly reduces warping due to moisture content(compared to titebond) even though it's water based. Also, I've found that hitting the veneers with some glycerin(sold as "veneer softener") a day or so before glue up(and insuring they're completely dry before glue up) helps reduce distortion due to moisture as well. Crazy laminating like this makes me so glad I built a vacuum pump. With something like this, it'd be a matter of putting glue on everything, using a few thin brad nails at the ends to tack everything together to avoid slippage, then just throwing it all in a vinyl bag to clamp it all together with as even pressure distribution as you could ever ask for. peace, russ

Like I mentioned in the other thread, looking into duplicolor's automotive line of paints. They're quite durable and yield great results with a bit of practice. A word of caution though, only use their gray primer. Stay away from their red and black primers, I've never gotten good results with them. Spray the primer on, sand it to around 600 grit, wet. Then go for a base coat and clear coat. Make sure you use only one line of paints. Mixing and matching brands and lines may cause compatibility issues. All of this stuff should be available at any automotive parts store near you(autozone, pepboys, etc). peace, russ

What kind of guitar is it and how old is it? Also, is the current finish the original finish? It's more likely than not that it's a poly finish(this does not mean polyurethane as you would find at a homeowner's store but rather a catalytically cured automotive coating). If it is poly, you should be able to get away with spray can primer and paints from a local automotive store. I've used duplicolor's products before with good results. Be sure to use duplicolor's "scratch filling sandable primer" and not their regular "sandable primer." The stuff you want is gray, I believe. I've had some awful results with their other sandable primers that are red and black, I believe. If I were you, I would buy the paints and test on a section of the guitar that still has paint on it to see if you get any sort of negative reaction. Worst case you have to sand off a little bit more paint. It may end up saving you time though. peace, russ

Having a good idea ripped off does suck, but if you'll notice a few posts up, your idea was already designed and built more than 50 years ago(check out Melvin Hiscock's "Make Your Own Electric Guitar" to see a nicer, older take on this idea). If your case is so heavy it needs wheels, I seriously doubt anyone will buy it, I know I certainly wouldn't. If you want to make this thing really catching, you should look into building/buying an amp that can run on both battery and wall power, something like a pignose. Also, to drop weight, you might want to look into a FRP shell with some very strategically placed strips of foam to pad the guitar. Oh, and you do understand that patents are quite expensive, right? peace, russ

You do not have to buy that tool. You could easily build it. Everything it's made from is easily and affordibly available online. Yours may not end up as clean, especially without a milling machine, but it would certainly function. The part that attaches the dremel to the vertical post is just a piece of angle aluminum, if anyone was wondering. However, I've seen much better designs for this sort of things, some that work much more smoothly. Springs that allow the router to move vertically more easily would be a start. peace, russ

Todd, the problem with the design of that spiral flute bearing bit is that it limits your routing capabilities. With that bit, you can only route all the way through the material. With a bit that has the bearing on the end where the bit's shank is, you have the option of routing to a certain depth, rather than fully through.

Dave, looking through the site, I'm inclined to believe that only one of these guitars exists. There seem to be tons and tons of "luthier" sites where the person has built(or at least advertises) only one guitar or one copy of a model. Idk, just doesn't sit right with me.

You're aim is to get a capacitance equal to the sum of the two capacitors I hope...right?

And you'd be thinking right. I've given up being direct; it's too simple and quick.

Confucius say "define parallel and series and the answer will stare you in the face like a mole on your girlfriend"

Why can't you buy an lp that already has the neck glued in? What you're asking for is an entirely machined guitar that's unfinished with the neck yet to be glued in, correct? Unless you simply want to glue the neck in yourself(which isn't that exciting, I assure you), I don't understand why a rebuild of a premade lp is out of the question.

Phil, I wasn't really looking for a way to route smaller cavities as much as I was for small spiral bits with bearings, but thanks for the suggestion. If my choice is between a carbide bit with a bearing and a spiral bit with a bushing, I'd prefer the former. However, I do love the way spiral bits cut and would jump on one if I found it in 3/8" dia with a bearing. Spend enough time in a machine shop and our traditional carbide tipped bits seem archaic compared to solid carbide spiral end mills.

3/8" is just a convention. You can't get a 1/4" bearing bit because the smallest router collet is 1/4." 3/8" diameter is the smallest bearing bit that I've found. Also, a lot of cavities, for pickups and what not have 3/8" radii in their corners. I use a 3/8" bearing bit and a forstener drill bit for my cavities and a 1" or 1.5" bearing bit to rout out body/neck profiles. There are exceptions, but that's generally my rule of thumb.

The dimensions should be accurate, if anything, ask a supplier to check it for you first. To find out if your strings will fit your neck taper, draw out your guitar, with the neck and dimension-sensitive hardware. If you're good with trig, you could just figure it out that way. Based on your scale length, nut width, width of the neck at the last fret(or any fret on the neck for that matter), and your bridge string spacing, you should find out pretty quickly.

Mammoth, do you know of anyone that supplies a spiral downcut bit with a 3/8" diameter cutter and a bearing guide? I have had some trouble locating any small spriral bits with bearing guides.

Shag carpeting or whatever on a guitar is going to get pretty funky pretty quickly I'd imagine. This is especially true if you gig in bars and what not.

Just remember, if you use lumber that contains both heartwood and sapwood, the two different types will most likely machine differently. Keeping this in mind may save you from an accident. I nearly ruined a sapwood/heartwood fretboard once, had I not noticed that the sapwood side sanded much quicker(doh!).

No, wiring them in series would yield a capacitance the inverse of which would equal the sum of the inverse of the values of the capacitors in the circuit. 1/Ctotal=1/C1+1/C2+...+1/Cn. You want to wire your capacitors in parallel because the capacitance will be the sum of the values of the capacitors used in the circuit. And that's your physics lesson for the day . The opposite holds true for resistors. peace, russ

I love solidworks. It's very user friendly and like stated earlier, very well rounded. Like in any other program though, creating well knitted surfaces in it is a bit of an art.

I like knobs that follow the contour of the top. On the body I'm currently working on, I started with a 2" blank, routed and carved the top so there's a curve that's about 3/4" higher in the center than at the edges. I routed my control cavity from the back on the flat surface and went all the way through the front(intentionally). Next I'll be layering a series of veneers, 1/8" thick cocobolo and some veneer marquetry onto the top. This will yield an edge thickness of around 1.5" and a control cavity that has a curved surface on both the top of the guitar and inside the cavity itself. peace, russ

Luthier school is a good option if you want to build professionally, have certification, and don't have time for trial and error learning. However, what this guy is offering is a two week course on making the simplist of electric guitars. You're comparing apples and oranges here.